Ruapehu, fun for all the family

Punters:
Mike, Angela and Toby (9);
Tommy;
Yingjie and Alex (10);
Nick, Marg, Iona (7), Charlie (4).

A summer trip to Mt Ruapehu is a favourite of all of ours, so quite a few of us headed up for the family tramping trip in March.  It ended up that we had three trips in one, with all of us doing different things at different times.  Here are three perspectives on this trip.

Angela's Story...

What an amazing weekend. The weather was wonderful - which was fortunate as we headed up to Mt Ruapehu. Mind you, we have headed to Mt Ruapehu in the past in the face of  weather bombs and blizzards, so inclement weather is always an expectation. Mike and I had been frantically packing late on Thursday night and were driving up separately in two cars, so we could leave at different times and give rides to everyone who needed them.  So I left around 4.30pm with Yingjie and we made our way out of the crawling Wellington traffic.

The weather was clear and crisp, so I stopped on the turnoff to Whakapapa village and I showed Yingjie some constellations. Venus and Jupiter were brilliant in the early night sky as we drove up and I also pointed out Mars (it is also very bright at the moment). Yingjie also wanted to see the southern cross. The sky was so clear you could also see the Magellanic Clouds very well. We got to the lodge at 9.30pm and waited for Mike to arrive with the boys.

My husband Mike appeared an hour or so after me, and the first thing he discovered was that he had forgotten to bring his tramping boots!  I had even left them out in the middle of the porch so he had to step over them to get in and out of the house.  Silly Mike.

It makes for a late night for Toby (and me), driving up on Friday night. I think Toby would have fallen asleep around 11pm with me about 5 minutes later! Heheheh. Up early for breakfast and to get ready for the day ahead. We got a text from Rex saying he wasn't going to make it for the weekend. Very disappointing as I was looking forward to catching up with him. Toby was already expressing reluctance at coming on the walk (he has summited Tongariro before but not done the crossing itself) but Yingjie and I managed to convince Alex and Toby to come with us. Tommy also came along but we hardly saw him.

Saturday morning dawned clear and crisp.  Myself, Toby, Yingjie, Alex and Tommy were hitting the Tongariro Crossing, and Mike was performing car shuttle duties.  We drove to Mangatepopo road end and were on the track by 9.30am. The weather was lovely - clear skies but not too warm. We wandered up the valley to the steep climb, cajoling the boys along. Tommy was maintaining a much quicker pace than a couple of 9-year-olds, so he headed off and we saw him again at the end. The boys had a bit of complaining about the walk up, but after we reached the first crater, everything changed. The terrain became fascinating to them. Alex and Toby had a hard time keeping to the path as they rock-climbed and explored their way over the crossing. We are lunch in the south crater and then headed up another steep section. Once as the top, Toby and Alex were amazed at the view into the other big crater. Steam was coming out in places and the colours (and smell) were amazing. After that, the boys scampered down the scree slope, past other crossers timidly picking their way down the scree, to the brilliant emerald and blue lakes. They both explored the lake shore, fascinated by the colour of the water.

We started on the long downhill section and that is when my legs started to feel it. My hips were a bit sore at the start but now they started to stop me walking as freely as I would have liked. I think I may have been the reason we didn't quite make the posted time to the car park. Mike met us twenty minutes in with some cold drinks, to the envy of other crossers slogging the last part of the trip.

Mike drove us back to the other car and then we all drove back to the lodge. We kicked off dinner and burnt the chips completely. Oh dear. But everyone was full anyway. We ate burgers and enjoyed relaxing.

Sunday morning was another lovely morning. Mike and Tommy prepared to climb to the summit of Mt Ruapehu and we all tidied up the lodge in preparation to leave.  I carefully prepared my day pack, with my lunch, change of clothes and car keys.

When I set off for the day I discovered that Mike had packed my day pack into my car, locked it up, and headed up the mountain!  What was he thinking. By the time I got hold of him he was well up the mountain.  So our days plans were thrown into disarray and we sat around in the clean lodge waiting for Mike and Tommy's return. I sat around and read Robinson Crusoe until I fell asleep in the sun for a little while. Toby and Alex played outside, scrambling over rocks around the lodge.

Mike and Tommy got back from their climb at 2.15pm and we all set off. We went down SH1 and Mike drove down via Whanganui. Turns out we beat them into Bulls by two minutes!

We met up at Levin for McDonalds (yuck!) and we were home by 7pm.

As I sit here now, my big toe's toenails are very tender and I hope I don't lose them. My body is also a little sore.  But the fun of watching Toby and Alex's amazement at the colours and shapes of the Tongariro landscape, and all the other excitement of the weekend, means it's a good pain!

Mike's Story...

The start of my Ruapehu journey involved considerable shuttling and collecting.  From Tommy at the railway station, to two boys (Toby and Alex) in Wadestown, through to stopping at my house to collect the last of our luggage that Angela had left in one pile in the lounge, there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing before we all got on the road.  But the traffic was light and we hurtled up to Ruapehu, stopping only for the obligiatory Bulls Kebab.

We were the last to arrive and folks descended on our car and helped us up with all our stuff.  This is when I discovered that Angela hadn't packed my tramping boots!  She had assembled everything except for them into the pile in the lounge.  Oh well - it couldn't be helped.  I suggested she be more careful in future.

So when the Saturday dawned, my first job was to head to Ohakune and pick up some cheap boots.  Then I had the day to explore, before my pick-up duties at the other end of Tongariro Crossing.  I decided to go find the Tuapapakurua Falls.  I'd headed most of the way in with a couple of other folks a few years ago, but we didn't quite go to the foot of the falls themselves.  Time to remedy that.

Tuapapakurua Falls is a great little excursion for when you are at Ruapehu and have a few hours to fill in.  From National Park you head down a narrow but well maintained gravel road, that is the start of one of the new bike tracks that are being put in around and about.  Then you head down a track for an hour or two to a beautiful hidden waterfall.  One of Tongariro's best kept secrets.

The track is maintained by a local volunteer group, and I discovered they had a unique way of helping them out.  At the start of the track were several buckets of gravel, with a note asking you to carry them part or all of the way in to a specific drop-off spot, so they could then spread them on the track.  Smart!  A great way to get a trailerload of gravel into the right place for track maintenance, one bucket at a time.  I lugged a couple of buckets in and felt my karma increasing with every step.

Soon I was at the foot of the waterfall.  Beautiful it was too, well worth the trip.

I got a little bit lost on the way out, there seemed to be all sorts of tracks that took 'short cuts' back to the spur that took me out.  This was quite puzzling until I stumbled across a goat that was wandering around and about and was not the least perturbed to see me.  She posed happily for my camera before wandering off.

I got myself back to my car and tootled around to the Tongariro road-end, stopping off at a shop to buy cold drinks.  I quickly found Tommy and left him relaxing while I wandered in to meet the others.  My bag of cold drinks got many envious stares, and I think I could have sold them for a considerable markup!  But they were dedicated to my punters, and they were gratefully received when I met up with them.

Sunday dawned bright and clear.  Tommy was keen to head up to Ruapehu after bagging Tongariro the day before, and I decided that I should go with him.  You don't get too many days this good, and I'd never been to the top of Ruapehu in the summer before.

So off we headed, first up the chairlifts, and then somewhat surreally planned our ascent over coffees in Knoll Ridge cafe.  It all looked clear enough so off we headed - following the T-bar and then drifting left and going up a spur to Glacier Knob.

About two-thirds of the way up the T-bar track, my phone rang.  (Another surreal moment - I find it fascinating that you can be in quite remote places and your phone continues to work.)  Angela had put her car keys in the big pile of luggage to be packed in the car, and now they were locked inside!  But I was past the point of no return.  I chided her for being so careless, and continued on my way.

We soon reached the plateau and what a different sight it was compared to winter.  There was less snow than I was expecting; just drifts here and there amongst the fine volcanic gravel.  Tommy and I trekked across the plateau, trying to stick to the snow that remained, which was easier to walk on than the loose, lumpy gravel underneath.  Soon we had skirted under Dome Ridge and approached the lake.  I discovered then that the lake is both bigger than it looks from Dome Ridge, and also is surrounded by steep banks on most sides.  So conscious that Angela was rueing her mistakes down below, we headed up to Dome Shelter and admired the view.

Soon we were heading down again - following the crater ridge around from Dome Ridge, and finding a pretty clear track down the mountain.  With a bit of bum-sliding down snow in the sheltered gullies, we were soon back at the chair lift and heading down the hill.  Angela was awaiting us; she seemed a bit tetchy at me.  She must have been frustrated at her carelessness.

So off we headed back to Wellington.  I headed back via Whanganui, since Google Maps had confidently predicted this route to be quicker than SH1.  It wasn't far off either, and was certainly a much more scenic drive.  I'll bear it in mind as a good way back in future.  A quick stop off at McDonalds (yum!) and we were soon home with great memories of a fantastic weekend.

Marg's Story...

Staying at the WTMC lodge at Whakapapa without snow and ski crowds is a different and wonderful experience. I enjoyed being able to stroll out the door, without having to get all rugged up, into a marvelous, rocky, moon-scape. Our family loved exploring all around the hills and crevices of this remarkable environment… climbing up to an arch rock formation, then picking our way carefully back down. It was fun (though slightly scary) to take two chair lifts right up to the top (or so it seemed) of the mountain, enjoying the view and even finding a small patch of snow to play in.

Another highlight was walking the Old Coach Road, near Ohakune, now part of the New Zealand Bike Trail. With an easy gradient and good information signs it was a pleasant walk up. At the summit there’s an historic railway tunnel, and a little further along the old viaduct bridge. We were lucky enough to be standing right under the new viaduct when the Overlander went through.

There’s certainly a lot to see and explore around the volcanic plateau area any time of the year. We’ll be back!