My Favourite Walk: Counter clockwise on the Ton gariro Circuit
Does any country have a better tramping system than Aotearoa’s Great Walks? Kiwis were encouraged to book huts in July 2020 to make up for the lack of tourists in a Covid-ridden, quarantined world.
Having walked the Tongariro Crossing two years ago in December, a different experience beckoned and I decided to go the opposite direction and complete the 45 km circuit. There were the extra-added attractions of huts and wardens, water, solar-powered lighting, gas cookers, toilets, and mattresses on the bunks.
So when the bookings opened, I grabbed a night at Waihohonu, Oturere, and Mangatepopo huts. Hut places were filling up quickly on the Great Walk website so even though I was going solo, I knew there would be plenty of company.
Living in Hawkes Bay, it was easier to spend the night in Whakapapa and the Skotel was most obliging in all aspects.
The trail began right below the complex and it gave me the opportunity to walk a few kilometres without a pack in preparation for the next morning.
There is an unbelievable aura around this volcanic plateau which never ceases to amaze! After all it is one of only 39 dual UNESCO World Heritage areas, i.e. Cultural and Natural/Environmental.
My tale focuses on the first two and a half days and the ascent of the Red Crater from the Oturere Valley as many people are very familiar with the trail once it intersects the Crossing.
Whakapapa to Waihohonu15.4 km
The first day traversed varied volcanic terrain. There were great views of Ngauruhoe (‘Throwing hot stones’) and a snow-capped Ruapehu (Pit of noise/exploding pit). These ‘twin taonga’ continued to beam like guardians of the circuit throughout the next few days. Every corner seemed to offer a new piece of the visual puzzle: an outcrop, a unique colour, and erosional evidence on the slopes.
After a few kilometres, the lower Tama/ Nga Puna a Tama lake was well worth the brief detour. A bluegreen liquid gem captured by a deep crater bowl. The upper Tama lake was a longer trip, and I decided to give it a miss and carried on. There were plenty of trampers completing the circuit clockwise.
A guide was heading to Whakapapa with his group. He asked when I was going to be walking the 3rd leg to Mangatepopo. “I’ll probably see you then as I am taking another group through that day.” Sure enough I saw him three days later. “Be sure to keep a sharp eye out for the NZ falcons. There are a few of them working the valley over there”, he said as he strode by with his new group.
Volcanic deserts, streams, and swampland punctuated by lots of steps filled the next few kilometres. Following the bustling and roaring Waihohonu Stream, I saw what looked like sheep or animal droppings. Upon closer inspection it turned out to be metres of marblesized pumice scattered on both sides of the trail.
A mirage of trees shimmered in the distance revealing the first view of the Waihohonu Hut, a newer hut which slept 28. I referred to it as “the Chateau’s sister” because of its large decks, expansive picture windows, large cooking and dining areas. Hut Warden Nathan was amazed that we would have the best weather in the last few months for our entire journey. I picked a lower bunk and settled in as the hut began to fill up during the afternoon.
Nathan suggested two side trips to the old Waihohonu Hut (1904-2004) and Ohinepango Springs. The main hut was not open but near-by there was a detailed triptych outlining the historical significance of what became the Ruapehu Ski Club’s headquarters for a few years. The Ladies’ Quarter was open, a popular spot in the past as it was the only separate accommodation wing in all the nearby huts.
The easy walk to the springs leads you onto the Round the Mountain Track ‘heading towards the Rangipo Hut’. The clarity of the Ohinepango Stream and spring rivals its famous Southern Cousin, Golden Bay’s Te Waikoropupu Springs. Over the bridge and off to the right, a small sign announces the source of the bubbles.
Walking without a pack for these side trips was an amazing relief.
It was a hot afternoon by this time and Kristen from Auckland found a good swimming spot by the bridge below the hut. This was such a refreshing shower-substitute. Cold water was tempered by the steady sunshine on the river banks.
There was a full house of many different groups and solo walkers as Nathan gave his 5.30 pm daily address.
A mihi, safety information, the importance of filling in the Intentions book, was rounded off by stories about Maui and the well-known legend of why Taranaki is now on the West Coast.
One week out from the Summer Solstice, it was still light at 9 pm as wispy clouds began to cover the two mountain giants.
There were Walking New Zealand magazines on the table inside the hut and two of them contained articles I had written about Heretaunga Tramping Club expeditions. Nathan asked me to sign them. ‘Worldfamous’ In the Waihohonu Hut? The Wilderness magazines were also there meaning there was plenty to read during the evening. After a walk to toilet during the night, I was transfixed by the quality of the stargazing. Galactic dust, planets and constellations shimmered, so close that you could touch the sky.
Waihohonu to Oturere Hut- 8.1 km
Eight kilometres seemed such a short goal but took a good three hours with breaks and chats to those hearty souls going to either Wakapapa, Rangipo or Waihohonu. The bridge below the hut led to a stretch of beech forest. This was a welcoming start before the dry desert patches, rocky sections, and steep climbs/descents.
A stretch of sand dunes certainly slowed progress especially heading upwards. Streams and rivers were a welcome visual relief along the way.
The Oturere Valley offered a sculptured rock-garden of strange animal-like shapes for the last few kilometres. Was that a toad or an orc?
The hut was a welcome sight after another hot and windy trek. Oturere was a bach-like, older style hut that slept 20. There was plenty of camping spaces near-by that were filled up by the end of the day.
Sweeping views of the Outrere Valley, the Kaimanawa Ranges and the Rangipo Desert were on offer from the hut verandah.
Warden Ritchie encouraged us to view the nearby waterfall and then to take the trail down to the swimming spots, one just above the waterfall. Who needs a shower? The freezing water soothed sore muscles and the views were striking.
Back at the hut, the phone reception was crystal-clear and a welcome call was made to family and friends in Hawkes Bay. There were lots of arrivals who had spent the night at Mangatepopo and come down from the Red Crater and the Emerald Lakes.
One young ex-army chap was carrying a huge 35+ kilo pack. “What do you have in there, a cast-iron fry pan?” It turns out he did and he proceeded to make a lovely steak dinner that night.
Another ex-army officer and his mate made an amazing chocolate cake which they shared with us.
Counter clockwise on the Tongariro Northern Circuit
True bliss!
Warden Ritchie in his nightly korero pointed out the importance of Mount Tongariro both in legend and fact as we gazed up at the back of the Red Crater.
Tongariro (Tonga-South wind, riro-carried away) is the warrior mountain who drove out Taranaki to the west coast and claimed the hand of the beautiful Pihanga.
Tongriro is a massive complex of volcanic cones and craters from at ten regarded as a separate mountain, is geologically a cone of Tongariro. Although its active Red Crater last emitted ash in 1926, the Te Maari craters erupted on 6 August 2012 and 21 November 2012 (Central North Island Volcanoes, DOC brochure).
As a result of damage from the eruption, the Ketetahi Hut remains closed and has been downgraded to a shelter only.
Ritchie asked us to look at the back of the Red Crater and pointed out the “Dragon’s Tail” on its slopes, a narrow, forked trail that we would be walking the next day.
He said we should have few problems walking against the flow of walkers doing the Crossing as Covid-19 had reduced the numbers attempting it.
Warden Ritchie also recommended that after we walked outside to the toilet during the night to lie down on our backs on the picnic table and look up at the night sky. I did just that twice that night hoping to catch the Geminid Meteor shower.
No meteors were seen but you were in a 1,360 m high private planetarium in terms of clarity and brightness. Seeing the shift in the constellations after three hours had passed was worth every step of the 45 km loop.
Oturere to Mangatepopo12 km
The rising sun illuminated the Red Crater as you climbed steadily on a craggy, rock-strewn trail. Totally focussed on ascending, you barely noticed Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu. At the base of the Red Crater, the underfoot conditions began to disintegrate to a slippery hell of scree.
There were pleasant distractions such as waterfalls, streams, and looking back down the Oturere Valley. The first goal was reached as the Emerald Lakes/I Ngarotopounamu (greenstone-hued lakes) came into view. Soon after, the intersection with the Crossing trail was reached.
An increasingly constant flow of walkers was careening down the Red Crater’s slope as I struggled up. My decision to adapt the down-hill strategy of angling slightly right and then left seemed to work in getting to the 1886 metre high-point of the Circuit/Crossing.
At the top, the Red Dragon lived up to its name breathing out a 35 + kilometre/hour wind chilling the air. Looking into the crater was as mesmerising as ever.
Swarms of people were approaching from Mangatepopo . Hesitantly I faced a downhill run of the Devil’s Staircase. This was a daunting prospect for these 71 year old knees
which seemed to prefer ascending rather than the opposite. But based on the facial expressions of those climbing up, I decided it was certainly easier going down.
After the descent, I reached the hut nestled near the Mangatepopo Stream. Warden Horse greeted us. “My name really is Horse as my parents were hippies and named all their children after animals.” He was Ngati Tuwharetoa and his talk that night enhanced our understanding of the area as “Tongariro is the soul of Tuwharetoa” (DOC brochure). Horse encouraged us to enjoy the sunset with Mt. Taranaki shimmering in the distance.
Mangateppo to Whakapapa Village-9.4 km
This was to be a hurried end to the trip as I had to be back in Napier by 12 pm for a friend’s birthday party. Leaving at 5 am the track around to the Chateau was thankfully firm under foot due to the recent fine weather. It cuts through numerous stream beds and a few days before was a damp quagmire.
Seeing the Skotel was a relief. I was soon cruising back to Hawkes Bay but thinking about my next Great Walk.