Last full day in New Zealand

We booked our transport for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing last night, so we were ready to go at 7.30am and by 8.00am we were setting off on the track. This is a 20km linear walk across the Tongariro volcanic area and the suggested time you will take is around 7 - 8 hours. To be honest this is a much over-hyped walk, both in terms of difficulty and the supposed spectacular scenery. Some good views (or would be if weather permitted) but a lot of rather dull and repetitive stuff as well. My main gripe however was the number of people, all being dumped out of buses within a short period of time and then forming a frustrating crocodile of bodies that moved at a snails pace along the track, which was quite narrow and difficult to overtake on.  Because of the numbers and the quite terrifying lack of kit / fitness / common sense on display, the route is marked with poles along its entire length and most of it is on made up firm packed track, held in place with chicken netting etc. You certainly didn't feel you were in a wilderness area.

I hated the crowds and the fact that after you managed to pass a selection of the real duffers you only had to stop for a photo and they all went past again.........We were so far ahead of schedule (our bus wasn't picking us up until 3.45pm at the other end) that we decided to do a side trip to climb Mount Tongariro. Unfortunately a promising start to the day weather wise declined into low cloud and cold, although it kept trying to clear up - unsuccessfully!  We did part of the climb, getting over a couple of intermediate tops, but it got worse and we decided that since we couldn't see the mountain we were trying to climb, never mind the views from the top, we might as well abandon. Our top height for the day was around 6,000ft and we were glad the wind wasn't any worse as the forecast had been minus 7 on the top with windchill, but was nearer to zero or a degree or two positive.  

When we descended from the red crater to the emerald lakes I was transported back to A level chemistry and the smell of rotten eggs from the fume cupboard. We had hit the plateau where there are active steam vents, which accounted for why the cloud seemed so much worse in certain areas!. From there we climbed again to skirt the Blue Lake and then started a long and slightly dull two and a half hour descent to the finish. We should have had fine views over Lake Taupo and the surrounding area but with the low cloud everything just looked a uniform grey. In summary the weather didn't, on this occasion, stop us from doing what we planned to do - but I wouldn't recommend a special trip to do it unless you like to walk in a lot of company.

As expected loads of people arrived at the finish long before their return transport turned up and apart from a couple of primitive toilets and a small shelter (roof and back wall) there was absolutely nothing there.  Our bus arrived on time and we were back and on our third mug of tea an hour after boarding the bus.  Not much in the way of shopping here so we decided to eat in the hotel cafe - bar tonight. The hotel itself is a fine example of a place that needs basic maintenance done, but charges an extortionate amount due to the popularity of the crossing and the limited accommodation in the area. The only place even slightly smart is the cafe-bar and they actually served half decent meals at a fair price.  We are now in our room, fortified by the last of the wine supplies, trying to finish our packing for the journey home. We haven't bought anything and it all fitted on the way over............?????

Will do our final thoughts from the airport tomorrow, but until then some photos from today