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Queensland Term Abroad

New Zealand

Tongariro Crossing Part II

More images from the most famous day hike in New Zealand, the Tongariro Crossing.

 View to south down valley

View south back over valley we've walked up. We're at the cloud level.


 Three people bundled up in mist

Morgan, Brooke, and Becca take a breather at the top of Devil's Staircase. Image courtesy Brooke Denslow.


 Scree slope disappearing into clouds

View to west


 Three people posing in mist

The edge of the world. Image courtesy Brooke Denslow.


 Student posing before cirque

Christy's ready to cross South Crater (which is, in reality, a cirque.)


 View across flat-bottomed cirque

View across South Crater


 East view down deep valley. Lava flows evident.

East view, down Oturere valley, with large aa flows evident. "AA" (pronounced "ah-ah", it's Hawaiian in origin) is a geologic term describing blocky, irregularly surfaced lava flows. It's also a great scrabble word. Those flows are kilometers down the slope.


 Large, irregular erosional blocks and ridge sloping up to right.

The trail continues west (and UP) past these large eroded blocks and on up the ridge in the background. We all sheltered behind these rocks for a brief rest.


 View down valley with more lava flows curving in distance

East-looking view from the rock outcrop shown in the picture above.


 View into red crater

Tongariro's Red Crater. We reached it via the ridge visible in the upper right two pictures up.


 Red Crater

Another view of Red Crater. Note angular variation of layers


 Red Crater with eroded dike

The hollow vertical feature is an igneous dike, a planar conduit for magma. The interior has been eroded away, leaving a hollow.


 View northeast from Red Crater with steep-sided valley in distance

View northeast from Red Crater. Note truncated deposits in valley wall opposite. Where's the vent that produced these flows?


 View into central crater with large flow and Blue Lake in distance

View to Northeast across central crater. A large aa-type flow is clear on the crater floor. Occupying another crater, Blue Lake shines in the distance.


 View up steep ridge.

We're coming down the opposite side of Red Crater. This view looks backward up the trail.


 Two people posing on ridge

My trusty companions, Christy and Alyssa, pose on the descent. Emerald lakes in the background.


 Three aquamarine, shimmering lakes below.

Emerald Lakes occupy small blast cones on the flank of Red Crater. Note steam venting from slopes to right of lakes. For scale, note the size of people at lower edge of leftmost lake.