The most popular carpark in New Zealand

  • Breaking
  • 29/03/2013

The Tongariro crossing has proved so popular since its partial reopening that trampers need to get up well before dawn to find a prized space in the car park.

Sixty parks are up for grabs, but are often all claimed as early as 6:15am.

The problem is that half the Tongariro crossing is still closed due to acidic volcanic clouds, meaning trampers can't use the Ketetahi car park to the north. They must turn back at Emerald Lakes, creating a bottleneck.

For a while the Department of Conservation (DOC) allowed drivers to park illegally on the side of the narrow road but some of those blocked in literally smashed their way out, causing a lot of damage.

Brent Guy, DOC community relations manager, says those who miss out on a park have two choices.

“Your only options now are to walk from the highway or go to Whakapapa village and get a shuttle bus,” he says.

“What we're advising people is that they book their transport from their accommodation the night before their trip.”

If there's no designated drop off driver, the other option is to park up on the highway and walk a couple of hours along the dusty road just to get to the start of the track.

The track will fully reopen once the volcanic activity subsides, but until then snoozers will be losers at New Zealand’s most coveted car park.

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source: newshub archive