Lake Taupo & the Tongariro Crossing

Lake Taupo was created when a volcano collapsed and filled with water – yes, more cool volcanic stuff.

When we arrived in Taupo, the first thing we did (after checking in) was drive to Huka Falls. What makes this water fall unique is that it is funneled into a really narrow chute – the river that is 100 meters across is funneled into a very narrow area (15 meters across), so the volume and pressure of the water is quite impressive. It’s not so much a “waterfall” so much as a “watersurge.” Every second, 220,00 liters of water thunders out of the bottom. That's over 13 million liters per minute, enough to fill more than 5 olympic-sized pools - every minute. Pretty mind-boggling.

The next morning, we took a drive out to do “one of the best day hikes in the country,” the Tongariro Crossing. The 2-hour drive there was really pretty:

And of course, typical to New Zealand, there was a 10-km stretch of really rocky unpaved road…

You may notice that the landscape was getting increasingly dry and forbidding as we drove further. Along with being one of the “best” day hikes, it is also a hot, dry, dusty, steep, and extremely challenging hike, with rock slides right along the path (or lack of path). We hiked 16 kilometers (about 9 miles) in some pretty hot, dry conditions.

Here’s the beginning of the hike, where there is still a little green in the foreground (the looming volcano is in the background).

Here we are, still at the beginning of the hike, looking disproportionately pleased with ourselves for accomplishing the first kilometer… That’s Mount Ngauruhoe in the background (a huge volcano that we would later walk around). This picture does not quite show the size or distance.

Here are the magical soda springs, with volcanic rock formations all around them. The water sparkles.

So a mere 4 km into it, this sign let us know that it was going to get serious. There was still a beautifully maintained path (with stairs!), which deceived us into thinking that the rest of the hike would be easy-peasy.

After one steep ascent, we crossed this huge plateau in front of the volcano. You can see 2 small figures (yup, those are people) on the trail in the middle/bottom of the foreground that can give you an idea of the size and scale of the volcano & valley.

Up the side of another steep crater, and here we are at the top… almost.

This is the top of the Red Crater, one of the more colorful sights.

After a crazy scramble up a steep face with sliding rocks, we were rewarded with these brilliant colors: the emerald lakes and the blue lake.

I'm glad I made it up the steep, sliding cliff to see the vibrant colors of the lakes - I've never seen anything like it.

We ate an apple, assessed the damage, and decided to call it a day – 8 dusty kilometers back the way we came - at least downhill, this time.