In the cover of darkness a journey begins, four beings gathered from far away lands known as Czech and England. Emma, Lee, Petra and Sarka join to complete their quest of walking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.In recent years the battle against the evil thieves who target cars, motorhomes, and other modes of transport in the car parks have left people with little choice but to succumb to the call of the shuttle bus companies, or to be in anguish and worry during the day.Sharing in the experience of paying $40 we joined the bus with more and more people following, eventually outnumbering the amount of seats. Beating the crowds on the earliest of the shuttles at 6am was not looking hopeful.Low level mist surrounded the bus, only to clear upon arrival amongst the shadow of Mt Ngauruhoe or Mt Doom as some may know it. A miraculous plan to hold back for ten or so minutes adjusting straps, slapping on the sun cream saw the crowds disappear.Setting off we began by following the Mangatepopo Stream and soon approached the soda springs, which gives a final glance at lush greenery, as the scene from now on would consist of black lava flows, dusty crater floors, snow, and all colours of rock.With the path steepening at the Mangatepopo Saddle, the shadow of Mt Tongariro appears, huge, bulky and covered in snow it marks the direction of the crossing to continue. Looking right however the challenge to climb Mt Doom shouts out.Petra and Sarka decided to remain on the trail to enjoy the scenery, and take the day at their own pace wishing us good luck and encouragement for the climb ahead we said goodbye for now. Knowing we would have alot of time to catch up we fuelled up with bananas and water.Mt Ngauruhoe is a classic cone shaped volcano of 2km 600m detour with an average time to complete of three hours. Steep, and covered in scree it is known as a two steps up and one step back experience. But something I’m glad not to have missed, to follow in the footsteps of hobbits.Getting into a rhythm quickly helped to save energy and I was delighted to have chosen to wear my huge boots, as they gave more grip. Kicking steps in the snow also helped ascend the steep slopes. A fair few people had decided to tackle the slope, opting for the direct path up the mountain. It was soon apparent of the dangers of the scree, large rocks started to tumble down the hill side “Below, Below” began to sound amongst the crowds as the people above unshifted lose rocks. There was a shoot out “Over here” it was Lee who had traversed over to the solid ridge, he had found the proper accent route, rather than the decent route everyone was tackling, I soon crossed over as did many others.The rest of the climb was a breeze and before we knew it we were on the summit looking down into the huge crater below. We caught our breathe and had a nibble, but couldn’t hang around for long due to the swam of flies that clung to you once you stopped. We traversed around the crater taking in the view over to the mountains of Taranaki, Ruapehu, and Tongariro. Here we were at the height of Mordor, any Lord of the Rings fan would be proud. The decent was fun, scree running down the mountain took no time at all, and since everyone was ascending up the ridge there was no danger. Also by our shock and surprise we were joined by a German lad who had tackled the whole climb in mere converse!Emptying my shoes of dirt and stones, I became aware of somebody sneaking around behind some boulders, this creature knew my name and was calling. Slowly I approached although the voice was anxious for me to be quick, I grabbed the camera and to my surprise I saw him, Gollum’lee.The trek continued across a hot dusty plateau, heading towards the south crater, a steep ridge then brought us upto red crater, which was a spectacle of all shades. Continuing up a little furthar and then the descent was insight, but not truly before we passed by the beautiful Emerald lakes. The weather had turned out to be perfect as the sun wasn’t too hot but shined enough to really make the colours vibrant, no wonder this walk is regarded as one of the most spectacular.As energy was draining we kept moving, the urge to sit down was not worth the effort it would take to get up again. The wind had picked up when we arrived at blue lake and Lee suggested that we get to the Keteahi hut, before digging into more egg butties, I agreed not realising how much further that still was. However the only way was down now, so a little jog brought those delicious sandwiches that much closer.Leaving the hut, the descent continues, at first along knee height bush, getting higher the lower you go, but as the path is well marked it doesn’t take too much effort. Jumping down steps also helped with our progress as we were aiming to get the 4 o’clock shuttle. Nearing the end the walk brings you deep into the bush, with a river running alongside hidden in the trees, rounding the corner and our nine hour tramp was over.Hoping to tempt some of you out here with this incredible tramp, for others we just wanted to share it with you.Lots of LoveEm and Gollum’lee xxx
