Day 54: (December 28th) 21.0mi/33. 7km Palmerston Nth to Tokomaru River

Today we start the section with the Tararua mountains, but today is mostly an easy approach through the foothills. We have a nice breakfast with Zigzag, and it’s hard to remember the last time I had such a nice meal – eggs, bacon, oatmeal, toast, juice! Hw gives us a ride back to the trail, and we say our goodbyes. Time to roadwalk!

A few hours later, we pass a “halfway done” sign along the dirt road.

It’s a beautiful morning to walk, and I’m enjoying these easy miles. After a great lunch break (we found a picnic table!), some more roadwalking brought us to a swimming hole. Perfect!

The last hour is on a nice trail, and I setup camp by a river, and join 6 other hikers who are already there.

Day 55: (December 29th) 17.0mi/27.4km Tokomaru River to Makahika Outdoor Center

I get up at 6am, and coincidentally leave the same time as French couple, so we hike together for a couple of hours. The trail crosses many small streams, so we get our wet feet for the day.

I take a break to have a snack, and Achille catches up to me. We walk together for the day, and enter the Tararua Forest!

It’s not mountainous or muddy yet, but that comes tomorrow. Today is a nice trail in a dense forest.

Since it’s so dense, we take a lunch break on the trail!

There are some views from an opening in the trees, and then we descend down to the Makahika River.

There is limited camping options in this area, and most hikers stay at the Makahika outdoor center, courtesy of John & Sally! There are showers, toilets, wifi, & a cooking tent!

Day 56: (December 30th) 10.6mi/17.0km Makahika Outdoor Center to Te Matawai Hut

Knowing today would be a slow day, I got an early start at 6:30am. It’s only 17km, but on a muddy trail with 800m of elevation gain. I walk the hour roadwalk to the trailhead, using my umbrella briefly for some light rain.

The walk starts nicely in a cow field, then enters the forest.

After 40 minutes, I cross a suspension bridge and climb UP UP UP!

It’s lightly raining the whole time, so I use my umbrella… such a nice piece of gear to have!

It’s cold & foggy up on the ridge, so I keep moving.

I get to the hut at 1pm, and decide to stay. The next hut is 3 hours away, and will probably already be full, so I decide to stay here. Other hikers arrive and we build a fire in the woodstove to warm up & dry out. Nice!

Day 57: (December 31st) 12.5mi/20.2km Te Matawai Hut to Waitewaewae Hut

I get up at 5:15am, and hit the trail at 5:50am. I expect today to be 2km per hour pace, so 10+ hours of hiking.

It’s cold and thick fog & must, and I push hard up the hill to get warm. No umbrella today… too windy.

I get to Dracophyllum hut at 9:30am and take a nice break, Paul is already there making hot tea.

I depart at 10am, and it’s still cold and wet. Ugh. I hike nonstop until I reach Nichols hut at 1pm, since hiking is the only way to stay warm.

I have lunch in the hut, then continue on over Mt Crawford summit (1557m).

Its no longer raining, but still cold & foggy.

I descend off the ridge, and get below treeline. It gets warmer as I descend, and by 6pm I’m crossing the swingbridge that leads to Waitewaewae Hut.

It’s a very large modern hut. I’m so happy to be warm, dry, and sitting down. This was the hardest day of the Te Araroa so far!

I try to stay awake until midnight for New Year’s, but I fall asleep by 10pm.

Happy New Year 2019!

Day 58: (January 1st) 14.4mi/23.2km Waitewaewae hut to Mangaone carpark

I must’ve been tired, I sleep until 7am. I get hiking at 7:30, and the first 6km takes me 3 hours! So many fallen trees, mud, and pointless little 10m ups/downs.

Then it joins a nice path, which appears to be an old railroad grade.

I cruise until lunch, and stop by the Otaki river to eat & dry my tent (yes, wet from 3 days ago).

There is a 700m climb after lunch, up to the summit of Mt Pukeatea. The trail is nice, the weather is nice, and the climb is gradual!

The summit has views of the ocean!

I leave the summit at 4pm, since I’m trying to make it to the end of the forest tonight. The last 4km has sadly been logged, so it’s a landscape of stumps and hot sun.

I get to the trailhead carpark at 6pm, and eventually find a spot to camp. No one else arrives, and it’s a rare event to camp by myself. Glad to have the mountains and muddy forest done!

Day 51: (December 25th) 22.3mi/35.9km Whanganui Holiday Park to Koitiata campsite

Christmas day! I wake up at 7am, and the 7 of us have a nice Christmas breakfast that Andrea made. Cinnamon rolls, bacon omelet/quiche, fruit… so good!

I lazily pack up and leave at 11am, and walk in nice weather for a few hours. It’s a road walk all day, so not too exciting.

It rains at the end of the day, and my umbrella works great!

I camp next to Ruben & Amanda, and Achille and Paul are nearby too. There isn’t any other legal place to camp before this spot, so hikers tend to get bunched up here at the beach campsite.

Day 52: (December 26th) 25.0mi/40.2km Koitiata campsite to Lee’s Reserve

Today is a long 40km day, so I get up at 6am to get a good start. It’s Christmas day in the US, so I make a couple of Facebook chat calls while walking the trail. But, then it gets wet…

Once we enter the beach, it’s a nice cruise, and it has cool black sand.

The rest of the morning is in a nice forest, before we do a road walk all afternoon.

We get to a town called Bulls, and there are puns with this name everywhere in town… “our prices are incredi-bull”, “our food is delecta-bull”, etc.

After stopping for ice cream and a milkshake, we walk the last 2 hours to Lee’s Reserve, which allows TA hikers to camp for a donation.

Day 53: (December 27th) 21.3mi/34.3km Lee’s Reserve to Palmerston Nth

I get up at 6am for another long day of roadwalking, and the other hikers are starting to pack up too. I think there were 12 people here last night!

I hit the road at 7am with Amanda, Ruben, and Achille. We gradually separate at different paces today, and I get to a small town at 9:30am, not much is open… except subway. Subs!

I head out after an hour, and after more road walk, the route goes on a short trail… the first 100m is nice. Then, it dead ends at a stream without a bridge. Huh?! We backtrack up to some train tracks, and cross using the bridge. Shortly after we cross, a train approaches, exciting!

The 4 of us meet at a grocery store, and do our resupply for the next 6-day section. Then we head to my friend ZigZag’s house. I met him on the PCT in 2015, and he lives in Palmerston North.

It is great to see him and catch up! He has since hiked a few other trails, including the Bibbulmun track (1000km in Australia), which I now want to do someday.

Tomorrow we head out, and start the last section with mountains on the north island!

Day 46: (December 20th) 21.4mi/34.5km Whakahoro campsite to John Coull campsite

We have a lazy morning, since the canoe company isn’t arriving until 10am. I wander over to the Cafe again, and order breakfast as soon as they open at 8am.

The canoe company, Blazing Paddles, arrives after 10am, and we do an intro, safety briefing & equipment fitting. We get on the river at 11:30, and after 30 minutes, Achille and I get the hang of maneuvering our canoe.

Most of the day is nice weather, but it rains towards the end of the day.

After 39km, we arrive at John Coull hut at 5:30pm, and it’s pouring rain. We warm up in the hut, and wait until it stops raining to setup our tents.

Day 47: (December 21st) 19.7mi/31.7km John Coull campsite to Tikae Marae campsite

I wake up to nice weather, and wander up to the cooking shelter to make breakfast. Usually I don’t cook breakfast on the trail, but since weight is no issue during this section, I carry heavier food.

Achille and I get on the river at 9am, and paddle an hour before a group break. The other canoe groups also stop and join us, Andrea/Alon, Franzi/Nathan, & Ruben/Amanda. We dry our tents on a nice warm gravel bar and have my favorite meal, 2nd breakfast.

The rest of the morning is an easy cruise on the river current, and we occasionally link canoes, play games, and generally do ridiculous things!

In the afternoon we dock the canoes, and do a quick side hike (2km) to the “Bridge to nowhere”, which was built with the expectation of a road that never came to fruition.

We paddle a little further, and arrive at Tieke Marae, a Maori site which shows river travelers a traditional welcoming ceremony, a “powhiri”. Cool!

It starts to rain at the end of it, and they quickly finish it and we retreat to our tents for the night.

Day 48: (December 22nd) 27.4mi/44.0km Tikae Marae campsite to Moutere Island

I’m getting used to these late mornings and hot breakfasts! We get on the river at 8 am, and after a couple of rapids, it’s smooth cruising.

After a couple of hours, we hit a big rapid, then take a break on a nearby gravel bar. It was a big rapid, so it was very entertaining seeing other canoes navigate it, and some flipped over!

We have an uneventful morning of paddling after that, and stop for lunch at another gravel bar.

In this part of the river, there are no more official campsites, so we aim for a grassy area near Moutere Island.

Nathan broke his tent…bummer dude!

Day 49: (December 23rd) 25.3mi/40.8km Moutere island to Hipango Park campsite

We woke up early, at 6am, and were on the river at 7:15am, to take advantage of the nice weather.

We have fun paddling a few rapids, then catch the other 2 canoes in our group, Paul/Richard and Kacka/Kuba. They had continued a bit further yesterday to land at the Flying Fox, a riverside camping/cabins.

We have a nice long lunch at a sunny gravel bank , and Ruben builds a “1300km” sign from canoes and humans! And I fix my broken jandal with a bread tie.

We get back on the water, and hit a couple of more rapids, and the rest of the afternoon is calm, and we create a canoe flotilla.

The current is slow, so we have to Paddle constantly to get to camp at Hipango Park, a DOC campsite on a hill above the river.

Day 50: (December 24th) 12.4mi/20.0km Hipango Park campsite to Whanganui Holiday Park

It rained steadily all night, and I slept great to the sound of the rain. Achille and I had agreed on a 7am departure time, so I got up at 6am and ate all my remaining food, since it’s only a couple of hours to town today.

It drizzled for the first 30 minutes, then it stopped raining.

We covered 8km in the first hour (as usual), then the incoming tide slowed our progress to 2km per hour… ugh. We finally got to the holiday park at 10am, such a relief!

I checked in to our cabin, unpacked, dried out, and had a nice hot shower. We got a ride into town, and I bought groceries for the next hiking section, but also for a Christmas eve dinner! Salmon, asparagus, and couscous.

Most of our group stayed at the holiday park, and we had a nice dinner together.

Merry Christmas!

Day 38: (December 12th) 16.6mi/26.6km Taumarunui to start of 42 Traverse

I wake up early, even though it’s a short day. Andrea, Franzi and I are slackpacking the 20km road section from town to the start of the forest, then hitchhiking back to town and staying at the same holiday park.

It’s an uneventful 3.5 hour walk, with lots of nice countryside views.

We quickly get a hitch back, and I do my town errands. Pharmacy (sandfly bites itch!), general store, outdoor store, i-site, and post office. We have all the food packed up for our can trip next week. This is 8 people’s food.

Somehow, I manage to eat an entire rotisserie chicken and garlic bread loaf for dinner. Hiker hunger!

Day 39: (December 13th) 12.2mi/19.7km Start of 42 Traverse to mid 42 Traverse

I have a short day planned, so even though I’m up at the usual time, I don’t depart until 11am. Unfortunately, it takes me an hour to get a hitch back to the point I left off yesterday. Finally, a nice real estate woman named Jo picks me up, and we have a nice chat.

I start on the trail at 1pm, and it’s a nice 4wd road!

The weather is a weird mix of sunny, then thunder/sprinkles.

I hike until I find a flat spot to camp, and at 6:30 I find a nice spot a short distance from the trail. I hear thunder in the distance, so I setup quickly… 20 minutes after I get into my sleeping bag, it rains. Perfect timing!

Day 40: (December 14th) 11.4mi/18.3km Mid 42 Traverse to Tongariro Holiday Park

It rained very hard last night, so even though I was perfectly dry in my tent, everything outside is wet. The clouds are starting to clear, and I get views of the upcoming mountains!

Then, the route leaves the 42 Traverse trail, and turns onto the Cokers track. It is much narrower and overgrown, and all the plants are wet. Ugh. Finally I join another 4wd road, and it’s wide.

The trail emerges at a highway near an old battle fort, which is a cool historic spot.

There’s a short road walk to the Tongariro holiday park, and I arrive at noon.

It rains on/off throughout the afternoon, but I’m dry inside. And there’s a cool rainbow at sunset to end the day!

Day 41: (December 15th) 5.4mi/8.7km Tongariro Holiday Park to Tongariro carpark

Today is a planned short day, since the weather looks to be much better for the Tongariro crossing tomorrow. It’s a high elevation alpine crossing, so rain or high winds would make it miserable and/or dangerous.

We dry our tents, then pack up at 9:30 and hitch to the nearby town of National Park, to kill some time. Andrea and I buy some food, do some shopping, then hitch back. I hang out with Ruben & Amanda at the holiday park, then do my short roadwalk to the trailhead.

I arrive at 7pm, and there is a sketchy van hanging out in the parking lot, so I hike into the forest a km or two.

Perfect camping spot!

Day 42: (December 16th) 15.8mi/25.4km Tongariro carpark to Whakapapa Village

I’m super excited about today, so I get up at 5:30am, and while I’m packing up, Franzi stops by!

We hike up the hill together, taking a short break at a view spot with a bench.

It’s a long gradual climb up to the craters, and we take another break at Blue Lake.

We continue on up to Red crater, passing hundreds of tourists going the opposite direction. Yikes.

I take a quick stop at the “mordor” toilets, then have a quick climb up Mt Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom), so I can destroy the one ring.

I do some fun scree-surfing on the way down, and I catch Franzi after I return from Mt doom. It turns out she had climbed the wrong mountain! Oops.

We walk the rest of the way to Whakapapa village, seeing almost no one along the way. We grab the last 2 bunks, and I enjoy some nice bar food and a nice sunset. Big day!

Day 43: (December 17th) 12.2mi/19.8km Whakapapa Village to National Park

It’s another short day today, since our canoe trip date is set for the 20th, and it’s not a far distance. After a leisurely breakfast, I pack up and leave at 10:30am. The trail starts off as an easy tourist trail, then it becomes a rutted and slightly overgrown mess.

At least there are boardwalks for the marshy bits!

The trail ends at a paved road, which has a funny sign. Must have too many problems with bad tourist drivers?

I walk an hour on the road, and get to National Park village at 3pm. The first thing to do, of course, is share an ice cream break with Achille. Then I setup my tent at the YHA hostel, and meet Paul for dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Day 44: (December 18th) 17.3mi/27.7km National Park to War Memorial

These short days are nice, I slept in until 7:30, and lounged around at a coffee shop reading a book until 9:30am. I hike out of town, and it’s a beautiful day. This section is on the “mountains to sea” bike trail, and it’s smooth walking.

I catch up with Achille at lunch, along with a czech couple, Kačka and Kuba.

We all head to the only legal camp spot, at a roadside war memorial.

There are 12 of us camped here tonight, big group!

Day 45: (December 19th) 15.4mi/24.8km War Memorial to Whakahoro campsite

I get up early, since the forecast is for afternoon rain. I walk alone for an hour, then catch up to Andrea and Paul. It starts to sprinkle a bit, this umbrella really is worth the weight!

I stop for a quick early lunch break, and also make a “1200”km sign, since one doesn’t already exist!

I get to the” town” of Whakahoro at 11:30am, it’s quite small!

I head to the Blue Duck Cafe for lunch, then go to the hut to get setup in a bunk. Some people decide to camp.

We meet the canoe company folks tomorrow morning at 10am, and they will give us gear, information, and advice. I can’t wait for 5 days of paddling, and my feet are even more excited!

Day 34: (December 8th) 22.9mi/36.8km Mangaokewa Road campsite to Ngaherenga campsite

I’m awake at the usual 6:30am, and walking at 7:15. It’s cold in the morning, so I keep an extra layer on for a couple of hours. The entire day is a roadwalk, and I only see 3 cars and 0 other hikers all morning.

But, I do see a nice “900” km sign someone made!

It gets hot by noon, and I pass Andrew (US), drying his tent and eating lunch. I stop for lunch an hour later, and we leapfrog again.

The next road is paved, and it’s a very hot 8km, and I’m glad to arrive at the campsite. I see the usual suspects at camp (Paul, Andrew, Andrea, Nathan), and Franzi, a Swedish duo, and a US couple show up later.

Some car campers are staying nearby, and they give us their extra food! Sausages, amazing!

Day 35: (December 9th) 22.9mi/36.9km Ngaherenga campsite to Piropiro campsite

As usual, I start hiking a little after 7am, and it’s fleece/hat weather. Today is the start of the Timber trail, a long bike trail that is very well maintained.

After a couple of hours, there is a side trail to the small summit of Pureora mountain. Franzi & I dash up to the summit, where there are great views of our upcoming terrain – Tongariro NP and Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Ruapehu.

The trail is also very well signed. Even cell phone spots!

The Timber trail is also known for some very long suspension bridges (“swingbridge”).

The day was a nice relaxing cruise on a nice trail, and in good weather!

We got to camp at 5pm, and enjoyed some extended sitting time!

Day 36: (December 10th) 26.0mi/41.7km Piripiro campsite to Bennett Road campsite

There is so much to look at on this section! Since the trail is so good, I can look around and see the views, and not just my feet.

After the temperature warmed up, I had my usual 2nd breakfast.

This part of the forest was historically used for logging, and there is alot of old infrastructure that is on display.

There is even an old railroad loop that the path follows, and it goes thru a tunnel to cross itself. Cool!

The other landmark today was the 1000km spot!

We got to camp at 5:30pm, and Franzi and I sleep in the little hut, while Paul and Andrew choose to camp. I just don’t trust the weather around here….

Day 37: (December 11th) 15.9mi/25.7km Bennett Road campsite to Taumarunui

Today is a town day, and a short 25km walk, so it was easy to get up early. I was walking at 6:30am, planning to be in town for lunch & milkshakes! It’s an easy dirt road walk thru sheep country.

The rain held off, an I arrived to town still dry. I met Andrea for lunch at a Thai food place, then we all organized the upcoming canoe section.

It looks like there will be 8 of us (2 per canoe), departing on December 20th, and arriving at a holiday park on the 24th, for a total of 5 days on the Whanganui River. Since the canoe company will transport our food along with the canoes, we go a little crazy during the grocery shopping. Wine, sauces, fruit… weight is no issue!

We hitch to a holiday park, and hang out for a few hours until dinner.

Day 29: (December 3rd) 9.8mi/15.7km Hamilton CBD to Whatawhata/Backyard Bar

I get up at 7am in the hostel, and go and get the free breakfast in the kitchen. I have a relaxing morning with toast, juice and cereal, and update my blog. I leave at noon, and get my new shoes from the post office.

Then I walk to burger King and get a milkshake and lunch, and wait out the heavy rains. Amanda texts me at 2pm, and I leave to catch up to her and Ruben (we caught up to Ruben!). Of course there’s a roadwalk, and then a nice stroll thru an arboretum.

Unfortunately, the next 2km is thru an overgrown farm field, and it starts raining heavily. It’s a total carwash.

Knowing I am heading to camp at (yet another) bar, I push on to get indoors sooner. I get to the Backyard Bar at 6pm, and Amanda and Ruben show up a little later, along with a Czech guy named Tomas.

It’s raining hard, so Roger (the owner) let’s us camp indoors. Perfect!

Day 30: (December 4th) 19.9mi/32.0km Whatawhata/Backyard Bar to Pirongia Hut

We get up before 7am, and then watch as another heavy band of rain comes at 7am. We wait it out, and head out before 8am in a light rain. It’s easy paved roadwalking, and my umbrella is doing a great job!

The road changes to dirt, then deteriorates to a sheep track.

We follow this slippery wet track for a couple of hours thru farmland, then take a break on a bridge for lunch.

The rain has stopped, and there’s even some sun! The next roadwalk is easy, and then the big climb up Pirongia mountain starts off easy.

It’s a 900m climb, and it’s much colder at the top! I keep moving the last few km to the hut, the first hut of the trail! So exciting, I finally get to use my $90 hut pass.

We hit 800km today!

Day 31: (December 5th) 20.7mi/33.3km Pirongia Hut to Airstrip

I get up at 6:30am, and Paul and I pack up and leave around the same time. Tomáš, Amanda, and Ruben are just behind. It’s very cold & windy up at 950m elevation, so I hike in my fleece & beanie for the first couple hours.

The trail descends back to a low elevation, but it’s really muddy, so very slow going. Like 2km per hour! I was so happy to see a road!

I catch Paul on the road, and we stop for a lunch break shortly after. The afternoon is mostly walking thru farmland, and it’s a decent track.

At 6pm, we get to a flat spot just after an airstrip, and setup camp.

Day 32: (December 6th) 19.5mi/31.5km Airstrip to Te Kuiti

Paul & I wake early, before 6am, and pack up quickly before it starts to rain.

Which it does rain, about an hour later. We walk a wet forest and farm track a morning, and keep moving to stay warm.

We get to Waitomo, and have a lunch break, at a proper picnic table! Good stuff.

The afternoon is more farm track walking, but it’s mostly nice farm track.

At the end, there is a short roadwalk into Te Kuiti, and we get to the New World grocery store at 4pm.

Strange chip flavors.

We do a quick resupply, and call our hostel to get a ride. Andrea is there, along with some new faces – Nathan (US), Franzi (Germany), and a NOBO hiker named Wako (Japan).

Day 33: (December 7th) 12.6mi/20.3km Te Kuiti to Mangaokewa Road campsite

Everyone woke up at 6:15am, since we had to be ready by 7:30to get a ride into town. It’s a cold morning, so Andrea, Franzi and I stop at the New world first for some hot drinks.

Upon walking out of town, we see that Te Kuiti is the sheep-shearing capital of NZ! Cool.

The hiking starts off on a nice forest track, but after an hour it becomes a little muddy & slow. At least our lunch spot is nice – a picnic table by a river!

The trail improves after lunch, and enters some farmland.

Around 5pm Franzi and I stop to join Paul (and like 10 others) at an official campsite.

It’s a nice flat spot, and even has a toilet and a cooking shelter! Early to bed tonight, tomorrow is a long 40+km day of roadwalkin!

Day 21: (November 25th) 16.7mi/26.8km J Tolhopf Road to Orewa Beach Holiday Park

We wake up in the barn, and didn’t sleep well last night, because the lambs had just been weaned and were crying all night. Finally the rain stops, and we head out. The first hour is thru a high grass field, which is occasionally muddy and slippery.

Finally we come out onto the Puhoi River track, and it’s soo nice! It follows above the river for a couple hours, and drops us into the town of Puhoi, which is having a Sunday farmer’s market. Perfect!

After a nice break with fresh fruit and bread, we do a scary roadwalks along the highway 1 motorway, where it’s 4 lanes wide and the speed limit is 100. Yikes.

After another ice cream breakat a small dairy, we hit a beach section. It’s a rocky beach, but fun.

And it has a cave! Andrea & Amanda are exploring its depths.

We get to the town of Orewa Beach, and stay at a holiday park, where Achille is waiting for us. There are 4 of us, so it’s actually cheaper to get a cabin (4 bunks) than a tent site… perfect!

Day 22: (November 26th) 12.2mi/19.6km Orewa Beach Holiday Park to Brown’s Bay

We get a really late start, since we need to cross an estuary in 8miles, and low tide isn’t until 4:30pm. We hang out at the holiday park all morning, and leave just after noon. Andrea has a painful knee, so she takes a bus to Auckland and will meet us tomorrow. The 3 of us do the easy roadwalk to a grocery store, where I buy a trash bag to protect my pack in case the water crossing is deep.

The distances in the next section are a little off, so we end up running a few short stretches to make up time. I’ve attempted to link a video here:

Then, the crossing!

Achille and I find an optimal spot to cross, and it’s only mid-thigh deep. Not too bad!

Amanda catches up, and we make our way across some nice fields.

We are staying at a friend’s house tonight. I was introduced to Ben thru a mutual friend in Boston, and he and his family have invited us for dinner! So amazing!

Day 23: (November 27th) 13.4mi/21.6km Brown’s Bay to Auckland CBD

We get up at 7am, and have an incredible breakfast – croissants, coffee, all the good things. We say our goodbyes, and start moving around 8am.

Most of the day is roadwalks, or along paths on the coast.

It’s a good day for walking, not raining or too hot. We get to the ferry terminal at 1pm, where we have to take a $7 hourly ferry to get across the harbor to Auckland.

Of course, I find ice cream.

We get into Auckland CBD an hour later. I find the Christmas decorations terrifying, but admire the dedication.

We stay at a hostel downtown, and go out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Mmm… margaritas!

Day 24: (November 28th) 25.2mi/40.6km Auckland CBD to Manukau / Roscommon Rd

I get up late, and catch a bus to Manakau City, so I can slack-pack the 40km back to the same hostel. I start hiking at 9am, and promptly cross paths with Paul! I also see 4 other hikers, and then I enter the airport area.

I stop for a milkshake and lunch at a KFC, which are weirdly common here. A few kilometers later there are these amazing futuristic toilets here that talk to you, here is the video: https://youtu.be/74miL0G1GS0

The rest of the afternoon is quieter, along walkways, in parks and green spaces.

I go over the famous One Tree Hill, which is now missing its tree.

Also, Mt Eden, another famous Auckland landmark.

I get back into the city at 6pm, and Andrea has made dinner at the hostel! She rocks. Especially because it’s fish tacos. Good day!

Day 25: (November 29th) 16.6mi/26.7km Manukau/Roscommon Rd to Ramarama/Maxted Rd

I get up and check out of the hostel, and catch the same bus back to Manakau city, to pick up where I left off. It’s mostly a road walk day, though the trail does go thru a nice botanical gardens. Not a very eventful day.

I’m approaching my planned camping spot at Ramarama RV Park, and a woman pulls over and offers me a ride to her house, and a place to stay! So nice! I arrive to the house and meet her husband Brent, and we chat on the porch and watch the approaching rainstorm. Their kids arrive home from school, and we have a lovely dinner together.

Day 26: (November 30th) 18.0mi/29.0km Ramarama/Maxted Rd to Mercer

I say goodbye to Brent & family, and hit the trail at 8am when the kids leave for school.

It’s more roadwalks today, but Scenic and mostly on quiet roads.

There is a scary 3km section on highway 2, but it’s over with quickly. I turn off the road onto a “stopbank” (a grass levee to prevent river flood), and catch Amanda, yay!

The rest of the afternoon is on stopbanks, and we arrive to the town of Mercer. We setup our tents behind Podges Place, a hiker-friendly local bar. And there is a cheese factory next door!

After cheese, we indulge in the all you can eat BBQ dinner. Life is good.

Day 27: (December 1st) 24.5mi/39.3km Mercer to Huntly Whirotangi Park

It rained almost all night, and I pack up as soon as the rain stops, and Amanda and I hike out at 7:15am. The first 3km is in overgrown & swampy farm fields, and is annoying. We are so happy to see a road!

The 5km walk along SH1 isn’t bad, at least there is a nice wide shoulder.

The next part is on a stopbank along the Waikato River, and even has some cows for entertainment.

We stop at an amazing pie place for a late lunch, and wait out some heavy rains. The rest of the afternoon is on a stopbank, and we pass thru a beautiful Huntly golf course. We stop to camp in a small riverside park near a power plant, and setup our tents just in time before the next rain comes!

Day 28: (December 2nd) 25.5mi/41.2km Huntly Whirotangi Park to Hamilton CBD

I wake up early at 6am, as the area doesn’t feel super safe (graffiti & broken glass). I walk the road for an hour.

I get to a forest section, where I wait for Amanda. After 30 minutes, I figure she changed plans, so I continue on. The path starts off very nice, and even has stairs.

Then… 8km of mud & overgrown trail. Darn. It’s slow, and it rains hard most of the way, but I get to the summit tower on the other side of the ridge at 12:30pm.

I cruise down the stairs, and I start to warm up. I take a break at the bottom, where it’s nice and sunny, and spread out some gear to dry. The motivational sign helps my cold wet psyche.

I continue thru a small town, which is having a festival.

The rest of the walk into Hamilton is quite nice, on a bike path along the Waikato River.

I get to town at 6pm and checkin to my hostel. Long day!

Day 15: (November 19th) 11.4mi/18.3km Nikau Bay camp to Taiharuru camp

I get a planned late start, for the timing of today’s estuary crossings. The first crossing isn’t bad, only mid-thigh deep.

The are many other hikers around us, I think there were15 people crossing today!

After 10km, we hit the next estuary crossing. This one was much wider, and seemed more worrisome. We were kind of racing between the two crossings, to try to hit the lowest tide at both of them. After a few minutes of poking around the tidal mud, we found the proper (shallowest) place.

The crossing went fine, again only mid-thigh deep, with no current. After crossing, one of the hikers fell in the thick mud on the shore. Oops!

The camping options in this area are rather limited, so we opted for a shorter day, and stayed at a spot a few kms after the last river. A local 16-year old had set up a camping area, and even had an old trailer setup for showers, kitchen, and a sitting area!

A few other hikers joined the 4 of us, including a kiwi couple, Ben and Amy. We had a very entertaining group!

Amanda “grocery shopping” in the rubbish bin.

Its rains for an hour, so we hang out inside for the evening. After a nice shower and dinner, I went to bed early, a big day planned tomorrow!

Day 16: (November 20th) 22.2mi/35.8km Taiharuru camp to Ruakaka Beach Holiday Park

I got up and moving on trail early, at 6:30am, for the long distance to cover today. It was very cold (7C), but the views were incredible!

By the time we got to the beach section, it was a little warmer.

Our view for the next couple hours.

The hills that are at the end of the beach in that photo, we climbed up, they are about 300m high.

The view from the top, back to the beach.

Another view, looking west.

The route traverses the ridge, with many good views. Some hikers accidentally make the wrong turn here, and have to to a roadwalk!

The trail drops off the ridge, and heads towards a harbor. On the nicer tracks, the DOC has installed stairs!

I meet up with the group around 1pm, waiting at a dairy. It’s cash-only, so I’m able to exercise some willpower and skip the milkshake this time!

There is a harbor crossing, with a boat that will pick you up, for a nominal fee. Since the boat usually arrives at 3pm, we get there early at 2pm. After several passing thunderstorms, and a comedy of errors, we finally get a ride across with some sympathetic locals!

Ruben is always ready for the camera!

The boat drops us off, and we walk the remaining 10km to the holiday park. It rains…hard. I love my umbrella! And we are thankful to be staying in a cabin tonight!

Day 17: (November 21st) 10.5mi/16.8km Ruakaka camp to Camp Waipu Cove

Another rainy day! We wake up in the cabin, and it’s pouring out. It stops around 9am, so we head out shortly after. It’s only 12km to the next town, where there is a pizza place & brewery! And just as important, an indoor spot to escape the forecasted rain!

The rainy beach walk.

At lunch, Ruben, Andrea, Amanda and I celebrate the 400km milestone…using pizza and chips (fries)!

We lounge around for a couple hours, but then venture out into the gloomy skies. It’s another 12km to our destination, and I use my umbrella for most of it. It’s not quite raining, but “mizzling” (thanks Andrea for the new word!)

Ruben joins the 4 of us, and we all split a cabin at Camp Waipu Cove holiday park. There is a playground on site, so some shenanigans ensued.

It rains again after dinner, and it’s nice to be going to bed early…and indoors!

Day 18: (November 22nd) 18.4mi/29.7km Camp Waipu Cove to Riverside Holiday Park

Ruben, Andrea and Amanda all get an early start, as the weather looks nice. I make a hot breakfast (which I almost never do), so I don’t get moving on trail until almost 8am.

It’s a nice morning!

I walk alone all morning, enjoying the green countryside and blue skies. After a couple hours in a forest, the trail begins to approach the sea again.

I meet up for lunch with Achille, Andrea and Amanda in town. I get too much food (as usual), but it’s so delicious!

Today is Thanksgiving, so we stop at a grocery to try and get some stuff. No turkey, but I pick up chicken, gravy, and apple cider. And the usual suspects get some wine!

American Thanksgiving in NZ!

We hang out in the lounge room, and have fun messing around with the piano and other toys. A good holiday!

Day 19: (November 23rd) 20.5mi/33.0km Riverside Holiday Park to Govan Wilson Road

A big day! I didn’t know exactly how long it would be, as camping options are a bit nebulous around this part.

The entire morning was a beach walk. The last long one too, I believe.

There are two spots on the beach where a small stream crossing is necessary, obviously easier at a lower tide. The first crossing was only a couple meters wide, and quite shallow:

The other crossing was 20m wide, but also only knee deep, so easy. We caught a nice lunch break at the end of the beach, under a shady tree.

Then, onto the forest!

It started off nice…

Then it became a root-y mess. This spot is especially confusing, as the sign blocks the trail, and sub-consciously diverts you the wrong way. Oops!

Our intended camping spot was overgrown with gorse (a thick, sharp grassy plant), so I texted a local who offers his garage to hikers. Matt replied back with an invitation, so off we went! We arrived at 6pm, though he did get home until an hour later. So we made dinner and hung out with the resident chicken, “Jamie”

We set up in the garage. So nice and dry!

Another long day, some rain, and a dry bed!

Day 20: (November 24th) 20.2mi/32.5km Govan Wilson Road to J Tolhopf Road

Guess what…it rained again last night! And, most of the morning too.

My umbrella hasn’t dried out in awhile!

We hike all morning thru the Dome Forest, which is muddy, but not too bad considering all the recent rains. Our planned lunch spot is the Done Cafe, and I make it there just before noon. Then at noon, it starts raining HARD. And sideways. Nice to be inside!

After a couple hours indoors avoiding the hardest of the rain, we venture out after 2pm to finish the day. It’s mostly walking on farm roads, and is nice to be out of the muddy forest. Along the way, we hit the 500km marker!

After a couple more hours of hiking, it’s getting late, so we knock on a door, and a very friendly nice older woman answers. She says we can camp on her lawn, but it’s forecast to rain tonight, so she calls up her neighbor, and he invites us to sleep in his barn. Score!

Hopefully this rainy spell ends soon. But for now, another dry night “indoors”!

-Recon

Day 10: (November 14th) 15.9mi/25.8km Kerikeri to Paihia

I woke up as usual just after 6am, and packed up a wet tent. Camping near rivers is a losing battle against moisture. It’s a nice quiet walk back through town, and I’m back on trail 30 minutes later. It’s a nice walk along the Kerikeri river:

The path leaves the river at the Stone Store, NZ’s oldest building, from 1821!

It feels like not a day goes by without walking thru some farm fields, which of course means the requisite greeting “Hi cows!”

The water sources on this section are less than desirable. Good thing it’s a short section!

As I got closer to the next town, Paihia, the Bay of Islands came into view… beautiful!

The rest of the walk into town was on dirt and paved roads. It’s easy walking, but it makes my feet unhappy. At least I was distracted by the views and thoughts of town food!

We got into town early, and the three of us (Andrea/”Kumquat”, Amanda, and I) shared a bunk room at the Pickled Parrot. It was a fun spot, and we saw other TA walkers come in, so we all got to swap stories!

Day 11: (November 15th) 0mi/0km Zero day in Paihia

We decided to take a zero day, to rest our feet & legs. This trail is kind of relentless with the roadwalking, and it’s catching up. Paul is moving on today, but I’m hopeful we can catch him again! We have arranged for some kayaks tomorrow morning, as there is a 17km water section that requires paddling. But for today, nothing to do but some quick town chores (groceries, laundry) and relaxing!

Andrea is a food lover, and made this wonderful Mexican casserole for dinner in the hostel kitchen!

Day 12: (November 16th) 16.0mi/25.7km Paihia to Russell Forest hut

This was an easy day on the feet! We woke up late, since we didn’t have to be at the kayak shop until 11am, and it was only 5 minutes away. We had a brief safety introduction, and then we were on our way!

We paddled across the bay, and up Waikare inlet. Such a nice day too!

After 3.5 hours of paddling, we pulled our boats up to shore, and Dan (kayak owner) picked them up in his truck, and we were back on our way into the forest.

The trail into Russell Forest started off nice, then quickly joined a small stream, which we hiked in for 4km or so.

We decided to camp near a hut in the forest, it had some flat grassy areas to pitch tents. It will be wet and dewy, but the terrain in these forests doesn’t give many camping options!

Day 13: (November 17th) 20.8mi/33.4km Russell Forest hut to Morepork Track

As expected, I wake up with a tent soaked in dew. Sweet- another long lunch break to dry it out!

The first hour is nice walking on a forest 4wd road, and then it drops us out onto a paved road for 13k. Bleh.

As we are nearing our planned lunch spot by a small beach, a man approaches us, and tells us we can get water from his house down the street. People here are so nice!

Our lunch spot by a beach. Lots of people and gear drying out!

The afternoon is a hike up into the forest, climbing up 300m. It’s a very new and well marked trail!

We take a nice break at the top of the 300m climb, and enjoy the beautiful weather. We’ve had nice sunny weather for the two weeks that I’ve been here!

Hikertrash heap #27 of he trail: Amanda, Achille, and Andrea

We decided to camp on a highpoint on the Morepork track, so after another 10k of walking, we arrive at 6pm and setup our tents. It’s a very small spit, since the tents are suuuper close.

Day 14: (November 18th) 21.6mi/34.8km Morepork Track to Nikau Bay camp

Well, last night’s camp spot wasn’t as ideal as we thought. So…. many…possums. We slept with our food to keep it safe, and the possums kept screeching all night long. We didn’t get much sleep, but had to get up early to push almost 35km to a river crossing by 5:30pm, where a local man (James) would pick us up in his fishing boat.

I was half awake, but I remembered to take some morning photos:

Andrea cleaning off her shoes, at one of many cleaning stations designed to prevent Kauri dieback disease (a fungus which kills the large trees)

A few kms later, we cross the longest pedestrian footbridge in the southern hemisphere!

The rest of the morning is a beautiful walk thru some farm areas

As we are walking by some houses on a roadwalk, a man says “would you all like a cold beer?” It’s only 11am, but why not?

The four of us hikers joined the six of them, and they had been watching the “All Blacks” game and drinking all morning, haha! After a couple beers and an hour, we got moving again to catch our boat at 5:30pm.

Along the way, we passed a MASSIVE tree!

We made it to the boat dock around 6pm. A little later than planned, but we had a fun beer stop, and I forgot my hiking pole at a dairy, so I had to run back the 1km to get it…ugh.

We stayed at James’ camp, camp Nikau. A great spot, we even had a campfire!

We can sleep in tomorrow– there will be an estuary to cross tomorrow, and low tide isn’t until noon. A relaxing night!

//Recon

Day 5: (November 9th) 19.4mi/31.2km Ahipara to Takahue Saddle Rd

We pack up wet, dew covered tents, and after a delicious breakfast of leftover fish and chips, start the long road walk to town (Kaitaia).

SH1 is a busy paved road, but there is good scenery

In town, I stop by the Post office and mail my extra shoes ahead to Hamilton, using a service they have called “Post Restante”. The resupply at the grocery is always entertaining, food is so different here:

The rest of the day drags on, along another roadwalk along paved and then gravel roads.

There are hundreds of cows to keep us entertained along to way! Moo.

We saw several mailboxes that were old microwaves…very strange. Later, we asked some locals and they explained that some people were trying to save money, clever!

As we are approaching the end of the roadwalk, a man walks up to us from his front yard, and offers the 3 of us a place to stay tonight! Rain is in the forecast, and he is very kind in offering, and we decide to stay. Amazing luck!

Day 6: (November 10th) 13.6mi/21.8km Takahue Saddle Rd to camp near Mangamuka

We sleep in till 8am, and lounge around having a late breakfast, hitting the trail at 10 am. We say goodbye to Joe and Koryna, the very generous and hospitable local couple who we stayed with last night.

The roadwalk starts off easy enough, and has no traffic. It climbs up and up to the start of the Raetea forest.

The forest itself is a huge muddy mess, and I spend so much time avoiding the deepest parts, that I completely forget to take any photos. Here is one from our break spot

After our break, the 3 of us started moving faster, realizing that there were only 4 hours of daylight left, but 10 more kilometers, and our average pace in the shin-deep mud was only 1.5 km/hour. We left the forest at 9pm, 30 minutes after sunset, and got to camp soon thereafter. It took so long to wash all the mud off in the creek, I didn’t get to bed until 10pm. Long day!

Day 7: (November 11th) 11.3mi/18.3km Mangamuka camp to Apple Dam camp

I was actually looking forward to the roadwalk today, because it’s not a muddy forest. After an hour or so of walking, the route goes by a dairy. We were talking about milkshakes and ice cream all morning, but unfortunately it was closed! D’oh!

It was an easy rest of the day, on some dirt farm roads. I made some phone calls to family back home; it’s rare that I have service when it’s also a reasonable hour back in the US.

Just before camp, there was a cool huge old stump, of a Kauri tree (NZ’s version of a sequoia, I think?)

This section has limited camps, so this camp was quite crowded, with 15 people. I met some new faces, including a group of French hikers, and another group of German hikers. Cool!

We got into camp quite early, so we played cards, socialized, and went to bed early (8pm) for the long day tomorrow!

Day 8: (November 12th) 20.3mi/32.7km Apple Dam camp to Puketi camp

I started out in the dark, since I knew it would be a long day.

After awhile, the dirt road degraded to a nice trail.

This section was the most fun I’ve had in trail so far, walking in the Mangapukahukahu creek!

After the creek, there is an hour of following a different river on a trail that runs alongside it. It was in the process of being improved, with nice boardwalks to avoid the sidehill sections.

Then, the trail climbs the Puketi ridge, and becomes a very nice trail, the nicest I’ve seen so far here.

Giant Kauri tree.

The final few hours were on an old 4wd road, with no cars, no people, and plenty of views!

Again, camp was busy this night, as it is the only legal camping in the Puketi forest area. The restrictions are to prevent Kauri dieback disease, a fungus which gets into the tree roots and kills the (already endangered) trees.

My favorite day so far!

Day 9: (November 13th) 13.9mi/22.2km Puketi camp to Kerikeri

The walk started at the usual time, just after 7am, and we all were excited to get to town today in Kerikeri. Hot food!

The morning was some fun walking thru sheep and cow fields.

Along the way, a very curious herd of cows was a good diversion. Moo!

Eventually, we entered a short forest, and then joined a path along the Kerikeri river. We had to wash our feet here (this seems common) to prevent the spread of Kauri dieback disease.

Just before getting to town, we passed by 25m high Rainbow falls.

I thought about swimming, but the water was so cold! And I was hungry. So, onward!

The 4 of us got to town at 2pm, it feels great to have the whole afternoon to relax! I grabbed a nice chicken sandwich and chips, and then checked in to the backpacker’s camp down by the river.

We’ve now crossed almost all the way from the west coast to thr east coast…what a week!

-R