Sat, Nov 8 · 7:30 AM NZDT
A chance for a small group of experienced hikers to walk the Tongariro Crossing at twilight / night time . We will be at the summit for sunset. Hike will take approx 7.5 hours
Difficulty: 4.5 on our 1-5 scale
You must be physically fit and You must have been out with Auckland Outdoors on at least 1 level 3 hike to join. If you have not been out with us before or in the last 3 months join us at Tawharanui on 26 October so we can get to meet you. Everyone will automatically go on to the waitlist and once we have confirmed you are eligible to join I will move you across to going. Please do not make any payments until you are confirmed on to the going list.
We ask that everyone bring a gold coin donation ($1 or $2) to help cover website costs and safety equipment for the group. Alternatively you can make the donation direct to the group's bank account:
Auckland Outdoors bank account: 06-0998-0961007-00
Risk
There are a lot of risks when venturing into an alpine terrain at night and this could be a very cold night time hike, please make sure you understand this before you RSVP to attend this event. To name a few - there are dangers of injury (trips in the dark), hypothermia approx 02 deg, falling off ridge lines, or getting lost.
Plan
1.00pm Saturday 8th November - We will meet at at Schnapps Bar at the national park where we will have a meet and greet and lunch for those who want to.
2.00pm Saturday 8th November We will proceed to the start of the hike. We will leave from the Maungatapopo end, climb to the top of the mountain to the Blue Lakes and watch the sun set. Then we will walk back to the summit and down to the car park via Red Crater. We will finish the hike at approx 9.30pm where we will drive back to the accommodation.
Accommodation
We will be staying at accommodation in national Park You will need to pay for accommodation $ 20 to Auckland Outdoors Bank Account within five days of being accepted onto the hike or you will be taken off the going list. Please comment in the comment section below when you have paid for your accommodation and state what name you have booked under as sometimes people's Meetup name is different to their actual name. At the accommodation you will need to bring your own bedding, pillows and towels.
Emergency Blanket (silver foil)
Base layer clothing NOT cotton
Mid layer clothing NOT cotton
Jacket
Rain jacket with hood (poncho or any homemade equivalent are not
acceptable)
Rain trousers
Hiking Boots
Headlamp
Backup lighting
NOTE: The above is mandatory, do not RSVP if you are not willing to rent or buy or borrow all of the above. You will be asked to wait at the accommodation if you turn up unequipped!
Food
You need to pack a meal, enough water (min 3l), and snacks for the Saturday Night hike. You will burn extra energy staying warm so it is important that you have extra food due to risk of being stuck on the mountain.
It is recommended to have a substantial dinner as the body will burn extra energy keeping warm on this hike.
Transport
Please pay your driver $80 petrol money for the trip. Please make sure you either bring cash at the start of the trip or make a direct bank payment to your driver. Please indicate in questions if you are a driver or passenger
Please read the whole event description properly before you RSVP Yes to attend. You need to answer 5 questions when you RSVP and this may or may not work with meetup app on your phone. The only acceptable answer to all 3 questions is YES. And and answer to question 4 & 5 Please don't be offended if I change your RSVP to No if I think you are not suitable for this hike, or your answers to the questions are not satisfactory.
Communication
It is important you enable messaging through this website, and that you check and read emails regarding this event. These kind of trips get postponed and/or cancelled due to changes in weather forecast or avalanche warnings etc. You are asked to reply promptly if required to do so, thanks.