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!
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.
Thanks to its central location and good transport links, situated halfway between Auckland and Wellington, the park is easy to reach. The main north-south roads run along the park’s borders: Highways 1 and 4, as well as the main railway line. Read more
There are places where, upon returning, I realise just how much their atmosphere enchants me. One of these is Ketetahi Hut, which sits high on the sunny northern slopes of Tongariro and marks the start of the final stage of the Tongariro Crossing—the descent to the car park. I love lying on the terrace in front of the hut, enjoying the view over the wind-rippled surface of Lake Rotoaira, the lush green, forest-clad Kakaramea mountain range, and the silver mirror of Lake Taupo. The electrifying moods at sunrise or sunset are incomparable; those nights where the lights of Taupo merge with the twinkling stars into a single universe! Roaring hot sulphur steam rises from the nearby Ketetahi Springs, which doesn’t dampen the hut’s popularity for a rest, a spot of sunbathing, or an overnight stay. Consequently, it can get a bit crowded there on some days. Read more
At three in the morning, the alarm clock brings the short night to an end. Bright moonlight streams through the window of my quarters in the Mangatepopo mountain hut, yet outside, the dark rock masses of the Tongariro massif seem to absorb the gentle light. Joyful excitement immediately pulses through my still sleepy limbs, as conditions appear optimal to begin my long-awaited endeavour: the nocturnal ascent of the 2291m high Ngauruhoe volcano, to experience the sunrise over Tongariro National Park and New Zealand’s North Island from its summit.
The hikers in the hut are all still asleep, so in the peaceful silence of the icy autumn morning, all life seems frozen. But this superficial observation is deceptive, for the ground I stand on is extremely active. 150 km deep within the Earth, where the Indo-Australian plate slides beneath the Pacific plate, lies the origin of those eruptive forces that, with fiery power and destructiveness, continuously shape the landscape in the centre of New Zealand’s North Island. Read more
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