Sibelius

I have persistently read about the famous Tongariro Crossing for trekking. I rarely hear about driving through the area to Whakapapa Village and environs. Is it worth driving out of the way to go through? Has anyone stayed recently at the renovated Chateau?

ALF

Even if you don't want to do the Crossing, this is still a worthwhile place to go. We have not stayed in the renovated Chateau, but we went to look at it, and it looked very nice - still rustic, but not as dingy. One fun thing to do is to take the Whakapapa Skifield lift up to the 2000 m level on Ruapehu for spectacular views of Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and the surrounding plains. You can climb higher on Ruapehu from there; on up to the edge of the summit crater if you are fit.

The Tongariro Natnl Park Visitor Centre is in the Village, housing some informative exhibits, and there is a short interpretive trail nearby, along the Whakapapa River. Not to far to the south is Taranaki Falls.

Sibelius

Let me clarify my question. I was wondering about the route by car to Tongariro National Park not the actual Park or Village. The books recommend SH 1 from Lake Taupo area to SH 47. Is this a scenic route filled with waterfalls and Lord of the Rings scenery or is it wide open and somewhat barren (which can be just as spectacular)? Bear in mind that the ultimate goal is to end up in Wellington but to possibly spend the night at the Bayview Chateau Tongariro on the way and to try and choose a rational yet scenic and interesting route!

ElendilPickle

It is a pretty drive; no waterfalls and no LotR scenery unless you 1) do the Taranaki Falls walk in the park and 2) go up to the Whakapapa skifield and find the filming sites.

Our first view of Tongariro from SH 47 made us reconsider our plan to do the Crossing. It looked a bit intimidating!

Lee Ann

Therese2

Sibelius, I was in NZ last November and spent two days at Tongariro. I absolutely loved it. We did not do the crossing as I was recovering from a herniated disc. However, we did a round trip hike to Taranaki Falls and truly enjoyed it. There are actually two hikes in the park that take you to beautiful falls, one is about 2 hours (lot's of up and down, Beech Forest, Alpine Tussock and lava fields) and the other is about 30 minutes (lush Beech forest). Both are worth it.

We also took 47 from Taupo and it was a very pretty drive. You'll have to pay attention to the signs as sometimes the "Desert" road is closed. When we were there in on November 9th, they were still skiing on the back side of Rupehu, so 47 is the easiest road in terms of weather. As other posters have said, there was not a lot of "Lord of the Rings" scenery, but it was still gorgeous.

We did not stay at the Chateau as it was full and undergoing renovations at the time. We stayed at the Skotel, up the hill, which had a lovely view and frankly was a lot cheaper. It was clean and that's about it, we paid $79.00 US for a their version of a "Deluxe" room. It was frayed around the edges, but large and it worked. Frankly, we spent most of our time outdoors so it didn't matter. They have a nice little bar area with great views, much more casual and funky then the Chateau.

Make sure you drive up the "Bruce" (I think) road and check out the Whakapapa ski area. The day we went up it was rainy and miserable and very foggy, so we did not hike. They run a chairlift up so you can if you want.

If you hike in the park, be prepared for all kinds of different weather. We went from sun, to mist, to snow, back to sun etc. I was glad I had my Gore-Tex.

Tongariro was absoltely one of the highlights for the trip for me and my favorite spot on the North Island. As another poster mentioned, they have a visitor center which is actually very good and worth a visit. My traveling companion was pretty impressed with the "Volcanic Activity" scale that had us at 1 on the scale from 0 to 5. You'll have to check it out.

Have fun!