A Stroll in the Park!

Waipu - Auckland

16 November 2010 to 26 November 2010

One thing is for sure, Shalane and I are certainly not rushing this trek.  As we walk further and come across more beautiful views and friendly people, why not stop, rest, enjoy and soak up the experience.  Although I am enjoying this experience more than I can explain and more than I ever imagined, I can safely say that trekking Te Araroa is not something that I will repeat and therefore will ensure I savour every moment.



A lonely boat on the Estuary



It's funny what makes a good day for me at the moment.  It's not the usual ingredients you would expect, like the weather being nice and sunny, or the terrain being flat and and easy to walk.  It's random events or the small things that just put a smile on my face.  Oh and food, don't forget the food.  The day we left Waipu was always going to be a good day.  We had a wonderful stay at Waipu Wonderers, a hostel that felt more like a home.  We only had half a day off but after being looked after so well by Elaine from the backpackers and enjoying some treats of fresh fruit from their fruit trees we felt like we'd had the whole day off.  After an amazing lasagne the night before, I woke up to a breakfast of fresh fruit (a rarity on our dried fruit and nut diet) and muesli and yoghurt, with freshly squeezed orange juice.  A breakfast Laura Bailey will confirm we never tired of on our travels.  So feeling full and happy and after a lovely chat with Steve from the hostel in the morning we set off for a whole day of gloomy road walking; the pack feeling full and heavy with newly stocked food and water.  We were walking along in the morning sun, chatting away when we spotted a Te Araroa sign pointing us off the road and onto an Estuary walk.  We were sooo pleased to break up the road walking and we skipped off and along the estuary and with the tide being out we were able to walk around mangroves and up the bank trying to avoid the soggy bits.  We had been walking for a while and looking out for a marker to direct us off the Estuary and back on the road.  The estuary ahead was getting wetter and harder to walk and we decided to take a boat ramp up the bank to see where it would lead.  We climbed up and over, only to find ourselves in somebody's back garden, so we continued down their drive which lead to the house.  The owner was outside working on something and didn't even look up when we approached.  I began to guiltily explain why we had suddenly appeared from the bush and up his garden and he seemed completely unfazed by the whole thing.  We edge away smiling and down the rest of the drive to the main road, feeling very confused and wondering where we would end up.  When we walked out onto the road, we found that there was a junction and leading straight ahead was the road that we needed.  I grinned and said to Shalane "today's a good day isn't it?"

After strolling along a forestry road and chatting to a local along the way (a guy by the name of Gordan Brown, poor fella) we finally walked up and into a field with some odd looking lamas.  They honestly looked like the surfer dudes of the animal kingdom, with long shaggy looking fringes and a look on their faces that just said "DUDES!"  After a photo session, we walked on by, along the trail until we neared the end of our day.  We were thinking about finding a camp spot for the night when we got to a sign on the trail that read "trail temporarily closed".  The sign was rather annoyingly placed about an hours walk from the beginning of the track, so we were stuck in the middle!  With no indication of how temporary this closure was, we convinced ourselves that we should sit and wait for the farmer to come along and reopen it. 



Taking a snooze while we wait for the trail to open



The following morning was stunning!  With the clouds laying low it looked like a blanket of snow on the hills and farmland around us.  We walked up and along the cliffs as the sun was rising and the ocean was glistening in the light. We had decided only to walk a short distance as we needed to catch up on some internet time and do a bit of shopping, so we reached Mangawhai Heads and spent a few hours there.  Mangawhai was beautiful, if not a little developed, with hundreds of stunning houses by the sea and a small village style high street.  The actual Mangawhai "village", another high street was also sweet and was situated a little bit inland.  When we finished on the internet and I'd brought myself some natural sleeping tablets, we walked to Mangawhai Forest and set up camp for the night.  We felt like we'd had a really lame, short walking day but when we added up the Kilometres it turned out to be 22km.  When we began this trek, the thought of trekking anything over about 15 with that backpack on felt like a huge mission, and now, to pump out 22kms and feel lame was a good feeling.  I went to sleep with a little help from my new purchase and had the best night sleep in ages.

We began the next day with 19 kms of beach walking followed by about 5 of road walking. By the time we reached Pakiri we both admitted to our bodies feeling a bit tied a put it down to trekking the previous day in peak heat.  We set up camp early and re-hydrated feeling a bit lame again, but realising again that 24 kms really isn't that bad.  We were on top of a huge hill and our view was worth a  $million.  It felt good to have the freedom to just stop when we wanted and not feel like we have to trek to the max every day.  We sat and chatted about anything and everything and one topic that we'd been discussing lots along the way is the amount of litter we notice, due to us being on foot.  We have said that we wish we could pick it all up but with our packs and there not always being a bin, sometimes for days, it's not that easy.  We therefore have decided to pick up at least one item of litter every day for the rest of the trek but hopefully more.  Between us that will mean 240 items of litter at very least by the time we finish the trek.  It would be so cool if every future Te Araroa tramper did the same.  We'd have the cleanest trek in the world. 

We woke the next day to clouds and rain and it felt great.  A really lovely change.  The cool air and low clouds gave the countryside a majestic feel with the only drawback being that we couldn't see where we were going.  We did some serious climbing that day and it felt good to do some work after a couple of easier days.  Working the legs hard and breaking a sweat in the fresh air feels amazing.  When we reached Matakana, we both fell in love.  It's a gorgeous town with a great buzz to it and a brilliant cafe culture.  It was even raining when we arrived and I STILL thought it was great.  We stopped for lunch in one of the cafes and for the first time in a while we felt like normal people.  We ate and people watched and laughed and chatted and it was only when it came to putting the packs back on that we were suddenly smelly trampers again.   We walked further than we planned today as it was raining hard and if we stopped we would have just ended up hiding in the tent.  The good news is that it made the next day a nice short one.

We were due to be at Sheepworld the next day and it wasn't far away.  Granted, there were a few mountains between us and the campsite and it proved to be very much a mental game this morning.  When you know you are close to somewhere, whether it be the end of the day or a destination you have set as a goal, your mind closes off, whatever time of the day it is.  We were taking our time, taking long 20 minute (maybe longer) breaks each time as we climbed up and up.  Even when we were meant to be descending to the road there would be more climbing and it was so frustrating when you just wanted to be there.  We eventually came out near the Dome Cafe on State Highway 1 and instead of continuing on the trail, we hitched a ride down to Sheepworld. 



Feeding a lamb at Sheepworld



Sheepworld is a fantastic place to visit, straight off the SH1 and with bright pink sheep grazing in the field, you can't miss it.  We stayed on the campsite which I would fully recommend for it's services and location. It's in a fantastic location with access to brilliant day walks, it's not far from the beach and is very central for accessing Mangawhai Heads, Matakana, Wakworth, Puhoi and more gorgeous towns in the area.  The campsite is next to a huge river and had a new BBQ area right next to it which would be so cool in the summer or if you were in a group.  It would be a great place to base yourself for seeing, what Shalane and I would say is our favourite area so far.  If you have kids then there is the Sheepworld farm next door to the campsite.  We visited the farm and watched the sheep dog demonstration and although I grew up on a sheep farm, still got as much pleasure feeding the baby lambs as the 6 year olds next to me and Shalane even gave sheep shearing a go.

Our rest day there was perfect and with another treat of fresh fruit and muesli for breakfast, we left the next day with a skip in our step, with a mission to get to Puhoi.  The trail was mostly logging and forest roads which are nice and wide and not to tricky underfoot, although still nice and steep.  I climbed a steep hill and couldn't help but shout "whoo hoo that feels good" at the sweat and adrenaline.  We were a couple of hours from Puhoi strolling along when we noticed we hadn't seen an orange marker for a while.  By this time we were on a small road that was turning into a dirt track so as we walked, we looked around us trying to find our path.  We crossed through a gate and I saw a wooden post laying on the floor, with an orange marker on it, so, presuming it had just been taking down, we continued on our way.  Roughly 3/4 of an hour later, we hadn't seen one single sign to tell us we were going the right way, so with the sun blazing and not many more hours of energy left in us, we decided to set up camp where we were and back track the next day.  Feeling a little confused at the disappearing signs, we enjoyed the sun that afternoon and tried to fill in our white bits as we have both adopted a rather attractive looking farmers tan.  Everybody comments on our tan but they don't seem to realise that it stops at our shorts and sock line.  Mmmmm, nice! 

 

Puhoi Pub and Hotel





The next day, on our way back, we past the orange marker that had been laid on the floor and planned to walk back to the road, which was where we'd seen the last definite Te Araroa sign.  However, before we reached the road, Shalane spotted an orange arrow up a tall hill in a field, only visible when walking the direction we had just come.  We walked up to it and saw another one in front of us.  We were really pleased to have found the trail but frustrated as our detour could have easily been avoided had the post not been removed.  We strolled across farmers fields and along the road into Puhoi, promising ourselves another treat as we felt a little sorry for ourselves for getting lost.  I had been really looking forward to spending some time in Puhoi as it had been described to us by a few people as a place well worth a visit. On walking into Puhoi, we both instantly saw it's charm.  A very pretty village with an infamous pub and a great general store seemed to have it all.  We called Judith Williams, a local reporter and historian and a friend of Inga's, from Ora Ora Resort.  She came to meet us outside the general store which also did tea and coffee (with which we HAD to experience the local fresh doughnuts of course).  Judith's family were the original Bohemian settlers of Puhoi and she introduced us to a few more locals who were also lucky enough to claim the same family history.  She told us a little about the village itself and as we sat there, the buzz of the locals in such an idyllic place was unreal. 

 We wondered down to Puhoi Canoes, as for the next section of the trail, we had to canoe down the river to Wenderholm.  Fortunately for us, the weather was rainy and the tide was on it's way out so we had the perfect excuse to stay in Puhoi for the day, a decision we had already both secretly made in our heads.  We were told by Puhoi Canoes to return the next day at 9.30am and we spent the day mostly at the pub, although it's not as it seems.  The weather was a little grim so we sat outside, under cover and had some lunch, while chatting to the locals and reading my book and relaxing.  It was the first time I'd sat in a pub all day and didn't have the slightest desire to drink.  I sat and looked around at the very picturesque village and thought to myself,  "with a small town that makes its own cheese, wine, beer, coffee, mustard and has it's own tea rooms, pub, canoe company and a fantastic general store, why the hell would you want to live anywhere else?"  We were joined in the evening by a group of local lads our age and so had some good banter with them.  It was actually really nice to be able to have some fun and know that we had a slight lay-in in the morning although it didn't stop us yawning at 6am, our usual bed time.  The locals pointed us in the direction of a good campspot and at about 9pm we headed to bed. 



Puhoi Playgroup



Just as we walked across the park, a car pulled up  behind us and my initial thought was "oh no, we're going to be in trouble for camping here" but a the lady got out the car and began to tell us that she had overheard us in the pub and didn't like the thought of us camping out in the cold.  She told us that she had the keys to the local playgroup and that it had it's own kitchen and toilet and if we wanted to sleep on the bean bags on the floor we were welcome to.  We had actually already been offered a place to stay that night by the chef in the pub and one of the locals but had opted to stay in the park as it was close to where we needed to be in the morning, but this offer was perfect.  The playgroup was situated opposite the canoe place and we wouldn't be in anybody's way.  So we accepted her kind offer and had the most random night accommodation of our trip so far! 

When we arrived at Puhoi Canoe the next day we found out we'd made it to the local newsletter already lol.  The canoe trip to Wenderholm was brilliant.  We covered about 10kms in the end and with a gentle cruise, followed by more of an arm work out as we got near the sea, it was a great experience.  It's a beautiful river too although canoing along side the major highway for a section of it was a bit strange.  The owners met us at the other end to pick up our canoes and it was back on foot for the remainder of the day.  The rest of the walk was perfect, with a trail, some beach walking and rock scrambling, followed by an easy touristy coastal path into Orewa.  After a lazy day the previous day, it eased us back in gently.  I can see a pattern forming here, lots of lazy days followed by easy ones - we do work hard, I promise! 

As we walked along, the number of houses increased and we could even start to see the Sky Tower in Auckland city centre.  The bush life was slowly disappearing and with very few ninja camp spots, we booked into Pinewood Caravan park at Red Beach.  We were getting a bit excited about reaching Auckland as it represented a really big goal for us but there was definitely mixed feeling on my part, as coming out of the bush and small villages and suddenly into a place where there are just buildings and cars was more of a culture shock than I thought it would be.  The good news is that we were pretty much following the beautiful coast line all the way into Auckland. 

Negotiating the rocks before the falll

The next day we walked to Browns Bay which was a 33 km walk from Red Beach. The trail was a mix of coastal and residential and was actually really lovely.  Shalane and I have become good property critics and enjoyed taking in the new surroundings.  I also managed to entertain Shalane fully this morning when we were scrambing over some rocks on the beach I slipped and fell over.  I managed to fall onto all fours but my bag slipped up towards my head and squashed my head to the floor.  So if you can imagine me on my knees with my bum in the air, with my cheek squashed firmly into a puddle on the rock and the weight of my bag so heavy that my neck couldn't pick my head up.  Thank goodness Shalane was there to hold my bag up so I could rescue my laughing face from the puddle.  It was extremely amusing and with just a school boy grazed knee to show for it we giggled our way along the beach.  We walked down towards the Weiti River and on our map and notes it said that we can wade the river at low tide.  Dirk had also mentioned to us a guy who takes people across on his boat for free as he loves the idea of Te Araroa so much.  We hadn't really known what to expect so we were wondering down a bit clueless when Gunter, the German guy who has the boat, called out to us from his balcony. 

Holding on tight

He invited us into his house for a cup of tea and a chat and he was a really fun guy.  He took us across the river in a small dingy and I honestly thought we would sink it with our heavy bags and he laughed at how unsure I looked as we gripped tightly to the sides, especially as he insisted we kept our bags on.  We made it across safely and waved him off before disappearing into the bush and continuing our way along a well trodden bush path for an hour and out onto the road.  We walked into the increasingly built up town of Browns Bay and asked around for a campsite.  Nobody seemed sure if there was one so we called into the local Estate Agency, feeling sure that they would know the area well.  After they confirmed there wasn't one for another 15 Kms and after we explained that we were on foot and it being late afternoon didn't have time or energy to walk all that way, Shane, the estate agent came up with an idea.  

Such a good view there aren't even windows in the way



The best room in the house!



He offered for us to stay in the house that he was currently building.  He walked with us up the cliff (passing the Te Araroa sign which meant his house was actually on the official path) and he began to tell us that the builders were there and we'd have to stay out of there way until 5pm.  What we didn't realise was that his house was actually in the very early stages of being built so after climbing up a ladder with our packs on, into the wooden frame and scaffolding, we put our bags down in bedroom 3, the room with the most walls and set off to the public toilets for a wash.  It was possibly up there with the play centre for the most random nights accommodation and with Shane's only request being that we cook dinner outside the wooden framework (a fair ask I think) we ate and settled down for bed with another amazing sea view.  We had breakfast down on the beach in the morning while the sun came up behind the clouds.  It's a hard life!

The next day was just full of excitment.  We were so close to Auckland and having adapted slowly to being back into civilisation, we were now just looking forward to a shower, pizza and knowing we had come this far.  When we were in Auckland before we began this trek, my friend Andy (Riggers) who was living in the city had mentioned a brilliant pizza place near his flat and suggested that when we trek back through the city, we should stay with him and have a pizza night.  This idea has been our sole motivation for the whole Cape Reinga to Auckland section so goodness knows what we are going to do from now on to keep us going.  We walked along the coast on and off the beach and chatted to locals along the way.  One lady was so shocked at what we were doing that she told everyone she walked past for the rest of the day, to the extent that random people came up to us and said "we've heard about you".  We need somebody like her everywhere we go if we want to reach out target for the Soloman Islands.



We walked in the gorgeous sunshine and in one of the breaks I couldn't resist any longer.  I dumped my bag and ran into the sea, just a few kms from Devonport, where we were due to get the ferry.  It was amazing!  Just a few more Kms and we were in Devonport with a look of complete surprise on our faces.  I had a real mix of feelings.  Seeing the big city across the water was just incredible after the small villages and towns we'd passed and I don't think I could believe we'd got there.  It actually felt like we'd finished so we had to push that feeling out of our heads quick.  It also felt like we'd been out of civilisation a lot longer than we actually had and I'm not sure if it was the pure size and buzz of the city or the fact that we looked and smelt like cave women.  We changed and attepted to make ourselves look like normal people in the toilet at the ferry port as we were just about to visit Riggers at work.  It was so lovely to see him and we've been staying with him the last two days where I think it is safe to say, we've felt so looked after.  With the best shower since I can remember, with real shampoo and conditioner and a real bed with great food, I feel like it's been a mini celebration.

Riggers doing everything he can to hide the smell of our bags at his work

We are currently waiting for our next food drop to arrive and we'll be on our way but one thing is for sure.  This last section has been the best so far.  A fair number of challenges but enjoying  the country for all it has to offer, meeting more locals and learning about New Zealand, stopping in the places we love the most and generally enjoying every second.

Photos

Hey guys

Just wanted to let you know that my photos are taking ages to update for the previous post, however, if you go to my photos page on my website or this blog, there is an album full of trekking photos for you all to enjoy!

Take it easy!

Alex

Human Pinball

We're like 2 metal balls in a pinball machine.  We'll be flung into play and start rolling along quickly up and down wide gravel forest roads when we'll suddenly see an orange marker.  We'll then be sucked into a hole and up a ramp that is steep and hard to see with roots and rocks under foot, sharp, spiky plants covering the path in front of us and branches hanging over head.  So much so that our eyes will be darting from floor to over our heads to try and avoid all the forest has to throw at us.  We'll slowly roll along at a snails pace for 2, 3 maybe 4 hours or more, dodging and stepping steadily, using all our energy through concentration.  We'll be trudging up hill, in the dark of the canopy, steeply, leg muscles aching, shoulders feeling the weight of the backpack, trying to avoid spiky, painful plants while trying also not to slip or trip, muscles tired, then suddenly, the forest pinball flippers will spit us out at the top of the sleep ascent to a bright, sunny, grassy green meadow or rolling hill with so much space around you and a view like you've never seen before.  You'll suddenly feel free and your pack will be light and you can see the pathway laid out in front of you over the hundred gentle sloping hills of the New Zealand countryside covered in daises and other wild flower and maybe even the distant ocean view.  We'll roll quickly down the hill ready for the next game of pinball to begin.

Kerrikerri - Waipu

It's been 10 days of ups and downs, literally and mentally.  We set off from Kerikeri after a sad goodbye to Inge from Ora Ora Resort.  I was very inspired by the resort and overwhelmed by how lovely everybody was there, that it felt incredibly sad to say our goodbyes.  We gave ourselves an easy target of Paihia, just roughly 6 hours walk away and strolled along chatting at a steady pace.  The road walking followed by forest roads was perfect for the day following a rest day, as it woke us up gently.  Our bags were loaded up with 10 days worth of food so that we could go right through to Waipu and my bum and hips were feeling the new weight.  Especially with a bit of extra food thrown in there now that I have realised our original diet wasn't enough.  We were familiar with Paihia as we'd stayed there before we began the trek so we checked into the peaceful campsite on the river and had a relaxed night.

Sunrise in Paihia

I woke up the next morning feeling absolutely shattered.  I hadn't been sleeping well since the trek began and when the alarm went off I had a feeling of dread that I was required to actually move.  We set off at the normal time and it was THE most beautiful sunrise.  It has been firework night the previous nights and there was the lovely smell of smoldering bonfires as we walked along the beach.  Despite this picturesque morning, I was feeling very negative and everything seemed to be hard work.  The coastal walk from Paihia to Opua was beautiful and we walked along the cliff ridge, weaving in and out of tiny little private bays, envying the gorgeous houses with their prime locations.  We eventually arrived in the beautiful Opua and waited a few minutes for the ferry that would take us across for just $1.  Bargain!  When we reached the other side we followed a forest path that ran parallel with the road and the up hills were more of a struggle for me than ever before.  It wasn't until we were spat out onto the road pinball style that I realised a couldn't go on today.  My body literally crashed and burned due to the exhaustion of not sleeping and it was clear that we were going nowhere fast.  I felt emotional and weak and we made a decision to stop the day short.  The poor, patient Shalane walked with me to the nearest campsite where I crashed and slept all afternoon.  I woke for food before crashing again all night.  After discussing option of preventing this happening again, I now have an additional weight in my bag of a book, in the hopes that it helps me get off to sleep at nights.

We got up to face the day and try and make some good ground after a disappointing day the previous day.  We left Russel early and were soon walking in the Russel forest with a great variety of trail, starting with a gravel road again. While we were walking along a really nice lady pulled up to us and asked us if we wanted work for free accommodation and food.  She owned a small business and was looking for workers.  We explained that we were on bit of a mission and continued on our way.  The forest was a bit tricky after effortless road walking.  Our minds hadn't had to think about a single step on the road and all of a sudden we were having to watch our step and it took a while to adapt.  We stopped after 33 kms at a shelter in the middle of the hut.  We were tired but it felt good and we had some dinner while watching some playful, purple birds and listening to the water of the nearby stream.  It really is a relaxing sound after a long day and it felt good to be back on track.

Shalane letting off steam after a morning of climbing

Bamm!  Wake up, walk up!  We were climbing instantly in the morning.  As the track progressed there was cutty grass and prikly bushes taller than us and taking over the whole path.  We were cut and scratched all over as we pushed our way through, using all our weight and sometimes the path would disappear completely.  There were landslides and fallen down trees and at one point I climbed up over a huge fallen tree, onto a loose dirt (almost vertical) edge completely unconvinced we were on the right path.  Luckily our new maps and our sudden change of direction suggested we should push on, and that feeling when we saw the first sign in hours was unbeatable.  We reached our destination in Teal Bay, just past Helena Bay and Shalane found us a wicked camp spot that almost looked like it was built specially for us.  It was on the beach and private and we settled down for the night after a satisfying feed.

Waking up with the sound of the waves breaking on the shore made a wicked change.  After setting off, with a short stop at a river for water we were soon climbing with the most fantastic views.  The hills were never-ending  all around us.  We walked through the Morepark track forest  and the signs in this area were great.  Whangarei council have done a great job in this area and the whole section was brilliantly signed.  The trail consisted of forest, steep climbs and farmland and the buggers brought us right down to sea level before sending us all the way back up again!  It was a lazy ish day with a 40 minute break enjoying the sun but the blood was still pumping and walking along in the sunshine with everything that spring has to offer around us really did make me feel lucky.  We arrived at Whananaki and had the very pleasant surprise of a campsite being right on the trail.  We were expecting to walk another hour so this was a real treat.  The Whananaki North Holiday Park and they even gave us a Te Araroa discount and some eggs.  It's the 3rd lot of eggs we've been randomly given, a strange but accepted gift!  We  treated ourselves with a non freeze dried meal and felt very looked after.

The next day was great!  We walked 35 kms and had so much fun along the way.  We walked from Whananaki to Ngunguru and the trail was a mixture of coast, forest, gravel road, fields and just about anything you can imagine. Just when you were ready for a change of terrain you would get one and the sun was shining bright.  The coastal walk took us in and out of some very cute little bays with some very lucky home owners tucked away.  We got to Matapouri and met 2 young lads on horses (as you do).  We had a great chat with them and they were really nice and they offered for us to stay with them when we got to Ngunguru.  As we said goodbye and walked away we realised that we hadn't met many people our age along the way and it made a refreshing change.  We stopped off for a break at a massive Kauri tree before finally arriving in Ngunguru, only to find out that out of the 2 campsites they had in the small seaside town, non were in existence.  We called a local lady over to ask her about a campsite and after she explained there were non, she didn't hestiate to offer us a spot in her garden.  Wendy was on her way out but said she would call her husband and warn him, and sent us round.  She was so kind and didn't seem fazed by 2 girls she had known for 5 seconds sleeping in her garden.  She even left 2 big fluffy towels out for us to have a shower.

We woke up wondering where we were and set off on a horrid day of mostly road walking.  We had a few hours on the Makeral forest track with more fallen trees, spiky plants and hard to find markers before more road walking.  We came down towards the Horahora River, hoping to find a campspot but there was a whole lot of mangrove.  We finally found a good spot next to a river walking trail and collapsed for the night.  We were in need of a rest day but decided to push on one more day and reach Peach Cove Hut, which would mean an awesome rest day.

I woke up feeling determined but knowing that I had a bloody long day ahead of me.  The first couple of hours were just road walking which, although my pack was instantly uncomfortable, wasn't too bad.  A lady who was out for a run, while her son rode his bike walked and talked to us for a while and I was pleased to pick up an avocado from a driveway stand along the way.  all in all, it was a good morning.  We arrived at the estuary which we had to cross at low tide and luckily it was.  We walked along the edge until we found the spot that wast best to cross.  The bed of the estuary was very boggy and some stinky water remained in the middle so we took our boots off and began to walk across.  We started sinking up to our knees and the mud underneath was black. We slowly slodged our way across and our feet were scraping on shells and rocks right at the bottom.  I looked at the water and a one point thought it had risen but there was only one way to go and that was forward.  It was a long way across and it was not easy and we even wondered quite how far it was possible to sink.  We made it over with a sigh of relief and sat and had a well deserved break while we cleaned up.  Just as we were about to leave we looked back to an unrecognisable estuary full of water and had a nervous giggle at our close escape!  After the estuary we walked along a track to the beach and then walked along the beach for a couple of hours to a mountain and then climbed as steep as you can get for what seemed like forever!  We were both exhausted and we pushed and pushed to get to Peach Cover Hut.  We'd walked 35 Kms and were tired from the start and by this time our bodies were saying no and our minds were loosing the battle too.  I was so physically exhausted that I felt like crying, as my mind was pushing on but my muscles just couldn't do it and the frustration was immense.   I pushed on at a snails pace and we climbed down a heap of stairs before collapsing in a heap at the hut and I can 100% confirm that I pushed my body, in fact, my whole self on this day more than I ever have before and when we were done, it felt really good.

We couldn't have hoped for a better rest day.  We had running water, a long drop toilet and a private beach to ourselves!  We were up and on the beach at 7am and it was scorchio enough for sunbathing  by 8am.  We tried to get rid of our ridiculous tan lines for a few hours before lazing and eating and generally doing nothing by the hut.  It was just what we needed.  We were laying there dreaming of all our friends turning up with a load of food, maybe even a BBQ.  A little bit later, we heard voices in the bush and soon we were joined by 14 members of tramping club!  It wasn't quite our friends from home but they brought food :-)   I felt fully rested and ready to continue.

The next day started with 840 steps and a few mountains to climb and views to make your eyes water.  We had ocean on both sides and followed the mountain ridge all the way down.  After a bit of road walking and a stop off at the shop for some sneaky jelly beans, we got to the bay where we had to hitch a ride on a boat across to Marsden Point.  We not only got a lift across without having to wait too long but they chucked us a fresh crayfish for our dinner before speeding off back to sea.  They were good fun guys and we couldn't believe how easy it was to hitch a boat.  We chuckled to ourselves and walked down a beautiful white sand beach with turquoise sea before finding a gorgeous camp in the dunes where we cooked up our crayfish and enjoyed the afternoon sun.  The river we had to cross was in high tide so we decided to deal with it in the morning.

A short day the next day took us across the Ruakaka river into Waipu where we headed to Waipu Wonderers backpackers who kindly acted as a food drop location for us.  On arrival we bumped into Dirk, the Dutch guy we met on our first day of the trek and by pure coincidence, it happened to be our 1 month anniversary.  Steve and Elaine from the backpackers were great and their backpackers is a home from home.  Elaine drove us to a cheaper supermarket and they couldn't do enough for us.  They have fresh fruit trees in the garden that we were able to help ourselves and we thought we were in heaven after craving fresh fruit for days.  The backpackers is small and more like a homestay - A well recommended place to stay.

Me, Shalane and Dirk made us a feast of lasagne and garlic bread to celebrate and kicked back to enjoy the comforts of the hostel, feeling contently full and very happy.

We really have been overwhelmed by all the lovely people we've met along the way.  People just chatting in the street, farmers, boat owners, people offering us somewhere to stay and generally going out of their way to be very kind in a very effortless manner.  It really is a gorgeous country with lovely people and the trail gives us a real chance to mix with locals.  We are one month in and it just gets better.

Holy Cow it's an Adventure!

Good Boots/Bad Boots

Our claim to fame in the local newspapers

My old faithful boots turned out to be just old and I was told to rest for a week by the Physio.  With a kind offer from Inge at the Ora Ora Resort in Kerikeri to rest in her capable hands, we were picked up and taken to her for a week of ankle icing, sleep and kind lovely people.  While in Kerikeri we were able to attend the fundraising event Inge had arranged for us, which was meant to happen when we trekked through Kerikeri but as it was all arranged, it seemed crazy not to.  We spoke to the group of Transition Town people about our plans and the money we were trying to raise and hopefully got ourselves a few more supporters. We even found time for an interview with the local newspaper journalist in the morning before we left to return to Ahipara.

We were dropped back to Ahipara (and then back in Kataia and then Ahipara all over again before I finally decided I was happy with my foot and boots - thank you Robert and Richard for humouring me on this one) for one last check up by the physio, who said (despite the strange grinding noise in my ankle) that I was good to go.  I've been given techniques to manage the injury for the 5 months of hardcore tramping and have a new pair of boots but apart from that, bring on the bush!

Day 13 - 20 - Ahipara Connection - Kerikeri

We trekked along the road for about 8.5 kms before entering Herekino Forest.  I can't tell you how good it felt to be back!  We trekked for about 4 hours in total through the forest and over small streams, at a really steady pace before deciding to make the first day back a short one.  We set up camp in the forest and had come dinner and I felt it was a good start.  The adventure begins, take 2.

The view as we came out Herekino Forest

We woke up slowly the next day and set off on our new adventure at about 7am, and in fact, the whole day took on this chilled pace and as we meandered through the Herekino forest on the fun varied track, which at times was really hard to navigate due to lots of overgrown bush and fallen trees (thank goodness for those orange markers), we took nice long breaks and lunches and chatted and laughed our way out of the forest.  My feet and pack felt great and with a really steep descent we were out of the forest and looking over an amazing view of rolling green farmland.  With the sun still shining and a camp spot chosen we went to bathe our feet and fill up our water bottles in the nearby stream.  The track had been really exciting and I love it when you don't feel like a million people have trekked it before you.  I can't wait to have many more days like this one.

We started the next day at a very similar pace, with a relaxed start and lots of photo taking, the trail took us through a gorgeous meadow with really tall ferns and wild flowers.  I found myself walking along getting whiffs of perfume from the flowers and taking everything in and it wasn't long before we both confessed we were feeling in a very lazy mood.  After the mutual laziness was voiced and after a little bit of road walking down into Takahue, we saw John the farmer, who kindly let us stay the night on his land.  We set up our tent at about 11am by a river, made a lovely washing line from our trekking poles and built a fire on some rocks.  The sun was shining and we had nowhere we had to be and life was feeling pretty good.  After a bit of yoga and numerous cups of tea it was soon the afternoon and John came over later to chat and gave us a few tips on finding the trail.  We had come a little off the official trail to find a camp spot but were still on a walking trail and he recommended we continue along the road which was actually the original trail that went through his farm land and would eventually meet up with the other one on the ridge.  He even brought us over some eggs and meat to stock up our protein levels.  Shalane and I were talking about how simple life feels when you are trekking.  You feel rewarded at the smallest of things like a camp fire, or a finding a good bush to pee behind or even tying your shoe lace with your pack on, without falling over!  Life is simple.  Life is great!
So it was time to actually do some trekking, and with our sights set on a campsite about 10.5 hours away, we set off for a really long day.  We walked down the farm track and it was about 5 minutes before we came to two locked gates.  Good start to the day we thought.  But with definite permission from John we jumped the fence and continued along the way.  We entered the field with a very noisy cow and after a few strange howls and grunts, I realised the cow wasn't constipated but was in fact trying to communicate with the herd of cows in the next
field. Being calving season, they were all over protective of their young so we held our ground and kept walking at a steady pace.  The cow crossed our path a few times before letting us past and as I looked behind I realised it was scuffing at the ground like a bull.  We turned a corner and both looked at each other and then behind us again and both confessed we expected to see the cow race around the corner after us at a charge.  We made it through the next gate to safety, but when we looked up, there were about 50 cows all looking at us.  Shalane mumbled something about being the cow whisperer for the day and as I took on my new title, I held the cow's stare as we walked slowly forward all the time saying in a high pitched, girly voice "we mean no harm little cow".  She took some budging but the cow eventually ran, taking all her mates with her and we continued up the winding track which was gradually, and then not so gradually taking us up to meet the new trail on the ridge.  Being an old trail the orange markers we were following became a little spontaneously placed and we weren't entirely sure we were heading in the right direction.  In fact, that became the theme of the day.  As we reached the new trail on the ridge of Raetea mountain and began to climb to it's 744m summit, the trail was amazingly fun and close to extinction.  Overgrown plants, fallen down trees and vines and roots and anything else you can imagine a forest to have, completely masked our path and we had just the orange markers to let us know we were on our way.  We were only ever as lost as the last bit of orange.  These eyes are now trained so hard that I can spot orange a mile away.

After our cow encounter and morning climb in Takahue

It really was an amazing trail with very steep climbs but that feeling that you are on a path that isn't so well trodden was great.  IT was such an adventure and a beautiful one too.  We stopped for short breaks in spots of sun beaming through the canopy before tackling some more vines and limboing under more fallen trees.  When we reached the peak it was a scary sensation.  We really were on a small peak with nothing but sharp declining mountain edges all around us.  As we trailed down and back up some more ridges until we reached Mangamuka mountain, past the dead possums that lined our path (enough to make a heap of Pete's Possum Pies) we were almost at the SH1, the major road that would connect us to our next trail tomorrow, when Shalane fell and hurt her foot.  After a worryingly long moment of dizzy shock and a pain assessment, she decided she was ok to continue slowly.  Luckily the initial pain had subsided and it didn't turn out too bad.  We hobbled our way out of the forest and onto the road shoulder and a long walk after a long day down the road to the rest area that we would spend the night.  After an already long day made longer by a minor set back, we retired to the tent feeling suitably exhausted, but wow, what a muscle hardening, blood pumping, eye pleasing way to spend the day!

It is safe to say the next morning was a slow one but we didn't snooze too much before we were stuffed with oatmeal and back out on that road shoulder on our way down to Mangamuka.  After a quick treat in the first shop we'd seen for a few days (mine was a cheese toasty and Shalane chocolate) we continued our journey to the Omahuta Puketi Forest Track.  We walked and walked until we were bored of bends... "just round the next corner, the next corner....oooo maybe the next one" but it felt good to be out in the sun after being sheltered by the ooodles of tall trees for a few days and I'll never get bored of those green rolling hills.  There were 2 options for this next section, a dry weather and wet weather route and as we'd have over a week of glorious sunshine we chose the dry route.  We did end up walking a little too far due to our road not being named and our map not being too good and ended up setting up camp in the Kauri Sancturary.  We were slowly starting to loose faith in our map and it later on came to let us down some more.

Low clouds over the hills surrounding the logging roads

That night we were a little low on water so we licked our bowls clean of sweet and sour lamb and again the next morning of oatmeal and thought, why didn't we just do this from the start?  We set off early the next morning and using our slightly incompetent map and instructions from Te Araroa website, along with guesstimated walking times, we lead our way down to a logging skid site that was meant to have markers leading to the next trail.  We pushed through overgrown prickly bushes and my legs got ripped to shreds on "cutty grass" but we pushed on and came to the skid site, only to find more overgrown bush and not a marker in site.  After a little chat with Edmund Kiwi (please view videos) we decided to back track and take option B which would lead us along logging roads past Omahuta Forest and into Puketi Forest.  The logging roads were like a maze and with no road names even option B felt hard.  We managed, with a little help from the logging workers, to get onto the correct road, which was actually named something different on the Te Araroa website and walk the long, long long road across to Puketi Forest.  This didn't happen without an hour of walking in the wrong direction and a lot of sole destroying doubt and unsure decisions.  It was a really mentally tough day.  I also realised on this day that the diet we were on was not enough and I spent a lot of time feeling hungry.  The meals were not even touching the side and I started feeling a little weak.  We were slowly loosing the will to carry on after being unsure if we were even on the right road when we came to a split in the road.  Neither way looked particularly obvious so we dumped our bags and each took a road for 5 minutes before reporting back with our findings.  I was extatic to find a dead end, ruling out that way for sure and never imagined Shalane would come back with the incredible news that she did!  She found a sign complete with map and a time.  We were back in the land of the living and we knew we were on the right track.  The next journey was an hour of a well used forest track which was great, but it was tough and when Shalane said the best way to describe my starved face with grey tone and sunken eyes was Death, I knew I needed to stop and eat soon.  We had limited cold food left as we were coming to the end of our days and we trekked a little more before setting up camp in the forest and eating. It felt amazing!

We made it!  Rainbow Falls

The last day felt good from start to finish.  We were determined and up and trekking  in the forest with our head torches on as the canopy kept the light out.  It was all systems go and although I love an adventure, after a couple of days of not being too sure and a little bit of back tracking, we were enjoying the knowledge of distance and time we had on this day.  The forest we were in was great with plenty of river crossings and vertical mud banks to keep us entertained.  We trekked to Puketi Recreation Area and it felt like Christmas to arrive.  We both took a celebratory pee on the real toilet  with actual loo roll and set off along the road to the Kerikeri river track.  After a few hours and a nice long chat with a friendly farmer we made it.  I even treated myself to a cheese and bacon scone at Waipapa - Mmmmm!  We stopped at Rainbow Falls and decided to give it one last push to OraOra Resort to see our lovely family there.  These were the guys that looked afted us so well when my foot was hurt and Inge was kindly accepting a food drop for us from Back Country Cusine.  The river track is an easy path and as we walked along side it in the sun we had big grins on our face and it felt like we were coming home.  The day had been a long one after about 28 kms and nearly 10 hours (including breaks) and when we arrived at OraOra, Trish and Neil, the family that are woofing at OraOra greeted us with smiles and soup and even a salt foot soak.  The boys, Richard and Robert and then Inge soon turned up and it really felt like we had really made it.  They have all been so kind to us that it will be sad to move on to the next stage of our journey, knowing that we don't have them to look forward to at the end.  We hope to see Inge and possibly the family for part of the trek a little later on but for now they will definitely remain with us in spirit.

Our Amazing Family at OraOra Resort