A Teachers Guide To The Volcanic Plateau
Produced by Dave Webb 2010
H.O.D Physical Education & Sport Whangamata Area School
Forward
I have been teaching at Whangamata Area School for the past 32 years. In 1985 the Principal
suggested I do something really special with our senior students for Outdoor Education.
Having then recently retired from rugby and having weekends freed up we had become
keen on the mountains and I suggested an outdoor education venture to Mt Ruapehu. He
agreed and our Yr 12 Ski Trip was born. I have taken this trip to the snow ever since and in
1995 I began taking my Yr 13 P.E. students to do the 42 Traverse. This is a 45km mountain
bike ride through the Tongariro Forest which starts near O.P.C. and comes out at Owhango .
This is their assessment for 3.4 in NCEA and worth 4 level 3 credits.
I am on sabbatical for Term 3 in 2010 and for my study I am producing a resource for
teachers wanting to take students to the Volcanic Plateau. We have had a house in National
Park since 1993 and are very passionate about the mountains and indeed the Volcanic
Plateau. For this term my wife Dale and myself will be living at National Park Village enjoying
my first break from teaching in 35 years and producing a useful resource for teachers.
Having taken students to National Park since 1985 I have good knowledge of this area and
how to go about organising a trip to the mountains. I hope you find this guide useful.
Contents
National Park location
Why the Volcanic Plateau
Planning your trip
Mountain Activities
The 42 Traverse
O.P.C
The Tongariro Crossing
Down day activities
Tongariro National Park location
Tongariro National Park is situated in central North Island approximately 4 hours drive from
Auckland and Wellington. Travel to the Central Plateau can be by car, bus or train.
National Park railway station is situated in National Park Village and at 810m above
sea level is the highest train station in the North Island. There is plenty of
accommodation within 400 metres of National Park Station and being 20minutes
from Whakapapa Ski Field and 25minutes from Ohakune Township at the base of
Turoa Ski Field it is a handy place to stay. It is also 15 minutes from the start of the
42 Traverse and the Tongariro Crossing.
Ohakune Township is handy if you have travelled from the Wellington region and has plenty
of accommodation of different types and prices. Mount Ruapehu website at
www.mtruapehu.co.nz has plenty of accommodation suggestions as does
www.bookabach.co.nz Turangi Township is 30 minutes from Whakapapa Ski Field and
Taupo at just over 1 hour from the ski field offers a variety of places to stay with prices to
suit all budgets. Whakapapa ski field has 44 lodges on the mountain some of which
accommodate non members. The Scout Lodge at the Top of the Bruce is a great place to
stay. There are more lodges in Whakapapa Village and the motor camp there offers cheap
accommodation for groups.
Why the Volcanic Plateau ?
The Volcanic Plateau is a region like no other in the North Island. It is such a contrast to the
beautiful beaches we have and yet so accessible from most places in the North Island. My
home town of Whangamata is a beach resort with fantastic surf. To be able to travel for 4
hours and give the students such a contrasting mountain experience is invaluable in their
development and often the highlight of their time at Whangamata Area School. I intend to
cover a range of activities available in detail further on but below is a list of activities
Tongariro National Park has to offer.
Skiing and Snowboarding
Climbing and abseiling
Mountain biking
Hiking and tramping
White water rafting
Jet boating
Scenic Flights
Canoe and Kayak trips
Horse trekking
Indoor rock climbing
O.P.C.
Bungy jumping
Hunting
The Volcanic Plateau is also becoming a popular summer destination with over 30,000
people doing the Tongariro Crossing in the first 3 months of the year. This walk was
recently voted the best 1 day walk in the world. This combined with the 42 Traverse ,
Whakapapa summer sightseeing and crater walks means no matter what the season is the
Volcanic Plateau has plenty to offer.
Planning your trip.
The Volcanic Plateau offers a huge range of Outdoor Educations experiences.
E.O.T.C is becoming more difficult in NZ schools with the requirements of risk management,
costs involved and the demands on teachers time. Many teachers are not prepared to go
through the necessary procedure required. However for those that do the benefits to
students are still as great as they have ever been. At my school the students and parents
know about the Yr 12 Ski Trip and a numberof students come back to school with that as the
carrot. You may have to promote the idea with your Principal , BOT and parents as costs are
considerable. This may best be done the year before. I will outline below the steps involved
in organising your trip.
* Get quotes for travel , accommodation , food and activities .
* Give EOTC proposal to BOT including final cost to students and RAMS forms covering all
activities. www.mtruapehu has all relevant information for risk management as well as tips
for taking groups to the snow. The site also covers special prices for equipment hire and ski
passes available to school groups. Ensure you contact R.A.L at least 1 month prior to your
visit .
* Write a series of newsletters to parents and students during the year. Include dates ,
costs, parent help required , equipment and clothing students will need. In most cases
students can borrow mountain clothing required. It is expensive to hire ski jackets, pants
etc. Send your first newsletter in February.
* Funding. In recent years I have applied for gaming machine money. In most cases I have
received some money which has reduced prices considerably. Most schools have policies
regarding applications so you would need to sort this out. Over the years I have tried
different fund-raisers which add a lot to the time involved in organising such trips. I suggest
you stay away from this- Put it back on the students. Many have jobs and with plenty of
notice can save the required amount. Get them to pay a deposit of say $50 and collect that
each term,it makes the final figure easier to get. Some students put in more than that. I am
able to give our students a 6 day mountain experience with 5 days up the mountain
boarding or skiing for $400 covering all costs. Incredibly , it is only $150 more than my first
camp at Whakapapa in 1985.
*Write out an itinerary covering your entire trip and hand out a week before you go.
*Get permission on appropriate form from parents.
*Organise someone to be in charge of school magazine article before the trip begins.
*After the trip thank any Trusts etc who contributed funds to your camp by letter. Include
some photos from your camp.
Promote the camp with an article and photos in local paper. Give students this task.
The article could be the same as the one in the school magazine.
For the past 25 years I have produced a video or more recently a DVD of the camp. I
enjoy making this and the students watch the day’s activity on the TV at night. It is a
great tool for teaching boarding and skiing and a lot of fun for everyone watching. I
make it available after the camp to copy and many students take up this
opportunity.
Set up an expenditure sheet for your camp and add to it each day on what you spend
as well as keeping the receipts . It makes it so much easier when the camp is
finished. You are also often juggling money on down days up the mountain for an
alternative activity in the region and your budget needs to be accurate.
If you have received gaming machine money it can be spent only on what you stated
you are going to use it for and provided quotes for. This can be a problem when the
mountain is shut and you want to do another down day activity. Take this into
account when applying for funds. Fixed costs like transport and accommodation do
not change. I never apply to cover all costs only certain aspects. Money not spent on
what you applied for must be returned so plan it carefully.
Mountain Activities
Mount Ruapehu offers a number of activities students can do. For school groups a
snowboarding and skiing experience can be the highlight of the year. An introduction into a
mountain environment and even the experience of staying on the mountain in a lodge is
such a buzz for students and offers a new environment and opportunities for them for their
future.
R.A.L operates both Whakapapa and Turoa ski fields. They encourage school groups by
giving generous discounts mid week and 20% off normal rates in the weekend. They have a
very informative document under School Groups on their website. www.mtruapehu.co.nz
The school groups co-ordinator is very helpful if you phone for assistance. They will provide
you with a written quote once you send in your application which you can download from
the website. I suggest you do this well ahead of time. They say a minimum of 2 weeks but do
it well before that .August/September is their busy time for school groups and it is not
uncommon to have over 40 different schools there at any one time. They only have a
certain amount of rentals and instructors available so get in early. I definitely recommend
they have a lesson and doing a’ DIscovery Package’ is the cheapest way to do this. All
relevant costs are set out on the website.
Tips for the mountain:
*Get students to write their name in vivid on masking tape attached to board , boots and
skis. They can all look similar and this can save a lot of hassles
*Get students to buddy up. Make sure one of them has a cell phone and your contact
number.
*Have a rendezvous organised for several times in the day to keep in contact with the
group. Give students a number and simply number off at rendezvous time.
*Get students to make their lunch and take it up in a back pack. An ice-cream container
makes a great lunch box and food is very expensive up the mountain. Their pack can have
spare clothes in it in case the weather changes. Very few back packs get stolen. It is good to
have water bottles in the pack also. Water is available free in the cafes but dehydration can
be a problem in spring
*Challenge your students by moving them on as they become confident with the area they
are in. If you are in a lodge up the mountain do not let students go back there during the
day. The more time spent on the slopes the quicker the improvement. In my experience I
have found the fitter a student is the quicker they improve as they keep at it longer. Get
your students to undergo a fitness programme before your time on the slopes. Students
who go back to lodges often sleep then keep others awake at night.
The 42 Traverse
The 42 Traverse is considered one of the best mountain bike rides in the North Island. This
grade 3 ride starts at Kapoors Road which is 18km north from National Park Village on state
highway 47. The 42 Traverse follows old logging tracks through remote areas of state forest
no. 42 in the Tongariro Forest. The 46km ride has some challenging downhills and muscle
testing uphills as well as several river crossings. Overall the ride has a 520m descent and
finishes near Owhango. The ride has fantastic views of the central north island mountains
and goes through lush native forest. The ride is well marked with dark green markers before
and after intersections.
I have used this ride as ‘Applied Setting’ in Bursary days and more recently for level 3 NCEA.
I have taken students on this ride for 15 years. On 2 or 3 occasions the weather was not
suitable so I did Fischer’s Track across the railway line as an alternative. Students need to be
well prepared for the 42 Traverse and I spend 3 months training the students in mountain
biking skills. This is done in conjunction with 3.1 (PEP) 3.2 (review of training programme)
and 3.4 (Performance to nationally approved standards). I have criteria on NZQA website
which is approved by NZQA.
Students doing one of 3 river crossings on the ride crossing the Waione Stream
The weather is an important factor in this ride. You do not want to be doing it in
persistent rain. As well as being unpleasant the first time I did the ride was with a group
of adults in the rain. We wore out our brake pads in the pumice type surface and then
we had a problem. Notices at the start of the track suggest you take spare brake pads. I
will not do this ride in the wet and would recommend that it is a fine day ride. The rivers
can also become impassable in the wet. Fisher’s Track behind National Park Village is my
back up ride. It will not test them like the 42 Traverse but it is a fun ride with a long
downhill and not out in a remote wilderness. You can just do the down hill which takes
about an hour or ride the 10km along a metal road following the Upper Reteruki River
which winds its way out to the Kaitieke Monument. This is about 35 minutes by car from
National Park for pick up. There are several business’s in National Park village that rent
bikes for $40-$60 for the day and do drop off and pick up. At about $25 per head for this
service it makes life easier but does add to costs. Best I have found is Rick at
www.kiwimountainbikes.co.nz Bikes must be in good working order and you need to
take spare tubes, tyre , chain- breaker pump etc. Students need polyprops, light jacket,
gloves and small backpack or camelback for food extra clothes spare sox etc
Students pushing bikes up a steep un-rideable section from the Waione Stream.
I usually do The 42 Traverse near the end of Term 3 in late September. I do not suggest
you do it any earlier as weather can still be cold and wet. You do need 2-3 months to
build up the skills and fitness required. You need to do the ride yourself first.
Outdoor Pursuits Centre-Tongariro
OPC Tongariro is situated in a beautiful wilderness area of the Central North Island
adjacent to Tongariro National Park. This park was the first National Park in NZ and was
established in 1887. It is also a dual World Heritage Area.
OPC offers an infinite variety of natural environments providing life changing
experiences that are fun and expertly managed.
OPC is situated 4 km off state highway 47 on the western side of Tongariro National
Park. It is an area rich in natural and cultural history surrounded by lakes, rivers ,
mountains and native bush. To find OPC travel via Tokannu, Turangi, or National Park
Village onto state highway 47. The turnoff which is well signposted is 25min from either
of the above mentioned towns.
www.opc.org.nz Has great info on all the courses below:
*Discovery Challenge (primary/int.)
*Adventure challenge (Secondary)
*Everest Challenge (leadership and Yr 11+)
*PE Curriculum Programmes (NCEA options)
*Team Adventure Competition
* Specialist Courses
The Tongariro Crossing
The Tongariro Crossing is considered the Best one day walk in the world. The 17km walk
in Tongariro World Heritage Park means you experience active volcanoes , mountain
springs , lava flows , emerald lakes , and stunning views. It is best to start from the
Mangatepopo car park 950m above sea level and walk towards the Ketetahi car park
600m above sea level. You climb to about 1900m (Red Crater) and then start descending
past the emerald lakes and then the blue lake. The finish is the Ketetahi car park. You
will need do arrange your drop off and pick up which can easily be done from many
providers in National Park Village. Over 35000 people do this free walk in the first 3
months of each year and it is becoming more popular. Once snow gets on the crossing
you need to organise a guide and crampons may be required. Because of the altitude of
this walk conditions can change dramatically and you need to be fit and well prepared.
Down Day Activities
The Volcanic Plateau has a very unpredictable and ever changing weather pattern. If you
are lucky enough to get a stable high , mountain activities will keep your students totally
involved and ensure they will be tired and sleep well at night. However , because
Ruapehu attracts bad weather you need to have some down day activities as back up.
Wind often closes the mountain yet the conditions in lower parts of the Volcanic Plateau
and surrounding districts can be OK for outdoor activities. Listed below are activities and
contacts for the Ruapehu region.
*Whakapapa visitor centre-Whakapapa Village . Phone (07) 892 3729
*National Army Museum-Waiouru. www.armymuseum.co.nz Phone(06) 387 6911
*Indoor Climbing Hall- National Park. www.npbp.co.nz . Phone (07) 892 2870
*Whakapapa walks. 8 walks around the Whakapapa Village region . Brochures from
Visitor Centre.
*Ohakune walks . 5 walks in Ohakune region. Brochures from Visitor Centre
*Adventure Kayak Tours. National Park ½ day Guided Tour Adventures. White water
kayak , Cave exploring ,Glow worm tour. Phone (07) 892 2778
*Erua Adventures . Off road go carts. Paint ball. Phone (07) 892 2894
*Lord Of The Rings Tours. Half day and Full day . Phone (07) 895 4773
*Tongariro River Rafting . Turangi. Phone (07)386 6409
*River Valley. White water rafting. Taihape. www.rivervalley.co.nz Freephone
0800248666 .
*Kiwi Mountain Bikes. National Park. Bike hire. Drop off and pick up service. Freephone
0800KMBIKES. www.kiwimountainbikes.co.nz
*Wades Landing Outdoors . Canoe Trips . Phone (07) 895 5995
*Vertigo Climbing Centre. A new facility in Ohakune. www.vertigoclimbing.co.nz Phone
(06) 385 9018
*Mokai Gravity Canyon . 20 minutes drive from Taihape. Freephone 0800 802864
Dave Webb . Outer Limits Whakapapa Oct 2010
I hope you find this guide to the Volcanic Plateau useful. I have enjoyed my sabbatical
and certainly feel refreshed. I have used the down days to produce this guide and we
certainly have had lots of down days this season. If you would like to contact me about
the region my home phone is (07) 8658186 and mobile 0211716318