What a way to spend Valentine’s Day – an 8 hour, 10 mile hike up and down the saddle between two volcanos. The Tongariro Crossing is New Zealand’s most famous and popular one-day walk. Hundreds of people do it each day (which turns out to be a comforting fact) and it’s quite a challenge with dramatically steep ups and downs.
The scenery is absolutely spectacular, provided you don’t spend the entire day in a cloud (we didn’t). We watched the weather forecast carefully, as it is no fun to be caught out in severely bad weather. The wind can blow so hard you have to crawl flat on the ground to avoid being blown over the side. We made it! We’re very proud we finished the entire trek without needing to be resuced, but we’re also a bit creaky. The last hour of steady steep downhill was the killer. Slept great last night however. We were staying at the Tongariro Chateau, an elegant classic old hotel, and our room had a spa tub which was a lifesaver.