Where in the world is Kat Kong?: Waitomo Caves and Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Trip Index

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We checked out of the Waldorf at 9am on Tuesday, as a representative from Europcar (car rental company) was meeting us in the lobby. Jackson the agent arrived on time and drove us to the rental car office. We happened to be riding in the car we would be driving for the next few days, a SsangYong Korando SUV, which was a huge upgrade from our compact car reservation. He warned us not to expect to get this class of car all the time. :) Originally I had reserved a manual transmission car as Kaleb and I could drive stick and it would save a little bit on cost. But then I realized we were going to be driving on the left hand side of the road and juggling that as well as a gear box on the other side would present a challenge, so I switched our car rental to automatic transmission a couple of weeks before we left. We still had things to get used to:

Getting in on the wrong side of the car in the beginning.
My sitting in the passenger seat and getting over the feeling that the car was driving itself and stopping my foot from hitting an imaginary brake.
Accidentally turning on the windshield wipers when activating the turn signal - Jackson had given us a strong reminder that in our SUV, the wipers and the turn signals were swapped compared to usual cars in NZ. We had no idea what he was warning us about, since for us, "swapped" was normal because that was how the controls were in our cars back home. It wasn't until the second rental (where the controls were "normal" for NZ) that Kaleb kept activating the wipers when making a turn.
Treating right turns as left turns back home and making sure to get into the left lane after turning.
Getting used to the center divide as a dashed white line (not double yellow or dashed yellow like back home) on two-lane roads. This made it feel like we were driving down a one-way street with two lanes; the cars flying by on the other side of the road would remind us that it wasn't!
Learning to read the many one-way bridge signs to know who had right-of-way. (hint: a prominent big arrow pointing in the direction of travel is the winner)

A 19-second video of driving on the "wrong" side of the road: (click here if you cannot see it)

that white line is the center divide!

Another thing that helped us on our self-drive trip was bringing our own GPS with maps of New Zealand downloaded. At first I was hesitant to purchase the expensive maps but once we were on the road, I was glad we did. Even though the large document packet that New Zealand Wholesale Tours provided had driving directions to each destination, they were hard to follow; the GPS helped warn us of turns, round-abouts and exits. Sometimes the GPS wouldn't take the exact route that was printed on the documents, but it still got us there. Note: the GPS mount needed to be adjusted so that it tilted towards the right-hand driver's side.

Navigating out to the highway was a bit stressful as it was Kaleb's first time driving on the left side of the road and we were on city streets. He had to make a conscious effort to look in the proper direction when making a turn and get into the correct lane. Once we made it to the main highway, it was much easier. There was hardly any traffic when we got out to the middle of nowhere (which was much of New Zealand anyway), so it made driving less stressful.

Our travel documents suggested a stop at the Waitomo Caves to view the famous glowworms. We ended up buying a combo ticket to tour the Ruakuri and Waitomo Caves as I read TripAdvisor reviews saying that it wasn't enough to just go to Waitomo as you don't get to see the glowworms close up or be able to take pictures.

We boarded the shuttle to Ruakuri Cave and took a short ride to the entrance. It was a hot day so we welcomed the start of the tour, entering the cool moist environment of the cave. The spiral walkway down into the cave was lit up with orange lights, with a light waterfall in the center of it. At the bottom, we were encouraged to wash our hands at the rock in the center to cleanse ourselves before entering this sacred area.

at the bottom center was the rock onto which the waterfall was dripping

The glowworms were too hard to photograph in the dark (imagine blue stars in a night sky), but we learned from our tour guide that they dangle out silky mucus threads in order to catch food. These strands were easily illuminated with a flashlight.

mineral formations like bacon

lighting up glowworm mucus

long beads of mucus...the "blue stars" aren't so pretty now!

We entered caves full of stalagmites and stalactites. Some were interestingly shaped. :)

fossilized seashell

rock formations

the cave was full of formations

lots of these stalagmite shapes...

During our tour of Ruakuri cave, we could hear water rushing in the darkness as well as screaming and hollering; a river flowed inside and people could take a "Black Water Rafting" adventure in the dark. It sounded exhilarating...if you want an adrenaline rush (like jumping backwards down a waterfall in the dark), this would be a great activity!

After the tour was over, we took the shuttle back to the ticketing area and did the Waitomo Cave tour. No picture taking was allowed so I will describe the experience. Our guide led us into the caves, explaining their history. The height of the caves were impressive. Apparently you can book the Cathedral cave for private events, like weddings. The acoustics in there were superb. There was an opportunity during the tour for someone to volunteer to sing a song, but no one did. I thought about it, but I wasn't sure what song I could sing a-capella. The guide ended up singing a traditional native song...the lights were all turned off and we listened to her voice reverberate in the darkness, pretty cool! After that, I regretted not volunteering because even though the guide's voice wasn't exactly in tune, it still sounded great, plus it was in the dark, so not much stage fright. I now am armed with a few songs for any future impromptu limestone cave singing opportunities. :)

After walking through a huge long limestone cave, we hopped onto a boat which took us into the glowworm caves. It was manually propelled by the guide standing on the boat, pulling on ropes suspended horizontally above the water. It was pretty dark in the caves so the ropes did not totally obscure the viewing of the "blue starry sky". Everyone stayed very quiet, looking up at the ceiling to appreciate the luminescence; all you could hear was the boat gliding through the water and occasional drips of water. Too bad it only lasted a few minutes. We then exited the cave into the daylight onto a dock and the tour was over. The experience was pretty short overall, so I was glad that we added the visit to Ruakuri and were able to take pictures there.

boats exiting the Waitomo cave

We got back onto the road and drove to our home for the next two nights, the Powderhorn Chateau in Ohakune. When I first inquired about the trip, we were originally quoted to stay at Chateau Tongariro inside the national park, but by the time we put down a deposit, the room was gone and we were rebooked at Powderhorn. It would have been more convenient to stay inside the park to avoid the 30-minute drive to and from Okahune. The Powderhorn was a cute hotel, but it was definitely designed for winter crowds with a hot pool and ski facilities. There were few people staying there, probably because it was a weeknight. There was free internet...we were given passcodes to log into the wi-fi network and provided a certain amount of data. It hardly lasted 20 minutes. All I was doing was browsing the internet and somehow 100MB was all used up. Thankfully we had the SIM card to access more data.

these doors surprisingly open automatically

put key in slot for electricity

comfortable clean bed

nice big hot water kettle

we were on the top floor...this was our closet

tub/shower combo

manuka toiletries (one of the best on the trip)

the chateau on a deserted street

For dinner, we used the hot water kettle to rehydrate one of our backpacking meals. (I forgot to take pictures of every freeze-dried meal we had on the trip) Tonight, we enjoyed beef stroganoff by Mountain House along with fruit from our grocery run the previous day. We had brought utensils and lightweight aluminum camping bowls to eat with. This was my first ever freeze-dried meal and it was surprisingly good. Around 9pm, the phone rang and it was the front desk, asking if we were going to have dinner in their restaurant (since there was nowhere else to eat within walking distance). Kaleb responded no and the agent replied, "Okay..." like it was strange that we weren't going to eat anything. They should figure it out once housekeeping finds all the wrappers in the trash after we check out.

Wednesday morning, we had peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches for breakfast and headed back out to National Park Village to meet up with our Walking Legends tour at 7:55am. We were picked up by guides Kris and Rainier and driver Mikey in a beat-up minivan, went to pick up another three hikers (senior citizens) near Chateau Tongariro in Whakapapa Village (pronounced fak-a-papa...we found a lot of native words sounded like swearing), then drove a bit to reach the trailhead for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. The entire hike was 19.4 kilometers or 12 miles, crossing through altitudes between 3600 to almost 6200 feet. Hikes are called "walks" or "tramps" in New Zealand, since it's so easy for them!

The guides split up into two groups; Kaleb and I got Kris and the other three got Rainier. Mikey would drive the minivan to the other side of the trail to pick us up at the end.

Tongariro Crossing trailhead

volcanic risk is "normal"

our route

attempting 12 miles in one day!

We only needed to carry our own water, lunch and snacks. Lunch was included and was provided in a plastic storage container so the contents wouldn't get crushed.

all these items were local food

The hike consisted of a mixture of flat and steep terrain, ranging from dirt to slippery gravel, including stairs and boardwalks, with much of it exposed to the elements and no shade for relief. The trail was very well maintained. It was a hot day; Kris told us that it was the warmest she had ever experienced this year on the trail, despite it being autumn in New Zealand. There were a lot of fantastic sights along the way: volcanoes, flowers, lakes, forests. We even found edible berries!

examples of stairs

raised platforms in some places

these snowberries are edible (pull the green seed off)

snowberries from this plant

atop "Camera Rock" in front of Mount Ngauruhoe (aka Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings)

Alpine wildflowers still seen along the trail even though it was well into autumn:

heather

eyebrights

harebells

one of the few daisies blooming in late season

raoulia

There were stops along the trail, including port-a-potties in the middle of nowhere. Not sure how they get emptied!

pit stop

Kris shared yummy indigenous chocolate

As the area was volcanic, a lot of the hike was dry and devoid of greenery taller than bushes, with lots of views of Mount Ngauruhoe.

different view of Mount Ngauruhoe

barren landscape

more stairs

some flat parts of the trail

that flat part we crossed is in the middle of this picture

steeper areas

we've gone 8 kilometers! almost halfway there

We made it to the Tongariro Summit, but instead of following the masses, Kris led us off-the-beaten-track, around a sharp precarious peak in order to get close to Red Crater. The hikers on the regular trail probably were looking down at us and wondering how we were able to enter the crater valley.

why go that way...

...when you can walk this way?

making our way across

very loose gravel

Red Crater (those dots on the upper right are people looking down, on the "normal" summit trail)

view of the Emerald Lakes and steam vents from the summit

After we summited and met up with the main trail, it was time for lunch. We found a picturesque spot by the largest of the Emerald Lakes. Rainier's group caught up with us and we enjoyed our packed food. Everything in it was super fresh and tasty. The sandwich and muffin was quite good and the trail mix was very natural - no added sugar or salt in the dried fruit or nuts. I ended up making it a mission to find this trail mix in grocery stores during the trip. (Trail mix in NZ is called "scroggin"; when Kris spoke about it, I thought I was just mis-hearing her accent! Though the two phrases sound nothing like each other...) We even enjoyed tea and coffee...Kris carried a full thermos of hot water in her pack. Kaleb was introduced to an espresso beverage called "flat white"; he ended up ordering it a lot during our trip.

the largest of the Emerald Lakes

lunch time

making a couple of flat whites and tea

sulfurous rock

sulfur deposits right outside a steaming vent

After lunch, the weather started to change. Clouds were rolling in. (we left Auckland a few days before Cyclone Lusi landed...the cyclone eventually became a tropical storm and was at our heels as we traveled south) Our pace sped up a bit to try to not get caught in any rain. The scenery changed to more lakes and flora as we descended. (and ascended)

another Emerald Lake

Blue Lake (should be bluer but the sky was cloudy)

we just came down the crater behind us and hiked the path all the way to here (yes...more uphill)

thankfully the track is open

please don't erupt today

active vents

sacred hot springs located on this peak; the trail was rerouted to keep the public out

meandering downhill with Lake Taupo in the distance

We reached Ketetahi Hut along the way. It used to be an overnight shelter but when Mount Tongariro erupted in 2012, it caused a lot of damage. Fortunately it happened during the winter and there were no campers inside.

boulders crashed through the roof

and through the hut

debris blasted through the bunk room

imagine if someone was sleeping here that night

For the final stretch, the landscape became more alive with plants and trees. When we reached the end of our 19-kilometer hike, Mikey was there with ice cold beer and wine coolers, along with cookies and salty chips, to the envy of the other hikers around us waiting for a shuttle ride back to the national park. I don't normally drink beer, but after such exertion on a hot day, I welcomed the cool refreshment.

final downhill

through the forest

enjoying a refreshing reward

Rainier and the three seniors arrived shortly after and we all enjoyed the snacks and refreshments. Apparently a friend of the seniors had recommended a walk to them, but based on the difficulty of this trail, they didn't think they chose the right one...but they survived! Even for me, starting the trip with a 12-mile technical hike was taxing on my body and I had stiff legs for a few days after. (one of the reasons why I got away with not having to drive for the next few days...) In summary, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing was challenging, but the views were spectacular, especially of "Mount Doom" and the lakes. The colors of Red Crater reminded me of Haleakala National Park on the island of Maui in Hawaii, though without the beautiful alpine lakes. It's great to hike such a long way without having to return back to the original trailhead.

We drove back to Whakapapa Village to drop off the seniors, then we were returned to our pick-up point in National Park Village. We were so happy with Kris's guiding, her storytelling about the legends of Tongariro, and sharing that awesome kiwi chocolate bar with us that we gave her a tip, even though it was not expected. She gave us a big hug...thanks Kris!

Back at our hotel, we gorged on another freeze-dried backpacker meal and a cup-of-noodles. The front desk called us again, asking if we were planning to eat in their restaurant or if we wanted breakfast to be sent to our room the next morning, which we declined. I don't think they normally encounter travelers like us!

Tomorrow, we drive to Taupo...stay tuned...

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