Exploring Tongariro National Park | New Zealand Adventures

Hi guys!
Today's post is a very, very overdue feature on my trip to Tongariro National Park in the North Island of New Zealand. Tongariro is a place that always has a special place in my heart, as my family have been there many times over the years and always have the most wonderful time. Tongariro is also home to several Lord Of The Rings filming locations, which is another exciting aspect to explore! This trip was extra special as I got to introduce my boyfriend to the national park and all it's beauty for the first time.

To reach Tongariro we took the Northern Explorer train from Auckland to National Park, which I've wanted to do for years! Unfortunately in classic NZ style it was quite rainy on the day we did it, so the views weren't as great as we'd hoped. Nevertheless it was a really fun experience, particularly being able to go out in the open air carriage!

My Grandparents met us off the train and we drove to Whakapapa village where we stayed for three lovely days. Our original plan was to camp out in the tent that my Grandparents had brought along; however about half an hour after we pitched it, the heavens opened and it poured with rain. We soon discovered that the tent wasn't quite as waterproof as it might once have been, so we ended up staying in the spare bunks in my Grandparent's cabin, which actually worked out really nicely in the end! 

On our first morning we woke up super early to wander up the road and see if the mountain was peeking out from behind the clouds. We got lucky!

After a hearty breakfast of porridge and coffee made in the camp kitchen, we took a drive up to the skifield to take a look around. We managed to get there just as the clouds were closing in! The large rocky formation in the photo is known as Mead's Wall and was used in several scenes of Lord Of The Rings filming.

Later that afternoon we laced up our boots and did the Silica Rapids hike, a pretty easy and scenic hike that takes about 2 hours.

Day Two was the day for our bigger hike; we made the trek to the gorgeous Tama Lakes. I've done this hike in the past with my family, and unfortunately there was a lot more people on the track this time, meaning it wasn't as peaceful as my previous experience. However, nothing can detract from the beauty of the lakes themselves! 

The hike was a true four-seasons-in-one-day experience, I had to keep swapping from my beanie to my sunhat and back again throughout the day! On our return to the camp site, the mountain was making one of the best appearances that we saw for the trip, so we took the time to relax in front of the Chateau and snap some pictures before heading to the cafe for a well deserved ice-cream!

During the evening we went out for dinner together and all went for cocktails at the Chateau afterwards. It was a lovely end to a lovely day!



On our final day, there was time for one last tiny hike to the beautiful Tawhai Falls; otherwise known as Gollum's Pool. You may recognise it from the scene where Gollum goes fishing at the Forbidden Pool; although it looks rather different to the movie in real life (much brighter!)



With a heavy heart it was then time to continue our journey to New Plymouth, sneaking final glances at the beautiful mountains out the car window as we drove away. Tongariro is a place that I will always return to for it's serenity and simplicity. If it's not on your list of places to visit yet, it definitely should be!



If you'd like to see what we got up to next on our New Zealand trip, see my post about the gorgeous Pouakai Crossing Hike here.
Have you been on any adventures recently? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!
Kate x