Is This Alpine Enough for You?

Excited was an understatement!  A few days in Wellington to get organised and prepared and we soon found ourselves at the Interislander ferry port with a whole new adventure waiting fro us.  Simon, a friend of David's, (the Kiwi trekker who will be joining us for a while) had very kindly agreed to drop the three of us off and it was really nice to be waved off on what felt like a whole different trip.

The ferry was a lot larger and more glamorous than I thought it would be for a mere 3 hour journey and it reminded me very much of the Dover to Calais ferry back at home.  I was later told that the ship originally came from Europe so who knows, I maybe I had stepped aboard before.

We opted for the reclining lounge and settled in comfortably, and when the announcement came that there were freshly baked scones in the restaurant, I thought it couldn't possibly get any better.  We had been told to inform a certain member of staff that we were on the ferry so we did as we were instructed and later in the journey our names were announced, which was equally as exciting as the scones.  We were greeted with a surprise trip to the bridge to meet the captain while the ship negotiated it's way through the beautiful Sounds.  We were asked about our walk and in return told a little about the workings of the bessel.  We had an amazing view and it was a real eye opener seeing some of the fantastic properties that lined the sounds and were accessible only by boat.  We were also followed by a school of dolphins which made the trip extra special for me.  I'll never become bored of seeing dolphins.  It was a really lovely ferry ride and we topped it off with some live music in the bar.

The introduction to the south island was dramatic and challenging from day one.  We camped by the beach and after snacking on some fresh mussels David found for our dinner, we all settled down for our first night on the mainland.  In the early hours of the morning we were woken by the earth trembling below us and it felt like somebody shook me awake but when I opened my eyes I was still laying next to a still and sleepy Shalane and there was nobody else around.  An earthquake!  Nothing serious of course but I certainly felt like it was the south islands way of saying - Welcome!

The Richmond ranges were what we've all been waiting for.  Known as one of New Zealands best kept secrets (from themselves as well as tourists) the vast alpine ranges are an extremely challenging 7-8 day alpine crossing and not for the faint hearted.  We set off into the mountains and I was very excited to be so remote.  I was looking forward to the huts we would be staying in too as we didn't see many in the north.  The trails began with a few ascents which was a nice warm up for things to come and I realised that what I was dreading the most was that feeling of pure exhaustion that I've felt in the pas when climbing which I've decided is mostly due to dehydration so I made it my mission to drink and eat plenty and rest to the max in the afternoons.

The first day out of Pelorus Bridge saw us following a stunning bright green river fro most of the day.  It was one of the most beautiful rivers I've ever seen and I couldn't keep my eyes off it.  It was fresh and clear and the colour really was mesmerising. It was a pretty hot day and on one of our breaks at Captain Creek hut we all dived in to the water that had been calling my name all day.  Bloody hell it was cold - but totally amazing.  The trip had only just begun and it was already feeling like a while separate adventure to our northern expedition. 

After spending the night at Middy Hut we set off for one hell of a day.  We ascended, descended and walked on some very tricky paths.  They were thin and high with rock or slate under foot and by the end of the day I was overheated and exhausted.  It is amazing how drained you feel when you are concentrating so much on footing.  When we reached our hut I dipped my overworked feet in the refreshing turquoise water and wondered to myself hos the hell we were going to do 10 days straight!

The next day we headed to the gorgeous starveall hut, so that we were in a position to make a HUGE climb first thing the next morning.  Neither Shalane or I slept well so the day felt tough although short and when we climbed up to see the extremely cute hut sitting on the hill, surrounded by mountains and wildflower with the sun beating down, it was well worth the effort.  It was picture perfect an the 3 of us spent the afternoon sun bathing!  Everything in moderation.

The next day was epic!!!!  We began our climb up Mount Starveall straight away as the sun was rising and the clouds were still low and it felt brilliant.  The freshness of the air and getting the blood pumping, not to mention the fantastic views as we reached the top was a real buzz.  As we climbed and scrambled up the rocks above the tree line, David shouted "Is this alpine enough for you?"  And it was.  It was so different to anything we'd done so far.  Once we climbed we stayed high on the ridge line all day.  The views wee out of this world.  Mountains and mountains as far as the eye could see in every direction.  We could see where we'd walked and where we were heading and I can't begin to tell you how absolutely amazing that feeling was.  As we all stopped and took in the views David shouted "is this alpine enough for you?"  It felt like we were part of an exclusive world up there, like we couldn't get any higher.  We decided to keep trekking that day, instead of stopping at Old Man Hut, which meant a very challenging climb up both Little Mount Rintoull and Mount Rintoull.  We scrambled up to 1640m on little Mount Rintoull on rocks and scree which definitely gets the heart pumping, with the pack on our back and loose terrain under foot on a steep and high mountain, it felt scary and demanding, but it was what came next that was to be the real challenge.  We reached the top where we had the view of Mount Rintoull ahead of us and although it was only 1730m, we had to descend 250m first down a practically vertical mountain side.  If there was snow and I had a sledge, I wouldn't have hesitated but instead of snow, we had sharp, painful slate to land on.

The wind was picking up and the descent was extremely steep.  The terrain was more loose slate so with every foot we put down we were sliding with nothing to grab onto to stop us and when we did grab onto what looked like a secure big rock, the whole thing would snap off and go tumbling down the mountain and all I could think was that if I fell, I'd bounce down in the same way.  If I was to lean forward too much and start picking up momentum I'd not be able to stop until I was a broken heap on the bottom.  It was tough on the knees and tough on the heart and I honestly don't think I breathed for half an hour!  One thing is for sure, when we reached the bottom, the climb back up to Mount Rintoull looked like fun.  For this bit we needed momentum!  With every step the scree and rocks disappeared from under our feet and we were getting nowhere first.  We put all our energy into it and just kept stepping but the mountain was relentless and the top didn't feel like it was getting any closer.  The rocks that I thought were secure tumbled down for hundreds of metres I just kept stepping, the rocks I grabbed onto for support just broke off so I just kept stepping.  My adrenaline was wearing off and my determination became intermittent.  When we reached the top, the views and the feeling were completely, absolutely, 100% unbeatable.  It was alpine enough for me!  We reached the hut after a 10 hour day, did our laundry (as you do up the top of a really high mountain in a wooden hut) and ate an incredible amount of well deserved food before collapsing into bed.  It was extreme but what an accomplishment and what a day!

I am sorry to say that I am having far too much of an adventurous time to write any more, although there has been plenty more days equally as amazing.  If you want to check out Shalane's blog, she has written a little more than me about our epic adventure so far so check it out www.onelifeadventures.com

Wellington Boots!

I think we have been traumatised by the rain.  We woke up one morning on Tarakino Beach Road to the sound of the rain on the tent and we both got ready in silence, with the look of dread on our faces.  All I could think was "how long will it last?"  I don't mind a day or 2 but in my head I needed to mentally prepare for what we were facing. 

Tarakino Beach

Luckily, after half an hour of hiding, wet and shivering in the camp toilets an hour into our morning we didn't see any more rain that day.  In fact, with the wind behind us and the sand on the beach easy to walk on, I couldn't help but feel the day was turning out ok.

The beach was gorgeous, with black/brown sand and a contrasting glow of peppermint green coloured vegetation, it was different to anything I'd seen.

We stayed that night in a lovely pine forest and after borrowing some water from a kind lady with too many incredibly smelly dogs, we settled down for the night in preparation for a few days of road walking.

A few interesting mail boxes on the way

The next day was the official day that we decided not to follow Te Araroa as religiously as we have been and maybe even look ahead to amend the route to suit us.  We hadn't seen many Te Araroa signs lately but just outside of Bulls (a really lovely town which is apparently so proud of their name that even the police station displayed pictures with bulls in uniform???)  we got onto a track and off the road and began to follow the Te Araroa signs.  As a result we were faced with a landslide and a 30 metre drop and our only choice was to climb over a barbed wire fence, under an electric fence, into a field of Bulls before walking out onto a road which smelt of dead animal (clearly not the responsibility of Te Araroa) and onto the road we had left over an hour before, to find ourselves about 2 kms further down it - sometimes, it's just not worth the detour!

We basically picked blackberries all the way to Palmerston North where we had decided to spend a rest day as we had a few things on our "To Do" lists.

One thing on my list was to take my holy boots into the Hunting and Fishing store to see if they could exchange them, as a 2.5 months life span just wasn't much good to me.  It was a very surreal experience in the end as we happened to actually pass the shop on the way into town, still laden with packs.  I walked up to the counter, bent down and untied my shoe laces, put my still warm and sweaty, stinky boots on the counter and with a bit of a discussion from a couple of staff members I was soon tying up a new pair of clean, perfect, untouched boots and walking out of the store without so much of a transaction or a display of a receipt.  I wish you could do that with everything that wears out or breaks.  Yey for Hunting and Fishing!

And as it happens, you can do that with everything that wears out or breaks because later, we walked into Macpac, one of our sponsors whose customer service has always been brilliant and on this day went off the scale.  Our sleeping mats were deflating every night and despite searching for the source about 10 times with no luck, we took them back to the store to see if they could do anything, along with some merino leggings of Shalane's.  Well, by the time we left Jody and Paul at the Palmerston North branch, they had gone over and above their call of duty and then pretty much climbed a mountain for us.  Jody, after hearing about what we were doing (as we had to explain why they were sponsoring us) called the local newspaper and arranged for an interview with the journalist to try and promote our trek and raise awareness for Soloman Islands, she had given us a handful of expensive lunch bars (yummy Em's power bars that are gorgeous but out of our budget), offered to help us with absolutely anything else we waned and invited us around for dinner.  They both offered us somewhere to stay although we'd already checked into the local campsite.  They really were fantastic.  After Shalane having  not so much luck in Bivouac with HER holy boots (although now completely sorted and a very pleasing result) we finished our shopping for the day before enjoying a lovely meal and evening with Jody and her husband John. 

Our Newspaper article

I could have easily rolled over and gone back to bed the next day and it reminded me of how I felt every single day back at home.  We called into the university campus to get me some cash out of the ATM and it sent my mind thinking about what I want to do when I get home.  My head was already exploding from the events of the previous day, what with newspaper interviews and overwhelming kindness of Jody and Paul.  Now I walked along wondering if I'm still employable after so many years on the run from society or whether I should go to Uni and make my future happen rather than drift along on the clouds of fate and luck like I've been lucky enough to do so far in life.  And so, needless to say, I had a very thoughtful day and if anybody would like to employ me so that I can carry on drifting then that would be lovely.

We had a plan and it failed!  However, with a bit of Kiwi magic and a big butch logging worker with the understanding of the fairy godmother "she'll be 'right"!  We packed up early in the morning and headed to Stuart Road which was essentially an access road to the Burtton track - our next trail.  There had been a note on the Te Araroa website and signs further back to say that the road was closed Monday to Friday but we figured we'd arrive before they all started work and sneak on past.  What we didn't realise was that 7.50am was just not going to cut the mustard and these keen logging workers were there and chopping at 7am.  We plonked ourselves on the side of the cold and wet logging road, next to the high vis signs and tape saying "DANGER" and " DO NOT ENTER" and "ROAD CLOSED" - ok ok we get the point! We looked in the distance at the HUGE diggers and machines and the big sliding logs and crazy wire constructions.  A guy drove up on a big logging truck and did not look like he should be messed with.  He sped up to the "DANGER" tape, jumped out, untied it, jumped in, drove forward, jumped out, put the tape back and sped off!  If he'd at least said hello I would have ran over to him and taken the opportunity to ask if we can come through but he was Mr Unapproachable!  Shalane and I decided to wait it out.  We weren't really sure what we were waiting for but the alternative was a back track followed by a massive road walk that didn't even take us to where we really needed to go, so sitting in the ditch and waiting for something seemed like a good plan at the time. 

So we waited.....

Within half an hour Mr Unapproachable sped back up to us with his laden lorry and jumped out to untie the danger tape.  I wasn't letting him get away this time!  I ran over to him and asked if there was any chance of us walking through the destruction mayhem on their lunch break.  Well, Mr Unapproachable actually turned out to be Mr I won't hesitate to help you girls and he got onto the radio straight away before striking a deal with me that we can walk through if I re-tie the tape up when he drives past.  It sure was a good deal on our part.  So off we tottered up to the big scary digger where the gentle giant of a logging working stopped the whole scene so that we could pass by and he even gave us a running commentary on what they were doing and how on the way.  Result!

The Burtton track was awesome, despite it feeling a little bit eerie.  The track was named after Jim Burtton who lived and farmed out in the bush.  In 1941 he fell 8 metres onto some rocks in the river when a suspension bridge he had built collapsed.  He managed to take himself to his neighbours along this route with a broken leg and other injuries and it took him 12 hours.  Unfortunately, Jim later died in hospital of his injuries.  Luckily, it only took us 5 hours to walk it and no broken bones to report.  We camped that night at Tokomari Dam.  We set up tent on one of our most random camp spots, on the only patch of grass in the area., surrounded by baron logging roads.  Shalane had promised to call Sally that evening, who had insisted we'd have mobile reception from the Dam.  Sally was the owner of the Mahakika Outdoor Pursuits Centre and had acted as a food drop location for us.  When we contacted her she was extremely enthusiastic about some members of the community, including 2 guys who had built the track, coming to meet us and trek with us.  On arrival to the dam we realised we didn't have signal, but when one of the logging workers stopped for a chat on his way home from work he informed us that if we walked up the incredibly steep hill behind us in the rain, after our 8 hours of walking that day, we'd get signal.  We couldn't wait!  He zoomed off and we began to prepare ourselves for the climb.  Luckily, the nice man had realised the error of his ways (tee hee) and turned around to give one of us a ride to the top.  Shalane jumped at the chance (she really didn't have much choice).





Russel and Arlan



Everything got sorted, but as we had a 6am start time due to more logging work, we only had 2 guest trekkers arrive the next morning.  However, it turned out perfectly.  Sally kindly took some of our gear so Shalane and I trekked with day packs and Russel and Arlan were more than happy to trek at a fast pace.  Russel confessed to usually running the trail so as we flew along almost at a jog everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves.  Even his son seemed to come round to the idea although he was actually there to pay off a debt of a recently purchased mobile phone (I presume it was obtained via the bank of mum and dad).  It was brilliant having 2 locals with us who knew the area and with Russel being an Orienteer, we were in safe hands. 

After the trail we headed back to the Outdoor Centre to be greeted with everything we could have wanted and more.  Before Shalane and I hit a town or a rest day we often dream of a flushing toilet or a sink to hand wash our stinking docks in.  Never did we imagine what was to follow....



Sally cooking up a storm

Sally had arranged for us to stay in the "top house" which basically meant we had our own 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house to ourselves.  We didn't just get a flushing toilet, we got 1 each!  We had use of washing machine and a choice of books that would turn anybody into a book worm.  After the guided tour we were told to wonder down to the main house for lunch.  Sally cooked us a beautiful lunch, gave us a bag of snacks and fruit, later cooked us a BBQ along with wine, we had use of a hot tub, swimming hole, a car, more food, lunch, steak for dinner followed by another BBQ and more wine.  As you can imagine, we didn't want to leave!  The best gift of all is that they even went trekking for us.  Ok this bit is a joke.  However, Sally, her husband John and daughter Emma Kate had planned on a couple of days tramping with some friends and the section they had chosen was part of the Te Araroa trail.  Shalane and I had opted for an alternative coastal route as we wanted to ensure we made the ferry in time.  There was also bad weather on it's way which would have meant the mountain option becoming un-walkable.  So, off Sally and her family went up the mountains where they met Cookie and Nicky, a British couple who are also trekking Te Araroa (http://www.nickyandcookie.com/) who had decided to brave the mountain range,  while we relaxed in the hot tub with wine and good food.  It was tough, really tough, but somebody had to do it!

The next few days were great, mainly because we were getting closer and closer to Wellington.  We skirted between beach and road and beach and road.  The sun was shining and we stopped one evening and enjoyed a kite surfing competition on the beach.  As we approached the city on our last day.  The clouds were low and our bags had suddenly become really heavy - Our bodies knew we were there.  We arrived at lunchtime, darted to the public toilet to try and make ourselves smell less and look human, before treating ourselves to lunch in the nearest cafe/bar.  We had made it!  North Island.....tick!

David Oliver, a Kiwi who we had been chasing down the entire north island from day 1 kindly offered us a place to stay in Wellington.  He came to meet us and took us back to his house for showers and a feed and has been playing host and tour guide during our days in Wellington.  The three of us plan to ferry over to the South Island on 22 January for The Adventure of a Lifetime:  Part 2.

The north island has been so incredible!  Day 1 seems so fresh in my head and I remember my sudden realisation at the end of that day that the trek was 5 whole months long.  When locals have asked us what we've loved about the trek, the answer has to be the people.  We're living an amazing life, the simple life, out of a tent, surrounded by nature, million dollar views and so many experiences that I have lost count but the people have made this trip so far.  This trek allows you to really see New Zealand and really get chatting to the locals and they have proved to be so kind and generous and interesting and entertaining.  We've met farmers, hunters, local business owners, kids, town folk, village folk, sheep and cows galore, live possums, dead possums, and many more.  But....all this time, the whole 3 months, all people have said to us is "wait until you see the south island".  I have a new backpack thanks to Macpac doing me a fantastic deal, we have new t-shirts that aren't crusty and we both have new boots!   So here we come south island!

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE WILL NOT BE ONLINE OR CONTACTABLE AS MUCH IN THE SOUTH ISLAND DUE TO A MORE ISOLATED ROUTE.
THERE ALSO PHOTO AND VIDEO UPDATES ON THIS BLOG.
 

HAVING OURSELVES A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS!

Decorating our camp sport just north of Tongiriro Forest

Te Kuiti was a bit of a turning point for us.  We talked about how we'd been feeling and what we want to do and decided that we were just going to have to go at the trail and go at it hard.  So we packed some stuff in a box to post to Wellington so that our packs were lighter and put a notice on Facebook and our Blogs to say we wouldn't be in touch for a while.  We stuck on our Santa hats and stuck out our thumbs and hitched us a ride back to the bush.

Having now celebrated Christmas a few days early by eating way too much yummy food, we had to come to terms with the fact that the real Christmas day might be a bit of a non event this year.  Over the last few weeks we had tried to guess and plan where we'd be and it was forever changing.  What we didn't realise was that we would actually be lucky enough to reach the Tongariro Crossing on Christmas day, and I couldn't have planned a better way to spend it.

Christmas Morning as we begin the Tongiriro Crossing

The day began windy and wet with some thick, gray clouds that looked like they weren't moving.  We began the walk which was immediately exciting, as being 1000 - 2000 meters high, there was no vegetation up there and we were surrounded by grey, volcanic rock.  We were slipping and sliding our way up the steep mountain on the loose gravel when Shalane called my name behind me.  As I looked back I saw that the clouds had cleared to reveal one of the gorgeous lakes with a towering volcano behind it.  The weather just got better and better and before long the sky was clear blue and we had THE most stunning views of the lakes and craters around us.

 

We decided to take a detour and do the northern circuit and I just felt like I was absorbing everything around me.  To be so high up and walk across a huge plateau that is flattened out in front of you as far as your eyes can see, with snow capped mountains around you was such a buzz.  On Christmas night we arrived at the cosy Outere Hut where me, Shalane and about 8 others chatted and ate in the evening until heading to bed at a normal early hour.  The sunrise and low clouds were a great sight to wake up and walk to the following morning and we walked a full day to Whakapapa Village and then the next day to Whakapapa National Park, the whole two days with the snowy mountains in sight.

Once at the national park we heard the weather for the next day was going to be wet with strong winds so we took a rest day at the national park and pitched our tent in the hostel garden.  The rain was atrocious so we surrendered to a day indoors with a rock climbing wall for entertainment.

The next few days were brilliant.  Partly because DOC are pretty generous when estimating walking times for their trails so we got further each day than we thought and we finished at a decent time so spent the afternoons sunbathing and relaxing or doing yoga.  It was perfect!  New years eve saw us in bed at 8pm and we saw the new year in in our sleep.  However, after a 10 hour walk only taking  us 4 hours the next day we decided to spend the reast of new years day canoeing down the Whanganui river, instead of waiting until the following day.  Part of the trail has us canoeing down the river as the only way to get to the next section as there are no trails or roads in the area.  We had 2 days arranged on the river and they were absolutely beautiful!

The first day we were paddling fairly fast to beat the wind and get to Pipriki.  We'd set off walking at 6am that morning so to still be physically working at 5.30pm was exhausting, but to be working our arms and not our legs felt pretty good.  We did have to share the river with a couple of jet boats and other canoes and kayaks and one complete douchebag who thought we all wanted to see and hear him darting about on his speed boat.  But apart from that the dramatic, lush mountains either side of the gentle flowing Whanganui river was simply picturesque.

Just floating along!

The following day was the best.  It beats them all!  We were on the river at our usual early hour and didn't see a single soul all day.  We watched as the sun came up, we stopped for cups of tea and lunch on the rocks  along the way and sailed down the gentle (and at one point not so gentle) rapids.  The only time we used the paddle was to steer but we mostly sat and soaked up the birds chirping and gentle trickle of water as the smaall streams and waterfalls joined the river and the odd wild pig or goat making extremely random noises in the bush.  The water was dead still and the reflection of those tall, lush mountains looked like a painting.

The amazing Whanganui River

We looked behind us after one of the rapids to see the town we were meant to stop at getting smaller and smaller as we floated away from it and we secretly pleased.  There had been no clear landmarks and by the time we realised there was nothing we could do.  We continued for a few more hours down the river to the next town, taking it in turns to steer while the other laid back and sunbathed.  When we arrived in Matahiwi we borrowed a locals phone to call and tell the hire company we'd gone a bit further than planned, before pitching our tent by the river and having a swim, a relax and some dinner.

The last few days of making good distance, getting further than we had hoped and still fully enjoying our afternoons are exactly what we've been striving for the whole trip and it feels so good.  We did two days of road walking to reach Whanganui and still made it there quicker than we thought we would. 

When we got to Whanganui we were overwhelmed by how gorgeous it was.  Nobody had really talked about it so we had no idea what to expect.  We had a few practical things to do before relaxing and we decided that having not washed our clothes for...cough.....over a month, everything would need to be washed twice.  So we packed ourselves off to a cheap store in town to buy something to wear while all our belongings were having a big soak. There weren't any op shops open so we found a store that sold XXXL T-Shirts (the size being essential as they would need to cover our bums - as I said....EVERYTHING needed washing) and managed to purchase 2 for $18.  I can't tell you how amazing it felt to be putting on a different item of clothing, and one that was clean and I was clean and our clothes were being cleaned!  Oh, happy days.

I've realised that a large percentage of our low point was to do with managing our expectations.  Finding out that we had slightly longer than we thought and reaching trails that took longer than they claimed to due to a lack of maintenance put a dampener on our, already low, motivation levels. That, combined with bad weather, Shalane's illness and things just not going our way made things seem impossible.  Loosing sight of the small day to day goals and looking too far into the future at a goal that is still so far away meant that I lost momentum.

The good news is, it feels so brilliant to have come out the other end of a very low point and during that time I realised that I don't want to give up on this trek in a hurry.  We are officially back in the drivers seat.

BOGGED IN AT BOG INN!

Leaving Hamilton and walking further and further from civilisation felt great.  Walking with the knowledge that, apart from a couple of small towns, we were off into the wilderness for a few days and it was just what I was looking forward to after the uninspiring tarmac from Auckland to Hamilton.

The weather began in its usual scorchio style and we left Hamilton slightly later than our usual 6.00am start, as we were having to get a bus back to the place we left off when we stopped, on the north side of the city.  We decided to set ourselves a goal of a lovely riverside spot about 30kms away, that looked great for camping, even though it would mean walking in the afternoon heat.  We got offered about 6 rides as we walked down the Raglan Road (a road it had taken me an hour to hitch a ride on the day before in the rain) so we must have looked like we needed the help, with our packs loaded up with a full stock of food and water.  If we weren't being offered rides, we were getting beeped, thanks to the new addition of tinsel and a Santa hat, that we had attached to our packs.  The calls of "Merry Christmas" definitely put a skip in my step.  We reached our goal and as it was such a hot day and our bags always feel a bit of a struggle after a rest day and being fully laden, we felt pretty pleased with ourselves.

While we were in Hamilon on our rest day we found out that we had miscalculated slightly and we had an extra few days on the next section of our journey.  Although it wasn't much, we felt a bit disappointed and we had decided to put a bit of effort into making some distance and getting to Wellington without any further delays.  So we were off to a good start....

As mentioned in the last blog, I have been feeling a little uninspired lately and, dare I say, bored.  Ever since we left Auckland a few factors had left me wondering whether I would stay motivated enough to make it all the way down to Bluff.  One of the reasons is my fitness.  I saw a big change at the beginning of this trek, as I didn't train at all so my fitness improved very quickly including my stamina, endurance and strength, and as time has gone on my fitness has plateaued which subconsciously resulted in my lacking motivation.  As minor as this sounds, it is something that really made me want to get up and go every morning, I felt amazing after pushing myself and seeing my muscles and my body change.  The best thing I can relate it too is for those who run to keep fit.  At first it feels great and you push through pain barriers and notice a difference and then after a while you just get bored, you are just running and running and although you may be maintaining a level of fitness it is certainly not as motivating as it is at first.

Another factor that had effected my mentality is that I had started to become a little complacent with the scenery and as a few of the trails felt very similar to many others we have been on, I didn't feel as "wowed" as when we first began.  I would find myself counting down the minutes to break and lunch and the end of the day.  I would wake up in the morning and be in autopilot and by not taking in every inch of my surroundings and the experience, like I had done before, I would feel guilty but I couldn't seem to snap out of it.  Somebody said to me recently that he wouldn't be able to do what we do because he can't walk without a purpose.  Although we have a purpose, it's difficult to keep focus of it for such a long period of time.  It's often easy to set yourself a target or a goal of a week or a month or a couple of months but when you have done 2.5 months and you still have the same amount to go, it's very hard to keep pushing yourself.  I would wake up at 5.00am in the dark, fumble around and cook the oatmeal I have every morning, I would put on my one outfit, I would pack my bag in the methodical way I needed to so that everything fit,  I would put one foot in front of the other again and again and walk for 8 maybe 9 whole hours a day and not necessarily have an amazing view or a particular destination to walk towards.  I would then arrive somewhere, put up the tent, unpack  my whole bag, have dinner and then go to bed.  I tried to look at it with fresh eyes and get my excitement back but something was missing and as time went on and the feeling didn't really subside and I really started to think that I didn't want to do this anymore. I wasn't enjoying it anymore.  I wanted the freedom of going where I wanted and when I wanted.  Eating what I wanted.  Wearing what I wanted.  But I managed to shake those thoughts off.  I had already seen so many amazing things and I still have loads to still experience, especially with the South Island being so different.  I would think about the Solomon Islands and my commitment to them and the feeling that I personally would get when I reach Bluff!  Unbeatable! 

When Shalane and I spoke about it, she understood and felt similar and we tried to spur each other on.  The section after Hamilton was beautiful too which helped.  The Kapamuhunga trail was like walking up and down every single hill that you see in those photographs of layered rolling green hills and it amazes me to think that people actually own that land.  We had some gorgeous riverside camp spots too which allowed us some great down time.   We'd pitch our tent and bathe in the river and I'd do some yoga and really relax.

I was walking along one day and I was thinking to myself, "what will it take for me to be snapped out of this feeling of bordom?"  and "What can change so that I feel like I'm back on the adventure again?"  Just the next day, the weather took a turn for the worse and in true New Zealand style, their summer turned very wet.

DON'T EAT YELLOW SNOW....BUT CAN I DRINK YELLOW WATER?!

View from Perongia Mountain Helipad

The morning we climbed Perongia Mountain I was feeling very low and fed up and that was even before the rain started.  At one point I stopped to take my rain coat off as I was hot and Shalane went on ahead and I lost track of time for a bit.  I kept expecting to see Shalane around the next corner for break and every step I took seemed like an effort.  At one point I skidded on some mud as I tried to climb up a steep bank and was feeling pretty defeated.  I stood at the bottom of the steep bank, rain falling all around me, my pack heavy and my legs feeling like lead and I just spontaneously burst into tears.  It was the strangest feeling but I immediately felt better after sobbing like a girl for a few minutes.  It was like a release, maybe an overdue cry or something but I felt lighter and happier and by the time I saw Shalane for break it was like I started the day again.  We climbed to over 900 m to a view of clouds and we soggily plodded along to the Pahautea Hut, where we decided to spend the afternoon for a rest.  We hadn't stayed at many huts so it felt like a real treat.  When I heard voices and a dog barking my initial thought was "oh no, we have to share the hut", but the current residents turned out to be  Department of Conservation (DOC) goat hunters.  Goats aren't native to NZ and eat all the native foliage so the hunters are sent in, often air lifted by helicopter with 10 days worth of food and equipment, ready to exterminate.  Two hunters soon turned to 4 and we all sat and chatted while we were made numerous cups of tea and they even cooked a Shepherds Pie for dinner.  It was really great to have company and what was even better was that because of the nature of their jobs, walking the mountains, long physical days, they were understanding of us smelling a bit and going to bed early.  Before bed, Shalane and I went to the helipad to watch the sunset.  The clouds had part lifted and part sunk and the view was absolutely stunning.  We couldn't have hoped for a better rest day and with a bit of entertainment from Stu the hunter with his joke repertoire it was time to hit the hay.  I had a feeling that, with a few good days trekking under our belts, a night in a hut with some good company, maybe things were about to change for the better.

DOC Goat Hunters

After breakfast, cooked for us by the lads, they went off to work and Shalane and I took a look at our maps to plan out the next few days so that we could set ourselves some targets and start making some serious distance.  We were starting to become aware that, although we don't want to rush this trek, the season and our finances suggest we can't take forever and we wanted to set ourselves a few goals.  It was then that we realised more bad news.  There had been another miscalculation and we had even more days to go than we originally thought.  A few days here and there really isn't a huge problem but I guess it's all about managing our own expectations and because we can't afford to be trekking for ever and we have so much more time to come those few days just felt like forever.  We're not entirely sure when the miscalculation happened but it was a knock down that we didn't really need as our motivation was already a little unstable. 

Somehow, we woke up the next day feeling a little bit lifted and although the weather was now in full downpour the trail we were on took us around some of the most unbelievable farmland I've seen.  It was so vast and simply something you see in photographs or paintings.  At one point we came around one corner and the clouds lifted and thinned for a split second.  Enough to reveal a breath taking view that gave me a big grin.  When it rains really hard, something happens in me to give me a determination I didn't know I had.  I think it's a sink or swim mentality (literally) and when you, your clothes and your bag are soaking wet and you are a few days walk from anywhere, without the promise of a dry, warm house to go home to, you have no choice but to keep going.  Just as lunch time came around we'd approached an empty farm shed and as we stepped inside and the rain and wind got worse the luck of the finding the shelter just in time make me feel things were on our side.

Shalane had heard from David, a Kiwi guy doing Te Araroa ahead of us, who kindly warned us that the next section of this track was more overgrown with Gorse (a spiky, impossible, horrible bush that apparently comes from Europe) than anything we'd seen before, and as we'd come across some pretty towering examples we knew it had to be bad.  So decided to re route to the road.  We'd just past the track turn off when the farmer approached us and when we told him our reasons for rerouting, he suggested we take the old track that reconnects with the new, just above the Gorse.  We took his advice and took as risk as his directions were the kind given by someone who knows the way like an engraving in his brain but doesn't necessarily know how to verbalise them. We took a while to find the way but eventually, we were back on track and we set up camp in the rain and hid inside for the rest of the evening.

Our Caravan at Te Kuiti Campsite

The next few days sucked!  We got rained on so heavily coming into Te Kuiti that I think my bones were waterlogged and the trail was very frustrating.  I've never been lead so unnecessarily up and over so many hills when the route around the hill is as clear as day!  The only thing that saved us from defeat that day (along with my secret stash of yoghurt covered raisins) was staying in a cheap caravan at Te Kuiti campsite and putting everything we owned in the tumble dryer.

The next day we left with everything waterproof on and everything tucked in and zipped up and apart from getting hot and sweaty from the extravagant layers, I was dry from the rain.  The trail was again frustrating.  With the instructions from the website leading us into an area with a "private land, trespassers will be prosecuted sign" before taking us to a trail which had us both thinking it was out last.  The Mangakeowa Riverside trail was absolutely beautiful and has potential of being my favourite, had it not been for a near death experience.   The rain made the trail a little more slippery than usual so we began sliding all over the place which we are actually used to , but when the small ridge we were walking on became tiny and uneven and the bushes and trees became over grown, both me and Shalane literally feared for our lives.  On the left we had a sheer 20 meter drop down the river with nothing but brambles to catch our fall.  The path was wide enough for one boot and often eroded away so you'd have to jump over big gaps and on the right were thorn bushes or Gorse so thickly over grown that to push through it, you needed the weight of your whole body and pack, which essentially put you an your 20kg load off balance, risking a fall to the brambles.  This went on for nearly 2 hours and by the time we hit a clearing we were both scratched and cut, covered in debris, my waterproof bag cover was ripped and I had the biggest headache.  By the time we reached a decent camp spot, unsure of where we were but too exhausted to carry on, we'd had enough.  Today was officially the first day I wanted to quit this trek and really meant it.  The trails were were being sent on were either pointless or dangerous and I couldn't wait to get out.  I was sick of being able to smell myself and bored of walking.  It chucked it down with rain again so we darted for the tent and stayed there, Both of us feeling bloody miserable.

Nothing seems as bad after a good night sleep and I guess one thing in our favour is that to quit we would still need to walk for 2 days to get anywhere.  We woke up and went through the routine like any other morning and we proceeded to walk in the rain.  We managed to find sheds to have breaks in along the way but we got rained on so heavily towards the end of the day that I wasn't sure I'd ever dry out.  We walked a huge 40kms that day before setting up camp in a farm shed, next to a sheep's carcass.  We sat there on a mouldy bit of foam we found on the floor, drinking yellow cow pee water as we vacantly stared at our dripping wet clothes with complete emotional and physical exhaustion.   In the morning it's safe to say our clothes actually felt more wet.  As I put on my cold, soggy t-shirt, my 2 pairs of wet socks and my squelching boots, that sink or swim determination hit me again.  Today was the last day before we will reach Bog Inn Hut for a rest day.  It had been 5 long days since the last rest day and we were in desperate need.  32 kms is all I have to walk, one mountain to climb and we can dry out clothes and have a day off in shelter.  All I have to do is ignore my upset stomach and nausea that I must have got from the cow pee water, ignore my soaking wet everything and put one foot in front of the other.  So we walked and we climbed to 1265m to another view of clouds and to blustering winds.  We kept on walking through landslides and through flooded mountain rivers and we were soaked to the bone.  Admittedly, the trail in the Puetora Forest was very pretty and the rain made it so lush and majestic but not a second too soon did we make it to Bog Inn Hut.  The 4 bunk cosy hut was all ours and we lit the fire, changed into warm, dry clothes and congratulated ourselves on completing 5 long, tough and miserable days.  We'd pushed ourselves hard, there had been tears and I certainly can't say I had been bored!  I had pushed myself physically on those longer days and now know that I can be pushed more and will maybe see another change in my fitness.  I'd seen enough rain to last me quite sometime and although I was still fed up with being able to smell myself, frustrated with the trails and overwhelmed by the number of days we still have until Bluff, or even Wellington for that matter, I keep saying I don't want to do this anymore but I keep getting up at 5am and putting my trekking boots on so I guess I the tough times will only make me more determined in the long run.


BOGGED IN AT BOG INN!


Our rest day was great.  A hunter had come by and gave us some extra food so we spent the day just lazing about and doing nothing.  Both Shalane and I woke up with upset stomachs again so we had no problem with having an extremely lazy day and the rain continued constantly and heavily outside.  At one point we spread the maps out on the floor and set ourselves and tough but reachable goal, full of long but possible days to get to Wellington.  We finished the planning with the determination and a new gleam of light that we would get to the other side of this tough time and told ourselves that this was all part of the journey.

Attempting to chop fire wood at Bog Inn Hut

We woke at the usual time the next day ready for the off but unfortunately, Shalane was still not feeling well and the weather was horrific!  With the track consisting mostly of muddy forest before reaching a river in a valley, we decided to wait a while until the rain slowed down.  The day was miserable and with Christmas approaching, the weather fowl and with my temporary vision of light at the end of the tunnel now extinguished I cried a lot.  Something about the bad weather and the Christmas tunes on the radio made me feel extremely homesick.

We ended up waiting in the hut all day!  In fact, Shalane's health and the rain just got worse and by the following day, we had decided that we needed to get Shalane to a doctor.  We were lucky enough that there was a trail leading out onto a forest road and we were even luckier to discover I had mobile phone signal once we were out on the road.  By road we mean a dirt track with no traffic and still a good 8 hours walk to a main road.  I called the DOC initially to double check the way out, as our maps didn't cover that area, but they were kind enough to send somebody to pick us up.  Jason, the DOC Ranger scooped us off the dirt road like our knight in shining armor and drove us to the doctor in Mangakino, a small town about an hour north of the forest.

Shalane found out she had Gardia, a parasite that she got from water.  Although we had treated the water, she had sipped half a cup one morning that she hadn't treated and we guessed that was the culprit.  After discovering that between us we didn't have enough cash on us to pay for the doctors and after a further discovery that the town accommodation, food store or pharmacy didn't take card and the ATM didn't accept our international cards, we were feeling a little bit abandoned.  The doctor very kindly offered us a lift to anywhere that was on her way home from work and as she lived in Hamilton, we asked to be dropped in Te Kuiti.  We were back in the place we walked out of 4 days ago within the hour! 

We checked back into the same campsite and sat on the grass unable to put the tent up for a few moments.  As we sat there after a pretty dramatic day, we both wondered how many times we could keep picking ourselves back up and keep going before we were just too tired to do so.

We decided to make the most of our surroundings and as we had been trying to plan Christmas day for a while now (at one point fearing we might just have to road walk)  we took full advantage of the supermarket nearby and didn't hold back.  We put on our Santa hats cooked up an early Christmas Roast Chicken dinner, complete with mince pies and custard for desert and extra treats for the following day.  As we both sat back in our chairs feeling like we might burst at the seams we suddenly felt very Christmassy!  We put the day behind us and enjoyed an evening of indulging and it felt amazing.

Statue at Te Kuiti, the Sheep Shearing Capital of the World!

Offline

Just a quickie to let you know that Shalane and I will be out of touch for a wee while.  We keep getting up and trekking and setting our sights on reachable goals but something appears to want to stop us.  After a constant battle with all things nature, whether it be weather or whether it be health or whether is be the general bush, something appears to want to slow us down!

We have recently ended back in Te Kuiti, somewhere that took us a week to trek away from as Shalane became sick from Gardia (a parasite from the water) and things have just not been on our side recently.

As a result, we have decided to go at it and go at it hard and therefore will not be updating the internet until we have beat whatever New Zealand has to throw at us.  We won't have a lot of time as we need to get to Wellington for our ferry crossing but will update you as soon as possible.

In the meantime Happy Christmas and New Year folks!

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of......State Highway 1!

I wish I could say that every part of every day of this trek is beautiful and great but there were always going to be slightly less inspiring parts.  I won't bore you with the details but......Ok, I will.

I feel that so far we have painted quite an idyllic picture of us skipping through meadows with the sun always shining and an amazing view always waiting for us around the corner or up a mountain but we haven't really gone into detail about how crusty our one outfit is or how we have to unpack and repack absolutely every last thing in our smelly backpacks every day of every week.  To be quite honest with you, these things don't really bother me too much. 

However, the trials of the trail are something that do get really tough and when the only way is onwards, it is sometimes difficult to remain motivated and keep walking.  The 3 days following Auckland were mainly road walking.  Long, endless boot on tarmac style road walking and this can can be tough for a few reasons.  Firstly, is the physical aspect.  When walking on a hard, flat surface for a long period of time everything that can hurt does.

The weight of the pack on top and the hard tarmac below means your ankles swell and calves tighten.  The backpack moves with every single step and causing bruising your shoulders and painful back muscles.  When usually on a trail the surface underfoot varies, the road is relentless!  Also really nasty is the constant intrusive and loud traffic as it rushes past you, swerving at the last minute.

But that's not all.....

One of the more quiet roads outside of Auckland but still Tarmac

Next is the pure boredom factor!  I don't mind road walking too much when you are on a quiet, country road, looking out over the rolling hills or ocean or at all the new born spring animals with nobbly knees and ears too big for their head but road walking in the Auckland suburbs, which can I say are endless, was a little tough on the eye.  I think it was a motivational issue more than the actual job in hand as you get the feeling you really are just walking from A to B with B being the goal, instead of all the little bits in between being part of it too, and because of that, you can never quite get there fast enough.  Having to walk along in a built up area for 8 hours each day for 3 days before we felt like we were even nearly out of the Auckland area was hard to get out of tent for, even with the promise of oatmeal and powdered milk.

So there we would be, walking along the dark, grey, tarmac.  If we were lucky, we'd have a pavement or a wide verge but often we'd have to dive into ditches, praying that the crazy driver coming towards us had seen us hobbling along.  Sometimes, on slightly busier roads we'd walk along the verge for a while giving us that sensation of having one leg longer than the other as the small verge sloped to a steep gutter.  I think you are getting the picture, but just in case you're not...... Our breaks were spent mostly in people's driveways looking out over that lovely asphalt and if we were ever bored of looking at the road and traffic, there was plenty of litter and of course, roadkill.  The roadkill came in different shapes and sizes and stages of decay and sometimes you would even smell it before you saw it.  However, luck was looking up and just south of Auckland we were taken off road and onto a grassy trail..  It passed through a really great campsite with some farm animals and out the other side down a track with some ickle bunnies hopping around and just when we were starting to enjoy the off road experience it guided us through to a water treatment site and onto a landfill area.  Great!

Notice the two small signs either side of me pointing at each other

All this aside we still managed to have a giggle and when walking along one day we came across two Te Araroa signs pointing towards each other in the middle of the road and we knew we were in for a treat in this new area.  The Te Araroa Trust has been building this trail with assistance from local councils so the signs and trail standards have been a little inconsistent, which is actually great and makes life a little more interesting but the Manakau area was special.  The next sign we saw pointed us down a road and we had written instructions from the Te Araroa website in case of no signs.  Well, we followed this track further and further looking in all directions for a sign or orange arrow or something and after sitting down and having some lunch having realised that even the instructions were of no use, we retraced our footsteps, only to join back on the (yep you guessed it) road.  Having walked 8Kms and wasted nearly 2 hours we were feeling pretty poo.  That day we finally reached our goal which was Totara Park where we set up camp for the day, having walked 38 kms and felt suitably exhausted!  The good news is, we still had the crossword book.  Shalane and I were not feeling like enough of a married couple, sharing a tent (even though we are topsy tailed), spending every waking moment, discussing bowel movements and future plans and all those other intimate details, our "relationship" just wasn't complete.  So, with the purchase of a crossword book in Auckland we settled down that night to an ice cream and a good old mind puzzle.

When we arrived in Clevedon and found a pretty camp spot in a scenic reserve, we finally felt like we'd left the big smoke behind us.  We decided on a rest day as the next section consisted of a new trail which our maps were too old show and with the non-existent signs we'd recently experienced, it was better to face what the Hanua Ranges had to throw at us having had a day of putting our feet up.

First Climb of the Hanua Ranges

The following day was really great.  It began with more road walking which was just as boring and shite as I remembered but the road soon turned to gravel and the gravel road soon got smaller and smaller until it was a narrow footpath.  The footpath was the Wairoa River track and it really was beautiful.  The lush green trail followed the river as it meandered along through woodland and fields.  Goodbye ruddy road and hello terrific trail and swanky signs!  I didn't realise how much I had missed those orange arrows.  We were on cloud 9 and actually skipped along like kids who had just received their weekly intake of E numbers. 

Our perfect campspot

After a while we were lead into the Hanua Ranges and although there was a trail heading south which is where we were heading, the Te Araroa sign lead us north and east and all sorts before we had no clue where we were but with our trust back in the signage and the adrenaline from having a good overdue sweat from the mountains we happily flew along the trail and it felt amazing!  Even our campsite that night was perfect, with a small stream running nearby so we could soak our feet and top up water (not in that order) after a long but very enjoyable day.

The next day was just as good and had some interesting parts where our navigational skills sure were put to the test.  Towards the end of the Hanura ranges all orange arrows disappeared and in their place were pink dots of paint!  We followed the dots, not sure at all if we were meant to and our doubts were confirmed when we were lead to our near death down a vertical mountain edge.  We had to slide down on our bums at times because standing over a 10 meter drop with 20 kgs on your back and nothing to help you but a couple of poles and the odd tree just wasn't going to work.  We were completely surprised but delighted to find the Te Araroa sign at the bottom confirming that we were actually in the correct place.  To top off another brilliant day of hard climbing, hard sweating and good fun, we found another perfect camp spot.  After having an icey bath in the river and as we laid in the sun, with a river flowing next to us and our gorgeous little tent sitting on a flat, unlumpy patch up sheltered grass we looked at each other and said "this is what it's all about".

After a morning of land slides, strange cows and electric fences it was back to the road and I immediately went into a daze of dullness.  When we came around the corner in Mercer and saw the Golden Arches it was a sliding door moment and sucked in by the temptation, Shalane and I had a big bad Maccy Ds. The first one for as long as I can remember and that afternoon became a right off.  I was not happy with myself!

Riverside lunch stop

We slept that night on the top of a hill with the sound of State Highway 1 loud below us and it was a sound that we would be hearing for the next couple of days.  As we walked from Mercer to Rangariri to Huntly we were often off road, following the stopline of the Wikato River which was beatufil and allowed us to find more riverside camp spots.  However, the highlight of this section has to be the nice ice truck driver.  As we road walked some more from Huntly West to the Hakarimata Mountain Ranges, just south of the town, with the afternoon sun pounding down on us and cars rushing past us, a lovely man driving an ice truck pulled in to the layby and handed us both an ice cold bottle of orange and passionfruit juice, shouting "you look a bit hot" before speeding off, barely giving me time to thank him.  The guy was a genious!  Wherever you are in the world and whatever you are doing now Mr Truck Driver, thank you!

Our view from the Hakarimata Ranges

The Hakarimata ranges were my kind of forest trail. Although it began a little touristy, with the forest bed replaced with a gravel path, it soon turned into a windy forest path, complete with roots and vines to avoid tripping over and branches to limbo under.  It followed the ridgeline of the ranges so was asending and decending slightly along the way so working up a good sweat and we completed the 8 hour track in 4 hours feeling pretty pleased with ourselves. We walked into Hamilton along SH1 was confirmation that we were ready for the bush.  The highway was very busy, the afternoon heat was at a max and after a trail of roads to walk on and roads to listen too, I realised that what I need is a good, isolated bush and I have a feeling that this next section will be just what I am looking for.

We'll spend our rest day tomorrow in Raglan, by the beach before setting off for what looks like a very interesting part of Te Araroa and I really can't wait!

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.