Many visitors to Tongariro National Park pass by the Mangatepopo Hut shortly after starting the Tongariro Crossing, but without stopping. Most visitors here are preparing for an early morning ascent of Mount Ngauruhoe or are heading for the nearby climbing walls of Pukikaikiore. I spent many fun hours in the hut playing games or enjoying impressive evening light moods with views as far as Taranaki.
Oturere Hut is set in the middle of a desert landscape full of rock debris and ash remains in the east of Tongariro National Park, with a waterfall nearby for a shower and, in clear weather, the morning glow of Ngauruhoe at sunrise. Here, the park shows a completely different, wilder side compared to Waihohonu Hut with its mountain rainforests and grasslands, the fascinating views from the slopes near Ketetahi Hut, or the climbing rocks near Mangatepopo Hut. However, it’s also gained fame among visitors for the sheer number and monstrous size of the black blowflies that swarm around the hut and the toilet block. But those fat buzzers are actually completely harmless!
Not far from the Waihohonu Hut, the Northern Circuit hiking trail passes through lush mountain beech forests at mid-altitude on the way to the Oturere Hut. This spot is a perfect example of this rich vegetation with its ferns and mosses. Stately streams meander through deep-cut valleys. Plenty of birds can be seen here, especially the curious fantails and robins.
After an early start under a full moon from the Mangatepopo Hut, I approach the wide crater rim of Ngauruhoe on steep, loose and yielding scree slopes – two steps forward, one step back. What makes for leaps of joy on the descent has to be dearly paid for on the way up. On the eastern side of the crater rim, sulphurous vapours rise; signs of activity. As dawn breaks, the contours of the North Island slowly emerge: the Kaimanawa Mountains to the east, Lake Taupo and Mt. Tarawera to the north, and to the west, the brother volcano Taranaki by the Tasman Sea.
The core of Tongariro National Park was established in 1887 through a gift, making it the first national park in New Zealand and the fourth in the world. This far-sighted move was formally recognised a few years ago when it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, both as a culturally significant monument and a unique area of natural beauty. Today, the Department of Conservation successfully continues the tradition of preserving nature and culture. At the visitor centre in Whakapapa, visitors can find out everything they need to know about the park. Above all, up-to-date and practical information about weather, climate, trails, and huts is essential for anyone staying in the park.
After a strenuous but exciting day of hiking at the Ruapehu crater, I pitched my tent at Mangahuia Campsite, a simple conservation campground with fresh water and a toilet in the west of the park, between Whakapapa and National Park. From the campsite, a narrow path leads east along the Mangahuia Stream through grasslands and forests. After a short while, I was treated to a view of the dramatic evening sky above Tongariro Summit.
The new day first takes me back along the Tongariro Crossing route to the crater plateau. Today, the magnificent theatre of nature presents a play of Shakespearean proportions on the stage of grand emotions. After the mountain so generously and proudly displayed its treasures yesterday, today it shrouds itself in thick clouds. Everything appears colourless and grey, and on such days, a depressive veil settles over my mood. The vast desolation, veiled in mist, awakens in me a desperate feeling of loneliness and being lost. Stripped of its meaning, the signpost for the Blue Lake stands by the wayside, surrounded by boundless grey. Thoughts and reality merge. The jagged boulders in the Oturere Valley suddenly transform into grotesque ghostly figures trying to lead me astray. Read more
Last Comments