The Tongariro Alpine Crossing’s reputation as New Zealand’s “finest day walk” has propelled it to an international canon of hikes. Although its popularity is immediately apparent, each feature is worthy of time and exploration… in any season. This time, I headed to South Crater.
It was mid-July—Matariki, in fact. I’d bought my first crampons and ice axe a few weeks earlier and was keen to try them out. Our party of three set out on a day trip to Mount Tongariro’s South Crater, to find some snow.
It’d been a slow start to winter. There was little to get excited about as we walked up the Mangetepopo Valley. The clouds were low, the weather was clammy and cool, not crisp and cold. Visibility extended a few hundred metres. Everything was… grey. Dull, even.
But Tongariro is an inspiring and formidable place at any time. Tongariro National Park is one of the world’s first national parks, and one of Aotearoa’s three World Heritage Sites, gifted to the New Zealand people by the Māori chief Te Heu Heu in 1887.
The lava formations in the Mangatepopo Valley are queer and intriguing. Papatūānuku, our Earth Mother, has done a fine job decorating the path of the long-lost Mangatepopo Glacier with statuesque formations.
We advanced past signs warning ill-prepared folk to turn around. We’d heard there was snow at South Crater. As we got higher, we found traces of snow alongside the track… and met people who, appropriately, were turning back.
We were prepared. We knew the environment and its risks. We had knowledge and experience. We had emergency blankets, PLBs, clothes, and high-calorie food. We knew how to get out.
After 6.5km we stepped into South Crater—and there it was, respectably ‘white’. Suddenly, we were in a surreal calm. A cloud-filled basin. Occasionally, Mount Tongariro offered a glimpse of his ridges through vapour rising from South Crater.
On the other side, the perfect, symmetrical snow cone of Ngauruhoe was a “blink and you’ll miss it” experience.
In Māori lore, Tongariro forced Maunga Taranaki west after he tried to win over his love interest, the shapely Mount Pihanga. Taranaki cut the winding gorge of the Whānganui River as he fled west. To this day, you can still look out to Taranaki from the Tongariro Crossing.
At the eastern edge of South Crater, we peeled off towards a small lagoon. We had lunch overlooking the frozen alpine lake. I put on my crampons and tried cutting a few steps in the snow with my axe. I cut steps down to the lake, then back up again. It felt… adventurous!… even though it was totally tame. But it felt good, like an activity I could get into—an awakening.
After lunch, it got cold. Sensibly, we packed up quickly. We retreated to the Mangatepopo Valley and carpark.
Heading back, we could see clouds had opened to the east, and Ruapehu’s glistening summits shone gloriously in the late afternoon sun. It was a little dispiriting, given the grey conditions we’d faced.
The seed had been sown.
“This summer, I’d like to get up there,” I said.
I’d sown a seed—and so begins another prospect for Frontcountry Tramper.
Need to know
Access: In winter, drive to Mangatepopo road end
Grade: Easy
Accommodation: Mangatepopo Hut (20 bunks). Great Walks season: $37 per night for an adult, bookings required (gas cookers available); otherwise $25 per night and bookings not required (no gas cookers)
Distance and ascent: 15km, 611m ascent
Time: 5-6 hours
NZ Topo 50: BH34 Raurimu, BH35 Turangi
