It was a clear blue sky and a perfect weather to cross the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. It took us about 6 hours to walk a total of 19.5 km from start to finish. The highest peak of the crossing was 1700 m which was the red crater. The paths were clearly laid out and even well boarded. The views from start to finish were definitely magnificent. Mt Tongariro is still an active volcano and last erupted in 1975. There were evidence of geysers, sulfur, and volcanic rocks. Amazingly enough there were snow caps around the mount. We managed to make our very own inukshuk. We swam at one of the Emerald lakes (the big one) which was about 1400 m altitude up the mount. The water was about 10 degrees centigrade, being Canadians we certainly tolerated the cold. It was a great day.
Objective: Mt Tongariro from a distance.
Brodie and Robert practicing the hakka.
Waterfall a few minutes walk behind our cabin.
So it begins....
We started off at Mangatepopo car park.
Inukshuk.
A view of Mt Taranaki (the small white triangle on the left).
Brodie's hakka on top of the mount (1700 m altitude). Who da man???
We are not there yet. Red Crater (1886 metres) on the background.
Red crater
A little tired.
Central Crater
Three water filled explosion craters called the Emerald Lakes. Their brilliant greenish colour is caused by minerals which have leached from the adjoining thermal area.
