TONGARIRO CROSSING!

(Written 08/12, 23.00) 

I have just woken up from a seriously deep nap, and the whole hike seems like it was a dream...

The staff at the backpackers hostel said that the 19.4km distance was the hardest part of the trek. On this particular day they were very wrong! They also warned us about the volcano erupting with rocks and hot ash. While this occurrence would be devastating, an eruption was far less of a threat than the "more trivial elements". The Met office had forecast 50km/h winds at the peak of the crossing (the Red Crater), which was on the threshold of them cancelling the trip. On my return journey, I was told that this forecast had been adjusted to 70km/h shortly after our departure! It was absolutely crazy on the approach and crossing of the Red Crater. I was literally holding on for my life! Each time the wind slowed slightly I would run to the next boulder to hold onto, and drop to the ground. I obviously could not capture this picture by camera, and I don't think any description will do justice to how terrifying it was! A steep drop into the Red Crater on the right (the same direction as the ridiculous wind!), a steep drop down the outer wall of the volcano on the left, temperature at about -4℃ (so lucky I had spare socks to use as gloves!), and visibility of about 5m due to the clouds. I genuinely felt close to death, and I think this was one of the best and most terrifying experiences of my life so far!

I set off on the hike with just two other people this morning, which is much less than usual - clearly other people took notice of the memo. I walked with them for about 6km uphill on volcanic rock, but with fairly minor winds. Then we hit "The Devil's Staircase" where it became steep and the winds amped up. The other two wisely bailed, and I didn't know how stupid I was being by firstly continuing and secondly going it alone! We saw a few others turning back saying they had reached the South Crater (before the Red Crater) but it was too crazy up there to cross. Uh oh. I caught up with a couple of Phillipinos who were as determined as me to complete it. They had actually done the crossing before, but apparently that day was a nice sunny day! Meeting them was very lucky because otherwise I reckon I might still be up there clutching a boulder and crying! They had done a lot of "tramping" (NZ for hiking) before, but even they began copying my down-on-all-fours technique! They also were not certain we would make it and that was very worrying! 

After getting past the Red Crater, there was a very steep downhill section of volcanic rubble, so we basically decided it was best to run down this. Immediately after the Red Crater we were rewarded with the beautiful Emerald Lake, and everything after this seemed like a cake-walk compared to the top! It didn't occur to me how early in the hike this insanity actually was until I recovered from the traumatic experience - there were still 13km to negotiate! That being said, the visibility improved dramatically yielding spectacular scenery all the way down. The last few kilometres felt like they went on forever, but I guess that's how it goes with the back-end of a long trek. The hazard signs for the active volcano and advice to move as quickly as possible through the section obviously did not phase me - I still took a million photos. 

Looking back at it now, the whole experience felt suitably like the epic journey that is The Lord of the Rings. However, the picture remaining in my mind at the top reminds me more of the end of The Lion King when Simba and Scar are fighting on top of the crumbling rock and there is fire everywhere. There was no fire in my story, but there might as well have been!

Having survived it, this was a seriously awesome day.

("Nature is no joke, kids. No joke." - the line I will end my story with when recalling this adventure as an old man.) 

(Nice quote from a crazy Kiwi who I shared a couple of cans of bourbon and cola with: "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." Everyone I meet on this trip seems to have some interesting things to say about society and the world! Pretty cool.)