Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE BIRTH OF NZ'S FIRST NATIONAL PARK
After the New Zealand Wars (Land Wars), during which Ngati Tuwharetoa chief Horo-
nuku Te Heuheu Tukino IV aided the rebel Te Kooti, those tribes loyal to the Crown
wanted the land around Tongariro redistributed. In 1886, at a schoolhouse in Taupo,
the Native Land Court met to determine the ownership of land.
Horonuku pleaded passionately with the court to leave the area intact. At one point,
he turned to the rival chiefs who were longing for the land and asked: 'Where is your
fire, yourahi ka? You cannot show me for it does not exist. Now I shall show you mine.
Look yonder. Behold my fire, my mountain Tongariro!'
The forcefulness of his speech dissuaded Maori from dividing up the sacred land,
but Horonuku was equally worried about Pakeha, who were eyeing the area's tussock
grassland for grazing. 'If our mountains of Tongariro are included in the blocks passed
through the court in the ordinary way, what will become of them? They will be cut up
and sold, a piece going to one Pakeha and a piece to another.'
The chief saw only one solution that would ensure the land's everlasting preserva-
tion. Before the Native Land Court, on 23 September 1887, Horonuku 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 pad-
dock.
An Act of Parliament created Tongariro National Park in 1894, but its development
was slow. The main trunk railroad reached the region in 1909. By then there were huts
at Waihohonu, in the east, with a track leading to them and to Ketetahi Hot Springs.
The railroad brought a large number of tourists to the western side of the park, and by
1918 a track and hut were built at Mangatepopo for skiers on Ngauruhoe.
Development of the park mushroomed in the 1950s and 1960s as roads were
sealed, tracks cut and more huts built. Today the park receives around 200,00 visitors
per annum.
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Planning
WHEN TO TRAMP
The safest and most popular time to tramp in the national park is December to March, when
the tracks are normally clear of snow and the weather is more settled. In winter many of the
tracks become full alpine adventures, requiring alpine experience, an ice axe and crampons.
WHAT TO BRING
This is a highly changeable, alpine environment, so appropriate clothing is paramount.
Think wool, and several layers of it, topped with a waterproof jacket. Gloves and a hat are
