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The Tongariro Crossing - probably the greatest one day walk the world
From The West Australian: 2007
Sitting on top of a volcanic plateau eating the remains of a sandwich and trying not to finish the dregs of my water bottle I thought it odd the way other walkers edged away from me. Perched on a rock between an eerily violet blue and a stunning emerald green lake I suddenly got a powerful waft of a sulphurous bad egg smell. With no one else to blame I stared around and discovered a crack in the ground steaming and hissing the disgusting smell.
I was near the top of mount Tongariro on the north island in New Zealand. Even so far from home I was desperate to explain that it wasn't me but with a red face I ended up hoisting my rucksack and guiltily slinking off towards the next volcanic crater........
........The climb out of the South Crater was up a steep narrow ridge curving around to the Red Crater. This is the highest point on the trek at 1,886 m; the vertical climb to this point equates with climbing the Empire State building - up to the radio mast! But there is a fair bit of descent and re-ascent so the overall climb is even greater. Another sudden waft of sulphur is a reminder that these are not extinct volcanoes and the last major eruption was Mount Ngauruhoe in 1995........