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This was my first solo backpacking trip, so I was a little nervous starting out. This was a 52km walk with some good elevation. However it is also a "Great Walk" which means lots of tramping tourists do it as well, so you are by no means on your own. I met only two or three Kiwis, everyone else was German, Dutch, American, Australian, Japanese etc. You book your huts online, so you are guaranteed a space and each hut has water, gas cookers, beds and sleeping mats. Bunks generally sleep about 20. Click below to Read More...
 Day 1: Whakapapa Village Centre to Mangetopopo Hut (8km or so)
The weather was a little ominous when I started, and I was full of nerves and excitement. This quickly ended as the hours went by, and I was soon at the hut. I made the mistake of leaving too early, which meant I had too much time at the hut. I went to bed at 8pm that night, but made some friends: Moe, a Lord of the Rings fanatic from Vermont, Kelly, an Oregonian who was biking around NZ and knits in his spare time (an interesting mix - this guy was a dead ringer for Vince from Entourage, and he knit, very well too!) and some guy from Germany who had done the entire hike once but had crap weather and decided to do it all over again. Right beside the hut, Mt Negahror (Mt Doom from LOTR) peeked out of the clouds a few times, and we would all troop out of the hut to see it.
Day 2: Mangetopopo Hut to Kititahi Hut (The Tongoriro Crossing) 16km
This is the most famous part of the walk as heads up to and then sidles between the two big active volcanoes in the park, skirts Red Crater (site of some of the Gollum scenes, and also the site of what could have been a long frop for me as I chased my flying gloves down the lip of the crater) and then heads down to the Emerald Lakes. Yes, the volcanoes were cool, even though I couldn't climb Naraghoe (couldn't see the base of the volcano, let alone the summit due to the fog) but these Emerald Lakes were spectacular. Pictures will have to suffice. Coming out of the fog and some crazy wind had something to do with my affinity for these lakes I'm sure, but the colour was unlike anything I'd ever seen. The Crossing is a "Must-Do" thing for tourists, so during this part of the hike, I was joined by 300 other hikers. On clear days in the summer holidays, there will sometimes be up to 1000 hikers at once. Didn't enjoy this aspect so much. Again, got to the hut way too early (2pm) and passed the rest of the day chatting to fellow hutters, reading and waiting for it to be bedtime. 
 Day 3: Kititahi Hut to Waionou Hut 16km
Pretty much had this beautiful, sunny day to myself and hiked down into the lava valley. Got amazing views of Mt Naraghoe (last erruption 1997) and saw some cool lava formations. Got into the beech forest (ahhhh green...volcanic landscapes aren't my favorite) and took off my boots and socks for a dip in the river. Heaven. Found the hut close by and met some new friends, one who gave me a couple of sips of wine! Went to see the original Waihonu hut, built in the late 1800s by skiiers, which was pretty cool.
 Day 4: Waionou Hut to Whakapapa Center 16km
POURED all day. At times I actually had to stop and marvel that I was actually walking through this lashing rain and cold wind and not hating it. A quick 4-hour tramp or so, didn't really see the scenery as I just needed to move forward to get out of the rain. I was really, really proud of myself when I came to the end and gave Chris a huge hug when he came to get me at the Visitor's Center. First solo tramp was no big deal and got me hooked on more, more, more!!
I took lots of good photos and even Chris thinks they're very good. Check 'em out!
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