‘It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,” he used to say. ‘You step into the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no telling where you might be swept off to.’”
– Frodo quoting Bilbo, The Fellowship of the Ring, Three is Company It is with those simple, but accurate words that one can explain how, under their feet, the dark stones that shelter the floor of one of the most extraordinary places on our planet cracked, the Tongariro National Park on New Zealand’s North Island. Tongariro is New Zealand’s oldest national park, established in 1887 and covers 796 square kilometers. UNESCO designated this stunning volcanic landscape park a World Heritage Area, as well as an important sacred place for Maori culture This national park is twice as special to New Zealand as it is known as what is called a dual World Heritage area. This then means it recognizes its important Maori cultural and spiritual associations and its famous volcanic features.
During the 1800’s there was much of controversy over who owned the land. Many North Island farmers wanted the land however it had a sacred meaning to Maori Tribes. It would have been a great loss to the Maori to lose this land. on September 23,1887, the Maori chief TeHeuheu gifted the three sacred volcanoes to the crown. Together they then formed the Tongariro National Park. The parliament only officially established it in 1894. Over the years the park’s size has increased, and it is now 78,618 hectares.
The park allows us to see the land as it once
was, and it is also a cultural icon for New Zealand – there are many Maori
legends that connect to this land. The landforms, ecosystem and volcanoes are
recognized to have significant international importance.
Millenary stories of Mother Earth are exposed in the scars that the strong
blows of volcanic fury dealt on the chisel of time. A land full of mystery, a
landscape that transports us to a lunar stage, the always latent force of Mount
Ngauruhoe that cries out with the breath of a dragon to wake up at any moment.
An invitation to adventure, a mixture of reality and literature, there lies the
heart of this story.
It was in mid-December of the year 2018 when I was in New Zealand that the real
possibility arose of experiencing one of the world’s most outstanding places
opened up for me. The anxieties, the illusion and the expectation that
generated seeing, with my own eyes, one of the locations where the film trilogy
“The Lord of the Rings” was shot. These expectations were exceeded at the
beginning of the journey through the road to the national park, beauty is
imposed on both sides, the large forests framed by volcanic chimneys and the
mystical accent granted by the endearing clouds of New Zealand and its countless
colors, with the first and last lights of the day, make this, one of the deepest
experiences that a person willing to give their eyes can experience.
With friends, Marcos Sanzano and Kevin from cinemaphotography school we,
trekked the Tongariro National Park. Throughout the eight hours it can take to
trek the 19 km to cross the park from side to side, taking the first steps in
the Mangatepopo Road Carpark, the landscape will change, starting with a desert
moorland combined with slopes covered with sparse vegetation, ancient rivers of
lava cut the harmonious undulating forms of the hills and in the distance, you
can see the perfect cone of Mount Ngauruhoe, one of the most recent chimneys of
the volcano Tongariro.
The track is quite easy at the beginning, then
we will go along the path that borders the cone. After the first hour of the
journey, a new landscape is revealed, when we look back we see that we have
already ascended and behind us there is a valley in the distance. We are
surprised at the front to see a more somber panorama framed by large,
pronounced and dark rocky slopes, for one of them is that the road continues
and brings us closer to the great chimney that inspired Mount Dum in the movie
“The Lord of the Rings.” This track section physically stresses walkers, it is
a climb similar to a staircase that tests our lungs and legs.
At this point, we stop to rest, while contemplating the traces of a latent
tectonic force, to become present again. When we begin to surround the iconic
mountain on the side that will mark perhaps half the way, but not to be
deceived, there is still a long access to go, the craters and peaks that must be
overcome the rest of the way are presented.
During the trek across the volcanic landscape I had the opportunity to pursue
my photographic style. I think that clouds and sun are essential to see the infinite
possibilities that light has to draw landscapes, bringing us closer to time as
an element of space transformation and forcing us to select that portion of time
and space that will best present the point of view you want to tell. The
balance is between light and shadow and there is something mysterious that I
try to decipher… I believe that light and darkness fades into each other. My
interest in photography arose at the time when the mountains of Cordoba burned
from the fires and ruined the surroundings of my grandparents’ field. I wanted
to record the damage that the fire produced so I took a family camera to
capture images and there I realized that what I recorded was not I filled my
expectations of what I wanted to communicate and that is why I dedicated myself
to study and practice. It will be because of the remainings of that fire and
the desolation that I felt, my wildlife photography style has high contrasts
and dark tones dominating this part of my work. Light and darkness as opposites
but parts of the whole.
During the time it takes to walk along a portion
of Mt. Ngauruhoe you can see part of the geological activity of the place,
steam jets meander in their escape from the depths of the earth; it is perhaps
in this section where the great craters and vapors plunge us into a lunar
landscape. This largely horizontal section is of extraordinary beauty and imposition.
Continuing with the tour and after sometime we face again a small stretch of
demanding ascent, this part of the road is highlighted by the ascent to what is
called The Red Crater – practically the path bringing us to the top of the
crater– which by itself it is impressive with its deep red color, but it also
reveals one of the best known postcards of this park; at this point our view
covers almost 360 degrees almost the entire park. On the hillside descending to
the front you can already visualize the famous and colorful lakes among which the
Emerald Lagoon stands out, named for the color of its waters; these lakes not
only surprise us by the extraordinary colors they give out, but also are
surrounded by the stream that emerges from the bowels of the earth, a halo of
magic and mysticism bringing us closer to the middle earth that JJR Tolkien
related to us in his trilogy and that Cinematography Director Peter Jackson
knew how to take to the big screen.
Beyond the horizon, to which we must make a pilgrimage, is the great Blue
Lagoon that flashes by the rays of sunlight that make its way through the
clouds that have been with us for sometime, but that dramatically increase the
mood of the landscape with the dark glades that they give us. The path that
takes us from the top of the Red Crater to the Blue Lagoon seems in sight not very
long, but when we begin to descend the slope that will lead us to through the
three colorful lagoons, we will realize the real dimension of the place. The lagoons
here are sacred so please don’t touch the water and don’t drop stones to them.
It is always good at this point to take the time to eat something and hydrate
while our senses delight in everything the park is offering.
Already with energies replenished, we continue
our way, surrounding the lagoons a couple of times to take photographs and then
we set course for the Blue Lagoon. To get closer to this, a steep climb that
takes place in a short time awaits us, the view as always in the park, is
unmatched, surprises awaiting every meter we travel. Already halfway there we
return to realize how lucky we were that day, the weather is very unpredictable
in this magnificent place, sudden climatic changes can occur that affect the
route of the park, but for us it was an experience full of lucky opportunities,
dense but intermittent clouds, without threat of rain, and with the magic of
the walker, we were transferred to the dark lands of Mordor. We did not suffer
extremes of cold or heat, it was all perfect, however, it is highly recommended
that, in addition toa good amount of water, sunscreen and food, wear enough
layers in case the weather decides to test us.
Having already passed the valley that separates Mount Ngauruhoe from Red Crater,
with its warm soil, we reach the shores of the Blue Lagoon, and we are at the
beginning of the last stretch of the park. Drawn by time and the power of the earth,
the Laguna is already part of our past little by little, ahead of us a winding
downward path awaits us that will take our feet to the end of the journey and adventure.
The descent does not present too much difficulty
in itself, only the fatigue of the busy hours is felt. This road that plays on
the slope of the park and that will be in continuous descent allowing us to see
in the distance the magnificent and largest water mirror of New Zealand, Lake Taupo,
an impressive view full of a green mantle of life framing the source of all
vitality to the immense reflection of the sky in the calm waters of the
mythical lake.
Unmatched images accompany us for much of the descent. Then, abruptly the
sparse vegetation and yellowish grasslands are seen conquered by a lush green
blanket of the beautiful variety of natural vegetation characteristics of New
Zealand. Similar to the end of a book, the epilogue of this path, is a rest
under a blanket that with its last words crowns a natural masterpiece, its last
prayers are the last stakes that will fix in our mind and heart this adventure
between geology and the mythology.
A place where the earth speaks to us from its depths, where the voice of another time echoes in the perishable present, the silent message of this earth, which goes beyond the perfection with which it molds everything in our sight, is overwhelming and splendid. It is a feeling again and being part of this extraordinary work to which we owe everything, Nature, Mother Earth.
