January 10

Ketetahi Hut to New Waihohonu Hut

The forecast for today said "mostly fine - maybe", but it was completely cloudy when I got up. I started walking at 8:30, but turned back in fifteen minutes when I realized I had forgotten my flashlight. It soon started raining, and was so foggy I couldn't even see Blue Lake. It was still foggy when I got to the Emerald Lakes.

I left my pack by one of the lakes and climbed the track up the steep volcanic ash to the high point next to Red Crater. It was much harder going up than coming down, and I was glad I hadn't brought my pack. I sat near the rim of Red Crater for a long time optimistically waiting to see if it would clear.

Around 11:30, the clouds started breaking up suddenly, giving good views of Red Crater and beyond. I walked part way around the crater, taking some pictures. I then crossed the high point of the rim for good views of the Emerald Lakes. A lot of people had been waiting for the view to clear, many of them doing the Tongariro Crossing day-hike. It was now crowded at the lakes. On the way down, I passed the teenagers on their way to Ngauruhoe, hauling their packs up the difficult climb on the crumbly ash.

I returned to my pack at the farthest lake, and had lunch there. This area was the highlight of the track, and I was not in a hurry to leave. At 1:30, I started walking again, climbing down the side of the volcano along a long lava ridge leading to the desert below. The desert looked like a badlands, with lots of lava rock formations scattered across the desolate landscape. The cone of Ngauruhoe was always visible to the right.

The path continued far into the desert for 90 minutes or so, to Oturere Hut, where I stopped briefly. Some other people were here too, but I am not sure any of them were staying the night. Beyond this hut, the desert had little lava. The track followed a dry stream-bed and then crossed broad, smooth gravelly ridges, with poles marking the path leading as far as I could see into the distance. I was glad for the clouds, because the sun would have been merciless in this desert otherwise.

Eventually, a ridge with trees appeared, and the track crossed a river and entered a forest. This was a welcome change after the desert. I climbed through the forest to the top of the ridge. Ngauruhoe was now far in the distance. There was more forest on the other side of the ridge, and the hut became visible below. I arrived at New Waihohonu Hut at about 4:30. Some people were washing in the cold river below, and there was a shaded campsite across the river.

I walked to Ohinepango Springs, a pretty, clear, high-volume spring a twenty minute walk away. It was blue and surrounded with lush green vegetation and moss, and looked inviting until I felt the water, which was freezing. It was surprising how much water was flowing out of the ground here, in an area which was otherwise mostly dry and barren. It was like an oasis.

I walked back to the hut and fixed dinner. This hut was not very crowded. Not so many people do the whole circuit. Mt. Ruapehu made a brief, rare appearance from among the clouds in the distance before dusk. I talked to an Australian for a while. The Maori lady was here also. The gas heater made this lodge rather hot inside. Even with the windows open, it was too hot to sleep comfortably.

Copyright Scott A. Yost, 1996. All rights reserved.