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Crater Walking on Mount Tarawera, New Zealand

Last Updated: July 11, 2020

Crater Walking on Mount Tarawera, New Zealand

“We’re going to WHAT?!” a fellow hiker said in disbelief when we looked at the massive volcanic crater of Mount Tarawera that we would shortly descend into – and back out of – in the next few hours. I could hardly believe my own eyes, but you know me: I’m always up for an adventure.

This post was originally published in 2010. It has since been updated for accuracy of links and content. 

During my multiple visits and lengthy stays in Rotorua, New Zealand, Mount Tarawera’s large flat-topped presence continually beckoned to me from the horizon. This formidable volcano with a violent history is a distinguished part of the Rotorua landscape. So I was over the moon when I was given a chance to do some crater walking on Mount Tarawera.

New Zealand is a very active volcanic zone, as evidenced by White Island – New Zealand’s most active volcano, just off the coast. But you don’t have to leave the mainland to feel the presence of volcanic activity, past and present. Rotorua’s steaming sulphur pools and geysers give you the feeling that the ground could open up and swallow you at any given moment (before logic and good sense kick in and you realize the earth’s crust is a little heartier than that).

steaming pits in Kiurau park in Rotorua New Zealand
Steaming lake in Rotorua’s Kiurau park

And Mount Tarawera, about 50kms out of the city, reminds you to be respectful of how mighty the earth can be. In 1886, it erupted with incredible violence, creating a column of ash and steam 11kms high, killing 153 people, and burying three villages with 20 metres of mud and ash.

Today, Mount Tarawera is considered a Maori sacred site, with three distinct peaks and six craters.

Mount Tarawera sign

I hitched a ride with Mt Tarawera New Zealand; the only company with the rights to drive up to the crater, over 1,100 metres above sea level. There are some companies that land by helicopter at the crater’s edge, but I preferred the chance to do a hike around the crater.

Our merry band of six (including two guides) parked just beyond the base camp, after driving through endless layers of fog and rain. In fact, we had all resolved ourselves to a damp walk with no views, so we were thrilled when we discovered that after 20 minutes of driving uphill on a rough track, we had actually driven above the clouds.

After hiking up to the crater’s edge, we were rewarded with views of all of Tarawera’s peaks and craters, as well as the peaks of some distant volcanoes poking above the clouds.

distant volcanoes in New Zealand

“Okay,” said Jude, one of our two guides. “We can do a few different walks from here. The first follows the crater rim along here, a short rock climb up that ridge, then up to the Tarawera summit over there,” she said as she pointed to the highest peak on the other side of the crater.

“Then, we follow the crater rim on the other side, and descend into the crater over there,” she said as she pointed to a visible trail on the opposite side of the crater that looked insurmountably vertical.

“And of course, what goes down, must come up, so we’ll come back up and out the other side.” Jude finished off. By this point, all our jaws had dropped in disbelief that this hike was even possible, much less that Jude could be as casual about it as she was. Even I – avid hiker and mountaineer that I am – felt those familiar butterflies in my stomach that were indicative of my feeling challenged.

Mt Tarawera crater

Then came the clincher. “There’s no going back once we start the hike, so we all have to agree on the route and stick to it. We’ve got an hour and a half to do it.”

We paused, waiting for Jude to propose a Plan B, which never came. “So…are you ready?”

We continued to stand there in disbelief. “It’s really quite a doable hike. Believe me!”

It was when we turned to our other guide, an affable gentleman on the verge of his 80th birthday (who looked not a day over 65) who was retying his hiking boot laces and had already admitted that he does this hike – twice daily, that we realized there was no Plan B. If he could do it – then by golly we could too.

descending into the crater of Mt Tarawera volcano

Surprisingly, the terrain was fairly easy going. Despite the incline, the footing was solid, as volcanic rock is quite “sticky” for lack of a better term. After few brief stops for huffs and puffs, we were upon the “rock climb”. This part was a fairly easy scramble for somebody with mountaineering experience, and a fun challenge for those who were newbies. But everybody made it up without much ado.

Now, we were following the crater rim up a gentle slope to Tarawera’s summit. I had been warned about the part to come – something that can be quite fearful for some people, but which I was excited to experience: sheer drop-offs on both sides. The trail was about one metre wide, and looking on either side revealed a sheer drop of at least 500 metres. Our group was hearty – we even stopped in the middle of this section to enjoy the views; no vertigo here.

precarious peaks

Upon reaching the Tarawera summit we were back in the clouds, but elated to be at the top. Pictures were taken and congratulations given all around. But our inevitable descent into the crater was yet to come, so we didn’t dally for too long.

“Scree” is a term for small loose rocks that usually make up the terrain on steep inclines in mountainous environments. In my experience in the Rocky Mountains of Canada, scree is made of sharp limestone, which is quite slippery and difficult to navigate.

The best way to get down a scree hill is to do some “scree skiing”, which is a loose term for sliding down the hill on your feet under the guise of having some general control. In my own experience scree skiing in the Rockies, I’ve been known to trigger landslides, so I had some apprehensions about what lay ahead.

But on a small hill that made for our practice run, I was pleased to discover that the stickiness of the volcanic rock made for an entirely controllable scree skiing experience. In fact, instead of sliding out of control as I’m used to, we could actually “walk” down the hill, each step sliding up to half a metre before burying our feet in the sticky scree.

buried in scree

Before we knew it, we were all on the bottom of the crater with huge smiles on our faces and rocks filling our shoes, surrounded by peaks on all sides, and wishing the hill had lasted longer. We stopped to (literally) dump the rocks out of our shoes and boots, before continuing on the (somewhat) gentle incline up and out of the crater.

scree skiing

Amazingly an hour and a half later, we emerged from our hike, exhilarated and slightly exhausted. Looking back at the terrain we covered, I had trouble believing we did it in the time that we did, without even feeling particularly rushed.

After a stop at Mt Tarawera Base Camp on the way out to write some notes in the guest book and get our certificates of achievement, we hopped in the Land Cruiser and descended down the rough track back into the clouds and fog. Although the rain and dense fog didn’t lift that day, we counted ourselves lucky to have seen the sun – and all that it shone on at Mount Tarawera.

Please check out this video of my Tarawera experiences, complete with evidence of the scree skiing and sheer drops!

Editor’s note: Mt Tarawera New Zealand provided me with a complimentary tour. They have since ceased operating these tours, as Mt. Tawarera is no longer accessible by the public. 

This post was originally published in 2010; is has since been updated for accuracy of links and content. 

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Filed Under: New Zealand, Video Clips

About the Author: As a former CFP (Certified Financial Planner), Nora Dunn traveled full-time for over 12 years. She is an expert in remote work, long-term travel, financially sustainable lifestyle travel, and much more. She is a celebrated author, speaker, writer, coach, and YouTuber. Read More…

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dave and Deb says

    June 4, 2010 at 6:19 am

    This looks like our kind of adventure Nora! You are doing some fantastic travels lately that are really making me want to get ourselves out to New Zealand ASAP!

    Reply
  2. Frank - Our Hiking Blog says

    June 6, 2010 at 5:49 pm

    Ah Nora,
    Great trip. The scenery is not really my cup of tea but loved reading about your adventures. I want to swim in one of those hot pools!

    Love the pic of you! Are you working on dreadies?

    Reply
  3. theprofessionalhobo says

    June 6, 2010 at 6:40 pm

    @Frank – Ha ha! No dreadies…those are just my (messy) natural curls! Yikes…I’d better go brush my hair! (smiles)

    Reply
  4. Dina says

    June 7, 2010 at 5:40 pm

    Wow, wow, and wow, Nora!! You always amazed me with your adventures! (The last time you told me about 8 bungees and over 300 sky dives, and the sledging in my top 3 post, oh my!!)
    Your pictures are stunning. I doubt I will dare to do that, as much as I want to be more adventurous than I am, I have a weakness when it comes to slopey surfaces, especially with a real threat if I slip.
    Btw, could not help thinking that your pants look awfully similar to mine. This is the second time I notice it. Is it a North Face convertible?

    Reply
  5. Kathrin says

    November 3, 2011 at 5:51 pm

    Hi, that sounds so great!! I would love to do that, but unfortunately the Shuttle Website (Mt Tarawera New Zealand) is offline! Can you tell me if you had to book the tour and how much was it? I really can’t find any information on the internet, its a shame!
    Thanks so far 🙂
    Kathrin

    Reply
  6. theprofessionalhobo says

    November 4, 2011 at 10:14 am

    @Kathrin – Unfortunately I think the company has stopped offering tours, as there might have been land access rights agreement changes. So I’m not sure anybody leads this tour any more…..all I can suggest is a Google search of Mt Tawawera to see what comes up. Sorry!

    Reply
  7. Kathrin says

    November 4, 2011 at 6:47 pm

    Thank you for the information – that’s so sad! How will you be able to see the lost 8th wonder of the world then?

    Reply
  8. Addicted to Passion says

    January 25, 2016 at 3:39 pm

    Hi! We are going to New Zealand in the next two weeks I am wonder how long take the trekking to the crater?

    Reply
    • Nora says

      January 26, 2016 at 6:04 pm

      Hi there,
      When I did this walk years ago, the land accessing the land was very restricted. So I don’t know if you can still do this trek. However if you can, the walk I did was pretty short – about half a day.

      Reply
  9. Brendon says

    April 10, 2016 at 6:52 pm

    Bloody expensive… plenty of other summits around the North Island you can do for free.

    Reply
    • Matthew says

      August 2, 2016 at 10:15 am

      used to be free. iwi decided to change that on the basis of it being a sacred place. However, they’ll still drive you up there in a 4WD for a nominal fee…..

      Reply
      • Nora says

        August 2, 2016 at 12:08 pm

        Thanks for the intel, Matthew!

        Reply

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