Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE CENTRAL PLATEAU
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Tongariro National Park
Tongariro National Park (797 sq km) lies in the heart of the North Island. Its major land-
marks are three active volcanoes - Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. These form the
southern end of a chain that extends northwest through the heart of the North Island, past
Taupo and Rotorua, to finally reach Whakaari (White Island). The volcanic nature of the
region is responsible for Tongariro's hot springs, boiling mud pools, fumaroles and craters.
Geologically speaking, the Tongariro volcanoes are relatively young. Both Ruapehu and
Tongariro are less than 300,000 years old. They were shaped by a mixture of eruptions and
glacial action, especially in the last ice age. At one time, glaciers extended down Ruapehu
to below 1300m, leaving polished rock far below their present snouts.
Mt Ruapehu
(
www.mtruapehu.com
)
, at 2797m, is the highest mountain on the North Island. It is
also one of the world's most active volcanoes. One eruption began in March 1945 and con-
tinued for almost a year, spreading lava over Crater Lake and sending huge dark clouds of
ash as far away as Wellington. No wonder, then, that the mountain's name translates as 'pit
of sound'.
Ruapehu rumbled in 1969 and 1973, but its worst disaster was on Christmas Eve 1953,
when a crater lake lip collapsed. An enormous lahar swept down the mountainside, taking
everything in its path, including a railway bridge. Moments later a crowded train plunged
into the river, killing 151 people; it was one of NZ's worst tragedies.
Ruapehu hasn't let up, with significant eruptions occurring with suspicious frequency. In
2007 a primary-school teacher had a lucky shave when a rock was propelled through the
roof of a trampers' shelter, crushing his leg.
Ongoing rumbles are reminders that these volcanoes in the area are very much in the
land of the living. The last major event was in 2012 when
Mt Tongariro
- the northernmost
and lowest peak in the park (1967m) - gave a couple of good blasts from its northern
craters, causing a nine-month partial closure of the famous Alpine Crossing track. (To see
video of recent eruptions, visit
www.doc.govt.nz/eruption
.
)
