Tongariro Crossing
Rangitoto Island panorama And so resumes the exciting account of our harrowing adventures in New Zealand. When we last left our intrepid heroes, they had arrived in Auckland, completed a hike on a volcanic island (at left), and were ready to begin a drive around the treacherous North Island. We now join the story, already in progress.
We figured the best way to see a lot of stuff in New Zealand was to drive, so we rented a car in Auckland. As New Zealanders drive on the left side of the road, this required a change of thought. Although the first minute or so of driving was a bit peculiar, it wasn’t very difficult in the end. The only persistent problem was that the turn signal was on the other side of the steering wheel, and, as it turns out, reaching for the turn signal is a very subconcious action, so there were many instances where the windshield wipers came on instead of the turn signal.
Our first stop along the way was the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. This cave formation uniquely features glowworms that live on the ceilings of the caves which glow in the dark. Although it could have been kitchy, it was really quite impressive.
Tongariro Crossing trailhead Our main goal the next day was to complete the Tongariro Crossing. The Crossing is a 17km hike and is said to be the best one-day walk in New Zealand. We certainly thought it was spectacular. You take a bus to the trailhead and start off walking through brush (at right). After about half an hour, you get to a steep incline which begins your ascent into to the mountains.
Red Crater A couple of hours later you arrive at Red Crater which is named, as you can see, for its distinctive red colouring. Although the volcanoes are no longer active (as far as we knew), the area is still rich with geothermal activity, and we saw lots of steam rising. After a short break at the top of Red Crater (short because a cold wind was blowing on our completely-exposed position), 
Lower Emerald Lake panorama we descended and stopped for lunch around the Emerald Lakes in the Central Crater. Sadly, the water was too cold for swimming, but at least we got a chance to rinse off our feet before they froze.
Central Crater panorama A few hours later we had our last glance back at Mt. Ngauruhoe (the volcano-like peak) and Red Crater across the Central Crater (at left) before beginning our descent on the other side of the mountain range. We stopped at a nice lookout to reapply sunscreen and then made our way down to the valley floor. The change in vegetation over the course of the hike was remarkable. 
Rainforest waterfall near Ketetahi You can see from the earlier pictures the desolation at the mountain top; contrast that with the lush vegetation and waterfalls that were awaiting us on the valley floor. Some 8 hours after we started out, we reached the end of our trail and had enjoyed taking off our shoes and sitting down for a little while. We were still tired the next two days and glad that we weren’t doing the four-day Tongariro Northern Circuit.
You can see more pictures from the hike, and other parts of our trip to Australia and New Zealand, in the photo gallery. Check back in a few days for more trip details.
Comment by Patrick
DROOOOOOOL….
