Chapter 7: Tongariro track and Wellington

Although my night sleep was interrupted frequently, I wake up early to prepare for the hike. My shuttle leaves at 7:00 am (that is morning time for those people not familiar with the am/pm system) sharp at the Alpine ski Lodge. All the other participants look geared up and ready to go. The weather is indeed as predicted. Cloudy, rather cold and some chance of rain. Perfect conditions for hiking one would say o_O. The shuttle arrives on time and is no more than one of those old busses driven by an older man. One could imaging that he was a good-looking ski instructor during the 60’s. Now he is well-respected yet funny bus driver and after the necessary count of the heads we leave towards the Tongariro crossing. After 30 minutes, we and a dozen other busses arrive on a small gravel road that takes us to the start. Hiking the track on a Sunday increases the amount of people doing it of course. We are informed that the hike is 19.4 km long with steep inclines towards the top. If we make it over the mountain, a shuttle bus will pick us up at the other side at 1.30 pm – 2.30 pm – 3.30 pm – 4.30 pm or 5.30 pm to bring us back to the Plateau lodge. Just have to look for the people with a TCS shirt!

I meet a Canadian/German couple that looked totally prepared for tramping the Togariro track. Gear and walking pools, the are ready for the 19.4 km and start as soon as they can. I start off somewhat slower and take in all the magnificent views surrounding the track. The top of the hike is covered in a thick layer and the track takes me

into the landscape of Mordor. For those few people who have not seen Lord of the Rings, one can imagine a dark volcanic terrain. The contrast with the white cloudy sky is impressive but I wonder what it would have looked like with a clear blue sky. The place is massive. Soon all hikers turn into tiny little dots which get spread out further and further when continuing uphill. The initial climb upwards seems to go on forever but each step higher we get into the clouds more and more. The first view I can look back at what I have achieved. Impressive altitude. Subsequently a mars like plateau covered with hills of ice brings me to the next challenge. A rather narrow climb where the winds is picking up pace. I cannot put it down in words how we have to struggle against the wind to stay upright. I move on towards the top of the hike and get my first view over the red crater, also called Mt Doom in Lord of the Rings. The red shade is mesmerizing but the hard winds do not allow me to enjoy it for too long. That is the disadvantage of being a tall and slender guy. I am the physical version of a parachute I would not like to be blown away!

Once over the top of the mountain I get the view of what this track is well know for: The 3 lakes. This is by far the best one-day hike I have done in my life. Pictures do not credit enough how colorful the lakes are. The white clouds cover the beautiful colors, which is a kinda sad but nevertheless, the view is spectacular. After trying to take a gazzilion pictures I continue downhill to the largest lake where I settle down for lunch. Pindabutter and cheese sandwiches it is! The lake is huge. Even my 16 mm lens is unable to get it into frame. Well that means it is time to move on.

The descend is long but not that spectacular compared to the start of the hike. With my current pace I might make it in time for the 13.30 pm bus! This would be perfect since I still have 4 hours of driving to do towards Wellington. The clouds start to give way to the sun while I go downhill through the slender path leading to the car park. My long legs are perfectly set for this job but it’s hard to not stop too often to take pictures. I check my Casio watch. Still 1 hour and 30 min to go for 9 km. Hmm, this might be very tight. I continue the path downwards and eventually make it back into the forest area. The 1:30 pm is getting closer very fast and I still have a few kilometers to go. Eventually, I make it to the car park at 1:40 pm. No bus directly to be spotted. Damn, I will have to wait for 1 hour. This sucks monkey balls. In the corner of my eye I spot the Germans who where always ahead of me. This would imply that I am not too late. 5 min later a bus standing on the parking lot starts to move and it seems to be I am still on time. It seems to be that the bus is completely full so I have to stand in the middle. Well standing, there is no real room for the complete Steven so I am a more folded version. Since the bus has no ventilation, we drive with the doors open. Well that is one practical way to solve it! Plenty of people fall asleep on the bus yet I have to stay awake for my next drive. I get dropped of at the Plateau lodge and off I go!

I feel more comfortable in the car so it is time to play some music. Although the local radio stations are not that bad, I can’t seem to find anything remotely related to Radio 1, Q-music or Studio Brussels. Sometimes its funny to listen to the horse races but that gets boring after a while. I manage to connect to the Bluetooth so I start listening to downloaded podcast. Some motivational speeches too keep me going on this road of life. Eventually I need some real road trip music. For this, I present you James Bay with Craving (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxzLDUGc3J4) which is a perfect song to get the energy flowing. Halfway, it is my first time of filling up Sparky #04 with Benzine 91! Damn, kinda stressful but I manage! The dollars are burning fast when driving a car!

I make it onto the S1 highway which ends in an impressive drive next to the Tasman sea. The highway literally stops in Wellington where I make my why to the Dwellington hostel. Located next to the American embassy, this nice looking hostel is not that far of the ferry I am going to take tomorrow. When parking my car, I misjudge the distance to the curb stone and bang, a broken plastic wheel cover later I check in into the hostel. This hostel is magnificent, with large and clean space for everything. There is even a fancy movie theater and the breakfast is included (I must admit I don’t know if I paid a lot for the hostel or not). I head into town for some dinner to recover from the magnificent hike today. The prices are crazy expensive o_O. That must be the result of being the administrative capital of New Zealand I suppose. In the end I find a nice burrito place to get this carbohydrates going! The additional 2 dollar guacamole is totally worth it! Did I mention they have awesome avocados here in New Zealand?

After the walk downtown, seeing the rugby headquarters of New Zealand, I make it to the Dwellington for my sleep! Looking forward to the eggs breakfast!

(While writing this I am already in the most Southern part of the Southern island. I will be doing the Kepler track so not reachable for the next 3 days! Enjoy reading, until laterzzzz)

Steven