Day 44

Today I became one of those ants. I took a bus to the Mangatepopo car park to start the Tongariro crossing. I counted 15 large buses, 4 shuttle buses and numerous private cars. They say several thousand people do the walk each day and the numbers I saw were huge. I walked it the reverse way to last time. Went past Mangatepopo hut then it was the Devil's staircase. There was a lot more intrastructure in terms of steps and track formation but it was still a solid climb. I was pleased to have poles. To cater for the huge numbers there are now toilets every 2 to 3 km. After the Devil's staircase it was a steep climb on loose scoria to Red crater, emerald lake and blue lake. We were so lucky the cloud blew off for a while and I got some good photos. I saw Brie, Jodie, Elena and Rampage going the other way carrying their packs. I was pleased to only have a day bag. The down hill was steady and zig zagged down to where the Ketatahi hut used to be. Going down I got good views of lake Rotoaire and lake Taupo. The track descend down through bush until it reached the car park. I am pleased to say I didn't see a priest in a cassock on the track. Tobias and Johannes will know what I mean. The bus dropped me back at Manowhenua back packers. I am really pleased I did the walk again as it is just so beautiful. The weather was kind, a little cooler but fine. I took heaps of photos. Hey I was a tourist today

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