Mount Doom

Misty Mountain?

A journey through several miles of dense morning fog and deep into what seemed like the real Middle-Earth – actually named Tongariro National Park – includes endless mind-blowing scenery, summed up by our tour guide in the most appropriate, nail-on-the-head fashion: “the British countryside on steroids”. I couldn’t have put it better myself. Though of course I should be able to, being a writer and all, so shame on me.

Not quite. It's Mount Doom

At journey’s end, we found ourselves at the Skotel Alpine Resort, which is basically a hotel equipped for skiers, and has that cosy cabin feel. The tiny barely-even-a-town is encompassed by land as far as the eyes can see, deep forests, and the area’s three giant mountains, Ngaurhuoe, Tongariro and Ruapehu, where the scenes on Mount Doom from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy were shot, but primarily on Ngaurhuoe, hence its nickname. In short, the National Park is simply jaw-dropping. As for the hotel, its best feature was the view from our room, given we fell asleep and woke up to a breathtaking view that was Ngaurhuoe. 

Skotel Alpine Resort

Ngaurhuoe is, on first glance at least, pyramid-like in appearance, at least until the peak plateaus, cutting off any chance of it looking so. This is the mouth into a volcano. Yes – the fires of Mount Doom are real, but actually I’m not sure if it’s active anymore. Unlike the nearby mountain of Tongariro which is clad in snow, or Ruapehu which has none but is much lighter in its appearance, Ngaurhuoe's is an ominous dark, as if somehow this massive upthrust of earth knows it holds a deadly reputation in the Earth’s history. And in Hollywood too, of course.

Mount Tongariro

But while it is, for the most part, silhouette-like given its near-permanent overhead clouds block out the sun, remnants of snow decorate the area surrounding the peak, though they vanish entirely before reaching any further down. From time to time, contours of the mountain’s lower terrain slowly materialise under intermittent sunlight, only to disappear quickly when the dense white cloud gathers around the top, shrouding it completely and adding to it a sense of mystery, and, ahem, doom. Ngaurhuoe exudes a mighty presence in this vast expanse of woodland, mountain ranges and rolling green hills, as if it’s the master of not only its neighbours Tongariro and Ruapehu, but also of the seemingly-unbothered natural land of the Tongariro National Park in its entirety.

Ngaurhuoe aka Mount Doom

Our short stay here included a 19km-hike near Mount Ngaurhuoe, known as the Tongariro Alpine Crossing Trek. We would have attempted this blistering seven-hour trek, but seeing as we didn’t have an evil ring to cast into the fires of Mount Doom, there was no real urgency. Nor did we fancy walking there and back again. Actually, it was an A-B trek and not a horseshoe, but you know I had to fit that pun in here somewhere. So, we may not have braved the all-day hike (simply from fear of time restraints and having to pay $120 for a pick-up if we opted out halfway through), but we did undertake a three-hour trek through the nearby forests along a gorgeous river, during which we ascended three waterfalls and caught panoramic views of the triplet of mountains. This was known as the Taranaki Falls – Low Alpine Loops Trail. 

Taranaki Falls

Even if you’re not trying to dispose of an evil, powerful ring, if you’re visiting New Zealand, make sure you put Tongariro National Park on your list.

Put Tongariro National Park on your list