The World-renowned Tongariro Alpine Crossing is heralded as one of the top ten single day treks in the World. The 19.4 km trail spans the length of Mount Tongariro from alpine meadows to a mountain summit with stunning volcanic features along the way. It’s a landscape of craters, scattered pumice, active volcanoes, mountain springs, old lava flows, emerald lakes, piles of scoria and statue-like mounds of volcanic desert. On a clear day you can see Mt Taranaki, Mt Ngauruhoe, the Kaimanawa Ranges, Lake Taupo and beyond.
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing starts in the Mangatepopo Valley and finishes at Ketatahi Road. We were located a short bus ride away from the start of the trail thanks to a friend whose parents kindly let us borrow their holiday home. We were dropped off at the Mangatepopo car park early morning. It was a gloriously sunny day and we found ourselves de-layering fairly swiftly en route to Soda Springs. The track was pretty flat for the most part and it was board walked in the damper areas with poles marking the route.
