Photos are from last Saturday’s DOC Summer Programme ‘heli-hike’ from Boyd Hut to Oamaru Hut in the Kaimanawa National Park. We were lucky as most other rivers were blown out after Friday’s rain.
If you imagine TRM reports have been a little short on fishing info recently, you are correct.
The reason is simple. After last weekend nearly all Tongariro anglers went back to work. The Tongariro River is dominated by bikers rather than fishos. Generally the fishos return in February for the cicada hatch. TRM is almost booked out in February in anticipation…
Even at Lake O the angling pressure has been mild – our inmates advise there have only been five or six boats out per day since Christmas. A couple of days may have been more crowded.
If fishos want to know more then contact us directly as sometimes it is not in the public interests – if you know what I mean…
But generally this is the time of the year when family holiday outdoor activities take precedent – such as the excellent DOC Summer Programme described over the last few days.
At this time of the year most of our guests are of the tourist variety who are far more interested in these other activities – such as the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.
But the Central Plateau has many days like yesterday and last Friday when the shuttle buses stop operating due to unfavourable weather conditions.
That is when the alternative options – see (6) below – become more important. Ask SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed is the Manager of everything at TRM) for more info on these other equally spectacular tramps.
Meanwhile for the Tongariro Crossing the following is directly copied from TRM Home Page:
Tongariro Crossing
Turangi and Tongariro River Motel (“TRM”) is the natural base camp for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. i.e.
1 Did you know that TRM have a special Tongariro Crossing “qualifying walk”. If you cannot complete this circuit from TRM in less than one hour then you are not allowed on the track. It is for the safety of guests. We cannot afford to lose guests. It is not a good look…
2 Did you know TRM have walking poles available for guests – a range of old ski poles plus additional clothing – hats, jackets, gloves, etc available for guests who arrive unprepared for the colder weather or the wind chill factor at higher altitudes. It is essential to be prepared – better to have and not need, than need and not have…
3 Did you know that every day TRM post a weather forecast for the Tongariro Crossing from Tongariro Expeditions – shuttle bus operators listed on our LINKS.
4 Did you know the local iSite main feature display is of the Tongariro Crossing plus a video and full information packs. A recommended place to start.
5 Did you know that the Tongariro Alpine Crossing is “closed” for about 20% of the summer and about 80% of the winter. Therefore allow a couple of days in your planning to make sure you pick only the best weather. We are constantly dealing with disappointed tourists who went up there in marginal weather and returned very disappointed having only seen the next marker post for about 19 km. Not funny on a freezing cold day. By being “closed” we mean the shuttle buses will not be running.
6 Did you know TRM have an alternative option programme for days when the Tongariro Alpine Crossing is closed involving three different walks – (1) Starting from TRM is a one hour Tongariro RIver Walk with good views over Turangi and across the river swing bridge; (2) A two hour walk around a hidden lake; (3) a two hour alpine loop walk to a spectacular waterfall.
In fact, others who have done the Tongariro Alpine Crossing before, vote TRM’s three track option as a superior experience…
7 Did you know the famous Turangi Bakery opens early for trekkers to stock up with lunch etc.
8 Did you know that tourists from overseas are not allowed to leave until they have “ticked that box”. At the moment TRM have two tourists from Brazil who have been waiting for five days for suitable warm clear weather to walk the Tongariro Crossing. As a result they had to cancel visits to other secondary locations like Rotorua… True! So it pays to allow a few days in your travel plans to make sure you pick a fine clear day.
OK? So you can see that TRM really is the natural base camp for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, and for fishing or rafting the Tongariro, and Lake O, and anything else you plan to do..
Although the TAC can be walked in either direction, it is most commonly walked from Mangatepopo to Ketetahi Hot Springs, due to the Mangatepopo end being higher in altitude (1,120 m or 3,670 ft) than the Ketetahi Hot Springs end (760 m or 2,490 ft), therefore requiring less climbing. The 19.4 km crossing takes about seven hours of steady walking to complete in good weather, with an hour extra required if walked from the Ketetahi end to allow for the extra climbing, and more time required in winter (April to October) or in bad weather. The keenest also climb Mt. Doom! Trampers therefore need to arrange transportation back from one car park to the other or arrange a shuttle bus.
If you have a car the best option is to arrange for you to be collected by shuttle bus from the finish at the Ketetahi car park to take you to the start at Mangatepopo car park. Then you do not have any time pressure to complete the tramp. A group of trampers with two vehicles can easily arrange transportation themselves by parking one of the vehicles at the Ketetahi end of the crossing before commencing at the Mangatepopo end, returning to Mangatepopo end by road after completing the crossing to pick up the other vehicle. But beware, car parking spaces are very limited so get there early.
PLEASE BE AWARE that the Tongariro Crossing does get crowded – particularly after a ‘closed’ day when the tourist demand builds up. Daily counts of one or two thousand are not unusual. Recently after being closed the first fine day reportedly had over four thousand walking across… So it is not exactly a remote back-country wilderness walk. OK?
Last, another overlooked bucket list option – for a real buzz, why not climb Mt Ruapehu?.
It is just as easy…or just as hard. Just as exhilarating too. TRM have all the info.
(In case you were curious (?) or anxious, that is not SWMBO balancing on one leg on the Tongariro Crossing. It is Kiki – who produced the above video for TRM inmates. OK?)
| Point | Distance | Time | Altitude | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mangatepopo Carpark | 0.0 km (0.0 mi) | 0h 00m | 1,120 m (3,670 ft) |  39°08′40″S 175°34′52″E |
| Mangatepopo Hut | 1.5 km (0.9 mi) | 0hr 25m | 1,190 m (3,900 ft) | 39°08′41″S 175°35′48″E |
| Soda Springs turn-off | 1h 30m | 1,350 m (4,430 ft) | 39°08′24″S 175°37′29″E |
|
| South Crater (Mount Ngauruhoe turn-off) | 6.4 km (4.0 mi) | 2h 30m | 1,650 m (5,410 ft) | |
| Red Crater summit | 3h 30m | 1,886 m (6,188 ft) | ||
| Emerald Lakes (Oturere Hut turn-off) | 9.0 km (5.6 mi) | 3h 50m | 1,695 m (5,561 ft) | 39°07′58″S 175°39′23″E |
| Ketetahi Hut | 5h 15m | 1,450 m (4,760 ft) | 39°06′29″S 175°39′11″E |
|
| Ketetahi Carpark | 19.4 km (12.1 mi) | 7h 00m | 760 m (2,490 ft) | 39°04′25″S 175°39′50″E
Last, another overlooked bucket list option – for a real buzz, why not climb Mt Ruapehu?. It is just as easy…or just as hard. Just as exhilarating too. TRM have all the info. |