Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Northeast of Ruapehu is
Mt Ngauruhoe
, at 2287m, the youngest of the three volcanoes. Its
first eruptions are thought to have occurred 2500 years ago. Until 1975 Ngauruhoe had
erupted at least every nine years, including a 1954 eruption that lasted 11 months and dis-
gorged 6 million cu metres of lava. In contrast to the others, which have multiple vents,
Ngauruhoe is a conical, single-vent volcano with perfectly symmetrical slopes - the reas-
on that it was chosen to star as Mt Doom in Peter Jackson's
Lord of the Rings
.
Tongariro was NZ's first national park, established in 1887. The previous year, in the
aftermath of the New Zealand Wars (Land Wars), the Native Land Court met to determine
the ownership of the land around Tongariro. Ngati Tuwharetoa chief Horonuku Te Heuheu
Tukino IV pleaded passionately for the area to be left intact, mindful of Pakeha eyeing it
up for grazing. 'If our mountains of Tongariro are included in the blocks passed through
the court in the ordinary way,' said the chief, 'what will become of them? They will be cut
up and sold, a piece going to one Pakeha and a piece to another.'
In 1887 chief Horonuku ensured the land's everlasting preservation when he presented
the area to the Crown for the purpose of a national park, the first in NZ and only the
fourth in the world. With incredible vision for a man of his time, the chief realised that
Tongariro's value lay in its priceless beauty and heritage, not as another sheep paddock.
Development of the national park was slow, and it was only after the main trunk rail-
road reached the region in 1909 that visitors arrived in significant numbers. Development
mushroomed in the 1950s and 1960s as roads were sealed, tracks cut and more huts built.
Today the park is the most popular in NZ, receiving around one million visitors per an-
num. Many visitors come to ski - Ruapehu's snowfields being the only legitimate ski area
north of Wellington - but more people arrive each summer to tramp up, down and around
the mountains. The park can get busy, most noticeably on the popular day walks, but most
visitors consider this a small price to pay for the chance to experience its magic.
The most popular tramps in the park are the Alpine Crossing and Northern Circuit, but
there are plenty more besides. These range from short ambles to excellent day walks such
as the Whakapapa Valley and Tama Lakes tracks, both of which begin from the National
Park Visitor Centre at Whakapapa. There are also various challenging routes that should
only be attempted by the fit, experienced and well equipped. One of these is the Round
the Mountain Track, a remote, 71km, four- to six-day tramp circuiting Mt Ruapehu.
