Month: December 2019

Day 69
27 December 2019
Km 17
Cumulative Km 777

The ferry crossing from Wellington to Picton was as calm and tranquil as they come!! Super smooth sailing and an earlier than planned arrival. Coming into the sounds was also scenic.

The start of the Te Araroa Trail on the South Island is at Ship Cove, where the Queen Charlotte Track commences. To get here you need a water taxi from Picton, which I had booked a few days ago. The trip takes 1.5 hours and also includes some animal watching if you are lucky to spot any.

I started my first day on the South Island in the best weather possible and it was so clear that you could see mountains that would not normally be visible. This meant that you could also see the water in the sounds in their delightful range of colours.
The trail has recently been slightly rerouted after a major slip and made into a mountain bike track, so it is wide and without too much immediate change in gradient, which is nice.

I spent the night at Miners Camp. It is at the start of a track that goes to the old antimony mines in the area. I didn’t do the trail though.

Day 70
Km 20
Cumulative Km 797

I decided to detour to the Camp Bay campsite, and beyond to Punga Cove resort for a morning coffee. The coffee and view was lovely and for $5 a fair price for out here. There was also WIFI.

With more great views the highlight of the day would definitely be the side trip to Eatwells Lookout. The view is over the whole sound where we have been walking and also into Kenepuru Sound.

With the sunny weather it’s nice that the trail has mostly been in the forest, so its shady most of the time.

I got to the Bay of Many Coves campsite just before 2pm.
There weren’t many of us to start with, but by early evening the place was packed, and there were tents surrounding me 😥

Day 71
Km 16
Cumulative Km 813

The day wasn’t going to be a long one, in terms of hiking. Just 5 hours. So I got into Portage, a tiny village just in time for a fish, chips, salad, cider and ice cream. I then walked down to the Cowshed Bay Campsite, which is right on the water and picked and nice spot in the trees and settled in for a quiet night.

However this was not going to be the case, as this site is accessible by road there were lots of camper vans and a family of four decided to park their campsite 1m away from me 😬😡

Day 72
Km 21
Cumulative Km 834

The day started with a long uphill, then back down to Te Mahia saddle. From here the track got really busy with day visitors and mountain bikers. The views and weather were still both great though!

I organised with friends from Greymouth, who now live in Nelson area, to pick me up at the end of the trail. It was great to see them and catch up in the car and then the next few days.

Day 61
Km 0
Cumulative Km 734

A day off to check on the plan , weather and wait for bad weather to pass.
At this stage it looks like rain all through Christmas.

Day 62
Km 26
Cumulative Km 760

It rained until just after 9am today and cleared up by 10am as per the forecast and so I set out down the beach to Paekakariki. Even though it was low tide the sea was close to the shore and really dirty, probably from increase volume of material from rivers in last few days. I walked on the street parallel to the beach and got distracted by a coffee shop 🤣.

The walk from Paekakariki to Pukerua Bay is the Escarpment walk and said to be a highlight of the trail. I dont think I agree with this statement though. The views are good of the bays and Kapiti Island but you are always seeing SH1 and the trains and tracks, so it’s not a very natural experience.

I caught a train and then bus back to Sulandi’s place in the early evening.

Day 63-68
Km 0
Cumulative Km 760

Days spent preparing for Christmas and looking after the kids. Two are a handful and Sulandi and I joke that I am smart in not having any… no joke it’s TRUE! I dont mind temporarily looking after kids but sure I dont want my own!

We have a lovely Christmas lunch, with a beautifully prepared table and yummy roasts, potatoes, carrots and pumpkin cakes if I can translate the Afrikaans directly. I also made some pavlova and vodka egg nog for dessert.

Most of the remaining walking through Wellington is on roads, so I decided to skip it.

I take the ferry from Wellington to Picton on the 26th December.

PS The weather forecast was not correct- it didn’t rain at all as predicted 😐

Day 57
15 December 2019
Km 0
Cumulative Km 694

Today was a day of planning and relaxing as well as resupply.

We also checked out some street art and Maori totem carvings.

In the afternoon we did swing by the Pekapeka Wetland. It is a few kilometres out of Hastings and is fairly newly established. We were hoping to see a few birds but there weren’t too many varieties. Lots of ducks and one black swan.

Day 58
Km 21.5
Cumulative Km 715.5

We left Hastings at 7am and headed towards Kahuterawa Car Park. This means that I skipped all the road walking from Palmerston North to here. I also wanted to get through the first track before the large rainfall was due tomorrow. This worked partly, in that it started raining just prior to me setting off on my hike. I commenced at 10am.

So the first 1.5 hours were wet but then it cleared for most of the day. The trail was mainly through bush, then some newly planted pines before getting to one of the newest shelters on the trail. It is very nicely constructed and even had a pine Christmas tree in it with 2 ornaments!

An important milestone- passing half way point of the trail!!

A few kilometres passed the shelter I headed into the bush. The track went downhill towards the river. It was somewhat muddy. There were many stream crossings and muddy sections throughout the whole day.

A part of this trail is called Burtton’s Track, named after the farmer who cut it in. He died after sustaining injuries after the collapse of his suspension bridge. He got himself out through the bush track, despite having several broken bones. He eventually died in hospital.

I got to the Tokomaru Shelter at 17h30. There was some drizzle that started about 1 hour before my arrival. I got some water from the stream, ate dinner and then some decent rain set in. Really pounding on the tin roof at times. The rain was accompanied with a bit of thunder.

Day 59
Km 18.5
Cumulative Km 734

Set off on a 3km road walk first, dirt road past a dam used for hydroelectric generator. Before I left I checked the stream level next to the shelter to see if the water level had increased at all as there were many stream and river crossings today. All was good, no change noticed.

When I hit the start of the Mangahao-Makahika Track I didn’t realise how tough a day it would be. There was loads and loads of mud, not possible to avoid and I was covered in mud. The only relief from about half way was countless stream crossings where I could clean myself… to get dirty 20m later though.

There were 2 lookouts from where there were nice views and then the slog continued. I caught my shoe in a root and then just heard the ripping of material. The whole half of the front of my shoe was ripped- oops!

The last part of the trail was through farmland then dirt road to lovely trail angels where I could camp or take a simple cabin. With much more rain forecast I went with the cabin…and glad I did.

The trail angels are well versed on the weather and conditions for the Tararua Ranges section ahead- a short 45km- but very tough section. There were predictions of gale force winds, heavy rain and possibly snow. So I decided it would be safer to skip for the moment.

Day 60
18 December 2019
Km 0
Cumulative Km 734

Two months on the trail!!

With continued rain overnight I was glad to be in the cabin! John, the trail angel was going into Levin and took myself and Nadine- another TA hiker who arrived later in the evening.

Upon arrival we went to the isite, me to get a bus ticket to Otaki- where there are many outlet shops to hopefully find shoes- and then to Paraparaumu- where I would meet another friend from South Africa. Sulandi and I worked together at Voorspoed Mine.

Sulandi & kids picked me up from the bus station and she started preparing dinner when we arrived home. A feast of lamb, chicken, rice, potatoes, carrots, cream spinach and courgettes!!! Total yummy-ness! Many thanks!!

Then that evening I had a wine in the hot tub with jets going! Great!

Day 54
12 December 2019
Km 0
Cumulative Km 694

Today was a rest day and I only did a few kilometres between cafes and McDonalds for soft serve ice cream . 🙂

I had a morning and part of the afternoon to kill as I waited for my 3pm bus to Palmerston North.

I decided not to do the 5 day canoeing trip mainly because if I didn’t like it a few hours in then 5 days was not a good idea!!Then from Whanganui to Palmerston North is 99% road walking .

I did however have something to look forward to- my Kiwi friend- Ross- from the Antarctica trip was due to pick me up and take me to his place for a long weekend- he took Friday and Monday off.We got into Hastings at about 21h30.

Day 55
Km 0
Cumulative Km 694

After a hearty breakfast we set out to explore the Hawke’s Bay area. I haven’t been to these parts before, so I was excited.Our exploring started in Napier. Napier was nearly completely flattened after the 1931 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck it. In rebuilding it, the modern Art Deco style of the 1920s was used for the entire city centre and is proudly preserved today! The town planners also took the opportunity to widen all the streets as they were very narrow pre earthquake.

There was a large passenger liner docked today so old cars and people dressed up in period costumes were also around.We got a self guided Art Deco pamphlet from the information centre and walked around the centre reading up about the different buildings.

The Cathedral, which had a mass being said inside during the time of the quake, was flattened and rebuilt. It is now a modern, nearly industrial looking church with modern stain glass windows and very intricate and interesting Maori altar and weaving on the back walls. I have not seen this before. It is beautifully crafted!

After meandering around the city we took a drive and walk to Bluff Lookout which overlooks the port , Bays and has grand old homes around. We also passed the Girls school for a lookout over the Bay and city centre . The turquoise waters stretched all the way to Cape Kidnappers .

It was a fabulous day, to what is now one of my favourite New Zealand cities! Not only is the art deco cool here but I also found some great street art!

Once we were finished in Napier we took the drive to Te Mata Peak, where there are brilliant views of the hills, river and wineries.

Day 56
Km 0
Cumulative Km 694

Today we drove to Te Awanga to take a 4WD bus tour to the Gannett colonies of Kidnappers Cape. The colonies are on private farmland and only one company goes there.

***On a side note there is a 5+ star lodge on this property that costs 1,700 NZD per night to stay in and a round of golf on the exclusive golf course is 400 NZD!

We travel for a while before hitting our first lookout- over the cliffs of the cape- and where a large slip closed off beach access to the colonies. Amazingly the tractor tours that operated there were stopped just before the slip when it all came down and 2 people were caught in it but miraculously survived with broken bones!! This link contains a video https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/380750/walkers-swept-by-rockfall-into-sea-at-hawke-s-bay-beach

We continue until we hit the Plateau Colony as well as the inaccessible colony above the caves- The Saddle Colony. David Attenborough filmed and photographed this colony in the 1980s. The birds are not worried by humans , rather more so by each other!! The gannets are related to the boobys that I have seen around the Galapagos Islands. They do come here to mate, lay eggs, look after their young and head off to Australia before the New Zealand winter kicks in.

Only 30% of the birds make it back across the ocean!When the birds land at their nest they greet their partner with a dance, heads straight in the air and breaks touching. If their neighbour doesn’t appreciate their arrival then a fight ensues!! They do draw blood sometimes! There were many nests with fluffy chicks in them, some already quiet large.

I witnessed some pre-mating preening rituals. The males attempt to subdue the females by holding their heads/ necks in their beaks while attempting to get on their backs.

It was great to watch these birds for over half an hour before we headed back.We planned to have lunch at a winery though both were booked out!! Mind you, one even had 8 visitors that flew in by helicopter!!! Wow! In the end we had a vegetarian meal in Havelock and delicious ice cream at Rush Munros in Hastings!! My favourite flavour- lemon gin!! Yes!! Gin!

Day 53
Km 20
Cumulative Km 694

An early start with a 05h30 pick up to help beat the crowds a bit as we were setting off on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing- New Zealand’s most popular day hike which sees up to 2,000 hikers per day!!
A 45min drive got us to the start and a chilly start too at near 0 C!

The first few kilometres are easy and have steps and boardwalks. We also saw the snow covered Ruapehue and walked in the shadow of Ngauruhoe- a classic volcano shape. Looking back you can also see the snow covered sharp peak of Mt Taranaki in the distance.

After this section is a longish uphill on stairs and loose rock, scree and sand , to the Red Crater. It is impressive with it’s dark maroon walls. From here you can also see the Emerald Lakes and large Blue Lake.

The downhill from the crater is a controlled, sort of, slide, down the scree mixture.

From here you pass the Blue Lake up close. Then a downhill 10km. Most are pretty easy as there are many zig zags and stairs; all luxuries for us!

The views of Lake Taupo and surrounding areas were spectacular! Especially with our clear day!!

The hike descends through alpine low vegetation, through shrubs and the forests. We also pass through a previous lahar area.

Day 46
Km 20
Cumulative Km 562

We had a good time at our Te Kuiti trail angel, Sue. Set off at about 07h30. We hit a nice forest track and crossed a bridge to come to an old farm track…and lo and behold about 8 young bulls too!

Now neither of us really knew how to act around them . Two came together in the road, stared at us and blocked the road. So we backed down a little and try to wait them out. A few minutes later 3 more came out from the bank and were a bit startled by our presence. We decided that talking calmly between one another was the way to go. Some 30mins later they eventually moved passed us, with a few trying to curiously sniff us. Luckily they were all in a good mood and we slowly made it up the hill and then sped right up when they were out of sight.

The track continued alongside a easy, wide forest track close to the river and was pleasant and we enjoyed the environment. We came across the last swing bridge and crossed the river to a sign that stated “ Te Araoa 15km, 5 hours “. Though this seemed long for a nice track along the river we continued and had a break by the river.

It then all turned bad, the track started to cling to the side of the river valley, was muddy and loads of places, not shallow either but deep dark mud. The trail also consisted of steep short and slippery ups and down scrambles.

So much for a nice walk by the river! On the narrow pathway, which was very sketchy and much more a goat track than a trail, my left leg slipped down the hill a little and I slight strained my knee in the process too. I was getting very irritable due to the track difficulty mixed with my continued lack of sleep.

I was just not a happy camper! Part of the trail also included a 130m steep ramble up sheep grazing slopes and back down to the river.

I then came to a divergence in the track , one along the river and one scrambling uphill. As Moritz was ahead of me I assumed he would have taken the one along the river. I eventually caught up to him when he took a break and said that I was concerned as there have not been orange trail markers for quiet a while. We continued for a little while longer but it seemed that the track petered out. So we went back to the intersection, clambered up hill and found the next marker there. We still had a few hours to go along the pine and eucalyptus forest track as farm roads.
We eventually got into camp just after 5pm! Really spent after such a long and hard day!

Day 47
Km 16
Cumulative Km 578

Today the planned distance was 36km of dirt and tar road walking. From the beginning I wanted to hitch most of it but Moritz wanted to walk until SH30. So that’s what we did, though it was really boring and at around midday we figured we would try hitch off the dirt road, which should be easier than the highway. First car, thumbs out and the guy stopped and asked if we wanted a ride to the campsite, clearly he had picked up several hikers. He worked the logging operations in the area and had a breakdown.

It was a longish hitch and we chatted a fair bit. Getting to the campsite early meant being able to do some washing. Especially good for the mud off my pants!
We stayed at Pureora Campsite for the night.

Day 48
Km 22
Cumulative Km 600

Today we started the Timber Trail. It’s a shared mountain biking/ hiking trail and thus is at a easy gradient and is nice and wide!! So exciting to be on a trail where you can enjoy the forest surroundings! We passed some really awesome tall trees.

About 12km into the trail we diverted up the Toi-Toi track, leading up to Pureora Summit. I was hoping to get views and Ruapehu and Tongariro as it was a clear day, but too hazy further in the distance. We also got a view of Lake Taupo.

The trail down is no longer maintained by DOC. Though it’s not worse than many trails we have been on. There were a fair few boggy sections on the way down, and then we joined the Timber Trail again.

Our hut for the night is a little off trail. It’s called the BOG Inn Hut and is one of the older huts in NZ. It was built in 1960. It has sleep space for 4 , a wood stove, washing up area and toilet.

The guys who named the hut had a sense of humour and must have referred to some of the boggy areas you need to pass to get here. With a sign at the diversion: 1.6km, 30 minutes and then half way 800m, 30 minutes???

Day 49
Km 22
Cumulative Km 622

Today the most exciting thing on the trail were the superb swing bridges and the stump hut- a tiny dwelling made inside the stump of a tree. It’s rather dilapidated now and I can’t imagine 2 people living in here!
The other highlight of the day was food related- pizza at the Timber Lodge- fancy lodge on the trail . The view from the lodge is also great as it is perched on a hill.
We spent the night at Camp Epic- and it was EPIC! The best and most modern camp bathrooms ever! Breakfast included!

Day 50
Km 24.5
Cumulative Km 646.5

It was due to rain loads from midnight but we had very little of this predicted rain while walking, which is good! Lots came down in the evening though!

The day started with a winding climb, gaining 180m in elevation and joining the incredibly impressive 141m Maramataha Bridge. The cost of building was 470k NZD and the bridge life will be 50 years. It also took 18 helicopter hours to help with the different stages of bridge building. The height of the bridge is 53m above a gorgeous creek and gorge covered in forest.

I enjoyed today’s walk as we followed old logging tram ways with explanations of logging related activities along the way. One fun story was when the payroll officer fell off his horse and the horse bolted with the wages, in cash, for 100 men! The horse was found 2 weeks later with all cash on board!
We walked through cuttings in the mountains that allowed the railway locos and trains to pass and are now overgrown with trees, creating natural tunnels.

Day 51
Km 24
Cumulative Km 670.5

The last section of the timber trail has a trail highlight- a spiral construction for logging trains to make a sharp turn across 2 bridges and through a tunnel. There is also a 1500m long active landslide area where we passed the 1,000km of the trail mark!! That’s a third of the trail!

Hereafter the trail gets somewhat boring and a bit depressing as we have a large hill that is bare and clogged, perhaps a fitting end to see what logging does to a landscape?

The trail finished in the old milling town of Ongarue , now a near ghost town. We walked another 3km to get to SH4 to try and hitch to Taumarunui 21km down the road. We eventually got picked up by a lady who picked up the girl who we have been hiking with.

It was difficult to find a place to stay, as all was booked out. We eventually found a lovely cottage on Airbnb for a good price, though 3km out of town.

Day 52
Km 3.5
Cumulative Km 674

Today is pretty much a 0 day for rest, washing and eating loads!! Of course we buy supplies to do some cooking too! We also go to the I-site to get some info on the upcoming river canoe, which I will skip and the Tongariro Crossing.

We had already booked 3 nights at our accommodation but it turned out that the weather would be great for the crossing the next day. So I enquired if it was possible to get a return transfer from Taumarunui to the start of the trail and back. And it was at the same price if we used a complex combination of bus, shuttle and no more accommodation costs! So we were booked for that the next day!!

Day 34-39
Km 0
Cumulative Km 451.5

I had a rest week in Auckland and had 2 Chiropractor appointments to try and help with the Achilles pain that I have had. No pain, no gain and both appointments were pretty sore, but helpful.

I did a fair bit of cooking at my aunt’s place, which was nice, with loads of vegetables and meat.

Day 40
28 November 2019
Km 16
Cumulative Km 467.5

My aunt took me to the Manukau bus station and I caught the bus to Hamilton central. It turns out that Moritz was arriving in Hamilton too, by foot and we decided to meet up in a cafe for lunch and coffee. Once we enjoyed our food , Moritz went to the shop to resupply and I waited for him.

We headed out approximately 13h30. I should mention that we started off at kilometre 759 of the trail, so I bussed a large section.

The walk to Whatawhata was pretty boring, a fair bit of roadways and the only highlight being the Arboretum. There was also a section through 2m high grass and thistles… not fun!

So the best part of the day was arriving at the only bar in town, they allow us to pitch tents for free , have a shower and use the toilets. We in turn had dinner and a couple of ciders. They went down great!

Day 41
Km 24
Cumulative Km 491.5

Today consisted of a walk along the river, which sounds pleasant enough but the trail was horrible, unkept, hard to follow. We had to crawl under electric fences and bypass a fenced off area where the track goes through but was the holding pen for about 10 bulls! This section was followed by a boring road section.

The last section of today was a flat, 2.5 km walk, close to the river. The track is wide, so is pretty easy. We got into Kaniwhaniwha Campsite at about 16h30.

Day 42
Km 8
Cumulative Km 499.5

Not many kilometres today, but they took 5 hours. The first 5km were not bad and through a pleasant forest. The last 3.5 km were much tougher. Very steep uphills with muddy sections. Luckily it hasn’t rained much for the last few days, so the mud was firmer than usual in many places. Thank goodness for this! The views of the whole area are great from the Pirongia Summit lookout. Passing the ferns and bushes near the top, I felt like a bull dozer pushing through as the vegetation is very thick. Often you cant see the trail .

A half hour walk from the summit is the hut we were staying in. Luckily we were the first to arrive, as during the afternoon it got completely packed with hikers- it was also a Saturday – so there were many overnight hikers.

Day 43

1 December 2019
Km 12
Cumulative Km 511.5

Miraculously it still hasn’t rained, which is such a big blessing for coming down this mountain!! I need to review my weather forecasting app as the last 2 days should have seen a fair bit of rain. We woke up, after not much real sleep, to a misty and cool morning.

The first part of the hike is along boardwalk and stairs to reach the Hihikiwi summit at 900m. The view is not for very far due to the mist.

We then commenced our descent, which of course is through a valley, so it’s a steep downhill, followed by a steep uphill and then all the way down very muddy, root covered goat tracks. The recommended time was 3-5 hours. Moritz did it in about 3.5 hours while myself and 2 new friends- Kiwis- Karen and Frances made it in 4.5 hours. This included pulling Karen out of knee deep mud!

The forest was a lovely moss covered one and has a lot of bird conservation projects happening. The trees near the summit are also visibly shorter than we have seen before due to the elevation.

It was great to be able to rinse mud off in the stream at the bottom of the climb. We then had lunch and headed off on 12.5km of road walking. We did about 7km when we were picked up by a local guy with a van to fit all 4 of us and packs in! This was great! So nice of him, and he even went out of his way to drop us off at the door of the trail angel where we were staying.

Cassey, our trail angel showed us around her property bit, we had toilet and hot shower and the best surprise was a home made pizza and beer. I swopped my beer for another piece of pizza 😉

Day 44
Km 30
Cumulative Km 542

Seeing that Cassey has chickens she was nice enough to share eggs with us and even left us a packet of strawberries with a Merry Christmas message on them!

Today’s plan was pretty ambitious, for me anyway. It was the longest day kilometre wide, bar on 90 Mile Beach, which was all flat of course. The plan was 32km. The day itself was pretty varied, between forestry roads, bush track and farm crossings. There were some very sticky, clay mud sections, probably more than we anticipated.

One of the very “TA” moments of the trail was when we had to cross 5 x pretty steep valleys across farmland just to make it to the airstrip which was at a very similar elevation to what we were at the start. The running joke always is… if there is a hill or mountain, then the TA trail WILL go over it!

There was a river crossing that we did, me in my hiking shoes which were already wet, though my feet did not love this decision. When I took them off at the end of an 11 hr day they were shrivelled and very sensitive. Lots of pain in the base of the foot.

But I diverge. The last few hours of the trail was a mixed horse riding and tramping trail which the horses destroy the clay mud through and make walking through harder than it should be. This trail intertwined with flat forest trail where horses were not allowed and was good walking… all bar a kilometre or so of a gorse tunnel. I have taken some photos so you can see how spiky this weed is.

Just after 6pm we hit the tar road into Waitomo. Moritz had worked himself up for a pizza, but we had a deal that if we got a hitch then we would go, if not then we would stay at a cheaper campsite just 1 5km out of town. A few cars passed with no luck, until a Maori lady and her daughter stopped and packed us into an already packed car! She even took us all the way to the YHA!

At the YHA I found out about a deal where one of the restaurants in the area does a free pick up and drop off, $ 15 buffet casserole, rice and potatoes and $5 beer, wine or cider. Winning!!

Day 45
Km 0
Cumulative Km 542

Today turned into a rest day for me as my soles of my feet were still very tender and sore. So I organised a bus ticket into Te Kuiti. 6 hours walk vs 15min by bus!

Moritz did the Waitomo Glow worm Caves Tour in the morning, then we met up for breakfast. He hit the trail at about 11am and I headed to a different cafe for another coffee. On my way down the road I spotted Karen and Frances with Ro and D. This was great as Frances had very sore ankles and camped at a flat area in the forest. Turns out she did further damage and sprained her ankle in the slippery clay too!! I told them about the bus and everyone grabbed a ticket and then we were off to grab food and coffee.

We stayed at a trail angel in Te Kuiti, 7 of us in total, so it was a full house! We took the opportunity to by and cook dinner and breakfast together, so that was great!