Day 54: Owhango to Tongariro Holiday Park (39km, 11.5 hours)

The alarm went off at 4:45am, and I tiptoed out quietly at 5:15 trying not to wake the other TA hikers. I was walking in the dark for the first 20 minutes or so, until the predawn light finally made it easier to see.

It’s a serious day today, so I was focused on the route ahead - no silly songs today. I really wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s a long hike, unknown conditions, blocked by a major slip I have to somehow pass, a river crossing that may not be possible it the rain sets in. And bad weather forecast for later in the day. My big focus was to push on quickly to get over the slip and the river before the rain comes, and then find a place to camp by the trail.

Crossing over the bridge to the start of the 42 Traverse - still before dawn.

It turns out the 42 Traverse is a 4WD track through the bush, so while rutted, rough and slightly muddy at times it was easy to hike on. Today was cloudy, cool and breezy - hinting at the bad weather to come, but for the time it was good tramping weather. I made good progress for the first few hours. So much so that I started to wonder if I could actually push on further than planned today, all the way to the base of Tongariro. This would avoid wild camping in the wet; and more importantly, would give me a chance of tackling the Tongariro Crossing possibly early - if I could only get there before the bad weather arrives. But, this would make today a 39km hike, much of it over rough trails. I decided to push on quickly, see what happens.

An easy trail to start

A few small streams, but easy to cross

Some lovely views occasionally of the bush and river below

…and more views

About 17 km on, it was approaching 10am. Time for a break and my regular 10am pic. Maybe I’ll stop around the next corner…

10am pic: Oooo-kaaay…

All I knew about the slip is that it is 150m wide, happened in late November during a rainstorm and earthquake - basically the entire hillside slid over the trail, and this has caused DOC to officially close the 42 Traverse. There is no bypass. But, recent reports from TA hikers have been that it is stable and able to be crossed. I’d decided to give it a go.

It was rather scary going - there was no obvious path, just an occasional footprint suggesting a possible route. I was clambering over rocks, fallen trees, and loose clay, hoping I was going in the right direction. 

Coming over the slip

Lots of fallen trees blocking the way

It took about 30 minutes of careful stepping, climbing and head-scratching, but eventually I saw what looked like the trail continuing above me. One final clamber, and I was there.

Victory! (and relief!)

That’s the first of today’s hurdles done! But only time for a quick break, I needed to push on. 

An hour later, the river crossing. It was actually pretty easy - I took off my shoes and waded through in bare feet.

Pretty shallow at the moment, only knee deep

Drying my feet on the other side. Cold water is definitely good for sore feet!

Shortly after this, my route was due to veer off the 42 Traverse and onto a smaller trail, the Waione Coker’s track, for the next 12km or so. The entrance to the trail was unmarked and barely visible, so I had to rely on my TA app to tell me it was the right way to go. This trail was a lot rougher than the Traverse, but still designated a quad bike track - so even though it was deeply rutted and overgrown, it still wasn’t as hard as I was expecting.

Heading down the Waione Coker’s track

After a while - another river crossing! This one was tougher than the first - the route wasn’t clear, and I had to rock-hop up a stream for a while before reaching the river itself. This one was thigh deep and the current was stronger, but again it hadn’t rained yet and I made it over with no great problems. 

About to wade over…

…and looking back. 

Continuing on, the bad weather didn’t seem to be arriving as expected - it was actually fining up and getting warmer. The trail in parts was through large sections of clay, slippery, narrow, deeply rutted, and steadily uphill. 

OK, enough of the clay!

By this time my feet were starting to ache - I’d come about 25km so far. But I’d made much better progress than expected, and decided to keep pushing on to see if I could reach Tongariro. A song finally came to mind - the Carpenters, Close To You (why? I have no idea where some of these songs come from), and that stuck with me while I was plodding on.

The trail gradually improved, and a couple of hours later I popped out of the forest onto a road.

Stopping to rest the feet. That’s actually a gummy crocodile

The final bog of the day. But the mud today has been easy to navigate through, my socks are mostly dry

My first view of Mt Ngaruahoe through the trees

That’s Mt Ngaruahoe on the left, and Mt Ruapehu on the right

From there it was a 6km road walk to the Tongariro Holiday Park, some of it on SH47. Hard roads are very tough on my feet, and after the long day today I was hobbling badly when I finally reached the holiday park just before 5pm. They had a cabin room available which I happily grabbed, and as soon as I arrived I collapsed on the bed.

What a day!

My room for the night

I eventually emerged to find a few familiar faces in the cabins next to me - a number of the TA hikers from the last couple of nights were here too, hoping to tackle the Tongariro Crossing tomorrow (some had also walked the Traverse, some had hitched around). But I was too tired to chat much - I managed a warm shower, Uncle Ben’s rice and tuna for dinner, reorganised my pack, and set the alarm for 3am for tomorrow. 

I’ve made it to Mt Tongariro several days ahead of schedule, trying to beat the bad weather. However, the bad news is that tomorrow the Tongariro Crossing is officially closed, due to gale force winds and poor visibility. Commercial operators are not allowed to take people over - but trampers can still cross, it’s just not at all recommended. But the weather forecast is just going to get worse over the next few days, so this may be my only chance to get over the mountain. I’m going to give it a try. If things get too bad, I can always come back down.

My feet were aching, and I was shivering for some reason - I was maybe more exhausted than I realised from the big day today. So I was in bed very early, thinking of the even bigger day ahead tomorrow.

Today’s route