Scotty "James" Doohan pulls up the Tongariro Expedition shuttle promptly at 6:00 a.m with no one on the bus. We take this as an ominous sign.
"The weather forecast has changed drastically," says Scotty. "They're now calling for rain on the mountain starting this morning and going all day. But, if you still want to go, I'll take you."
"What's the good news?" I ask.
"That I'll still take you."
"Oh."
After a 5:00 a.m. wake up call and "gut'sing" breakfast down, we are the first ones out in the dark, waiting by the side of the road for the Tongariro Hike shuttle to come by. Jenn asks Scotty about the possibility of high winds?
"It should just be a breeze."
"Fine, then we're in!"
We think Scotty wants his Saturday free and is trying to scare people off the shuttle. His threatening weather forecast does indeed scare a few couples into getting off. But, not us. And not the other ten or so who figure, we're here and how bad can it really be?
In fact, it is glorious. By the time we get to the drop off point for the trek, even Scotty is scratching his head and revising the forecast. "I think they may have got it wrong," he says, scanning the skies. "You may be in luck.
To those who got off the bus — SUCKERS!
We set off in the early morning light, promising to cherish every step we take that is rain free. And we have no rain at all — not a drop. Did we cherish every step? You bet!
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is probably NZ's most well known one day hike. In peak season, from December and January, it is not uncommon for 700 people to hike the trail in a single day. Don't stop to enjoy the view — you might get pushed off the cliff by the hoards...
This time however, the potential for crowds doesn't deter us. We're doing this trek no matter what. And because the forecast is iffy, we think many hikers have bailed, missing out on a spectacular day.
The hike is 18.5 K through some of the most scenic and active volcanic areas of the World Heritage Site that is Tongariro Park. You really get to see everything NZ has to offer — fumeroles, volcanic craters and valleys, mountains, plains, lakes, forests and panoramic views of the lake Taupo area — it has it all.
The walk is divided into 5 distinct sections. A couple of them are severely uphill, which gives us a workout! We choose to deviate from the hike and take an offshoot track that leads us to the Tongariro Summit. It's a little cloudy up there, but we can still get a few good views when it clears.
It's a great tramp and not too bad on the knees and hips. Like the terrain, we get a little bit of everything — sun, cloud (literally), warm temps and cool. The changes in altitude mean we start off in t-shirts, but by the time we get up the mountain, we are bundled up in extra layers and our wind jackets.
We run into other hikers often, but it's not too crowded at all. We stop for lunch on a rock just before beginning our descent.
Reaching the bottom of the mountain just after 2:00 p.m., we take the waiting shuttle back to our campsite.
"My boss cancelled a whole trip of 60 people because the weather forecast was so bad," says Scotty on the drive back. "He's tearing his hair out now!"
Back at base camp we shower up, make an early dinner and chat with our new friends from Denmark, Sofie and Yentz. The rain that they called for today? It showed up about 8pm. Thankfully, we're all tucked up cosy inside the Cruzy!
UPDATE: The following morning, the weather is even better and we are able to get a couple of unobscured shots of Mt. Doom and the neighbouring mountains as we drive through the park and head towards Wellington.
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