The Tongariro Northern Circuit

New Zealand has nine 'Great Walks' - eight multi-day tramps and a kayaking trip (it's a journey). When I lived here I did three of the Great Walks and I was keen to do another this trip. After ruling out the South Island due to time, I had two to pick from; the walk around Lake Waikaremoana or the Tongariro Northern Circuit. Originally I'd decided to do Waikaremoana as it's less popular and its remoteness appealed, but it was proving tricky logistically and I didn't fancy the long unsealed road to get there. 

So I settled on the Northern Circuit. This is a four-day or less hike starting and finishing in the village of Whakapapa, nestled on the lower slopes of Mount Ruapehu in the Tongariro National Park. It takes you around Mount Ngauruhoe, across the saddle between it and Mount Tongariro, and then cuts back to Whakapapa past Ruapehu. Like all the Great Walks the track is (reasonably) well-maintained with huts to sleep in at intervals equipped with mattresses, gas stoves, toilets and running water and at this time of year staffed by a helpful Department of Conservation (DOC) ranger. 

Day one

Day one was advertised as a nice easy 9.4km from Whakapapa village to Mangatepopo Hut. As it was a shortish day I didn't hurry off - which meant most of the car parking in Whakapapa had gone, but consultation with the DOC lady in the visitors' centre solved that problem. I ate a solid cooked breakfast at the café in the village, shouldered my pack, and set off.

Although there isn't too much climbing this first day it turned out to be a tougher one than anticipated, largely thanks to the severe erosion of the track. One of the DOC rangers said it had been washed away in a big storm several years ago and DOC have yet to raise the money to repair it. While parts are beautifully board-walked and easy, much of it is basically a ditch and it was tricky walking. It was also incredibly hot and sunny, which meant stunning views of Ngauruhoe ahead but hard going. It was good to get to the hut, which suddenly appeared ahead nestled in a valley just off the Tongariro Crossing track. I then immediately felt totally inadequate as an older guy, German or Dutch, shouldered his pack again and announced he was off to finish his two-day Northern Circuit. He'd managed to get round with just one break and looked fresh as a daisy.

Over the afternoon more people arrived in varying states of knackered-ness and we started to get to know each other. Several of us were doing the circuit at the same rate - four days, three nights - and I was immensely lucky that everyone was lovely. As well as me, there were three youngish American couples, including Nate and Laura who were going to follow the TNC by getting married from a helicopter near Queenstown; a Canadian couple from Ontario; an Aussie couple from Perth; a group of three older Americans from Minnesota, two ladies and a man; and rocking up later on in the afternoon, four 17-year-olds from Wellington who took a very relaxed attitude to the whole thing and spent most of their time playing cards!

In the evening our ranger, Doug, gave the traditional welcome talk. He began in what sounded to me like pretty solid Te Reo Maori, before explaining his job at the hut, taking us through the safety points and other housekeeping. This routine is repeated every night at every DOC hut where there's a ranger. 

As the sun set Taranaki peeped his head over the distant clouds, which was magical, and we all retired to bed. I had to get up in the night and the stars were astonishingly bright.

Day two

We woke to clear skies in front of us but low cloud masking the horizon behind. Doug had told us the previous night that the bulk of the people doing the one-day Tongariro Crossing would be passing through between 6 and 8am, but when I set out at 8 it was still incredibly busy - and remained that way the rest of the distance that our paths coincided. On balance, getting the benefit of less heat was probably best.

The TNC and the Crossing follow the same route for perhaps 8km, climbing up the saddle between Tongariro and Ngauruhoe before crossing the vast South Crater, and then ascending again to the high point of the Red Crater. After that you descend steeply and quickly to the three Emerald Lakes (they're turquoise, really). That's where the paths divide, although Circuiteers can do a quick side-trip to see the vast Blue Lake too. 

The Crossing is known as the Thing To Do in this part of the world and thousands do do it, many vastly under-equipped for a 19km day hike. Most people I saw were in shorts and t-shirts and some sort of trainers. One girl was carrying an umbrella as a parasol. Not everyone or every group had a rucksack big enough to carry food and extra layers, which frankly is stupid as up at the top the weather can change very quickly (as I found out in 2007 when I did this walk with Mum and Dad, the clouds rolled in and it rained for most of the trek). 

The crowds didn't really stop me making progress and speed as I'd wished, despite my bag. I'm quite good at climbing and ascended steadily to the South Crater, pausing for a break and then crossing across to the ascent up to Red Crater. This bit of track now has chains as handrails at one point, which I didn't remember, and a lot of steps. I got my poles out and kept climbing. 

Looking across Central Crater from Blue Lake

 The view at the top was astounding. Red Crater is a deep crater of dark red iron-enriched earth, and below it you can see, sparkling like jewels, Emerald Lakes. Steam comes out from behind the lakes, which are highly sulphurous. 

The descent was something else - and I don't remember this from 2007 either! You have to get down a steep scree slope with a lot of loose stuff and a steep drop to either side. I don't like descending anyway, I hate scree, I hate steep drops, and I had a heavy pack on my back. I went very slowly and was very glad to be at the bottom. 

I did the side-trip to Blue Lake, which was pretty, and then set off to start the two-hour trip to Oturere Hut. At this point I bumped into one of the lads from Wellington who had lost his mates - it turned out later they'd simply descended Red Crater much more quickly and had gone off without him - so we walked the rest of the way together. While initially I was a bit narked at losing my lovely solitude actually he was good company and it was baking hot. He was struggling more than me so it was good to be the one encouraging someone else along! The landscape at this point was unreal, an alien moonscape of rocks and scrubby plants with Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu ever-present looming above us. 

Around 2km out from the hut we bumped into its ranger, Dani, who cheerfully informed us we had "only" 45 minutes left. It was a long 45 minutes but eventually we rounded a clump of lava rocks and there was shelter. 

Oturere Hut is smaller and older than Mangatepopo and a bit more cramped. I was there early enough to secure a prime bunk. Apart from the Wellington quartet, the only others there were a Kiwi guide and her Swiss-German clients walking the circuit in the other direction. The Swiss couldn't speak very good English so I chatted to their guide as I had a second lunch and discovered there was a waterfall just over the ridge where you could splash a bit and freshen up. She said you could go in flip-flops. I believed her. I was silly. It was a narrow, sometimes-steep short path to the top of the waterfall where I found a pool deep enough to sit in, and for a little while I did just sit there listening to the flow over the cliff a few metres distant and remembering the day's walk.

Day three

Day three of the circuit in this direction is blissfully short, only three hours. My bunkroom all slept in past 7 as the rest of the hut and campers were packing up and heading off, and it was nice to have breakfast and pack up in a leisurely fashion. I left along with one of the American couples, Phil and Kaiba from Austin, and we walked the day's 8.5km together chatting sporadically. This was a lovely walk, across the volcanic desert towards Ruapehu before descending sharply into a pretty beech forest. We had a snack by the icy cold fast-flowing river and then climbed up the other side of the forest, to be greeted by the sight of Waihohonu Hut only a short distance ahead. 

The original Waihohonu Hut was built in 1904 and still stands, a corrugated iron shed painted rust-red. The new one was opened in 2010 (there was another in between apparently) and was promptly nicknamed 'Taj MaHut' by the Aussies when they arrived. It's a 28-bunk palace with loads of space, cubby holes for your stuff, big tables inside, picnic tables outside, the works. Best of all are the big picture windows looking out on the mountains. 

Ruapehu on day three

Nearby is the Onehipango Springs, which bubble up out of the ground about a kilometre away from the hut. Phil, Kaiba and I walked there and filled our water bottles from the river just near the source of the spring - the coldest, purest water you could hope to taste. It was divine. Back at the hut everyone was splashing in the river by the campsite, which is also icy cold but with a pool deep enough to submerge yourself in. Everyone came back to the hut looking like they had just had the best experience of their lives - it was so good to feel cleaner and fresher!

While down at the river we heard the first few rolls of thunder in the distance, and much of the rest of the afternoon was spent watching the storn roll over Ngauruhoe and across the valley to Oturere. Eventually it reached us, and the heavens opened with huge raindrops and then hail which bounced off the floor and the tables outside. Luckily we were indoors, oohing and aahing at the lightning and the size of the hailstones. A few trampers were less lucky and arrived from Whakapapa looking like drowned rats. 

Our ranger for the night was called Horse. Apparently it's his real name. His parents were hippies. Anyway he informed us that the next day was the day of the Tussock Traverse, a 26km trail race for almost 1,000 runners from the Desert Road to Whakapapa along our track for the day. We all groaned, having just got over the Crossing crowds, and I decided to make a prompt start to try and miss as many of them as possible.

Day four

I was on the trail by 7.40am, stopping for a brief look at the old Waihohonu Hut before heading out across more volcanic desert landscape on the last leg. The trail undulates up and down but mostly up for a bit, before the trend becomes mostly down, and although the clouds covered the heads of Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe it was very atmospheric - and a little cooler! I made excellent time to the turnoff for Tama Lakes, and decided I had enough time and energy to do the trek up to the Upper Lake. This is advertised as 45 minutes. It's another steep climb up a slope but the ground wasn't too loose, and I got up and back in an hour including a stop at the slightly windy top for a view of another beautiful blue lake nestling under the slopes of Ngauruhoe.

Lower Tama Lake

Back on the track I was now being overtaken by trail runners regularly, but still kept on making decent progress towards Whakapapa. Just under an hour out I stopped at the top of Taranaki Falls, joined by Americans Natasha and Kevin, for a final lunch in the open before the last few kilometres back. My feet were sore, but I didn't really want it to end ...

Overall the TNC deserves its Great Walk title. It's a walk of constantly-changing landscape, with Ngauruhoe constantly at the centre. I met some great people and saw fantastic views and sights. It was a superb four days.

Tips for the walk

• Make sure you book well ahead on the DOC website to get a hut or tent spot for any of the Great Walks. Especially in summer, no booking will probably mean no bed. 
• And get a car park permit from the Whakapapa visitors' centre before you start walking. With this you can park for free in either of the car parks in Whakapapa for the length of the walk.
• The water was drinkable without treatment in all the huts - Mangatepopo and Oturere rely on rainwater tanks, Waihohonu has access to the river but at the moment was also purely rainwater. 
• In summer there are gas stoves in all the huts too so you can get away with just bringing a pot to boil water or cook with. 
• The huts have no electricity sockets (though to cut down on fires, they do have electric lights). 
• Walking poles are very useful, especially if you have a dodgy knee. 
• You can do this walk in fewer days; either starting from the carpark near Mangatepopo Hut, or by combining two legs (or all of them - it's a thing to try and do it in a day). However I liked having the time to be leisurely, and it was nice hanging out in the afternoons with the other trampers and also doing some reading.