Tongariro Alpine Crossing is commonly cited as the best one-day walk in New Zealand and considered to rank in the top ten single day walks in the world. I am sure on a clear day this walk does live up to its reputation and would be a photographer's dream. However when we woke up at 6am for our 6.20 pick up we were just pleased it was not raining! There was very low cloud cover so the visibility wasn't great, it did brighten up later in the afternoon when we had completed the hike.

The track spans the length of Mount Tongariro and jams some spectacularly diverse nature into it's 19.4 kilometres. Predominantly the trail is walked from the Mangatepopo Car Park end to the Ketetahi Car Park and on average takes between seven and nine hours to complete.

We got dropped off and began walking at 8.15am and were told by the bus driver to stick strictly to the path and only attempt the mount doom summit track if the clouds cleared otherwise it becomes a very dangerous climb. I felt slightly nervous and began to worry what I had let myself into.

The walk begins relaxed enough on a wooden boardwalk with tiny streams on either side and feels quite tranquil and relaxed. At the head of Mangatepopo Valley the track narrowed and lead us towards Soda Springs. From this point it all changed. The track started to get steeper which turned into lots of stairs heading towards the top of the crater - this section is aptly named the Devil's staircase.

After a couple of stops on the way up to admire the view we had made it to what we thought was the summit! After crossing the crater there are several uphill sections that can be quite blustery as you are trekking up an exposed ridge. These lead up to the Red Crater that is the highest point on the track and for me this was the hardest part of Tongariro Alpine Crossing. When we reached the Red Crater we were able to make out both the Blue Lake and the Emerald Lakes. They are the gems of this walk and make the climb completely worthwhile even if the visibility is poor!

From the lakes it is a long down hill section to complete the hike. I liked the fact after you had completed each kilometre it was indicated. I picked up the pace from here and was on a mission to the finish! We were lucky the rain held off and Bobbi and I completed the crossing in am impressive 5 hours! But then had to wait 2.5 hours for the bus to pick us up from the finish to return to Taupo.

I would definitely recommend the crossing it gives you a great sense of achievement; I would like to complete it again on a brighter day.