Blog: Juuso and Rosa Hike the Tongariro Circuit

Rosa and Juuso Hike the Tongariro Northern Circuit

Contents

Planning the adventure
Day 1 Let the Adventure Begin
Day 2 the Devil's Staircase
Day 3 The final day
On Reflection

We are Rosa and Juuso, Tourism Management students from Finland. As a part of our studies we need to complete five months of internship, and we decided to do that at First Light Travel in New Zealand. During our stay we have explored the country, and one of our trips was to take 3-days and Hike the Tongariro Northern Circuit in the beautiful Tongariro National Park. For us it was something very special as we don’t have anything like that in Finland.

Day 1 Let the Adventure Begin

Our journey started from Auckland early on Friday morning. We drove to Tongariro National Park with our rental car and started the hike on Friday afternoon. We left our car to Whakapapa Village from where we started to walk towards Mangatepopo Hut. Slightly chilly weather was perfect for hiking. We couldn’t see the mountains yet as it was a bit cloudy but we were still enjoying the first part of our hike. It took about three hours to get to Mangatepopo Hut where also our campsite was located. It started to rain at the same time as we arrived to the campsite so we had to set up our tent very fast! After that the hut ranger welcomed us to Mangatepopo. He told us that Tongariro is sacred place for Maori people, and as he was a Maori by himself, he wanted to tell us the story behind the mountains. It was extremely interesting to hear the story and see how important these things have been to Maori people - and they still are!

Day 2 the Devil's Staircase

The next morning we ate breakfast, packed our tent and started the second part of our hike in a cloudy weather. Fortunately it wasn’t raining that much anymore, just few drops every now and then. The track merged with popular Tongariro Alpine Crossing so it meant heaps of climbing. The way up was quite steep and exhausting, no wonder it was called Devil’s Staircase. But all that effort was totally worth it when we arrived on the highest point of the track, the famous Red Crater at the height of 1886 metres. The weather was still quite cloudy so we couldn’t see very far away but the view was still pretty impressive. After the Red Crater the track started to descend down the mountainside, and we were practically walking in clouds. Suddenly the clouds were blown away by a wind which revealed an outstanding view of the Emerald Lakes right in front of our eyes. It was definitely one the highlights of our hike! From Emerald Lakes the track separated from Tongariro Alpine Crossing track and we walked to the next hut (Oturere Hut) where we kept our lunch break. After resting for a while we still had to continue our hike 7.5km as we had a reservation at the next campsite. Event though we didn’t really feel like walking anymore, it wasn’t that bad and it went quite fast. Right before arriving to luxurious Waihohonu Hut and campsite we had to climb up a steep hill again. On the top there was spectacular view of Mount Ruapehu waiting for us. That was the second highlight of the track, so amazing! At this point the campsite was just few minutes away and we were happy about the idea of having some rest. We pitched our tent right next to a river where we also took a freezing bath! Before we went to sleep we made some dinner and enjoyed the fireplace inside the hut.

Day 3 The final day

The final day of our hike started with absolutely beautiful sunrise. The first rays of sun touched Mount Ruapehu and Mount Ngauruhoe which were surrounding the campsite. While enjoying the scenery, we ate our breakfast and thought that we could definitely do this more often! Then it was time to start the last part of track; first we visited the Historic Waihohonu Hut which is the oldest mountain hut in New Zealand. It was built in 1904. The ceiling and walls were full of old writings from people who had stayed in the hut when it was still in use. We continued walking the track which was following a stream - we were thankful for that as it was really sunny and hot day, so we could splash some water on us from time to time. Mount Ngauruhoe was standing on our right side and Mount Ruapehu on the left side while we were tramping towards Whakapapa Village. Just before arriving to the village we reached the powerful Taranaki Falls. Without a doubt these over 20 metres high waterfalls are worth of seeing.

On Reflection

After intense three days we finally arrived back to our starting point at Whakapapa Village. We felt like winners!! The 43km long Tongariro Northern Circuit track offered us unforgettable experience, unique environment and breath-taking views. We got so many amazing photos and great memories to take home with us. From Whakapapa Village we drove to Taupo and rewarded ourselves with big tasty burgers. What a great adventure all in all! Cheers, Juuso and Rosa