Mt Ruapehu day walk and the ice cave.

Sarah enjoys staying at the WTMC Ruapehu Lodge.

Mainly because it is easy there for her to make tasty pancakes and raisin scones.

But also, there are places for her to go on long runs such as down the Bruce Road to the Chateau Tongariro and then back to the lodge via Whakapapaiti Hut just because she can.

And there are endless places for her to go on daywalks or overnight tramps such as to the ‘Trench Track’ on Pukekaikiore, and the Te Tatau-Pounamu wilderness area.

Sometimes she even goes to the summit of something pointy like Tahurangi, or something flat like the Rangipo Desert.

She has even been seen in the Pātaka Restaurant at Knoll Ridge with a burger and glass of cider.

Sarah knows a lot about the Tongariro National Park. She can tell you that the Summit Plateau Glacier is defined by peaks that form the amalgamated rim of several craters and is one of nine named glaciers on Mt Ruapehu.

Sarah also knows that the Summit Plateau Glacier is joined to the Whangaehu and Tuwharetoa Glaciers and that the ice thickness varies between 60 and 130 m in two bowl shaped depressions, and that the ablation rate of the glacier is approximately 1 m per year, so in the lifetime of the WTMC Lodge the surface has been lowered about 65 m.

She understands that recent eruptions have covered the whole surface of the plateau with volcanic debris composed of ash, lapilli and volcanic blocks to a thickness of about 100 mm which then becomes exposed as the winter snow melts.

So, when she recently went on a day walk starting from the WTMC Ruapehu Lodge with her freshly baked chocolate cookies wrapped carefully in her backpack and headed towards the top of Ruapehu she knew that somewhere on the plateau there would likely be caves formed by meltwater running along the bed of the glacier.

On Friday she found a wonderfully sculptured cave with glistening walls and ceiling of blue ice and stalactites that extended from the roof to the floor.

She spent some time marveling at this sublime natural feature and her good luck in finding it before she headed back to the lodge for a comfortable evening, and to plan for another adventure the next day.

If you want to experience some of Sarah’s wonders of our Dual World Heritage National Park then you should think about using the WTMC Ruapehu Lodge too. It will open limitless opportunities to be surprised and awed by a volcanic wonderland.

Check out the Lodge Webpage for details, and the Lodge YouTube channel for a few ideas.

There are many stories of club and private trips from the lodge in the WTMC Newsletter – go to https://wtmc.org.nz/?s=Ruapehu+Lodge.

Useful trip information:

Mix 2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp sugar, pinch of salt, rub in 50g cold butter, stir in a handful of raisins, add ¾ cup milk till dough forms, pat to 2cm, cut rounds, bake at 200°C for 15 mins.