Round the Mountain Track

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Tongariro Northern Circuit and Southern Circuit

Date: 23-25 December 2021

Time: 3 days (34:15 hours)

Distance: Approximately 90km

Mt Ngarahoe only just showing his head.

Christmas time is usually a time for family. And while we are ‘orphans’ in our new home without any family to share the holidays with, we usually try to get into the mountains and away from the hustle and bustle of this time of year.

A good “gettin’ away from it all” for us is usually at least a five-day tramp. But this year we decided to do five days of fast-packing and hence cover more ground. First up is something I’ve been wanting to do since the first time we walked around these mountains (2010, 2013, 2016, and 2018) – a continuous trip around both Mt Ngarahoe and Mt Ruapehu, cutting out the stretch of shared track between the two mountains. The first question was, should we go clockwise, or anticlockwise. We opted to go clockwise.

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Mt Ruapehu 3-day fat-ass run

Date: 20-22 January 2018

day2b

After entering for the Ring Of Fire event coming up early in April, we thought it might be a good idea to see what we are actually letting ourselves in for. We have tramped the Round the Mountain Track a couple of times with backpacks, tenting and generally being prepared for anything the mountain throws at us, so knew the terrain we are heading into. But we were more than keen to experience the challenging terrain a bit more “light-footed”, without the burden of a heavy pack. I always associated the toughness of the track with carrying a heavy pack and wearing less agile footwear. On the down side, should something happen, we would only have our emergency gear with us which might keep us alive, but would be very uncomfortable should the weather turn to custard. Continue reading →

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Round the Mountain: anti-clockwise

Previous: 2013

24 December 2016 – Christmas Eve

Clean and fresh in the carpark at Whakapapa Village.
Gerry crossing the Golden rapids – yellow coloured due to the high iron content in the stream.
Some good sturdy bridges to cross some streams dry-footed.
Just a nice walk in the forest.
The undulations already started in the first couple of hours.
Due to the rain of the previous night, the track was quite wet.
Luckily we didn’t fall down the chute!
The eroded path resulted in some muddy patches.
In stark contrast, some other areas of the track were very well developed.
An early taste of the tough terrain to come.
A bridge built in memory of another life lost in the deceivingly dangerous mountain streams.
Fresh dumping of snow on the mountain.
Icy cold streams, too deep to cross with dry footed.
Contemplating the prospect of wet feet for the rest of the day.
Just beautiful views of the mountain whenever you look up.
A final small stream before reaching the hut.
Late lunch on the porch of Whakapapaiti Hut, before continuing on to make up a bit of distance before settling in for the night.
More stream crossings – some rock-hopping, others knee deep.
Clearly not impressed by having to pour water from my waterproof boots!
A final cold, wet stream crossing before calling it a day.
With camp all set up, we were having coffee and cooking dinner with the sun starting to set.
Lying in the tent with our festive Christmas lights, we couldn’t have hoped for a better scene.
The beautiful Mt Ruapehu glowing pink in the evening light.

What was meant to be an early night, early start, drive to Whakapapa Village and start walking early, turned into a very late night (1am), getting up four hours later, load everything in the car, drive the two and half hours, sign in, get sorted and only start walking at 11:11am. (Looking back at our previous trip, it would seem that old habits die hard.) Continue reading →

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Round the Mountain Track (25-29 December 2013)

Even seasoned hikers of 24 years make “mistakes”. Any tramper, even a complete novice, will tell you it’s a big no-no to wear new – yes, you read right, brand new! – boots on a tramp. Especially a five day one at that. Continue reading →