Taumarunui Hospital – Emergency Department
- 24/7 emergency
- Stages 1, 4
63 Kururau Road, Taumarunui 3920
Tongariro Northern Circuit · Checked October 2026
Tongariro Northern Circuit emergency & health guide: hospitals, rescue, 111 and volcano alerts
How to call for help where mobile signal is patchy, the nearest hospital for each of the 4 stages, and the park rules: hut bookings, the 2026/27 reopening dates, volcanic alert levels, parking and shuttles.
In an emergency call 111 from any phone; 112 also works from mobiles and is put through to 111. For a lost or injured tramper ask for the police: New Zealand Police coordinate search and rescue with LandSAR volunteers and rescue helicopters. In the Great Walks season the DOC hut rangers can also call for help by radio. Signal is patchy and there is little or none at Waihohonu Hut, so in a life-threatening emergency activate a personal locator beacon (PLB). Say which stage you are on, the nearest hut or landmark and, if you can, your GPS coordinates.
Emergency numbers
| Number | What it is |
|---|---|
| 111 | Police, ambulance and fire, free from any phone, 24/7. For a lost or injured tramper ask for the police: they run search and rescue with LandSAR and rescue helicopters. |
| 112 | Works from all mobile networks and is put through to 111 automatically; dialling 111 is more direct. |
| 105 | Police non-emergency line, for things that have already happened and are not urgent |
| 0800 611 116 | Healthline: free medical advice from a nurse when it is not an emergency, 24/7 |
| +64 7 892 3729 | Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre (DOC), Whakapapa Village: track conditions, alerts and bookings, 8:30 am – 4 pm |
Mobile coverage is reasonably good on parts of the circuit, but there are gaps and little or none at Waihohonu Hut, and from May to October there are no rangers or hut radios. Carry a personal locator beacon (PLB), register it free with the Rescue Coordination Centre NZ, and use it only in a life-threatening emergency. Deaf or speech-impaired visitors can register for the 111 TXT service before the trip. Tell someone at home your plans and check the GeoNet volcanic alert level, the NIWA park forecast and the DOC alerts before you start.
Rules to know
- Book every hut and campsite night online with DOC, all year. Great Walks season 2026/27 (23 October – 30 April): huts $66 per night for international adults and $44 for New Zealanders (children $33 and $22), campsites $28 and $19. From 1 May to 22 October huts cost $25. No spaces are kept for walkers without a booking: you may be charged a penalty or turned away.
- 2026/27: the fire-damaged Mangatepopo Track (Whakapapa – Mangatepopo Hut) is due to reopen in mid-December 2026, and the new Oturere Hut and campsite open for bookings from 18 December 2026. Before then the walk starts at the Mangatepopo Road end and there is no night at Oturere. Check the DOC track page before you go.
- Volcanoes: the track crosses the Tongariro hazard zone around Te Maari, Red Crater and Ngāuruhoe. In October 2026 Tongariro and Ngāuruhoe are at Volcanic Alert Level 0 and Ruapehu at Level 1. If the level rises, DOC closes track sections, or most of the circuit if the unrest is at Red Crater. In an eruption move away from the vent and out of valleys, and shelter from flying rocks behind a ridge.
- Parking at the Mangatepopo and Ketetahi road ends is limited to 4 hours from late October to 30 April: take a shuttle. Overnight parking in Whakapapa Village needs a free permit from the visitor centre. Bus and train services stop at National Park Village, 15 km away.
- With a Northern Circuit hut or campsite booking you do not need a Tongariro Alpine Crossing booking for the Red Crater section. Expect day crowds between Mangatepopo and the Emerald Lakes.
- Ngāti Tūwharetoa gifted these sacred peaks: do not climb the summits of Ngāuruhoe or Tongariro, and do not touch or enter any lake, including the Emerald Lakes and Blue Lake. A 10-year rāhui covers the area burnt in 2025: stay on the track and clean your boots before you come.
- Camping is not allowed within 500 m of the track except at the three hut campsites. No dogs. Flying a drone without a DOC permit is strictly prohibited.
- Terrain and weather: take care on the loose scree of Red Crater and the steep, slippery 400 m descent from the Emerald Lakes to the Oturere Valley. Cloud, cold wind, rain and snow can arrive on any summer day. DOC does not recommend the track for children under 10.
- Winter (1 May – 22 October): no rangers, gas cookers or emergency radios; avalanches are possible from July to October, with complex avalanche terrain on Red Crater. DOC requires ice axe, crampons, avalanche transceiver, probe and shovel, a PLB and two days of spare food.
- No food is sold on the track. Carry all your food plus spare, your own cooking utensils and, if camping, a stove. Hut water is untreated: boil it. Store food in a rodent-proof bag and carry out all rubbish.
Nearest hospital for each stage
| # | Stage | Hospital (24/7 emergency) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whakapapa Village → Mangatepopo Hut | Taumarunui Hospital – Emergency Department |
| 2 | Mangatepopo Hut → Oturere Hut | Taupō Hospital – Emergency Department |
| 3 | Oturere Hut → Waihohonu Hut | Taupō Hospital – Emergency Department |
| 4 | Waihohonu Hut → Whakapapa Village | Taumarunui Hospital – Emergency Department |
Hospitals
Waikato Hospital – Emergency Department
- 24/7 emergency
- Stages 1, 2, 3, 4
Pembroke Street, Hamilton 3204
Whanganui Hospital – Emergency Department
- 24/7 emergency
- Stages 1, 4
100 Heads Road, Gonville, Whanganui 4501
Taupō Hospital – Emergency Department
- 24/7 emergency
- Stages 2, 3
Kotare Street, Hilltop, Taupō 3330
Clinics and GPs
There is no doctor in Whakapapa Village, in National Park Village or on the track; the Whakapapa ski-area medical centre opens only when the ski field is open in winter. The nearest GP practices are in Tūrangi and Raetihi, open on weekdays. For medical advice when it is not an emergency, call Healthline on 0800 611 116 (free, 24/7).
Ruapehu Health (general practice)
- Opening hours only
- Stages 1, 4
38 Seddon Street, Raetihi 4632
Pihanga Health (general practice)
- Opening hours only
- Stages 2, 3
28 Te Rangitautahanga Road, Tūrangi 3334
Pharmacies, cash and supplies
- Pharmacies:
- ATMs:
- Shops: Whakapapa Village
- Bus and train stops: Whakapapa Village
There is no pharmacy in Whakapapa Village or on the track, and New Zealand has no duty-pharmacy rota. The nearest pharmacies are in Tūrangi, Taumarunui and Taupō: buy your medicines, blister care, sunscreen and insect repellent before you arrive. The huts have solar lighting only: carry a power bank for your phone.
Pharmacies, ATMs, shops and stops: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hospitals and health centres checked online.
Have the nearest help on your map, offline
Outest shows these hospitals, pharmacies, ATMs and stops on the Tongariro Northern Circuit map, offline, together with the route, water and places to sleep.