I am a huge fan of Lord of the Rings Trilogy. In Return of the King, Frodo and Sam climb up Mount Doom.
This was filmed at a location called, Tongariro National Park in the North Island of New Zealand. The travel websites claimed that we could re-trace the climb in a one day walk called ‘Tongariro Crossing’. This is described as a ‘Challenging one day walk, taking 7-8 hours, past volcanoes, steaming fumaroles, jagged lava flows, the Red Crater and the Emerald Lakes’.
During my college days I had gone for those ‘adventurous treks’. Climbing small hills, treading the beaten paths in a rain forest, circling the lakes – wow! All those seemed like ages back. Now the walks are limited to the ‘prescribed, 40 minutes brisk walks’ that keeps your blood pressure and stress levels under control.
So for some one like me, the 7- 8 hrs of walk looked much more than “challenging”. When I popped the question to my wife, Binitha, she was more than ready. But then, she is adventurous by nature and which goes to explain why she married me. So be it running into a huge wave or paragliding into a valley, she just looks at the ‘thrills’ part of it and not the ‘dangers’.
On the 4th day of our North Island ‘Self-Driven trip’ we reached Taupo, a lake district near the geo thermal village of Rotorua, a day before the ‘Crossing’. We had completed the first part of our North Island tour; the breath taking beauty of New Zealand had us in a magic charm. A transport company was to pick us up early next morning and drop at the start of the crossing. And they pick you up in the evening at the other end of the walk.
On the day, the coach picked us up from infront of the hotel, at about 5.30 Am. The Driver-cum-Guide gave a run down on the ‘dos and don’t’s’. They had suggested, prior to the trip to have ‘ Plenty of fluid, Food, Warm Clothing like a Polar fleece jacket, Strong boots etc etc’. Most of these items were ‘on hire’ on these buses, except the food. There we realized that we made our first mistake. We had a small bottle of water, some clothing, the Camera and a bag to carry them. The lesson number 1 was, when you embark on a ‘challenging task’, the thrills of the ‘unknown’ are great, but collect as much information as possible and ‘be prepared’. We should have thought like trekkers and not like tourists (Who would imagine the crossing to be inundated with Mc’Donalds and KFCs.
The coach driver, during the 1 hour drive from Taupo to Mangatepopo, where the walk starts talked of the weather being excellent. Up the mountains, the wind was to blow at 40 kmph. He then proceeded to demonstrate a ‘wind simulator’. He asked us the keep the windows open and drove the coach at 40 Kmph. We had the first indication of what it will be, up in the mountain. He also warned us that the weather in the National Park can often change, drastically. By the time, we started off on our famous walk, we were shivering – the chilly wind could only be blamed partly.
The ‘Tongariro Crossing’ is split into 6 legs. The first is from Mangatepopo Car park to Soda Springs. This is a relatively easy part and takes about 90 minutes to complete. There is a moderate climb as you approach Soda Springs. The scenes during this leg is breath-taking : the mountains, valley, streams and the flora. In Tongariro National Park the air and soil temperatures change dramatically with the seasons resulting in a wide variety of habitats. Anything that lives here must be resilient and well adapted to life in this extreme environment. The plants need to also deal with the volcanic activity, with ash, pumice, lava and fire, that can destroy entire landscapes. If this happens it can take a very long time for plants to re-establish themselves.
Soda Spring to South Crater : We were warned about this stretch better known as “The Devil’s Staircase’, where you climb from 1400 to 1600 meters above the sea level. The climb is steep, the track is anything but smooth and your heart stops when you unsettle a few boulders that plunge deep into the valley. The view at the end of this leg, from the south crater , pays for your effort. As it was a clear day , we could see Mt Taranaki, an active volcano on the western horizon. At the end of this leg, a side track continues up the Mount Ngauruhoe, which is best attempted by Professional Climbers. We were told that the descent from this mountain is ‘crazy’ as it takes an hour plus to climb and hardly 10 minutes to descent. So you better be in one piece at the end of the descent. We did not risk this ‘side track’ and continued our way in the main track towards the ‘Red Crater’. We realized that both of us took more than 1 hour to complete the leg, which was to be countered in 45 minutes.
South Crater to Red Crater : South crater is flat and the walk for about 20 minutes reminded us of the regular evening walks. After a strenuous climb of stairs, we were enjoying the leisurely stroll. Then the strain on knees came back – what started as a gradual ascent turned into scary scramble, very soon.
If the earlier one was named “Devil’s Staircase”, what would one call this?? The red crater ridge takes you to the top of red crater and we were on all fours. Literally crawling your way up, you become conscious of the blowing wind. The track (an exposed ridge of the crater) is extremely narrow at places and a stronger wind may blow you down. Even a slight slip will be fatal. I realized that we reached a point of no return. We could have turned back earlier and found our way to Mangatepopo. But there was no way one could climb down from the Red Crater.
For a few minutes, we crawled up, only to wait when the wind got stronger. Lying down on our stomach, waiting for the wind to go away. Then to stand up where the track is broader and keep climbing. The only thing which gave us courage was the scene of a number others trying to do the same thing. We are not alone and we are not lost !
Then we reached the top of the ‘Red Crater’. One goes through a very complicated, unexplainable sensation in such a situation. We were exhausted and scared ; we did not know if it was sweat or tears on the cheeks ; the hands and legs were shaking ; we blamed ourselves for the foolish venture ; etc – and then as if the curtain raising in front of you to reveal this magnificent spectacle. The red colored rocks and sand, reflected the sun rays to make tinted waves dance in of your eyes. There is smoke emanating from the rocks on which you stand and I walked through this mist and looked down. It was a clear day and I could see the valley, a distant view of the emerald lake and the Kaimanava ranges.
We sat down on the rocks heated by the geo thermal activity. By then, there was no water left with us and we did not have any ‘lunch to munch’. 
