Travelbeat Editorial Review MORDOR IN STYLE Tongariro National Park, New Zealand Story and photos by Kerry Hennigan There was still snow on the volcanoes in New Zealand's Tongariro National Park. The ski lift at Whakapapa village wasn't operating, but we weren't here for the skiing. The stark landscape of the North Island's volcanic central plateau - home of New Zealand's first and largest national park - has gained new fame in recent years as the setting for Mordor, in Peter Jackson's movie adaptation of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was suitably sombre and overcast when we trekked Mordor. You can certainly visualise Frodo and Sam scrambling up the loose scree on the bare craggy slopes around Whakapapa, where the snowline had retreated just beyond the village, and the motionless track of the ski lift vanished uphill into the white mist. But otherwise our stay in Tongariro National Park was blessed by brilliant sunshine that made the snow capped peaks dazzling to look at. There's only one way for a Lord of the Rings fan to 'do Mordor' and that's in the same style as the cast members when they were filming here - by staying at the Bayview Chateau Tongariro (above), nestled at the foot of Mt Ruapehu. Ruapehu is the largest and most active of the three giant peaks of the national park. There's Tongariro itself (1967m) a vast, flat-topped mountain with a world-famous day-long hiking trail called the Tongariro Crossing. There's Ruapehu (2797m) which had spluttered a minor eruption just a month before our visit. Seismic instruments in the lobby of the Chateau measure any rumblings from the mountain, and guest rooms come complete with evacuation instructions in case of an eruption. Between Tongariro and Ruapehu is Ngauruhoe, now more familiarly known to the rest of the world as Mordor's Mt Doom (top right). Even without the Tolkien mystique, Ngauruhoe is a breathtaking sight, being young enough to still retain a traditional cone-shaped peak. Using the Chateau as our home base, we toured the national park and surrounding townships by rental car, taking in jaw-dropping scenery and climbing down to the bottom of waterfalls. A walking trail starting near the Chateau leads to Towai Falls, which features in the Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook. Another location a little further afield is near Ohakune, which proudly proclaims itself the carrot capital of New Zealand - there's even a giant model of one in the town's main street! Thirteen kilometres up the Ohakune Mountain Road, on the south western side of Ruapehu, is Mangawhero Falls. It was at the bottom of these falls that Gollum caught a fish before being captured by Faramir's men in The Two Towers. The area near the falls provided the location for their Ithilien Camp. The stunted beech forest (bottom right) is certainly an atmospheric place to rest and listen to the rustling of the leaves. We were on the far side of Ruapehu here, and closed in by the forest - in contrast to the vast open lava plain we'd become accustomed to in front of the Chateau. It's an eerie landscape, where you can readily imagine feeling the earth pulse beneath your feet and hearing Mother Nature's breath sighing through the trees. However, if reality overtakes imagination, it's time to put that evacuation plan into action! The attractions of the national park would definitely overwhelm any lesser lodging than the Bayview Chateau Tongariro, which first opened its doors in 1929. It was a definite treat to stay here, for the atmosphere of sumptuous old-world charm (pictured above, centre right) for the hospitality, the facilities, the scenery visible from almost every window. Our reservation had been up-graded at no extra cost to a spacious up-stairs room with a view of snow-white Ruapehu. And from the fireside lounge on the ground floor, you can watch Mt Doom, I mean Ngauruhoe, gradually fading in the twilight from the feature windows. You can play pool, enjoy a drink from the bar, make a reservation to dine in style in the Ruapehu Room restaurant, or just pop downstairs to the more casual, less expensive but equally delicious, meals at the Café. It's all too good to leave, but eventually we had to, as is the fate of most travellers. So, it was with great reluctance that we drove away from the Chateau and the matchless volcanoes. But there was still one more surprise in store for us. Driving towards the village of National Park, we spotted what looked like a mirage away in the distance. Only it wasn't a mirage, but the Mt Fuji-like cone of Taranaki/Mt Egmont, down in the south western corner of the North Island. Taranaki played the part of Fuji in another recent big screen epic, The Last Samurai, which starred Tom Cruise. A Kiwi friend back home in Australia had told me Taranaki was visible from Tongariro National Park. Looking at the distance between the two on a map, I wouldn't have thought it possible. Now we know better - in this magical place, all things seem possible. For further information visit: www.tourism.net.nz www.visitruapehu.co.nz www.chateau.co.nz/ Sources: ˇ New Zealand Travel Guide (Lonely Planet) ˇ New Zealand Eyewitness Travel Guide (Dorling Kindersley) ˇ Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook Combined Edition (Ian Brodie) Back to Front Page