Month: November 2019

Day 31, 32
Km 28
Cumulative Km 443.5

The one thing we definitely didn’t want to do was to walk the 2km, uphill and on a very busy SH1 to the continuation of the trail, from Sheep World. So, we tried to hitch, though not many cars going at 100km/h are that keen to stop. We nearly gave up when the tiniest of cars stopped. At first we weren’t sure if it was for us, but it was!! We giggled a bit and wondered how this tiny car would get us and our bags up the hill- but it did!! It also saved us a horrible highway road walk.

The next two days were in similar territory, quiet a bit of forestry roads, mixed with trail and dirt roads. Some sections through the forest and some portions with steps.

We got into Puhoi just in time for a cold cider and lunch at the pub! It was great and also a celebration of passing the 500km point on the trail today!

We split the section into a 10km , then 18km days. We stayed at Nanekoti farm for the first night and at Pip’s place in Puhoi for the second night.

Day 33
21 November
Km 8
Cumulative Km 451.5

The lovely trail angel, Pip, where we spent the night in Puhoi, offered to drop us off in Waiwera. This means we can avoid walking on SH1 and the Hibiscus Coast Rd. This also means that we dont have far to walk.
We hit the beach and the rocky outcrops below the steep cliffs at low tide, necessary to pass this route.

After rock hopping we had a few kilometres of beach and then stopped in a lovely cafe in Orewafor coffee and a second breakfast as it was only 10am.
Once we were pretty full we headed to the holiday park, where we got free WIFI as TA hikers as well as a discount rate.

The lovely Pat and Chris were due to pick me up at midday. These are long time friends of my parent’s friend, Pam in South Africa. It’s always good to meet new people. So I was excited! We went to Coffee Club for lunch, which was yummy!

Pat and Chris surprised me and gifted me a big bag of delicious, South African made, biltong to replace the packet that the dog ate a few days ago! It was such a kind and thoughtful gesture! So the biltong saga has a happy ending!

Over lunch I was offered a ride to my aunt’s place, who lives in SE Auckland. After some convincing I took the generous offer and also asked if Marie could come with as she was due to head out by bus to the CBD.

As if I didn’t have enough great food for one day, Marie, Moritz and myself finished off the day with a farewell dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant. We were all headed to different destinations for varying durations. We may meet up on the trail again. So we reminisced about the funny things we have been through or said or did.

Day 27
Km 0
Cumulative Km 372.5

We all had a sleep in, in our comfortable quarters at Lyn’s place, had eggs for breakfast and then headed out to a nice coffee shop with Lyn once she had finished gym and we had finished planning for the next section.

After coffee we headed to the shop for some resupply , though I must say it was a bit pricier than before. We had a relaxing afternoon at home, and I got a chance to fix my backpack . One of the arm slings kept slipping all the time and was irritating the shit out of me as this was happening every few minutes!!

In the afternoon we went to check out the estuary and sand dunes by Lyn’s place.

Day 28
16 November
Km 16
Cumulative Km 388.5

After another hearty breakfast we said our goodbyes and Lyn dropped us off at the start of the beach section. The beach was pretty uneventful, though a little difficult for the first half or so as it was high tide and we had to walk in the softer sand. There were 3 river crossings that we had to do, not too deep but required taking shoes off or getting them wet. We also saw 2 fairy terns, that are critically endangered in NZ.

We got to the campsite in the early afternoon and set up camp. It was busy though, considering it was a Saturday.

Day 29
Km 11
Cumulative Km 399.5

I can’t believe that some people are already at 650km, all walking and I’m at 475km, and walked 400. These people are machines… 35-40km a day on pretty rough territory!

Well, today I’m glad that we only signed up for 11km as it was a lot of steep climbs, then steep descents. Luckily the mud was fairly competent as it hadn’t rained for the last few days.

When we thought we were nearly done , we got an arse whipping in the form of another kilometre of steep, muddy descent and draining ascent to join up with the road

We camped on Matt’s lawn, got beer or soft drink and a morning coffee included in our rate.

The dog of a caravaner at the place we stayed decided to lighten my pack by eating nearly all of my biltong!! It was about 20 dollars worth!! So broken hearted… and I was just gone for a few minutes!

Day 30
Km 16
Cumulative Km 415.5

Today was rather similar to yesterday, with loads of meters of ascent, followed directly by descents. The track was actually not too bad, as it was still dry. There were several muddy patches, but not too bad. The start of the forest was pretty good… until it started raining just when we stopped for lunch. It rained pretty hard for about 20min and caused the next 5km of steep descent to be pretty slippery.

We stayed at Sheepworld, the youngsters camped and I stayed in an on site caravan. Not bad for 35 NZD .

Day 24
Km 11
Cumulative Km 334

For some reason today was a frustrating day, though I cant really say why. We didn’t have far to go but we just felt like we weren’t getting anywhere.

We had a boat crossing organised for 8am, 20 NZD pp. Pretty pricey! Anyway, that went smoothly with dry feet on both sides. Once you get over to Marsden Point though you are in industrial territory. The log loading port and refinery are here, without any trail markers. I was a little concerned that we would get into a place we shouldn’t be. The trail follows the refinery fence, then on the beach and under pressured pipelines that state that you shouldn’t enter under them?

The beach walk here was tough with the sand being very soft. The smell of the refinery also made it less pleasant.

As we progressed, this got better and the sand firmness improved. However a concerning storm was building on the horizon ahead of us. When checking the weather the previous night, there was a chance of hail and thunderstorms, and it looked like it was coming soon. We decided to get off the beach and hitch to Ruakaka, our resupply destination.We were however not successful. We did instead walk a bit down the highway and got to Maritime Holding office and were able to seek shelter there for 30mins or so. We got pretty soaked before this and thought we would try to get a ride into Ruakaka, a nice cafe and the supermarket. A few cars passed us until an old lady, with a car full of items and her dog stopped. She said she was just going down the road, we explained that we needed to go a bit further and thus would try someone else. She said , “Not to worry, get in and I will take you there then!” Moritz get in the front with the dog and Marie and I squeezed into the back with our bags. This lady only took us a few kilometres, but told many stories. She allegedly was part of the first New Zealand girl rock band and a NZ of the year!

We went to a cafe, had good lunch and a great coffee, then reapplied for a couple of days and headed down the road to our campsite – Uretiti. This was a fair bit of road walking, with more rain and then we got onto a good stretch of beach.

We got onto the campsite, which is a huge 300 site area and it started to rain…AGAIN! So we stood in the toilet and waited for it to pass before finding the camp office.

Day 25
Km 15.5
Cumulative Km 349.5

It was good to have a prediction of no rain for today, though all our tents were soaked from condensation and a quick drizzle we had in the night.

Today was a short day hiking wise and was mainly along roadways. Only the 1st 2.5km was along the beach, which was pleasant and wind free.

Our first goal was the reach Waipu, and Logan MaClean Cafe, where we knew that TA hikers get free coffee or hot beverages!!! The coffee was great and the Germans got some takeaway lunch too.

The next portion to Waipu Cove was partly along a path created for biking and walking, but mainly on road.
We got to our campsite at midday, so could dry tents, shower and do some laundry!

Day 26
Km 23
Cumulative Km 372.5

A very rainy start to the day , though at least I stayed in a bed and didn’t have to pack my tent up! It rained all the way up to approximately midday.

Earlier on in the track, when we were in old logging areas, in the hills, the views were a bit limited due to low clouds, but still pretty good. The trail through the forest was pretty good though and not as muddy as the northern forests, despite the rain.

As we neared Mangawhai Heads we joined the cliff walkway, which has incredible views of the beach, the stunning houses and islands . By this time the weather was also sunny and thus the visibility was great!
We walked a few kilometres by road to the Mangawhai Heads Holiday Park, where a friend that I had met in the Galapagos, Lyn, picked us up and hosted us in her beautiful home for two nights! I was very grateful that she took not only myself, but also my German hiking buddies. We had a lovely relaxing time, did our planning for the next stretch and resupplied too.

Day 21
Km 27
Cumulative Km 289.3

Today was a pretty good day, even though the distance was pretty far. There was a fair bit of dirt and tar road walking, but in between also a decent 120m ascent, followed by quick descent through another forest.

The views at the start of the trail, known as the Whananaki Coastal Walk, were great! The trail went through several farms and had a small gradient, but on wide farm roads.

Towards the end of the Matapouri Bush track you are greeted by a giant Kauri tree. He is so legendary that he has a name- Tane Moana- and is featured in Maori folklore. He is a beautiful and majestic in its presence.

We arrived in Ngunguru a little after 4pm. Just upon entering the town there is a random pine tree that looks like a Christmas tree for 2/3s and then a wild unkept tree on top. We headed straight for the shop to resupply and get our junk food fixes… especially ice cream and chocolate!

We then arranged with James, who owns the backpackers across the river in Nikau Bay, to get s ride in his boat. His place is really awesome, set in the bush, with hot showers open to the sky and trees. James prepared a fire, which we kept going into the night. We also discussed the next section of walking as it is heavily tide dependent.

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Day 22
Km 13
Cumulative Km 302.3

With the crossing of the Horahora River, an hour away, being strongly dependent on low tide, we had a very leisurely morning. Low tide at the river is 1.5 hours after low tide in the surrounding area, which made it at 14h30. We thus only left Nikau Bay after lunch.

Unfortunately we also lost Ari, the French girl who joined us yesterday. She decided that the trail was not for her and she will bus and backpack around New Zealand.

The walking today was through a Maori land shortcut, in dirt road. Then a little bit on beach until we hit the river crossing markers. The river was not fast flowing and at lowest tide time came to ¾ up the leg. Getting to the tarred road though went through muddy and smelly mangroves.

The remaining 10km was on tar road. However the kilometres were reduced as the people who we were going to stay at were not replying to texts or phone calls. We thus stopped early, at Treasure Island camp site in Pataua South. When we arrived there, there was no one at the office, no one answered phone calls and no campers around. Moritz went to try and find someone and came back successful!

It was starting to rain when we were paying , and the lady suggested that we set up in the rumpus room rather than in our tents as it would be a wet night. We were so glad that she did as a thunderstorm came through at about 8pm. We would not have been particularly happy campers outside, I reckon!

After the storm passed there was a beautiful orange, pink and peach sunset.

Day 23
Km 20.7
Cumulative Km 323

We set off shortly after 7am and hit the road, there were going to be many road kilometres today. After the first few though, we decided that we would try and hitch. Several cars passed us, but were full of school kids. After 20min of no success we carried on walking.

The road was narrow though with very little place to move away from traffic, so at another section we tried again and George, a guy on his way to work, stopped for us and took us all the way to Kauri Mt Rd. Carrying on, on the dirt road was a pleasant walk through cow pastures and onwards to Ocean Beach.

It was only a 6km stretch on the beach, so not as bad as 90 Mile Beach!
The beach had great views of Te Whara Trail , which is a very challenging but stunning trail and part of the TA. However the trail was closed for Kauri dieback maintenance. After having some lunch at the end of our stretch of beach we had 10 more kilometres of road walking to do to get to Reotahi Bay. By this time a steady light rain had set in and continued throughout the afternoon and into evening.

With sore feet and weary from dodging cars on the road we figured we would try and hitch again until the end of the road, and our destination. Lo and behold, the first car the passed us , stopped and we were in! It was a lovely older gentleman. He heard me saying that we were hoping to stop by a shop, which had unfortunately been permanently closed, to buy chocolate, but he said he may know of another that might do the trick. It was open! So we got chocolate and lunch! Well, 2nd lunch 🙂.

We were due to camp on the lawn of some lovely trail angels- Clare and Graham. However with the rain we half asked and they half offered their covered porch. So we didn’t have to deal with the weather again ! We could even shower in their bathroom- how lovely of them! And all for $5!

Day 19
Date 7 November
Km 17.7
Cumulative Km 246.3

The day started out with some proper breakfast- with the availability of eggs and bread , I wanted to make French toast. The Germans, never having had it before?!?!, looked on with interest and decided that they too were going to make some! They loved it!

Our walk started with an unexciting 12km road walk, though there was huge amount of oncoming traffic! We found out from some locals at Helena Bay, that everyone was going to see the arrival of a number of historical ships and Maori wakas- war canoes- that were headed to Waitangi. Unfortunately we had just been there and were missing out on this action.

We had an early lunch at a misty Helena Bay before starting the Helen Ridge trail. It was a good ,wide trail most times and also meandered, though mostly uphill, through kanuka and regenerating forest.

The uphills were tough! We made it to our camp at km 297.8, a clearing in the forest, at about 2pm. We discovered that there was very minimal water in the tank and went on rations.

I actually managed to sleep a few hours, which is good progress! We had a dry night, with drizzle just before we were due to get up, and thus had wet tents anyway. This after not actually having condensation on the inside of my tent for the first time in many weeks!

Day 20
Km 16
Cumulative Km 262.3

Today was another tough track- mainly due to big changes in elevation all the time. We dropped from near 300m to 0 when crossing a small stream a few times, back to 220m and quickly back down to sea level at Whananaki. Both the uphills and down hills were very steep. I can definitely feel my knees hurting from the braking… and the Achilles wasn’t delighted with the stretching on the uphills.

On arrival at the holiday park we were welcomed with a free soft drink… how lovely! Just for being TA walkers. We then found out that there was going to be a woodfired pizza evening happening. We could choose from some 12 toppings and build our own medium sized pizza. It was delicious and such a great way to be spoilt! One pizza only 7 NZD!! It was delicious, fresh and so good from the woodfired oven!

Whananaki is well known for having the longest footbridge in the southern hemispherehe- 500m. It’s in the photos below too. I decided to take some photos early as it may be raining tomorrow.

Day 17
Date 5 November
Km 0
Cumulative Km 228.6

Marie, Moritz and I caught the 11am ferry into Russel, across the bay from Paihia. Still lovely and sunny weather the whole day and we spent time walking around the village and enjoying the beautiful old homes. Fish and chips for lunch- when Marie learned not to order a large portion of chips as that in essence means family size! In fact I ordered a small portion and had lunch and dinner from it!

After Sheryl was finished work, she took us back to her place where we set up camp. We also had tea and she bought out some apple pie to share. The farm is a lovely piece of land and has wild horses on it.

James, an English guy I met earlier in the hike, had said that if South Africa win the Rugby World Cup, he would buy me a beer. I said I prefer cider. He, a man of his word, left some money at Sheryls place for her to buy some cider before I arrived. Sheryl wasn’t going to skimp and she bought a whole 1.25l! So there was enough for everyone to celebrate the victory! Whoever thought that a Kiwi will be drinking to the Springboks!?
We were drinking the cider from our tea cups- how English. Sheryl says, “I will only have half” . We all laughed as it should be noted that she had a massive 0.5l mug! 🙂

Day 18
Date 6 November
Km 0
Cumulative Km 228.6

Today Marie and Moritz headed out through the Russel forest while I got a ride from Sheryl’s place to Sue’s place. Sue has a place to stay after the forest. It’s a great backpackers and there are tent spaces. A great kitchen to use and hot shower!! All of these are luxuries to us!

I promise to welcome Moritz with a hot cup of tea- apparently a dream of his for the trail- and also dry out everyone’s tents. This way Marie’s dream will come true too as she has an obsession with having a dry tent. For good reason of course!

The guys also left behind their food, for me to take by car, so their packs were much lighter for the day!

Day 15
Date 3 November 2019
Km 22.6
Cumulative km 222.2

The day started with a walk from the Holiday Park to the Stone Store in Kerikeri. This is actually the official end of this trail section but as we caught a ride to the accommodation, we hadn’t actually been here. So it was some 2km to get there. It was as quaint as I remember , though better as there were no people!

I spent a few minutes walking around the church, Stone Store and Kemp house and then carried on a few kilometres of road walking until hitting the 15 km forest trail to Waitangi.

This forest is a commercial pine forest and has a great pine smell. It’s pretty nice walking, but as these same things, get weary after a few kilometres of the same.
Coming out of the forest is a lookout across the Bay of Islands- a great part of NZ- especially in cloudless weather like I was having. A bit further down the road, when the forest stops and there was no tree cover it got hot! The views were still lovely though!

It was around 15h30 though and my feet were super sore. So I stopped for a few minutes and tried to hitch a ride for the last 3km. And it worked! Car #3 – an older couple from Canada, just coming back from Sunday golf, stopped and took me to the door of my hostel!! Yeah! Winning!

Upon arriving I took my shoes off to inspect my feet and noted that my toenail had very much lifted from the bed and was just attached around the edges. I decided to seek medical advice the next day- Monday.

Day 16
Km 6

Cumulative km 228.6

Today was another off day, though I did a few kilometres to/ from nurse and then to the Waitangi Treaty Ground.

Firstly the nurse checked me out- no doctor. No infection, I must keep the nailed trimmed, disinfected, dry and clean. She checked inside to see new nail growth and said I should keep this nail as long as possible for protection, but it will fall off soonish.

Based on this I have organised a road trip to miss the Russel forest, which includes 4km of river walking and possible mud, and join the track thereafter.

I did an afternoon visit at the Waitangi Treaty ground- a foreign entry ticket is 50 NZD ! Luckily I have my NZ license, so it was half price. The price includes a cultural performance and guided tour.

Day 6
Date 25 October 2019
Km 0 (a few around town)
Cumulative km 101

Even though today was my day off I still got up early to catch the shuttle from Ahipara to Kaitaia at 07h30. I decided that I’m not keen on doing the road sections and would rather save my feet and legs for the next stretch.
Yesterday I did laundry, so today was resupply day and getting some pretty pricey gear. I also had a couple of coffees and sent a few items back to Auckland to see if I can go OK without them.

Day 7
Km 0 (a few around town)
Cumulative km 101
Unplanned rest day due to me having the shits yesterday into the evening. I didn’t want to head out without being certain it passed. I did really do anything else except download some Netflix and audiobooks for entertainment.

Day 8
Km 23
Cumulative km 124

My intention was to hitch out of Kaitaia and get dropped off at the start of the dirt road, 7km away.
Being early on a Sunday morning though there weren’t very many cars and those around were not keen on giving me a ride. So I added the 7km to the rest of the day which was dirt road and then another 6km of sealed road into Takahue.

Not a very exciting day in terms of scenery, mainly farmland. There is a campsite, no toilet though, 1.5km after the start of the trail. I meet a Belgian couple that were a few days ahead of me on 90 Mile Beach. They were camping here for the last 4 days, with injury. Then I met a bunch of guys (French/English) who were 3 days behind- and clearly caught up without rest days. They hitched the whole way from Kaitaia though.
So you can see everyone does their own thing.

Day 9
Km 11
Cumulative km 135

So today marked the start of what was a very tough track- the Raetea Forest. The track is stated to be 18.5km, completed in 9.5 hours. If you do, you are super fit!!

Firstly there isn’t potable water on the trail, an irony considering how extremely muddy it is! So I took 4l with me. The track is very well known for mud, so I was sort of prepared for that. I had heard of some people only progressing ½ km in 1 hour when conditions are unfavourable, so I was happy with my 1.5km/hr progress at the start.
The climb up to the summit (all 733m) especially the last 0.5km was near vertical. You see, switchbacks don’t seem to exist here. It’s all vertically up and vertically down. I was grateful that today the weather was dry, pretty warm, and had been for the last 2 days. Despite this , I still got covered in mud. The downhills were just as

treacherous with the mud and foliage and I slipped and fell 3 3/4 times.
By the time 16h00 rolled around, 8 hours after I started, I decided I had enough and set up camp in the forest. There were 2 small cleanings at 146km of the trail. The only other place to camp would have been at the summit, but that was 3 hours earlier.
Early evening it started to drizzle and carried on through most of the night. Great way to create more mud!!

Day 10
Km 13
Cumulative km 148

For the first time, I had to pack up camp in the drizzle, not great. Just 25m down the track I was into my first mud. The gaps between mud baths can be measured in seconds- it is just never ending! The mud was even more slurpy and runny than yesterday and so it was quickly that I got into mud that went half way up my calf. The mud also suctions your shoes in place and thus you need to twist to pull free.

Most of the descent was to be done today. Again, very steep and so slippery with the clay / mud combo. I landed on my arse twice.

My quads were feeling the burn with the constant breaking on the down hill, even though I have walking poles.
I finished the last 6km of forest in 3.5 hours- so I’m glad that I didn’t try and complete it yesterday!

The trail finishes in the driveway of a farm that has like 10 dogs that are leashed but barking wildly and trying to get off their chains. It’s a bit scary.

There is a nice campsite with toilet, river and even wash line and picnic table. I stopped by here to give my legs , feet and especially shoes and socks a good rinse.

It was then a road walk along SH 1 to get to Mangamuka. I stayed in a super basic, by donation, room that the dairy owner has. This gave me an opportunity to grab good lunch and dinner from the dairy and dry my tent and other gear.

I must say that my muscles are taking less time to recover and the pain is lessening. I did discover why my big toe hurts- I had a blister under the nail! I have been using the heel lock shoe lacing technique the last couple of days and that seems to take quiet a bit of pressure off the toes.

Day 11
Km 13.6
Cumulative km 161.6

Though the distance on both days is similar, today I was only en route for about 3.5 hours. The walk is all on 4WD track, steadily climbing 300m or so. This is the track through the Omahuta Forest, which is a Kauri tree protected area. The road went past several dairy farms and the weather remained good, though very quickly changing between sunny, overcast and drizzly.

I set up my tent as soon as I got to the Apple Tree Campsite as it was beginning to drizzle, though it past quickly. The lunch of the section was then prepared, which is flavoured tuna, peas and those thin rice noodles you buy dry. I normally have this for dinner, but variety is the spice of life 🙂

Day 12
Date 31 October 2019
Km 25
Cumulative km 186.6

I figured today would be a long day due to the distance that I needed to cover. I am struggling to sleep, so I knew that would add to it! I got out of camp at 7am. The section starts with 6km of 4WD track , so it wasn’t bad going. The transition down to the river was muddy and sloppy, so back to having muddy and wet feet.

I wasn’t sure what the expect from the river, but it was 3km through and in the river, which was actually lovely, green and pleasant. Progress was a bit slow as you need to go from bank to bank in the shallows and criss-cross the jagged pebble bottom all the time.

I got a bit lost on the way out of the river when needing to do the final crossing, but I eventually figured out where I needed to cross, and to get down a super steep embankment to do so.

The next section in the forest was really tough. Firstly I was excited to have clean shoes and feet, but that wasn’t going to last long. The mud was not as bad as Raetea but some deep sections existed. The track also just barely hugged the slope, was 1 foot wide and often slippery. I was scared I would slip down the side. There were also tricky crossings across ditches which I didn’t like one bit. I’m not a very agile person, and with a backpack and slippery conditions I was nervous. Luckily, they turned out OK.

After hours of hugging the slopes and trees to help me out, I got to the Kauri tree section. They are pretty magnificent trees , and they are being protected from a fungus that is killing them off. So where there is a high concentration of them, there are steps created and stone paths to clearly define your route. All hikers also need to clean gear and equipment at cleaning stations. The stairs and paths were also a good break from the more treacherous day.

Imagine my joy when down a small set of steps I hit the 4WD track that would lead me to camp. Though not after 9km and some 2 hrs 15min later. My body had had enough! My feet were still wet in my drenched shoes and the neck and shoulder muscles were tired from the bag.
So nearly 10.5 hours later , I stumbled into camp. I stayed in Puketi hut. This had electricity, bunks, cold shower and great facilities, even fridge and microwave! All clean too.

For the last 2 nights I have needed to pee in the middle of the night, which isn’t great. However there is one advantage- seeing the magnitude of the night sky, without clouds and nearly no moon. The night skies in the bush are stunning here! Though it’s a bit chilly, so I didn’t stay out too long.

Day 13
Date 1 November 2019
Km 13
Cumulative km 199.6

After a good 6 hour sleep in the hut- finally- I headed off on what was to be a long day , though not difficult, to Kerikeri. After a few kilometres of dirt road walking there is a section through sheep and dairy farms.

I got lost here- following the Guthook app directions rather than signs. I went round and around in the paddocks and ended up falling into an unexpectedly deep wetland type area. I had crossed shallower portions in trying to find where I should go, but it meant wet and muddy feet again!! I eventually found the gate I had to be at- but had to cross this wetland again. I tried in a few places but it was way too deep.

Eventually I found an area that I didn’t sink into too bad, just half way up the calves. Finally I was on the right track . This led out of the farms and onto a country dirt road. It was long and pretty boring. Just after this road turned into bitumen a car stopped next to me and offered me a lift. It already had Moritz and Marie, the two young Germans who I had been camping with the last couple of nights.

The lovely older couple were taking us all the way to our accommodation in Kerikeri. The highlight of the walk was to be Rainbow Falls. The lady was so nice that she stopped there for us to have a look and take a few pics as it was just a quick walk to the viewpoint. We then carried on to the Holiday Park.

Upon arriving at the holiday park the reception personnel were eating lunch- fish cakes, which smelt delicious! Then we were offered some. And wow!! Homemade and delicious!!! And offered another 2 later. So yummy! Filled with stuff I dont normally like, like prawns and mussels, but man it worked!

Coming into the campground was good, in that I had caught up to many other hikers that were ahead of me in the Raetea forest as they were quicker. The big NZ / French/ English group, Danish, Belgian couples. They were happy to see me as they had been concerned that I had stayed in the forest overnight and it was rainy the next day. How nice.

I also made a visit to town and had sushi and waffles as well as shopping for craving foods like eggs, rolls, yogurt and cheese.

I also attach a photo of my bruised toes…multi coloured at the moment.

Day 14
Date 2 November 2019
Km 0
Cumulative km 199.6

Having a rest day, so its coffee and non dehydrated food time and planning of the next section which is more forest… looks like some more long days ahead!