Tongariro Crossing, New Zealand

Upon researching New Zealand AND deciding where to stop, I added 2 nights in Tongariro National Park. Not only was it home to the filming location of Mount Doom (from LOTR), but it has what is labeled as the number one day hike in New Zealand, and one of the top ten day hikes in the world. Now that is a hike that demands to be completed! A slow hiker would take about seven hours to complete the hike, while a quick hiker could finish in a mere four and a half. After talking it over with Paul, he decided to sit this one out and let me go off on my adventure.

The morning of the hike I checked in with the front desk of my hotel to be sure the hike was open. In times of bad weather, and it was spring after all, the trail was 'closed' and shuttles would not drop off or pick up anyone. Luckily for me, the weather was forecasted to be sunny all day, so I was driven out to the start by 10am. I couldn't wait to get up there!

The first part of the hike was rolling hills, all with Mt. Doom looming overhead. I passed Soda Springs and met my first warning sign: Do not pass if there is inclement weather or you are unprepared!

 
I started up Devil's Staircase: steps, steps and more steps. It was, however, much easier than climbing up the trail in Wayanapichu (Peru) as the steps were regular sized and the trail wide.

I stopped often to enjoy the view and peer down at how far I had come. I crossed a beautiful crater that was half filled with snow, and then another scramble up, and suddenly, I was at the top! If you've ever summited a mountain, you know how the pure exhilaration feels of finally reaching the peak. I marveled at the bright reds and oranges in the mountains below and the view that seems never-ending from so high up. 

If the up was hard, the down was harder and much, much longer. I made some friends while I crossed a bit of snow, and we chatted as we slid/scrambled/fell down the other side of the summit.

 

I would have been miserable climbing up that side, as the hikers I saw took two steps forward and slid one step back. We had a perfect view of the emerald lakes (above right), currently covered in snow, on the way down before we crossed yet another crater and made our last little ascent up.

 Soon we were at the most exciting part of the hike: the active volcano! There were signs everywhere warning of the danger zone, what to do if a real eruption occurred, and not to dawdle in our walk. It wasn't until we turned a corner around the hill that I realized how incredibly close and REAL the volcano was. Billowing white smoke from the main vent and side vents, I could just see it actually erupting and covering the mountainside with flowing red-hot lava. We took a few pictures and continued our hike down, down, down through the forest and to our shuttles.

I know this is a lot of volcano pictures, but I just couldn't keep my eyes off of it. It was beautiful and a bit terrifying all at once. Would you walk this close to an active volcano?

Signs like this made me a bit nervous!

By the end my feet were aching and even though I had eaten tons on the hike I was incredibly hungry! I got delivered home to a hot shower, a soak in the hot tub, and a big steak dinner. It was definitely worth it to see so much in just one hike, and something to put on the bucket list!