On Saturday the 30th of May, eight Rotary International students from District 9940 successfully completed the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Gaylene Lines, Elizabeth Sutton and John (Tawa Club) Bruce & Karen Manninen (Milson Club) and their friend Wendy accompanied the group. In all, we were a group of thirteen. The students were: Camilla from Italy, Hedda from Sweden, Elysa from France, Johnny from Taiwan, Olivia from Canada, Bianca from Italy, Steve from Switzerland and Theresa from Austria.
On Saturday morning Gaylene rose at 5.30am to prepare a cooked breakfast for all the trampers, who also rose before the sun and devoured eggs, toast and cereal. It was quite a rush to ensure everyone was at the gate waiting for the 6.30 bus, which was almost full of other early risers.
It was about a 1 hour 15 minute bus ride that culminated in driving up a narrow gravel road to the Mangatepopo car park starting point. On the way up we met a multitude of buses returning in continuous procession after disgorging their passengers. We arrived to be told that already there were 1200 people on the track ahead of us. The bus driver briefed us with a number of important points and we were now ready to begin our adventure.
The first part of the crossing is very kind and a gentle climb over easy terrain. We took approximately an hour and a half to get to Soda Springs where we took our first break and many made use of the four long drop toilets there. It was like a party with many other trampers also taking a break. Our students were interviewed by a year 13 school geography group who were discussing the impact on the mountains of the huge number of people now crossing from October thru April. Figures from the bus companies reported three thousand people on the mountain on the day and we must have seen one thousand of them at many times in the day.
From this point we started to climb more steeply as this was the beginning of the Devil’s staircase comprising of 370 steps. We had all been in trepidation of them but agreed later that they were not the hardest part. The students were in awe of the scenic vistas and we would frequently stop for photo shoots. In South Crater and Red Crater one could easily imagine you were on the moon or mars.
After the Devils staircase was completed we took a break and managed to get our only full group photo, taken by a random tramper. In the background we positioned the beautiful cone of Mount Ngaurahoe. It looked so close and indeed it was. We had a short flattish walk from there through South Crater, which took us to Red Crater Ridge. It was challenging for all of us but some found this part exceptionally daunting, however after some helping each other we all made it up the worst part. Not long after this, Hedda wrenched her knee but was ably assisted by nurse Wendy and supported by the rest of the group to continue.
Soon we crested this ridge to find another even more narrow section in front of us that was very steep. It was mentally challenging for those who were affected by vertigo and one or two of the group were finding this section very scary but with encouragement overcome their fears and soon had this part behind them. We were now at the highest point but our decent was to begin with scree. Negotiating this section was complicated because of the large number of people on the scree. At the bottom of this section was a place to sit and rest and take in the views of the beautiful Emerald Lakes.
The students had decided they wanted to make the 4pm return bus so they could get back in time to go to a hot pool. At the next toilet stop the queues were so long we agreed to push on. We arrived at Ketetahi Shelter (no longer a hut) at 2pm for our final stop and toilet opportunity. We could smell the toilets before we could see them. With six kilometres to go we needed to walk at a steady pace to ensure we would catch the four pm bus. The students were in high spirits although some weariness was beginning to affect everyone. We passed many other trampers on this section of the walk, which was a testament to the students’ fitness. A part of this section was through the bush and many of the students enjoyed the bush but some of them didn’t like it because it prevented a view. Hedda was doing very well with her sore knee but unfortunately Olivia rolled her ankle with about 1km to go. Steve took her pack while she managed to continue walking on it and we made the car park with ten minutes to spare.
We then had a bus ride of an hour to get back to our lodgings at Ohakune. Our accommodation was very comfortable and after a quick cuppa and regroup we went to soak in a hot pool to ease our tired bodies. The hot water soothed our weary bodies and was the best way to finish the day.
Too soon it was Sunday and we departed after giving the lodge a good cleaning. On the way home we stopped at the Tangiwai memorial so the students could learn of the historical event that was the Tangiwai Disaster of 1953.
The students experienced one of the most famous Alpine walks in the world. They were stretched physically and mentally and enjoyed each other’s company while stepping up when required. A valuable part of their overall New Zealand experience.
A huge thanks to the Rotarians and helpers that made this happen for our Youth Exchange Students and thanks to the sacred Mountains of the Central Plateau for providing a totally unique Kiwi experience.
Karen Manninen