Tongariro Northern Circuit

I’m in National Park, that’s the name of the town, not ‘a’ national
park with another name, weird huh? It was definitely confusing
trying to organize the bus from Auckland, with the woman asking
me do you want to go to National Park and me going I don’t know
what’s the name of the national park and she’s going National
Park! But we figured it out and I made it on the 5.5-hour bus ride
from Auckland today. I’m staying here for the night in my tent in the
backyard of a backpacker place so I can catch the early shuttle up
to the trailhead tomorrow. The plan is to ‘tramp’ the Tongariro
Northern Circuit which is a 3-day loop that includes the Tongariro
Crossing , which is supposed to be ‘the most spectacular day hike
in New Zealand.’ It includes views of volcanoes, craters, emerald
lakes, and old lava flows. There’s still a lot of snow at the top – I
can see it from the yard in the valley where I’m sitting actually but I
think the trail is well used and it won’t be much of a worry. Still best
to start in the hiking boots and maybe switch to the sandals later.

So this is my first real ‘backpacking’ experience on my own on this
trip and I’m pretty excited! I did do the Gunung Tahan trek in
Malaysia which was camping, etc. and I guess that counts but
even there I did have a guide. Other treks were either guided or
day hikes. This one I’m on my own and I think it should be a good
intro into the New Zealand backpacking experience. Since I
haven’t carried a full pack (with a tent, sleeping bag, stove, fuel,
and food) in awhile, I’m not exactly pack-fit at the moment so I
decided to ease my way into things and use their hut system in the
park for the first trip which means that I won’t have to carry a tent,
sleeping pad, stove, or fuel, and that will greatly reduce the load.

Now all I need to do is get a good night’s sleep in the tent and
hope for good weather and clear skies tomorrow.

How nice to be sleeping in my tent again!

Add comment December 4th, 2002