1. We arrived at the hiking endpoint by car with four people in the early morning and napped in the car until 6:00 AM (it’s actually hard to sleep in the car), but after replenishing our energy appropriately, we were still able to complete the entire hike.
2. Since Tongariro is a one-way hike (i.e., from start to finish), there are several options:
1️⃣ Book the shuttle bus on the official website (P2) (55 NZD per person, we chose the first option, a 7:30 AM ticket that takes you from the endpoint to the start).
The official pick-up location is not at the hiking endpoint parking lot (but about 1 km away on State Highway 46), where you can park for free and safely for a long time. The downside is that after completing the hike, you still need to walk 1 km to get your car. If you park at the hiking endpoint parking lot (P3), you will need to walk an extra 1 km in the morning to the pick-up location.
We booked the 7:30 AM bus, but you can take an earlier bus if it’s not full (we ended up taking the 6:30 AM bus and arrived at the start at 7:00 AM).
2️⃣ Another option is to drive to the start, hike to the endpoint, and then take a ride back to the start to pick up the car, but it seems that the start parking lot is paid.
3️⃣ Money-saving strategy: Since the 30-minute bus ride costs 55 NZD per person, which is very expensive, for example, if there are four people in a car, the driver can drop off three people at the start, then drive back to the endpoint, and take the bus alone to the start, thus only needing to buy a ticket for the driver, which can save a lot of money, but the driver will be more tired [laughing-crying emoji].
3. Weather: Be sure to check the weather conditions, which can be found on the official website or on a weather app on your phone. It is strongly recommended to go on a good weather day.
4. Gear and food: I personally wore a quick-dry shirt as the inner layer and a windproof and waterproof jacket as the outer layer, with sunglasses and a hat.
For food, I brought 2 energy bars, 1.5L of water, 4 Snickers, a banana, and a sandwich, which was just right for completing the hike. Trekking poles are very helpful (although many people don’t bring them), and I also brought a middle insulating layer, but even at the summit, it wasn’t cold, so I didn’t end up wearing it.
However, bringing one in case of sudden weather changes is not a bad idea. Sunscreen 🧴 is very important ❗️ Even if it looks cloudy, you can still get sunburned after the hike.
5. Summary: The beginning and the middle sections are very beautiful. There are toilets every 2-3 kilometers along the trail, but they have a very strong smell 😷, so it’s suggested to hold your breath.
Men might be okay, but women should consider this. So, bringing some wet wipes and hand sanitizer is quite helpful.
6. Timeline: As mentioned, we took the 6:30 AM bus from the endpoint to the start, began the hike officially at 7:00 AM, walked at a leisurely pace, and completed the hike at 3:30 PM.
Comments are closed