Day 13: Waikare and Russell Forest

Last night was a blast, hanging out with staff from the Mousetrap, an awesome backpackers in Paihia. Across the road from the Mousetrap the local bar had an open mic night, and Melissa who works at the backpackers really impressed with a great voice and guitar playing, despite the guitar being nearly as big as she is!

It was a fun night out and a relief to talk to people- days in the forest without company doesn't suit me as much as I thought! :-)

Hm, not the best pic, but kinda sums up the night- happy blurriness!

Next day I got going around 0830, walking the road verge to Opua where I was to rendezvous with Micaila from Dive Ops who would run me across to Waikare by water taxi. I meet her near the  Opua Cruising Club and we zipped along as she filled me in on local oyster farming and the expected numbers walking Te Araroa this season.. It surprised me to hear overseas hikers outnumbered Kiwi trampers almost ten to one!

It was a quick ride into mangroves, and we said our farewells as I stepped ashore.

After walking a metalled farm road for a few kilometers, it was into the river for 4 kms upstream- this time I felt far more settled despite the rain. 

It was kinda fun, splashing about for hours, and the cold water helped with my drink-induced 'tiredness'. I found a nice big eel (ok, 'found' is a stretch. I accidentally got my legs wrapped up by one while struggling through a deeper section of river), also some tasty-looking berries

... which I did not eat. A little too 'Into the Wild' for my liking! But if anyone can identify them for me, that would be grand.

By 1600ish I had reached a hut, but continued on my way to make best use of daylight. 

So right now I am under my tarp in the Russell Forest, warm and dry and well fed after a meal of couscous and surprise veges (thanks for the top tip, Adi!). The rain is coming down but little wind to make things uncomfortable, so I'm snug as a bug! A couple of friends have been sending me text messages titled 'Te Araroa Tip of the Day', such as 'giardia is nature's enema and helps you to shed unnecessary weight, so drink up'... And they also texted, part by part,  The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which I love but has such a depressing air to it especially when out here by myself! Nevertheless, the texts were awesome- thanks Scotty and Adi, you two crack me up.

No idea what the plan of attack is tomorrow, but it feels good to be walking South again rather than crabbing across the Island. I may also chalk up my 300th kilometer tomorrow at the end of the day, a cool milestone (10% completed!). Hoorah!

That's all folks, g'night!

Day 9: Of Giants and Lesser Beings

The day started off well enough. It had been raining lightly all night and this had persisted into the morning. I had a bit of a lazy start, having a cooked breakfast and coffee for a treat, and seeing to my feet which needed some TLC! 

So did this little guy, a weta who dropped  by to say hello...

I finally broke camp at 0845 and took a pic by the Omahuta Forest sign. My trousers have a mind of their own by now and want to be an extra in the next Tintin movie.

I then start the walk up the road, stopping regularly to doctor my feet, which has become a habit born of necessity!

And then I start catching glimpses of giants in the mist all around me!

None of my photos do these Kauri justice- such an immense tree, they radiate energy and their sheer massiveness is humbling. I quietly limp by, hoping irrationally not to attract their attention. Te Araroa follows a 4wd track for a while before the track is a stream, to  be followed downstream for some kilometers. Now, given the rain (even though light) this makes me a little nervous so I overplan the river section. I shift gear around so my emergency kit is in a dry bag in my zip pocket, map and compss around my neck, trousers unbloused etc in case the waters rise quickly as I am stuck In a bit of a canyon with few escape routes. If I need to, I'll pack float, worst case ditch the pack. 

And so I begin...

And the views were amazing!

The rain started coming down in earnest, so I hurried the pace up, and I found myself checking the water level and coloration, trying to detect any signs of a flash flood.

It seemed to take an age as I followed the twists and turns of the canyon, water up to waist deep at times. I finally arrived at the junction with the main river, and I waded across to the far shore with relief!

Back on dry land- muddy it was, but the 'New Zealand death' hadn't claimed another victim! I was so eager to stay out of the river that I opted to follow the river upstream on the wet weather track rather than the recommended river walk. Sounds great, but that meant kilometers of 'edging', climbing and scrambling along a wet, muddy and steep riverbank for the most part. I was reduced to one kilometer an hour, working hard to stay upright on my feet, often unsuccessfully! It became a slippery slide at times, with the worry of a drop into the river below. I was not exactly in my happy place!

It was probably the hardest part of this journey thus far. I found a few things to cheer me up though, such as singing Crowded House loudly, and finding interesting photo subjects...

Eventually the track left the river and followed a ridge line skyward, and I was back in my happy place, especially coming across a small forest of 'young' Kauri. It felt like I was on the Moon of Endor and any moment ewoks would pop out of hiding.

I found a place to hang my hammock and to get warm and dry. I'm lying in my hammock now typing this on my IPhone, which has become part of the nightly ritual. The rain is coming down steadily, and sounds overly loud on my cuben fibre tarp, almost like a tin roof hut. Tomorrow I will probably reach my night bivvy early, but with insufficient time to press on to Kerikeri in one day (we'll see).   That means another cooked breakfast and coffee tomorrow! Whoo, doggy!

Day 8: Another Mystery? Plus I Complete Raetea Forest

After going through the usual morning routine, I hit the trail. Now I didn't mention this in my last blog, but I've been following cow prints since the Takahue Saddle Road. And as I went from high point (there goes Raetea)

to low point ( ie all the slippery slide stuff on the way down), there were these cow prints, and cow pats.

This all seems weird to me. Did some enterprising cattle rustler drive some cows from Takahue all the way to Mangamuka the hard way to avoid the law? Was it a TAT hiker wanting to be the first to ride a cow across NZ? And then I started to find abandoned clothing. First a sandal and I worried that some ultralighter was now trying to hop the rest of the way. 

And then I came across a singlet. 

It was all starting to add up! Clearly we had a Lady Godiva-type through hiker, who eschewed a horse in favor of a cow and who would ride into towns and espouse the virtues of the TAT. 

I never got to the bottom (no pun intended) of that mystery, although I did come across a few cow bones and one bloated carcass before emerging from the trail onto a farm... With, yep, cows.

There were some fairly large bulls in there, and at one point I had a reverse Running of the Bulls going on, with me coming down a trail with magic walking sticks in hand, and a bunch of hefty bulls running away. I was thinking that at any moment these guys would stop, get into a huddle and agree that they could probably take me out, magic sticks or no, and I would be on the receiving end of a charge, with no groovy tee shirt or scarf that appears to be de rigour in Pamplona for this kind of thing. Fortunately, they kept running, and I kept tramping.

Anyway, I made good progress and reached Mangamuka by 1530, and started looking for a shop to buy food for the next leg. I was getting a wee bit concerned until I finally found the dairy near the Mangamuka Bridge. It was closed. Bugger. A young fella outside the shop suggested I keep banging on the door until someone answered, as a young lady he knew was inside (a flame, perhaps?). Sure enough, someone finally did come to the door and I persuaded her to let me buy some provisions. As a bonus, I picked up some chilled water from the pub next door and continued on to Omahuta, even though it was getting dark. I was keen to make good progress the next day, so despite sore feet I did another 5 kms.

 I fetched up near the Forestry Park HQ.

Omahuta and Puketi Forests probably over the next two days, Kerikeri on the third day perhaps (Day 11?). 

Don't forget, I'm walking for charity (Shine), so please visit my Givealittle page, and share this blog! Thank you. And now it is late (for me, nowadays), and so to bed!

Day 7: from Herikino to Raetea Forest

Last night was a bit chilly, and had me thinking of efficient ways to stay warm while using a hammock- will definitely need to get this nailed before the Central Plateau and the South Island! The day dawned an it was spectacular! 

I got going as soon as I could as I wanted to get to Raetea Forest before sunset. Only a few kms from my night bivvy into the forestry and farmland of Takahui, but it seemed to take forever!

Finally broke out of the forest (and a lovely one it was), to trudge down a farm track which was half mud, half cow excrement. I was less than delighted as I had gone to great pains to keep my feet dry and poo free. I got to my next turnoff and looked back on Herikino. My walking poles are being used to air dry my now delicately-scented socks.

With renewed vigour, I proceeded to try to follow the trail notes, having great difficulty finding the start to the forestry track (I think the mentioned stile and tree-mounted markers have been destroyed by storm or cut down and are now merrily crackling in your fireplace). I gave up and followed map and compass, finding my way Through lovely farms to the start of the Raetea Forest track.

After what I had been reading and a warning given to me by local hunters about how hard the track is, especially the saddle, I had steeled myself for a hard slog.

Yes, it was fairly steep, muddy and a rough track, but it wasn't really all that bad! Happy days! I got to my anticipated night bivvy a couple of hours early, so I pressed on and found a great spot with a beautiful outlook (and did I mention excellent indoor/outdoor flow?).

So I set up camp and settled in. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Day 5: A Zero Day

Today has been a wonderfully lazy day to give my legs and feet a wee break before tackling the approximately 8 days to Kerikeri. Funnily enough, my silent companion from Te Paki turned up at the campground in Ahipara with a fish and actually engaged in conversation- turns out he was so taciturn because he was suffering blisters! 

I want to talk gear for a moment- my hammock in particular as it has attracted attention. How has it worked out so far? With this cold snap I have definitely had to use all the tricks I know (admittedly, not that many as I have only been hammock camping for about a year). 

Here it is with tarp rigged for the storm.

Since I've taken this pic, it has been raining heavily creating puddles of standing water on the tentsite, which is one of the beautiful things about hammocks- you stay above cold, soggy ground!

As for warmth, I have a wearable poncho liner as a sleeping quilt, and another encasing the underside to insulate me from wind. Surrounding all of this is a breathable hammock sock that helps create a warmer microclimate.

So I feel snug as a bug!

You might think this creates a bulky and heavy burden to lug about, or that it takes ages to put up. While definitely not ultralight, it's lighter than many one man double-walled tents, and the bonus for me is it is far more comfortable. Setup, including tarp is taking about 10 minutes which I'm happy with. My hammock is a Warbonnet Blackbird (double layer, 1.1oz. Ripstop nylon). Hammock suspension is Dutchwaregear-made dyneema whoopie slings with Dutch hooks and tree straps. My tarp is a Zpacks hammock tarp made from cuben fibre.

 I have also been really happy so far with my Zpacks cuben fibre rain jacket which has been extremely light AND waterproof. I'll look to tweak/add/delete some gear in Kerikeri, more on gear later! I may be out of cell range for a while, so perhaps the last blog for up to a week? See you on the other coast!

Days 1 - 3: Beginnings

What a way to start! My dad drove me North to Cape Reinga, stopping to visit my sister, brother in law and nephew in Auckland, my grandma in Kamo and aunt in Whangarei. My grandma gave me some of her food supplements from the rest home and a money donation to my charity, Shine. Amazing spirit and generosity! An early start to reach the cape, dropping by the Bus Stop Cafe for breakfast. Even though they are closed on Saturday, Reuben and his wife Beulla made us welcome and made the biggest and tastiest breakfast you could hope for!  Arohanui you two, you are beautiful people. 

Obligatory pics done at the lighthouse, I said farewell to dad and got walking.

Not long in I came across my first mystery- footprints! Another TA hiker, Christophe maybe?

My pace increased. Reaching Te Paki stream to camp, my mystery was solved and it was sadly an anti-climax. A fellow Kiwi, just doing a weekend walk. Not being the chatty type,  he stuck to his side of the camp and I rigged my tarp and fell asleep looking at the beautiful stars.

Day Two and I am already talking to myself. Seemingly endless beach, sand everywhere and the ceaseless roar of the waves. It feels like a halfway world somehow. 

To break the monotony of walking towards the horizon, I count gulls, terns, oystercatchers, falcons, wild horses, crazy tourist bus drivers, and dying fur seals. Colorful molluscs. Blisters. Animal footprints. I come up with a plan to catch wild dogs by planting a big stick in the middle of the beach. Sure enough, the next day one has pissed on it. Forgot the snare :)

Finally found a good spot to camp, rigged my hammock and slept soundly.

And so, Day three. 101 kms to finish the beach leg. Learning to slow down and nurse some old niggles. Ahipara perhaps end of today or early tomorrow... Who knows what the day will bring? 

I've found cellphone coverage again, only 1 bar but should be enough to get this to you. Switching my phone off again to conserve batteries, then a brisk walk to warm up! Take care, Kiwiscout