Tourist carried off mountain
A Dutch teenager and two young Pukekohe men had to be rescued from Mt Ngauruhoe on Saturday night after a hike to the top of Lord of the Rings' "Mt Doom" almost ended in tragedy.
Middle Earth fan Violet Onderwater set off to climb the mountain – on which Mt Doom in the movie trilogy was based – on Saturday in clothing more suitable for the beach.
She set out from Mangatepopo Hut at 1.30pm, wearing tights and a long singlet with a hoody, with four South Auckland friends. Two turned back when they reached the top of The Staircase, near the south crater on the Tongariro Crossing. But Miss Onderwater, 18, an Amsterdam arts student, pressed on up the mountain with Ryan Hattle, 23, and Sam Macdonald, 21.
She reached the summit at 5.30pm, but found herself stranded in the dark after twisting her ankles on the descent.
"I did not expect the walk down to be 10 times more difficult than the walk up. I kept on twisting my ankles and when the sun went down while high on the mountain I could not move," Miss Onderwater said.
Mr Macdonald stayed with her just beneath the summit while Mr Hattle went back down the mountain to call for help.
Eight rescuers from the Ruapehu Alpine Rescue Organisation reached Miss Onderwater and Mr Macdonald about midnight – when temperatures had plummeted to about 5 degrees Celsius.
The rescuers carried Miss Onderwater off the mountain on a stretcher.
"I would not have survived the night without them. These men are my heroes," Miss Onderwater said.