Tongariro is absolutely one of the biggest reasons I decided to walk the Te Araroa Trail! It’s a well-known volcanic complex on New Zealand’s North Island and a major highlight of the TA route. Its spectacular landscape and cultural significance have drawn countless people from afar throughout history.
Like my ancient ancestors, the Hobbits, who once came to this place called Mount Doom to complete a mission—how could I not come and follow in their footsteps to trace my roots?
To see it at its most beautiful, I waited at a nearby campsite for good weather. Outside, the wind and rain lashed like a typhoon, and I hunkered down in my shelter, gambling on that one clear day in a week of bad weather.
Two days later, I set out and made my way up the mountain. The weather was absolutely stunning. The beauty before my eyes made me gasp repeatedly—it felt like I’d stepped into an entirely different world. The bare, exposed volcanic slopes with their scree and crater pits looked like another planet.
I don’t know where I found the courage to make the detour up the well-known Mt Dome—a route that’s not part of the TA trail. The exposed surface is incredibly steep; just looking down makes your legs feel weak. Every step threatens to dislodge rocks under your feet, and loose scree constantly tumbles from above—it’s treacherous. But I carried on with a sense of mission, telling myself to just keep climbing!
At the summit, gazing out at the distant landscape and hearing the rumbling of the volcano, I felt the heartbeat of the Earth. Its living force brought forth the spectacular scenery before me. And listening to my own heartbeat, surrounded by nature, I realized—this must be the power of trekking!
Climbing to the summit of Mount Doom—the altitude is crazy high, it’s incredibly steep, and it’s brutal to hike. The loose scree means you take a step forward and slide half a step back. Even looking at photos of it gets my heart racing.
Later I chose the side with more stable large rocks, but I still occasionally stepped on loose stones. I was always worried about sending them down and hitting someone below.
Someone was crying saying they’d never hike a New Zealand track again. A British hiker nearby also commented that there’s no way such a route would be open to the public in Britain. But this is New Zealand—New Zealanders are just crazy!
At the top of Mount Doom, you can see the snow-capped Ruapehu mountain in the distance. Standing there, taking a deep breath, I felt it had all been worth it.
(Revisited from diary entry 2017/1/24)
📍 Te Araroa Trail | New Zealand 3,000 km trekking journal| Back to full series index
