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2/27/09
We are now at National Park for two days. We got the Tongariro Alpine crossing special at the Adventure Lodge Motel and it was a fantastic deal. We had a studio that was great for us. They gave you breakfast, a packed lunch, and dinner and spa the day of the hike. The next day they offered a continental breakfast. They also transport you to the beginning of the hike and pick up 8 hours later. Again there is not much insulation but that didn't bother us too much here.
The crossing is an extending trek over steep volcanic terrain that was formed one million years ago. It was humbling to be on such ancient ground. This certainly was a strenous hike and Al had to carry my pack on the steepest part. It was that or wait for the frequent breaks I required to make it through. Andrew I had my headset on and listened to Newboys Adoration for 1.5 times through to help get me through this area. It was great motivation. There are areas of walking over a rocky terrain, flat areas, and then the 45 minutes winding trail that included stairs to reach the South crater. This took about 2.5 hours and went from 1100 meters to 1700 meters. In all the reading about this trek they talk about this part as being the worst and that may be true but what they fail to mention is you still have to go up to Red crater that is still active and steaming. Now you must go from 1700 meters to 1886 but the beauty of this crater is so worth it. The deep red and blackness of the crater is breath taking. I hope our pictures give justice to its beauty.
Now begins the descent to the Emerald Lakes. This was loose terrain and the hiking poles kept me from falling several times. But it was also the part I enjoyed the most. Now we are going from the 1886 back down to just over 1700 meters.
From here we continue down to the Central crater and it had a nice flat area befroe ascending again Blue Lake just below 1800 meters. From here it is only descent with the next destination being Ketetahi hut around 1400 meters. Plus this is the only potty place for the last four hours. By now we had been hiking for six hours and had took about 15 minutes to eat and drink. Of course, we nibbled along the way to keep the strength up. The lunch they packed us was a sandwich, snack bars for engery, fruit and water.
The final destination now was the car park that drops to 900 meters and is 6 km away and two hours to finish this in. The going down was hard on the knees and again the poles where handy. The whole trail was very nicely maintained by the Department of Conservation. There was one area where the helicopters drop in big bags load of materials where the DOC is working. We met a crew around this area and told them how much we appreciated their hard work. At the end of their work day they must hike out to catch a ride home. Man, that is dedication.
It seemed like we just kept walking forever to reach the car park. For most of the time we are out in the open and then suddenly we found ourselves in the forest that lasted to the end of the trail. We made it in the eight hours and felt great to have accomplished this. The Adventure lodge also give you certificates and t-shirt for completing the hike.
We passed on the spa. All we wanted was a shower, dinner, wine, and sleep. That night a front from the north was coming in and they cancelled hiking for Sat. so we where fortunate to have had good timing and weather.
It did rain hard in the night and the wind was strong. We both woke up several times but did fall back to sleep. In the morning we had breakfast, packed, and where on the road again to Wellington.
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