Tongariro crossing

Wednesday was the big day. The weather was good, everybody was up bright and early, fed and prepared for the day. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is one of the top 10 walks in the world.
Our party was going to the Ketetahi track end, the plan was to cross paths with the party attempting the crossing from the other end and swap van keys. We arrived at the start point, made certain all was well and set off. The lower level of the track runs alongside a stream, milky white with the sulphur deposits from it's hot spring source farther up the mountain. It has an almost eerie feeling about it, running through the bush, often leaving a mist hovering a few feet above the surface.
The boys and the regular tramper got in to their stride and quickly made headway. The other teacher in our party was really struggling, so I decided to hang back with him. Little did I know at the time that this would mean I couldn't complete the crossing. After struggling up the steps and track, his pace slowed dramatically. When the weather drew in and rain started spattering the path, he slowed even more. But we stuck with it, and even though hailstones made an appearance, we cracked on and eventually made the hut. One of the warden's saw him and advised me to tell him not to carry on as it got a lot harder after this point. So, I discussed it and he agreed I should go for it - but this meant I would be going it alone. Not to be deterred, I said my farewells and put in my headphones. A bit of AC/DC got me in to my stride and I made good progress. Thankfully the weather clearedmaking it a lot easier. The views over the landscape on the way up were breathtaking, but the best was yet to come.
On turning a corner I was treated to the sight of the central crater, a vast lunar looking landscape, flat as a pancake and surrounded by a basin of rock. In the background was Mount Ngauruhoe - Mount Doom again! Up close it was simply stunning. One day I intend to scale it and look down in to the depths. But that wasn't the only thing. To my left was the blue lake, in the distance the emerald lake and in front of me, my next big climb, was red crater. It reminded me of a huge tooth cavity, with the fantastic reddy-brown colours of volcanic rock infused with iron oxide.
I made my way down in to the crater, but noticed the other party approaching me. They were very surprised to see me, assuming that the other teacher and I had returned to the vehicle. It turned out that the teacher who was with the boys from our party had made the assumption and carried on regardless. The distance was such that I would struggle to catch up so I had to turn back. I was a little disappointed, but it was great to talk to the others as it helped pass the time and ease the disappointment.
My legs were aching, my shoulders as well from the straps on my backpack. To make matters worse one of my walking boots decided to give up after standing on a sharp rock and I broke the strengthening bar in the sole. This led to blisters and a very painful foot where the bar stuck in to the ball. However, I limped on and completed the trail after having walked a total of 21.2kms - over 2km more than the actual trail!
It was an amazing experience and one that I want to do again, with my family next time......!