Round the Mountain - Day 1

 The signed time to complete the Tongariro Cross track is five hours.  In order to almost ensure we were able to get a bed space at Waihohonu Hut we needed to be walking by 8.00AM at the latest. 

Both of us were up early and sat down to have a big cooked breakfast.  Sausages (I’m saving the savaloys), eggs, baked beans and toast.

Being a popular and well used track it has a well formed surface with gentle rises and descents.  

Mt Ruapehu was visible on our right shoulder and Mt Ngauruhoe to our half left.  The terrain is mostly open tussock covered alpine desert. 

Ngauruhoe with Upper Tama Lake in the middle ground

It was cold at the beginning however our brisk walking pace soon had me warmed up and I found myself removing my rain jacket and woollen beanie.  Actually this was the only time I wore the beanie during the day. 

We had been steadily overtaking slower walkers and as they weren’t carrying packs I assumed they were doing a day crossing.  Three hours into the walk we started to meet walkers going in the opposite direction.  None of them were carrying packs either.

Ngauruhoe is now behind us

Waihohonu Hut is the largest in the National Park and one of the newest.  It’s nestled in a sheltered location against the edge of an alpine Beech forest.  The Hut has three dormitories and 30 beds.  Mattresses are supplied and there is a wood burning stove.  Water is captured off the hut roof and stored in a tank.  Signs state all water should be boiled.  I noticed the water had a slight carbon taste, probably due to volcanic ash settling on the roof!  There is a long drop toilet.  Before leaving the caravan park I decided it might be prudent if I took a small quantity of toilet paper in a plastic bag.  My plumbing is weak and noisy and I might get caught short on the trail.

Carlin took some video footage which I’ve roughly edited and inserted below. 

If any of our readers know how to insert a video into Open Live Writer I would appreciate instructions

We reached the hut in just under four hours finding three others already there.  By 3PM all the beds had been taken and more hikers were arriving.  By 7PM there were 50 people at the hut making for an interesting night.

I had a conversation with one of the group of three that were at the hut when we arrived.  She informed me there were 50 in the hut the previous night which she though unsurprising, given it was a weekend and school holidays.  The other interesting fact was only three people had entered their details into the hut visitors book!  Perhaps some people weren't buying the hut tickets?

Dinner was roast beef and vegetables.  The meat was sliced thin and then diced.  I assume that makes it easier to dehydrate and reconstitute.  I wasn’t particularly enamoured with the taste… but then it’s only fuel. 

A surprise awaited me at the long drop.  No toilet paper!  That’s when I realised my small emergency supply would have to last six days.  Particular care would need to be taken with personal hygiene.  I would also need to ensure my dehydrated food was fully reconstituted.

Hell... my goal is to walk around THAT!

It was a noisy night as the hut occupants included two separate scout groups.  Not only did they talk at the top of their voices but most of them were born in a tent.

We woke early exiting our dormitory into the main hut area to discover the late arrivals from the previous day sleeping on and under the tables and spread across the floor.  Six very late arrivals had slept outside on the deck and were covered in frost!

Carlin had porridge for breakfast whilst I ate a freeze dried sausage and eggs with hash browns.  It just looked like mush.

We were one of the first groups to leave and from what we could establish we would be the only people heading around Ruapehu. 

 

Bucket List – Day 6

There are two sealed roads into Tongariro National Park.  The oldest is the northern road which was completed in 1925 with help from labour provided by Wakapapa prison camp.  

In 1929 a 100 bed hotel was constructed adjacent to the northern road.  It was named The Chateau and remains the most imposing structure as you drive into the park.

 

The road continues through Wakapapa Village before going up to the snowline and the Alpine Village, which contains numerous ski lodges.

Tongariro National Park is New Zealand’s oldest national park. The land was gifted to the people of New Zealand by the local maori paramount chief.  Te Heu Heu Tūkino did this to ensure the area's protection for all time.

The park contains three mountains in an active volcanic area.  Mt Tongariro is the  northern most and smallest.   It has at least 12 cones and has erupted 70 times since Europeans arrived.  Basically it is the remains of a large volcanic mountain that exploded.

Mt Ngaurahoe is the youngest of the three and is a secondary cone of Tongariro.  It has that classic cone shape.  Peter Jackson used Ngaurahoe as Mt Doom in Lord of the Rings.  In 1961 I attempted to climb Mt Ngaurahoe with a group of boys.  We were members of a party of St John’s Ambulance boys on a visit to the park.  I recall the climb was quite steep and we only got 2/3 the way to the top when we noticed the crater was spitting out rocks that were rolling past us.  We wisely turned back.

Ruapehu is the largest of the three and the only one to have ski fields.  The mouth of the crater is full of water and known as Crater Lake.  I’ve walked to the lip of the crater on a number of occasions.   There is an ice “plug” in the side of the crater and if the water temperature in the lake rises the plug can melt resulting in the water draining out of the crater then rushing down the eastern side of the mountain forming a Lahar.  This has occurred on several occasions.  In 1953 it resulted in the Tangiwai Disaster when the Lahar destroyed the rail bridge at Tangiwai during the night and an express passenger train plunged into the Whangaehu River.  151 people were killed.

There are two major walking circuit in the national park.  The northern circuit is shorter and more popular.  It circumnavigates Ngaurahoe and Tongariro.  The southern circuit goes around Ruapehu.  It’s longer and less frequently walked.

 

Both circuits share the cyan coloured line between the ends of the purple line.  This common track is part of the “Tongariro Crossing” which is a popular tourist day walk.  Usually walkers start at one end and are collected at the other.

If you look at the brown contour lines in the above map you will notice the southern circuit has far more gullies and streams.  Not only is the route longer, but more physically challenging.  The green shaded areas to the west and south are an indication that these are the “wet” sides, with the eastern side being the “dry” Rangipo Desert.

During the ‘Peak’ season (ie, summer) the huts around the mountains are staffed by rangers and the popular huts (on the northern circuit require pre-booking.  All other huts are on a ‘first come first bed’ basis.  During peak season the hut rate is $54 per person per night.  Off peak the rate is $15.  We were there during the off peak.

I had already decided to walk the longer and more difficult southern circuit.   Every year an annual challenge know as ‘The Ring of Fire’ is conducted around this circuit.  It’s a one day solo event to traverse the 73km.  The current record is 8 hours, 30 minutes and 25 seconds.  I plan on completing it in six days!

The next decision was deciding on going clockwise or anticlockwise.  The bulk of the river crossing are to the west which would likely mean wet feet for six days.  However it would mean the last 1½ days would be easier terrain.  Going clockwise would mean starting easier and gradually getting harder with potentially wet feet on the last two days.  We would be tackling some difficult terrain towards the end whilst being (me) potentially exhausted.  However our packs would be lighter as we would have consumed the bulk of our food.

Weighing everything up I decided on a clockwise direction.  This had the additional advantage that we would be staying in the popular Waihohonu Hut on our first day.  If we walked the Tongariro Cross track fast we could reach the hut by midday thus improving our chances of grabbing a bed.

Carlin and I had our second dinner of savaloys <Yummm>.  I had the vaguest suspicion Carlin might have been looking forward to freeze-dried dinners.

 

 

Bucket List - Day 5

We woke to frost on the windscreen.

Nothing new for Carlin, however I last saw frost in the UK.  The caravan park showers were interesting.  The mixing valve gave you the option of scalding hot or freezing cold.  Nothing in between!  Undeterred I managed a shower; albeit briefly!  We then headed back to Matamata to shop for a stove gas canister.  I’d forgotten to buy one the previous day.

You may be thinking “Why go to Matamata?”  A hint can be found in the town information centre.

 

We were there on ‘party business’

Just outside Matamata is Hobbiton from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Sir Peter Jackson was flying around the area in a helicopter looking for film locations when he noticed a small part of Russell Alexander’s 500ha farm looked an ideal location for Hobbiton. 

Peter Jackson asked the NZ Government for financial assistance with the production of the film.  The government declined, stating they didn’t have the funds.  However they subsequently offered the services of the NZ Army Corps of Engineers to construct a road to the site.  This was accepted and the army engineers built the road.  Some of the soldiers also had cameo roles as Orcs.    Apparently they didn’t require make-up!  Having been an army engineer for 24 years I can quite believe this.

Hobbiton was constructed to be a temporary film location and after the filming of The Lord of the Rings it was demolished.  Subsequently Peter Jackson decided to film The Hobbit trilogy and Hobbiton needed to be reconstructed.  This time Russell Alexander reached an agreement with Peter Jackson that the film set would be permanent as he (Alexander) had realised the future potential of the site.

We parked at The Shire’s Rest and bought entry tickets.  From memory it wasn’t cheap at $86 each.

Access to Hobbiton is via a private road and all visitors are required to travel on one of the company buses.  It’s a group guided tour with each group on a separate timetable.  No wandering around on your own!

One of the trees in the above photo is a fake!  It’s the one on the skyline in the middle of the photo directly above Bilbo’s home.  By the time Peter Jackson started filming The Hobbit the original tree had grown.  A new tree was sourced.  However it wasn’t an Oak tree and Peter Jackson demanded an oak.  Overnight a crew stripped all the leaves from the branches and wired 40,000 fake oak leaves in their place.  Unfortunately after several weeks in the sunlight the fake leaves faded silver.  The process had to be repeated with non fading plastic leaves.

Each of the homes has a different theme.

The vegetables are real.  A team of gardeners are employed to keep everything original.  They even peg out the laundry in the morning and take it in at the end of the day.

That is the fake tree in the top middle of the above photo.  In the foreground is the Village Green

The lake is artificial, created for the set.  On the far bank to the left of the bridge is The Green Dragon pub

 

The tour ended at The Green Dragon with a complementary mug of beer, stout or ginger beer.  I chose the latter as I was driving.

Leaving Hobbiton we headed south to Taupo where Carlin wanted to buy a couple of items for his canoe.  Mid afternoon I telephoned the caravan park at Wakapapa Village in Tongariro National Park to make a booking for the next six nights. 

    

The road down the eastern side of Lake Taupo is quite scenic and I was reminded this is where my parents had their honeymoon in 1950.   Jan will tell you she never had a honeymoon.  It’s nonsense of course.  I tell her every day with me is a honeymoon!  Modesty prevents me from writing more.

 

Bucket List – Day 4

The plan was to drive south from Kaitaia to Whangarei where our eldest grandson would join me.  We would then head further south, stopping briefly in Auckland to eventually reach Tongariro National Park.

It didn’t quite work out that way!

The trip to Whangarei was uneventful, being a reverse of the previous day.  With Carlin and his kit on board we headed south to Auckland.

Planning

If my memory is accurate I’ve previously mentioned I had removed my large backpack (rucksack) from storage and gone for several trial local walks in Perth.  Would I be able to carry the pack?  Eventually I decided not to take it. 

My reasons were:

• It’s more of a travelling pack than a pack for trail walking
• The pack is actually robust but heavy
• “Stuff” expands to meet the space available!  ie, I’d fill it with things that might be nice rather than staying with the essentials.

I decided to take one of my smaller day packs.  I have two and one has numerous loops and tie-down points.  I would use this pack for the walk and tie anything that wouldn’t fit inside onto the outside.  To achieve this I bought three $12 waterproof 3 litre ‘stuff sacks’ from the local  KMart and some tie down straps from the nearby Bunnings hardware store.

Weight was going to be critical and I opted to buy pre-prepared free-dried meals (dehydrated food) in NZ.  I would only have two sets of clothes during the walk.  One set to walk in and the second to sleep in.  As space was at a premium I took my very thin ALDI sleeping bag.  Whilst it packs down to a tiny bundle it isn’t particularly warm.  We would be walking around a snow covered mountain and to add additional warmth at night I would wear my merino wool base layer top and some thermal ‘long johns’.  Two pairs of thick merino/possum socks purchased in NZ would give me a walking and a sleeping pair.  Jan knitted me a woollen ‘beanie’ to keep my head warm whilst sleeping. 

During the day I would wear the thin long sleeved merino base layer, a thin fleece if it got cold and an outer rain jacket against rain or wind.  The bottom half would be a pair of long lycra skin tight shorts and synthetic shorts or long trousers; depending upon the weather.  

The actual walk would take six days.  By eating breakfast before starting and having dinner on our return I would only need to carry five breakfasts and dinners.  The daily lunch would be two small muesli bars.  Fluids would be weak black tea or water from the streams, which I would filter for the first four days. 

As the cooked meals would be freeze-dried food I would use my ‘Jetboil’ to heat the water and eat the reconstituted food directly from the bag using a spoon.  No washing up and minimal rubbish to carry out.

A small medical kit, blister pack, foil blanket and my Zoleo 2 way satellite communicator would be the safety kit.

The above meant I would need to buy the merino-possum socks and the ‘long johns’ in NZ.  Finding a retailer who both had the socks in stock and was located on our route to the mountain proved to be slightly difficult.  However eventually I identified an outdoor store in Silvia Park, Auckland.

After a two hour drive from Whangarei we crossed the Auckland Harbour Bridge with the Sky Tower visible out the passenger window.

Silvia Park is in South Auckland.  There used to be a large NZ Army logistic centre here but it’s long gone, replaced by a large shopping complex.

   

Clothing and food purchased, we continued south.  More new road for me as the dual lane carriage way from Auckland now extends south of Hamilton.  Later that day it became obvious we wouldn’t reach Tongariro National Park today and we made a detour to Matamata to stay in a caravan park.

Bucket List – Day 3

Last night’s motorhome park was reasonably quiet.  Probably aided by the fact I had removed my hearing aids.

The morning was spent with family catching up on everything that was not covered during dinner the previous evening.  Eldest grandson, Carlin and I had a meeting to discuss our plans for the ‘Round the Mountain’ walk. 

In the afternoon I drove north to Kaitaia where my uncle and cousin live.  I’d already been warned that the main road north (State Highway 1 [SH1]) was closed due to numerous landslides in the Mangamuka Gorge after recent heavy rain.  The alternate route was SH10 which takes the east coast route.  It’s only slightly longer and is more scenic.

Our daughter had already warned me NZ roads were in dire condition and whilst I didn’t find them as bad as she had suggested, there were some long delays caused by road works.

One of a number of long queues caused by road works.

Eventually I reached Kaitaia where I phoned my cousin Adrienne and asked for directions to her home.

My Uncle Arthur is 91 and the last of my parents generation.  My Aunt passed away several years ago.  My cousin, Adrienne and her husband, Selwyn have moved into Arthur’s house to keep an eye on him.

The last time I can recall seeing Adrienne was shortly after I had returned from the UK with my parents and brother.  I would have been 10 and Adrienne about 4 years old.  She is now a grandmother!

Both she and Selwyn still work, although they plan to return at the end of the year.  In anticipation they recently bought an Australian made luxury caravan and 4WD Ute. 

The caravan has everything you would need for self-contained extended travelling, including a washing machine and microwave oven.

Arthur’s house is a traditional Kiwi home sitting on a corner quarter acre block

 

My arrival coincided with Selwyn preparing the evening meal.  Apparently Selwyn does all the cooking and unlike me; he is very good at it.  We conversed into the evening before I had to beg to head to bed as the jetlag was kicking in.

Tomorrow I head back south.

Bucket List – Day 2

First task for the day was to buy some supplies; primarily food and cleaning essentials.  There are two major supermarket chains in NZ. Pack n Save and Countdown.  The former was the closest and the obvious choice.  You can imagine my disappointment when I couldn’t find any savaloys in the store.  I’ve been waiting 30 years for kiwi savaloys and they didn’t have any.  Fortunately Countdown came to my rescue.

 

A large bag of 12.  However I won’t be able to eat any tonight as I’m having dinner with our daughter, son-in-law and five grandsons.  Tomorrow night isn’t looking much better.

The remainder of the day was spent shopping and wandering around Whangarei.

Initially I assumed this was an eastern orthodox church spire down near the town basin.  However it’s a tourist attraction.

The moorings in the town basin are obviously popular

The red ketch is our eldest grandsons newly purchased yacht. A steel hull built in Cornwall, UK in 1991.  Sailed to the Falkland Islands where it remained for 15 years before eventually arriving in NZ. 

The Town Basin has been redeveloped

The ‘Bridge of Canopies’.  It wasn’t here when we lived in Whangarei 30 years ago.

That evening I met everyone at Split Restaurant.  It’s ‘Split’ as in the Balkans.  Many Yugoslav's migrated to this part of NZ drawn by the hunt for gum (Amber) which was quite valuable. 

An enjoyable evening.

Five grandsons – Niko, Carlin, Giovan, me, Vittori & Mettaio

Niko and his partner Alarna

Mettaio (No4), Carlin (No1) and Giovan (No5)

Vittori (No3) with our daughter, Dale

Dale and our son-in-law, Aaron

The Bucket List

You may have been wondering why the blog hasn’t been updated for several weeks.  I’ve been away attempting to reduce the size of my ‘Bucket List’.  Unfortunately as quickly as I eliminate items on the list more get added.

I decided to return to the country of my birth for what may be a final visit.  There were three objectives.

• Catch up with family and friend
• Complete the ‘Ring of Fire’ walk around Mt Ruapehu in Tongariro National Park; and
• See what changes have occurred over the last 30 years.

After looking for cheap flights I opted to book with Air NZ.  Past memories are of a quality airline and this time I found myself disappointed.   Yes, I did purchase a cheap fare opting to pay for an economy seat and one piece of hold baggage.  The fare would have substantially increased if I’d also chosen to pick my seat rather than have it allocated.  I also opted out of in flight meals.  The six hour flight departed Perth at 9PM arriving in Auckland at 6AM.  NZ is five hours ahead of Perth.

The check-in process was completed using a self-service kiosk.  Immigration was very similar.

Perth Departure Hall

 

My first flight in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.  Note the RAAF C17 behind the 787 in the top right.

The flight was uneventful.  I must have been one of the few on board not to have purchased a meal.  Clearing Customs and Immigration in Auckland was also uneventful.  Ag & Fish queried me about my boots after I had declared them on my arrivals card.  However they waved me through when I informed them they had last been worn in the UK back in 2016.

I had already decided rather than rent a car and use motels I work hire a motorhome.  The cheapest option was on of the small bright green JUCY vans.  My van would need to be self-contained as that would enable me to freedom camp at no cost.  After much online research I identified Wilderness Motorhomes as the best value for money and booked a two berth van.

    

It was very comfortable and I was pleased with my choice.

After collecting the van the first thing I did was to drive to the nearest BP service station and purchase four passes for the northern toll road.  This road didn’t exist when we lived in NZ and its construction has definitely reduced the time when driving north.

I’d had very little sleep on the aircraft and therefore carefully took my time driving north to Whangarei, my first destination.  Whangarei District Council encourages self-contained motorhome parking and I found a vacant park in the south of the city near the new lift bridge.

And so Day 1 ended