Travelogue

Tongariro Holiday ParkAfter leaving Orakei Korako, we drove about an hour and a half south, along the east shore of Lake Taupo to the Tongariro Holiday Park where we would be staying for the next two nights.

Tongariro lies at the southern terminus of the Taupo Volcanic Zone and is home to three active volcanoes: Mount Ruapehu, Mount Ngauruhoe, and Mount Tongariro.

One of the major impetuses for us to visit the North Island was to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, considered the best one-day hike in New Zealand, and for many, one of the best in the world. It's a 12.6-mile long, with 2,800 feet elevation gain, point-to-point trek across a Martian-like landscape of active volcanic craters, bright emerald lakes, and ancient lava flows.

Tongariro Alpine Crossing ForecastBecause the hike starts and ends at different locations, we needed to book a shuttle to drop us off at Mangatmost Carpark where the hike begins. From there we would hike to Ketetahi Carpark, where a shuttle would take us the short distance back to our campground.

We had originally booked the shuttle for tomorrow, but after seeing the forecast, we pushed it back a day. Back home, when planning for the day to do this hike, I had no idea how much the weather would be a safety issue. I had been following the rain forecast, but rain is not the issue; it's the winds - often 50+ mph gusts hat make it unsafe - or at the least, very unpleasant - to climb up and over the narrow ridge over the Red Crater.

Frequent white outs and visibility less than 10 meters are also frequently a safety issue, making it easy to lose the trail. Besides the safety considerations, I didn’t want to do all the work that this hike required without being able to see anything.

When we checked into our campground, the proprietor told us that conditions had been so windy on the Alpine Crossing that the shuttle had been canceled the last 3 days and very likely would be canceled tomorrow as well.

I admit, I was beginning to get cold feet, but we would have to just wait and see.

Since it was only 4:30 when we arrived at the Holiday Park, and it didn't get dark until 8:30, we figured we might as well go for a hike in nearby Tongariro National Park, so we headed over to the visitor center to see what the options were.

Silica Rapids Hike

Punaruku FallsWe didn’t have enough time for a super long hike this late in the afternoon, so we chose the Silica Rapids Walk, which is a 4.3-mile, 1,000-foot elevation gain hike, which goes through several very distinct ecosystems.

The first section of the trail brought us through a very peaceful, lush beech forest alongside the Whakapapanui Stream.

In about a mile we arrived at Punaruku Falls where the Tawhainui Stream tumbles over the edge of an ancient lava flow.

Golden RapidsAbout a mile further along we came to a portion of the stream with a stunning orange-gold section of shelves and boulders, stained by the iron-oxide (rust) from upstream swamps.

It is so bright that it looks unnatural, as if someone had painted the rocks. It was easy to see how it got its name Golden Rapids.

The rocks aren't just colored; they are often coated in a slightly fuzzy or velvety layer of mineral deposits, making the stream bed look soft rather than jagged.

At about 2 miles from the start, we came to a junction in the boardwalk near the top of the valley and turned right on a short spur to a viewpoint at the center of the Silica Rapids, where alabaster-colored water flows over a series of beautiful creamy-white terraces.

Silica RapidsTheir stunning white appearance is the result of a chemical reaction that takes place in the rapids themselves.

The process starts upstream, deep beneath Mount Ruapehu where rain water and snowmelt percolate through the porous superheated volcanic rock, causing them to absorb high concentrations of aluminum and silica from the surrounding rocks.

As this superheated, mineral-rich water flows downstream and hits the rapids, it splashes over the rocks and becomes heavily aerated, causing it to release carbon dioxide, which then causes the dissolved minerals to turn back into a solid.

Silica RapidsThese solid minerals settle on the rocks, building up layer after layer. Over time, they create a smooth, white "painted" crust that looks like porcelain over the flat terraces.

It was absolutely lovely, made even more so by one small tilted tree, stranded amidst the rushing water, still alive but looking like it was fighting for its life.

That tiny tree struggling against the rapids has become Herb’s favorite photo of the trip. Titled “Gold Rush,” It is now framed and hanging in our living room.

Across the lava fieldsThis hike really was exceeding expectations. We had only hiked two miles and we had already seen a lovely waterful, and two sets of rapids formed by the same process, but with very different appearance because of the minerals in the water that flowed over them - iron-oxide over the Golden Rapids and silicates over the Silica Rapids.

After the Silica Rapids, the trail took a sharp left away from the stream into a dramatic shift in scenery, as we left the beech forest and rapids behind and entered a vast, open alpine meadow, covered by tall, golden-bronze grasses called Red Tussock, that swayed in the wind.

We were now in the heart of the Taupō Volcanic Zone with three major volcanoes visible along the route.

Jagged Mount RuapehuAlthough we didn’t realize it, from the start of our hike, we were already on the lower slopes of Mount Ruapehu, the largest and highest volcano in New Zealand. We got our first peek of its jagged peaks when we crossed the long bridge over the Whakapapanui Stream.

It was the ancient lava flows from eruptions of Ruapehu that created the cliffs at Punaruku Falls and the terraces of the Silica Rapids.

Instead of one single summit, Ruapehu has a broad summit plateau with several distinct peaks that form a broken, jagged rim around its central crater. It’s the only place in the North Island with permanent glaciers.

Through the Red TussockIt is the thousands of years of these glaciers grounding away at the volcanic rock that have made the summits much more jagged and torn looking than the younger smoother volcanoes, such as Mount Ngāuruhoe, which came into view next.

As we continued on the path through the lava fields, with the Red Tussock swaying in what was a pretty strong wind, we came to our first view of Mount Ngāuruhoe, a classic near-perfect, smooth cone volcano so different from its jagged neighbor. To make it even more dramatic, a large dark cloud was sitting atop its summit, like a large sombrero.

Approaching Mt. NgāuruhoeThe contrast between the golden tussock and the dark Mt. Ngāuruhoe was stunning.

Ngāuruhoe is probably one of the most recognizable volcanoes in the world, as it played the role of Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was the place where the One Ring was forged and ultimately destroyed.

Just behind and to the left of Ngāuruhoe, we could see parts of the Mount Tongariro range, a massive complex of 12 volcanic cones and craters.

Herb meets Mt. NgāuruhoeIf the weather cooperated tomorrow, we would be crossing over this range on our Tongariro Alpine Crossing hike, but just based on the wind we were experiencing now made the likelihood of that less and less.

From there we descended fairly steeply down to Bruce Road and then back to our car at the visitor center. The hike, which was 4.75 miles with 1,017-foot elevation gain, had so many highlights along the way that it was hard to pick a favorite.

Back at the campground, we checked the weather forecast for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and made the decision that it just wasn’t going to happen for us. Winds were just two strong to make it a fun and even safe hike, especially for me. So, I canceled our shuttle reservation.

Taranaki Falls and Tama Lakes Hike

Lava field above Taranaki FallsWhen we woke up the next morning, I checked the official weather forecast for the Red Crater (the highest point and crux of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing), and had to admit to being somewhat pleased to find that the hike was not recommended for today because of strong winds. Otherwise, I would have felt bad that we had missed out on a chance to do this hike.

Now, I could be satisfied with the awesome alternative hike that we had planned for the day. It was even similar in mileage and elevation gain to the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, but with much easier terrain and less severe winds because of its lower elevation.

It was still going to be very windy, but not the “knock-me-off-the-summit of Red Crater” kind of windy.

Lower Tama LakeStill, at over 12.3 miles with an elevation gain of over 3,000 feet it was going to be a challenging hike.

Instead of doing Tama Lakes as an out-and-back, we decided to use the Taranaki Falls loop to create a lollipop route. So, we were pretty much doing a hike within a hike.

We decided to take the recommended counter-clockwise direction, also known as the Upper Track, which almost immediately exposed us to big open views of the two volcanoes we had seen on our Silica Rapids hike yesterday - jagged Mount Ruapehu on our right and cone-shaped Mount Ngāuruhoe straight ahead, which unfortunately was quite obscured by clouds today.

Closeup of Willy-WilliesAfter about 2 miles we crossed a wooden bridge at the top of Taranaki Falls, where we could hear, but not see, the thundering of the waterfalls below us.

The most impressive part of being at the top of the Falls was realizing that we were standing on a bridge above the terminal edge of a massive lava flow that erupted thousands of years ago from Mount Ruapehu, which was upstream from us.

We watched as the stream somewhat peacefully, meandered through the shallow rock bed before picking up speed as it slid over a smooth rock lip and disappeared into and became thundering Taranaki Falls.

Steep climb up to the Upper Tama LakeRather than climb down the 135 wooden steps to the base of the falls now, we decided to save that for the way back, when we would complete the other half of the lollipop of the Taranaki Falls hike.

After leaving the Wairere Stream Bridge, we headed inland toward the “saddle” between Mount Ruapehu (to our right) and Mount Ngāuruhoe (to our left). Because this is a saddle, it acts like a giant wind tunnel, so we were beginning to feel some pretty strong winds, but nothing I am sure compared to the Red Crater along the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

Upper Tama LakeWe continued our steady, gradual climb towards Lower Tama Lake, nestled in a deep circular bowl, with Mount Ruapehu as a backdrop.

The bowl it sits in is actually a large explosion crater (called a maar) formed roughly 10,000 years ago by violent steam explosions when rising magma met groundwater.

What struck me the most about Tama Lake was its striking two-tone color - a milky greenish blue near the edges and a deep, dark indigo blue in the center. The reason for these differences is volcanic water chemistry.

Very windy lunch spotBecause this lake is in an active volcanic zone, it is constantly being fed by fine particles of volcanic ash and rock dust washing down from Mount Ruapehu. These particles are known as “rock flour" and since they are so small and light, they don’t sink, but rather they stay suspended in the water. When sunlight hits the rock flour near the shore, they reflect the green and blue parts of the light spectrum, creating the milky green-blue color we see.

Meanwhile, the center of the lake is incredibly deep, so there is no bottom for the sunlight to bounce off. At this depth, the longer wavelengths of light (reds and yellows) are completely absorbed. Only the shortest, darkest blue wavelengths have enough energy to reflect back to the surface, where it appears as a dark indigo or navy blue.

Heading down the steep screeThere wasn’t a gradual change between the two colors, but rather a distinct line where the crater floor vertically drops off abruptly and steeply from the shallow rim.

Once again, I wish I knew more about geology and chemistry to understand these phenomena. However, this did remind me of the explanation for the brilliant turquoise blue lakes on the South Island that are fed by “glacial flour” from melting glacial water. So the North Island has “rock flour” particles and the South Island has “glacial flour” particles.

The colors made this lake very photogenic, so we spent a lot of time photographing it from every angle. Herb especially tried to catch what we were calling dust devils swirling by the water’s edge.

Back to Lower Toma LakeThey are quite common here because the lake sits on the saddle between Mt. Ruapehu and Mt. Ngāuruhoe, and this gap acts like a funnel for wind, creating vortexes of volcanic ash and rock flour, lifted from the hot barren ground along the shore.

New Zealanders call them “willy-willies,” which I think is a much better name.

Herb was taking far too much time photographing the “willy-willies,” so I started up the steep ascent to the Upper Tama Lake by myself. This was by far the most challenging part of the hike. There was no longer any sort of path to follow. Rather the ridgeline is composed of loose volcanic scree, which I hate. However, hiking up it is much better than the slipping and sliding down it which I had to look forward to.

Almost downThere is no real trail and you pretty much go up any way you want, as long as it is up, but there are orange poles to follow that do guide you the best way.

About a quarter of the way up, I turned to see if Herb was behind me, but he was still down by the Lower Lake photographing the ‘willy-willies.” Herb has a tendency to lose track of all time and me when he finds a subject he likes.

The ridge to Upper Lake Tama was very exposed, with no protection from the strong westerly winds, so I kind of had to struggle a bit to stay upright. And, with each step I took, it got colder and colder.

Can't get enough of this beautiful alkeAfter about 40 minutes of steep climbing, I reached a wide, flat rocky clearing at the summit of the ridge. I looked behind again, and finally Herb was making his way up the scree ridgeline. The wind was really blowing me around at this point.

When Herb finally joined me, we sought shelter from the wind behind a large rock where we had a great view of ink blue, horseshoe-shaped Upper Tama Lake. Like Lower Tama Lake, this too is an explosion crater. Actually it's two overlapping explosion craters, which is what gives it its unique horseshoe shape.

Just a few more Willy-Willy shotsBecause there are two craters side-by-side, the bottom of the lake is much more uneven and drops off instantly from the shore, explaining why there is no second greenish-blue color near its edges. Instead the water becomes deep and a dramatic ink blue directly from its banks.

We decided to eat our lunch while huddling behind the rock we had claimed. The view wasn’t bad. Unfortunately Mt. Ngāuruhoe, which was right across from us, was pretty obscured by the clouds.

Back to Taranaki FallsAfter lunch, we gave up our picnic shelter to others and took some photos from the top. The 360 degree view was pretty phenomenal: Mount Ngāuruhoe looming over the Upper Tama Lake in one direction and in the opposite direction, two-toned Lower Tama Lake with jagged, glacier-covered Mount Ruapehu as a backdrop.

Standing between those two massive volcanoes made us feel kind of small.

The hike back down to Lower Tama Lake was significantly faster but more challenging as we slipped and slid a bit on the steep slope of pea-sized volcanic stones (scree). The views were great though.

Lovely Taranaki FallsI just had to get Herb past the willy-willies by the lower lake without another lengthy photo shoot. Okay, just a few more shots.

From there, we hiked back across the saddle between Mount Ruapehu and Mount Ngāuruhoe, eventually coming back to the bridge above Taranaki Falls. From here we would take the other half of the Taranaki Falls Loop (the Lower Track), which would bring us past lovely Taranaki Falls.

To get to the base of the falls, we descended a steep staircase of about 135 steps to a viewing platform, where we watched water cascading 66 feet down over the 15,000 year old lava flow that we had stood on earlier today, into a boulder-ringed pool.

The way back along the lower track felt like a completely different world. Unlike the exposed Upper Track, the Lower Track followed the Wairere Stream through a shady, lush mountain beech forest. We eventually emerged from the forest back to the Whakapapa Village.

What a fantastic hike it had been. In fact, both of our hikes in Tongariro had been really great. Tomorrow we would leave volcanoes behind and head to the Coromandel Peninsula to enjoy the beautiful beaches of the North Island.