Tongariro crossing NZ

[Kiwi girl]

Hi guys. First time on the forum and first time Camino for me and friend in September starting in Leon.
I have just done the Tongariro Crossing in NZ. For all of you who have done this, is anything on the Frances harder than this? Cheers

 

[Mike Savage]

Welcome Kiwi girl!

 

[VNwalking]

Kia Ora, Kiwigirl
Very different. Much easier on one level (you'll not be walking on much lava! ), but it's the day in day out kms that can be a challenge.
That's the physicality part. This is a different kind of walk, though. If you do it as a pilgrimage (walking, biking, no matter how-no need to nit-pick here) it's meant to - and probably will - deliver you to an inner edge. That's not easy, and nothing to do with the body...it's all about heart.
Buen Camino!

 

[Kiwi girl]

Kia Ora guys

Thanks for that. Tongariro was pretty hard so I guess, talking the physicality of it, I should be fine with most of the Camino. Just have to get my head around the day after day stuff. Not anywhere near Otago but I will investigate Hauraki and I can pound a few pavements and I have The Redwoods on my doorstep where I can crank up my stamina. I believe my heart and head will be in the right space, I've wanted to do this for about 5 years so finally getting my chance. Appreciate your time and feedback. Kia Kaha

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Hi guys. First time on the forum and first time Camino for me and friend in September starting in Leon.
I have just done the Tongariro Crossing in NZ. For all of you who have done this, is anything on the Frances harder than this? Cheers

Hy , have a great time on the camino and make lots off new friends. Wish you a Buen Camino, Peter.

 

[dougfitz]

Hi guys. First time on the forum and first time Camino for me and friend in September starting in Leon.
I have just done the Tongariro Crossing in NZ. For all of you who have done this, is anything on the Frances harder than this? Cheers

Tongariro - 19.4 km, 800m of climb, 1000m of descent. Height adjusted distance around 26 to 30 km. Even if there were more demanding sections from Leon to Santiago, if you can do this or something similar, you shouldn't find anything on the Camino that will defeat you.

 

[Kiwi-family]

I've done both - starting form Leon you will not find anything that even resembles the Tongariro Crossing! By comparison, most of the terrain is "undulating".
Don't even need to say "Kia kaha"!

 

[Kiwi girl]

Wow. Such response guys, even to the height of Tongariro!, I just knew it was "quite high" and "quite steep" in places. I need to work on my day after day and slowly increase the weight of my pack. I looked at the Hauraki Rail Trail but it mostly caters for cyclists. Don't know how they cope with sharing with walkers.

 

[Kiwi girl]

Cheers Lise. I will check out Waimangu. I'm used to the smell! And the Hauraki. Good idea about the shoes, I left mine on after the Tongariro,and after a couple at the Speights bar at National Park. They were pretty ripe when I got home but not too bad today. There is a walking festival in Rotorua in a couple of weeks and I am thinking of doing the half marathon on the Saturday then a 10k on the Sunday. It's not a race and will be a good indication of how I will go two days in a row.

Cheers

 

[Jo Jo]

My wife and I walked Tongariro (actually, the whole circuit, not just the crossing) many years ago on our honeymoon. That was real backpacking through wilderness (even if we did not need to carry stoves and tents because of the excellent shelters).

What you will find similar is the comradery of the mountain hut, especially after doing the crossing in a blinding rainstorm, as we did (see photo). But that is about it. The Camino is, with very few exceptions, not in natural areas--it is in agricultural areas. The Camino does not seek to go through the most scenic areas--it follows the lowest, easiest route. The Tongariro Crossing is a one-day sprint; the Camino is a marathon.

On some level, by biggest misconception about the Camino was that it was just a long backpacking trip. The Camino is not really backpacking in any sense except carrying a backpack. Much of the Camino is not on trails, but on roads, gravel if you are lucky, but very often concrete sidewalks or asphalt. The Camino is routed through villages and hamlets, not away from them through nature. And by far my biggest failure was to under-appreciate just how much longer the Camino was, and how that changed how I had to care for my feet. Just padding blisters with molefoam would not work. I had to prevent them from forming in the first place, which meant changing socks every 90inutes (summer Camino), foot powder, no hiking boots (the Camino is not rough enough to need real hiking boots), but Keen sandals and well-ventilated trail shoes or runners designed for concrete/asphalt.

Buen Camino

 

[Kiwi girl]

Cool pic Jo Jo. We didn't have any rain, glorious day, but we did pass a huge rent in the side of the crater where there was an eruption, I think, last year. The hut on the Rangipo side is unusable due to the large holes in the sides and roof from the boulders and ash. I had read a lot about the camaraderie on the camino and experienced that on the mountain as well. Like a band of brothers looking out for each other. I have done one marathon, walking, and we did most of our training in the forest but about one month out we did about a thirty k walk around the lake on the roads. Hello, blister city. They were horrendous! So I now know the importance of preparing your feet for long days and will be pounding the roads, a lot, in preparation. I have been reading the forum for about 6 months now and I think the more I read about shoes the more confusing it becomes. Just wore my marathon shoes on the mountain so think I will just take them and a pair of Teva walking sandles. And the right socks of course.

Buen Camino