20-21 July 2019

Leader: Owen Cox

Four of us did a trip in Tongariro National Park. We started with a soggy walk along a flooded track from the Desert road to Waihohonu hut in the dark. We arrived at the hut about 11 pm.

Saturday wasn't quite as wet. We headed up the track to Oturere until we got to the first ridge. Then carried on along this and then dropped into the very wide Waihohonu valley just below the springs. We then climbed uo the side of the northern branch of the stream. At about 1400 metres we hit snow and a short time later entered the cloud. A few ups and downs over side gullies until we hit a saddle about 1700 metres above sea level. This wasn’t the saddle we were heading for, it dropped steeply into the head of the Oturere and not South Crater. From here it was a short snow plug up a 100m or so to the saddle to Red Crater. A bit of wind here and some ice so we put crampons on for the descent to South Crater. Only needed them a short distance as we soon hit deep soft snow.

A bit of navigation across South Crater in dense mist before we hit the track. We then headed towards the Red Crater but on the ridge we were exposed to some wind and the cold and flying snow began to get a bit of a drag. Rather than putting crampons on again we decided to head to down to some dry in Mangatepopo Hut for the night. We dropped out of the snow and mist near Soda Springs and arrived at the hut not long before dark.

Sunday was better weather. We walked along the track to the Chateau and Whakapapa as far as the Wairere Stream where we had a stop next to the Taranaki Falls. Then on past the Tama Lakes back through a huge basin to Waihohonu Hut. We left the cloud, mist and drizzle behind by the lower Tama Lake and finished the trip in the sun with Ruapehu and Ngaurahoe coming out of the cloud. Bloody marvellous end to the trip!

Those on the trip were:

Owen Cox, Jeff Franks, David Williams, Marcia Goode