09.07.2020 Views

Home Grown

Check out all there is to do in the Central Plateau of NZ to keep you busy this winter and beyond...

Check out all there is to do in the Central Plateau of NZ to keep you busy this winter and beyond...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

Know before you go:<br />

Even experienced trampers have<br />

come unstuck in this extreme<br />

environment. The weather can be<br />

especially unpredictable in winter,<br />

with big temperature drops and heavy<br />

downpours that can make streams and<br />

rivers dangerous or impassable. There<br />

are also volcanic hazards, so it’s vital to<br />

obey all warnings and signs.<br />

Check in with the Visitor Centre at<br />

Whakapapa for advice, forecasts<br />

and hut bookings. The Walks in<br />

and around Tongariro National Park<br />

brochure has further detail on these<br />

tramps and others in the national park.<br />

A topographical map is essential for<br />

longer walks.<br />

Above and right: Hiking in the Tongariro National Park - Image compliments of Visit Ruapehu<br />

Day Walks:<br />

Tongariro National<br />

Park’s spectacular day<br />

walks venture into all<br />

corners and will keep<br />

you occupied for a<br />

solid week.<br />

Tongariro Alpine Crossing:<br />

7–8 hr<br />

Snowy surrounds and low crowds make winter a fabulous time to hike<br />

the Crossing, but you’ll need to go with a guide unless you’re an expert<br />

alpine tramper. This challenging track starts at 1120m and winds up<br />

the Mangatepopo Valley to the saddle between Mts Tongariro and<br />

Ngauruhoe. You’re into crater territory as you reach the crossing’s<br />

highpoint at 1886m.<br />

The descent is via a rock scree track to the vivid Emerald Lakes/<br />

Ngā Rotopounamu (greenstone-hued lakes) and Blue Lake/Te Waiwhakaata-o-te-Rangihiroa<br />

(Rangihiroa’s mirror). The track then sidles<br />

around the northern slope of Tongariro to descend via a zigzag track<br />

past Ketetahi Shelter and down to the road end.<br />

Attempting the Tongariro<br />

Alpine Crossing in winter is a<br />

very different experience than<br />

during other times of the year.<br />

From May to October, snow<br />

and ice mean alpine skills<br />

and experience are essential.<br />

Therefore, the best and safest<br />

way to enjoy the Crossing in<br />

its full alpine glory is to go with<br />

guide. Two Tongariro Alpine<br />

Crossing guiding companies,<br />

with decades of experience<br />

and approved by the<br />

Department of Conservation,<br />

operate from National Park<br />

Village - Adrift Tongariro and<br />

Adventure Outdoors Tongariro,<br />

and can guide you safely<br />

across this incredible, yet risky,<br />

wintery wonderland.<br />

Multi Day Walks:<br />

Round the Mountain Track:<br />

Tama Lakes Tramping Track:<br />

Lake Surprise:<br />

There are two classic multi-day tramps in<br />

Tongariro: the Northern Circuit Great Walk<br />

and the Round the Mountain Track.<br />

The Tongariro Northern Circuit:<br />

3–4 days<br />

One of New Zealand’s Great Walks, this tramp can<br />

be completed in the winter months by experienced<br />

trampers with all the right gear, preparation and<br />

favourable conditions.<br />

It’s usually started in Whakapapa Village and walked<br />

clockwise, winding first to Mangetepopo Hut to join the<br />

Alpine Crossing with its craters and surreal lakes. The<br />

circuit then continues down the spectacular Oturere<br />

Valley and around Mt Ngauruhoe’s foothills towards<br />

historic Waihohonu Hut.<br />

The final day sees you hike over Tama saddle between<br />

Ngauruhoe & Ruapehu – with a possible detour to<br />

the must-see Tama Lakes – before heading past the<br />

tumbling Taranaki Falls to return to Whakapapa Village.<br />

4–6 days<br />

A more remote and advanced adventure than the<br />

Northern Circuit, this unforgettable tramp traverses<br />

a variety of landscapes from mountain beech forest,<br />

tussock country and alpine herbfields, to desert lands<br />

and glacial river valleys.<br />

As much of the track passes through alpine terrain,<br />

it is recommended that winter trips are completed<br />

with a guide. The rest of the year it can be walked by<br />

experienced, well-prepared trampers when the weather<br />

is favourable.<br />

Starting at Whakapapa, it heads clockwise around Mt<br />

Ruapehu taking in many of the park’s most famous<br />

sights: Taranaki Falls, Tama Lakes, Waitonga Falls,<br />

Lake Surprise and Silica Rapids. It also takes in the<br />

Rangipo desert, with its barren and peculiar beauty. Six<br />

huts along the way each have their own character, too.<br />

5–6 hr<br />

This memorable walk starts at Whakapapa Village<br />

along the Taranaki Falls Track with all its interesting<br />

landforms and gushing streams. At the top of Taranaki<br />

Falls, the track branches off through rolling tussock<br />

country and alpine herbfields towards Tama Lakes.<br />

Beyond the lower lake viewpoint (1240m), the track<br />

climbs steeply to a 1440m-viewpoint of the upper lake.<br />

Tama Lakes occupy several old explosion craters on<br />

Tama Saddle between Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe. In<br />

winter, it’s essential to check in with Whakapapa Visitor<br />

Centre on the current trail conditions.<br />

Old Blyth Tramping Track:<br />

4–5 hr<br />

Starting on the Ohakune Mountain Road, this track partly<br />

follows the historic route up Mt Ruapehu through significant<br />

vegetation including mixed beech forest. When Blyth Track<br />

was constructed in the early 1900s, much of the route was<br />

through alpine bog; you can see the remains of ‘corduroy’<br />

laid across the muddy surface. Return the same way or<br />

walk out to the Mountain Road via the Waitonga Falls/<br />

Round the Mountain Tramping Track, and then walk back<br />

down the road – the views are epic.<br />

5 hrs<br />

Few walks are as aptly named this, but a hidden lake<br />

isn’t the only surprise on this amazing day out. Starting<br />

high on Mt Ruapehu, this advanced trail heads through<br />

epic boulder fields, bluffs and scree slopes with alpine<br />

gardens boasting a colourful array of flowers, lichens and<br />

moss. A climb into Mangaturuturu Valley follows a waterfall<br />

flowing over an ancient lava cascade. You’ll also pass a<br />

70-year-old tramping hut, nestled amongst stunted forest.<br />

Ever-changing views stretch from Ruapehu’s peak to the<br />

edges of the volcanic plateau. The lake itself is tranquil and<br />

untouched. The trail starts 20 minutes’ drive up Ohakune<br />

Mountain Road.<br />

Historic Waihohonu Hut:<br />

3 hr<br />

It’s well worth the half-day return hike to see this historic<br />

hut, especially as you’ll get up close to the strange terrain<br />

of the Rangipo desert, deep beech forest, and tussockland.<br />

Built in 1903/04 as a stopover for stagecoaches, it’s<br />

constructed of a double layer of corrugated iron with a layer<br />

of pumice between. No longer used for accommodation, the<br />

hut is preserved as an historical building and is classified by<br />

the Heritage New Zealand. This track starts off the Desert<br />

Rd (SH1), signposted 35km south of Turangi.<br />

54//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#220 ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ 55

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!