Liz and I had first planned to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (TAC) back in March 2024. Unfortunately, a storm blew in that week, and it got canned. A year later, murmurs of trying again took over the chat. We planned it for the weekend of my birthday in April. Would you believe it, another storm blew in! My partner and I had non-refundable bookings at the backpackers, so we decided to go anyway and figured there were enough day walks in Tongariro National Park to make the trip worthwhile.

The shuttle booking was cancelled for Saturday (original hike day). Even though Saturday wasn't all rained out, the wind forecast would have blown me away to Kansas. Instead of staying in, Aaron and I did the walk to Taranaki Falls. It was quieter than when I did it in July a few years back. It seems rain keeps people away more than single digits on a sunny day. There were pops of blue skies between the misty showers, so I told Liz we should try for Sunday.

When our shuttle again cancelled Sunday’s booking, Liz suggested we try a different one. Our original booking was for a park and ride service - park at Ketetahi car park (end point), then hop on the bus to Mangatepopo (start point). The new booking was a return shuttle service - choose pick up time from your accommodation in National Park (there are several pick up spots along the way), with the last shuttle from Ketetahi car park leaving at 5:30pm. We booked the 7:30am pick up and arrived at Mangatepopo by 8:30am. I felt relieved as blue skies greeted us when we arrived at Mangatepopo car park. Third time's a charm.

Nathan, Liz, me and Aaron at Mangatepopo before the start of our walk


Mangatepopo to Soda Springs

This was Liz and Aaron's first-time doing TAC, and my third. Nathan (Liz's husband) rounded off our group of four. We probably had four good knees between us. What we lacked in joint stability, we made up for in life experience. After our karakia/prayer, we set off from Mangatepopo around 9am. She was crisp, about a couple of degrees colder in the shade.

When you're over 40, hiking is as much about fitness as it is knowing where the toilets are (if there are any). This is an alpine environment, don't just go poo behind a boulder. Luckily, there are long-drop toilets along the track, so plan ahead. Bring your own toilet paper and hand sanitiser too.

The Soda Springs waterfall (it's more like a trickle on the wall if there hasn't been rain) is a 15-minute side quest from the main track. It’s also one of the first landmarks to gauge your pace. Aaron, Liz and Nathan went to take some photos, while I carried on to the toilet at the start of The Devil's Staircase. It’s a good spot for a snack (the clearing, not the toilet) and to take off layers before the climb ahead.


Going up The Devil's Staircase

The Devil’s Staircase to South Crater

I've done The Devil's Staircase three times - twice in autumn, and once in the snow during a winter hike. It's a fascinating human condition to put yourself through that kind of physical endurance for the simple reward of a great view. The breeze picked up as we climbed higher, reminding me how exposed we were to the elements. I guess my memory was a bit hazy on how far it was down to the South Crater from the top of the Devil’s Staircase. My brain was looking forward to some downhill, instead, I was greeted with an undulating track, with each corner convincing me that we were finally on the way down.

Aaron, Liz and Nathan along the South Crater

South Crater to Emerald Lake

The South Crater is a glorious expanse of flat terrain. It was probably the most exposed section and I’m glad we only had the drop of temperature to deal with. It was around midday that we headed towards the Red Crater - a steep, yet gradual climb on loose rock on an exposed ridge. The cramps on my thighs had returned, but the cold didn’t really give me the option to stop for long. Sips of Powerade had to do.

Unfortunately, the Red Crater was a white out for us. At 1,886 meters (6,188 feet) above sea level, this is the highest point of the walk, even on a sunny day, there is no guarantee to get views. I had hoped to recreate my photo from 2018, but it wasn’t meant to be. Wind gusts of 70km/km kept us honest as we made our way down the scree towards the Emerald Lake. The wind had blown away one or maybe two of Nathan's gloves, my Kathmandu rain cover and even almost took my beanie. Back in 2018, I had hurt my knee coming down the scree, and this time I was determined to get down safely. A group of five we met on the bus were struggling with the strong winds - we stopped to give them advice on how to walk on the loose terrain. We were relieved to see them make it down to the lake as we sat down for a quick lunch.

The Emerald Lakes

Emerald Lake to Ketetahi car park

TAC is a walk of two halves - the first half are the stunning volcanic vistas that inspired Mordor in Lord of the Rings. The final 10km or so is a downward spiral amongst golden tussocks in a sub-alpine environment, with the last stretch in a lush native forest. The constant downhill didn’t bother my knees until around 15km in, which is a pretty solid effort for a day hike anyway. We had been walking almost non-stop for about six hours at that stage.



ANZAC biscuits for the win after a hard slog 

Liz and Aaron were hurting too, I guess Nathan was the same, but he didn’t really show it. We accepted that fatigue had set in and long silences were OK. Sometimes we’d have bursts of energy and booming laughter filled the forest. I kept an eye on my NZTopo map to see how far we were from the Ketetahi car park. The last bus was leaving at 5:30pm and hazy memories of landmarks from TAC 2018 made me worried that we would finish the walk, only to arrive at an empty car park.

It took our group around 7.5 hours to walk the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. We were all smiles as we hobbled into the bus, found seats towards the front and cheered on each new arrival. We cheered loudest for the group of five we talked to on the way down the scree. I was already looking forward to my post-hike dinner of steak and chips, but after seeing the price on the online menu, we chose burgers and chips instead.

The winding tracks down to Ketetahi car park


What you need to know before doing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing

  • Mangatepopo car park has a 4-hour time limit - if you're planning to do the full crossing, book a shuttle instead.
  • We used Tongariro Crossing Shuttles - it was $65 each for pick up and return to our accommodation in National Park. There are three departures a day. 
  • From October 2023, walkers need to book a TAC ticket through the Department of Conservation. This is FREE, but you need this ticket if you have a shuttle booking. If you don't end up doing the walk, don't worry, you can just make a new booking.