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New Zealand
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Tongariro
 Tongaririo
was New Zealand's first national park and was given as a gift from the
native people. On the 23rd of September 1887, by the deed of gift, Te Heuheu Tukino IV (Horonuku), then the paramount chief
of Ngati Tuwharetoa, gave the sacred peaks to the nation. Following
this act of generosity, Tongariro National
Park was formally gazetted in 1907 and is New Zealand’s first World
Heritage Site, and the fourth National Park to be created in the
world.
It is a special area, with a lot of cultural history for the New
Zealand Maori people. There is much myth and legend accompanying
this unique place and the Park has the three active volcanoes,
Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro and comprises 79,598 ha.
This area has had
a recent volcanic stir, with Mount Ruapehu blowing
its top in 1996, much to the excitement of the New
Zealand people, but much to the dismay of the local
tour operators! Ash covered many
kilometres of land, including towns and villages for
weeks.
As for things to
do in this beautiful area, for skiers
and snowboarders, the park has three ski fields; Whakapapa, Turoa and Tukino.
For walkers, there are some great day walks and on the mountains
tests for some serious mountaineering on the three great summits of Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and
Ruapehu.
Mount Ruapehu
Mount Ruapehu is the latest of the three great
summits to be an active volcano. It has the Whakapapa
and Turoa ski fields on its slopes, providing a lot
of recreational facilities. It is 2797 metres tall,
and the highest of the three summits.
The Ice Beer
Atomic Ruapehu X-Games are on between the 28th
of July and the 3rd of August, with 5 days
of extreme skiing and snowboarding, which should be
pretty exciting, if other years are to go by.
Mount Ruapehu also
holds the only glaciers on the North Island, and
there are eight of them. There is a deep lake at the
top of this mountain, called Crater Lake.
Mount Tongariro
Mount Tongariro stands high at 1967 metres, with
a range of volcanic features. One of these is the
Ketatahi Springs, with hot pools, steaming water
jets, pools, streams and mud pools. It is the
smallest of the three mountains.
The Emerald Lakes,
Blue Lake, Tama Lakes are all lakes which have been
created by volcanic activity, and the water is filled
with sulphur, ammonia chloride and other minerals
from volcanoes. They are very nice to look at, being
quite bright in their colours.
The Red Crater is
also interesting, with red rock made from a volcano
spewing up red scoria.
Ngauruhoe
Ngauruhoe is the youngest of the three volcanoes,
and is considered to be the latest vent of Mount
Tongariro. This vent has been quite active in the
last few thousand years, and on cool, clear days it
can sometimes be seen steaming. It is 2291 metres
high, and the first eruptions are thought to have
been 2500 years ago.
There are some
small villages around this area, Ohakune, National
Park and Turangi. These all provide excellent options
for accommodation, food and entertainment.
It is a beautiful
place, and if you’re in New Zealand during
winter, it’s a great place to start the snowy
months.
JL
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