Dec 15 Hamilton - Pirongia mt base

Took a rest day yesterday to catch up on the newly released blockbuster: James Bond Spectre. I also watched a hilarious Christmas comedy movie 'The Night Before'. It was quite different being in a 'big' city such as Hamilton. After finding out I had lost both my knives....I went to MacPac and bought a standard Swiss Army knife. 

Now again to clarify, I don't wantto road walk when I can easily avoid it by taking say a vehicle with four wheels, or a bus. There is a 15km walk to Whakawhaka which is pronounced fakafaka. When I bought a bus ticket I said Whakawhaka when I clearly knew it was wrong but I didn't want the teller to go "what'd you call me!!"  

While waiting for the bus I had made a bounce box with things that were in my bag that I didn't need. I lost about 5lbs, including camera (I've taken 3 photos), thermal bottoms an tops( cause it's summer), a t shirt, and some body and foot creams I don't really need now that my feet are say 'acclimatized' to walking 30km a day. Sent it for 6$ to Taumarunui. 

Took a normal city bus 12minutes to Whakawhaka, found the only shop there, bought a nice cream bar and was on my way to the base of Pirongia. 

10km in a high school van pulled beside us and offered a lift tithe base, but since cheating already today we denied. The road walk wasn't too bad, there was barely any traffic so progress was good. 

As the ominous mountain/volcano thing came nearer and nearer into view I kept wondering how bloody muddy this jungle is going to be. Every jungle has been just brutal, this one will be better tho because there is a 16person hut at the top. Either dinner or lunch will be dry..temporarily. 

At the end of the road there was a 2km walk to another campsite area at the very base of the mountain. Set up camp and had dinner on a bench! Heck yeah. 

Side note I have had feet problems and I was assuming it was sand under my shoe souls. Therefore I sliced at the base of the shoe soul and found about a 1/4 cup of sand per shoe. Now why in the hell would a shoe have an inner liner where the only way to get particulates out I it was to destroy the shoe??? Anyways, tomorrow I my feet will be ok

Dec 7 Manakau to Clevedon

Coromandel was nice, very secluded and had stunning views. But back to hiking now. It's a 25k to Clevedon. I got my stitches out today in Manakau medical clinic which was a nice relief. I thought my hand would have been healed more than what it was but it's still parted and not together. Whatever I'll jut have to take good care of it keeping it clean. I'm not using my right pole so the walkin feels different. Can't get into much of a rhythm walking like before. 

Walking to Clevedon was mostly road walking with a 5 km detour through a pine forest. It passed right before a quarry and went straight up. 

I stopped in Clevedon after making the decision I would much rather sleep in a motel then a tent. Tough choice. 

Tomorrow is the start of the Hunua Range. Weather looks perfect so it should be a good time. 

Dec 4 Takapuna - AUCKLAND

Overnight I had a thinking to take a few days off to rest the hand and also see the Coromandel Peninsula. Everyone I've met said that it is the place to see in the North Island. Richard wasn't ok with taking a few days off so he continued on, not even taking a rest day in Auckland..crazy. Almost everyone stops in Auckland for a night. 

I booked a ferry at 6pm which takes 2 hours to get to Coromandel Town. 

It was a 3 hour walk to Davenport which was actually quite a nice walk. It may have because it was the last road walk for a couple of days or it may have been the scenery, but today was nice. 

Anyways off to Coromandel town to do some day hikes? More hikes, yeah oh well why not! 

Dec 3 Orewa - Takapuna

I had to make a re route today to avoid the Okura estuary. If the tide was high and I had to raise my pack over my head to wade through I couldn't because my right hand was immobilized. Therefore I had a 25k plus road walk into Takapuna back to the trail. Road walking was terrible, but we made good time and got to the Takapuna holiday park by 4. Takapuna is a suburb of Auckland so there were shops and bars everywhere. It was the first real sense of being in a city since I started the trek. 

Had some overpriced fish an chips at a cafe just outside te holiday park then packed it in. Auckland tomorrow. With a stop in davenport to catch a ferry across the harbour. 

Nov 25 Ngunguru - Tidesong B&B

I'm in a car looking at the road I would have been walking if I was a "purist", pfft suckers. We even passed a hiker, but the car was full we 3 of us already an packs. I had met a chap named mark from Austrailia who is walking from Bay of Islands to Auckland. Now he's not a thru hiking, he walks the same path but he never camps. His bag is at an enviable 8lbs which consists of shoes, water, and rain gear. He books all his stays before he sets out, mainly in B&Bs. That is fantastic, I wish I had an 8 lbs pack. He is retired now but he does 2 big hikes each year all over the world. 

Hilton dropped us all off and off he went. Put my tunes in, found some funky music and was on my way. There were two rivers we had to cross, sorry creeks. First one I just skipped across rocks, then second one I had to take off my shoes to get across. Then just roads after that, not much to say about road walking. There are turns and then just more turns. 

Nov 24 Whananaki - Ngunguru

I haven't touched this blog in a while so I don't really remember this day. Normally I can just look at my maps and I will remember everything. But sadly I lost that one map for this stage.

I remember from about noon onwards. The mornings are all quite boring anyways. Wake up pack up your things and mindlessly walk about in a forest, jungle or road.

Matapouri bush track was very nice and nearer the end of it, the trail passes by Tane Moana (big ass kauri tree). From what I've gathered is that it's the only one in the area. Also it is one of the biggest Kauri trees. DOC had to make a boardwalk around it because it was just so massive.

It was a nice walk down into Ngunguru. While waiting for Richard I sat on a grassy spot next to a roundabout and just chilled out. Once he was caught up we went to a restaurant/cafe and had a big meal of fish and chips. While eating there was a woman who mentioned she hiked the TA so we chatted. She mainly did the South Island parts so it made me very envious. The north island is just there...you have to do it to walk the Te Araroa. The South Island is the most stunning backpacking paradise in the world. Anyways. 

It was a 6 or so km road walk to the Riverbank Homestay. The lady running it let us sleep in the garage because the forecast suggested rain, which was nice. Although I've never slept in a garage. Writing this now I would have rather slept in my tent. But the added bonus was that in the morning her husband would drive us 13km down the crappy road walking part. It was an obvious decision. Now. There are these "purist" hikers, they think you have to walk the entire length of it to say you competed it. Nah. Just nah. Road walking is terrible, especially on a 100km stretch. A nice gravel road in the country or a secluded desolate road is all good. But when there is a probable chance of getting hit by a maniac behind the wheel is present, I will accept a hitch always. At the end I can say I did 95% of it in my head, then of course just round up to 100% when I tell others. 

We were invited for crumble after their dinner which was good and then off to bed. Tomorrow is the Mackerel forest track. 

Dec 2 Warkworth-Puhoi-Orewa

Having to go to the medical clinic in Warkworth I missed 1 day of hiking. The Dome cafe to puhoi was around 30km. Anyways, I bussed in the morning to Puhoi to rejoin the Te Araroa. Today will be a 8km kayak paddle down to Wenderholm Park on the outskirts of Auckland. 

Kayaking across te estuary was simple to set up and cost 50$. The day was calm when I first started out. When the estuary opened up there was going to be a crosswind going NE or SE. The owner told me to paddle to the calm side here there should be flat water. The fastest time was 1hr 10m to Wenderholm park. The first 40m was quite nice, water was flat and no wind. I stopped twice for some good photo ops. When I entered the wide bit the wind howled and there was no crossind, only headwind. There were baby rapids but water still got into the kayak. Not much, but enough to freak me out. I started paddling hard now as I knew where the end was. I made it to the beach in 1hr 15m which was enough time for me to be in the water. 

As I was exiting the kayak I slipped and landed on my hand. That was painful so I popped 2 ibuprofen and continued on. The Kayak was picked up by the owner and I was on my way. 

I had a cold shower to wash all the sand off then had a forest/road walk to Waiwera? I think that's the name. I stopped for ice cream. 

My hand was in some serious pain so I found a bus to the Orewa holiday park. Got a cabin and cleaned out and redressed my hand. 

Richard came later in the day after hitching to Whangarei to get his bounce box. 

Takapuna Holiday park tomorrow

Dec 1 Omaha Forest- well, not Dome Cafe

As Ice Cube once said, "Today was a good day", it sure wasn't for me. Today was quite an eventful day. 

It all started out like any other day. Leaving Pakiri Holiday Park around 730am with a lofty goal of making it to the Dome Cafe by 5pm to eat a burger for dinner. 

The walk up to the start of the trail was steep, really steep. At the top we were passed by a couple from Germany I think. They were quick and hiking with no poles, which was the first time I've seen yet. At the top the trail entered into a nice track following a truly magnificent old forest. We kept hiking along the outside fence but never entered the forest. The track ten led steeply down a terrible muddy slippery section through gorse of course. Right near the bottom, the last 1% I slipped and fell on my ass, right onto gorse plants. Fantastic, great way to start the day. Getting up from my fall I had to push up on gorse that was now on the ground beneath me, thus causing many thorns to puncture my skin. Luckily being so close to the bottom I found a flat spot, put down the pack and got the clean wipes out. Cleaned the mud off and pulled about 30 thorns out of my arms, hands and legs. Instant itching occurred and drove me nuts. 

The rest of the track was quite uneventful, just forest and more bloody itchy forests. 

That was until a muddy cliff that dropped straight down. I threw my poles to the bottom and my initial idea was to Tarzan my way down using vines and or branches to a set of trees half way down. The branch snapped and I was flung down to the trees, I lost my balance and tried to grab onto the trees. Unluckily there was a TA sign with two nails sticking out of it. My right palm found one of the nails. So yeah, adrenaline kicked in, I ran back up found a flat spot,dropped my pack and got my med kit out while bleeding everywhere. There was a lot of blood, more than I thought there could ever be coming from a hand. My initial thought "IM GOING TO  DIE, in this stupid ass jungle all alone and in the mud". That's when a truly bizarre came to mind, you know in Ace Ventura When nature Calls? Probably not, but there's a scene here Jim Carrey gets speared by well, spears on each leg. And throws his two arms over his thigh and then th other...I did that, once, while blood flew onto my pack. I got a patch onto the cut and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. I then screamed because I knew the two Germans were behind me so they could help. I could get the tape right enough and then cut it by myself. 

Two minutes later they were there and I felt instantly better, " I'm not going to de alone"!! They helped wash it out and tape the gauze patch tightly around my had. I then used my scarf to tie it around my hand to try and keep my hand clean to stop infection infused mud. 

I knew I would need stitches, I took off the gauze at one point and the cut was pretty nasty. Really damn nasty. 

2km walk out of te forest, then 7km walk to Matakana where the Medical clinic was obviously closed...at 100!!! On a bus to Warkworth. 

Got it stitched and cleaned by 5pm. Fantastic. 

Puhoi paddle tomorrow? Sure why not, how bad could that go. It's only a hand. Still have my arms. 

Nov 26- Nov 30

I am now in Hamilton trying to catch up on the blog, but it's quite hard to remember everything that happened so long ago. I will therefore sum up everything that I did and where I walked. 

Tidesong BB to Whangarei Heads over Bream Head walk. Really steep and very hot and humid. Made it to the bottom and 5km later reached a spot to stop. Got a hitch into the nearest spot to eat. Slept in a DOC area 

Next morning we got a ride across to Marsden Point. Walked to Ruakaka for resupply. Beach walk to Waipu. State at the BBH backpackers where the owner wasn't there. Left the money in the mailbox. 

Waipu to Mangawhai Heads. Rest day. Was going to golf, but too tired. 

Mangawhai Heads to Pakiri holiday park

Nov 23 Morepork Track to Whananaki

Ironically enough...A farmer living near the Morepork track has infact given us pork! 

I awoke this morning ahead of everyone else to find a whole bunch of ham and bread wrapped under a coat. What a fantastic farmer. That is a lot of ham, each one of us had 3 big peices. 

we were all quite slow packing up because one hand always seemed to have a ham sandwich in it. Everyone day set off at the same time. The Morepork track was a nice forest area with real walking trails. The first couple hours were on fairly flat terrain. The trail notes mentioned a very steep drop followed by a very steep climb. We all dropped down all the way to a creek and then climbed all the way back up. I thought that was too bad, I sure hope that is the part mentioned in the notes. Walking on top of a spur I could sometimes have views out of the forest..looking at just more forests. But anytime I come to an opening I always feel a tad bit better. 

An hour or so later I again started to drop down a very steep muddy path and I thought this is the bit the trail notes mentioned. Yup. On the way back up the trail was wide enough for 2 feet side by side with hard clay on the outsides, with fantastic views out. This was a spur, walking on the top of it. It was very steep and I started to slow down and wanting very much not to get passed by others I finished strong and got to the top. 

The spur then followed down a fence line and out into the open. On top of a farmers cleared plot offering a great view. 

Whananaki was now only 2 hours away. The climb again was very steep but instead of mud it was grass. But you can't go too quickly because there are deep hoof depressions that can easily break or injure you. 

At the bottom we followed the outside fence line to te end of the plot and didn't know where to go, the orange markets were gone. It wasn't too bad, we could see the road we have to get to. We had to get under an electric fence which meant we had to get on all fours and army crawl under, on rocks which hurt. 

Road walking and an estuary walk and finally made it to Whananaki, the place of the 'longest footbridge in the Southern Hemisphere'. 

Made our way to the holiday park, found a room, found a grocer and took a snooze. 

Tonight I bought many burgers and ate that. Protein is lacking while hiking, so I took my chance to load up. 

Nov 22 Russell Forest hut - Morepork track

You're not gong to believe this, I can hardly even writing this. I waited before packing up so I would have a dry tent. At about 7 I saw the sun trying to get through the clouds so I made a run for it. Every morning I always have a towel to wipe the condensation from the inside walls. That was done. As Soon as my tent pole was out it started pouring rain. Just a complete downfall. My perfectly dry tent is now all wet. Just laying on my groundsheet getting soaked I had to roll it up and put it in the bag.

5 minutes later, sun came out and no more rain. The early bird sure didn't get the worm today. Anyways.

It was a nice walk out of the forest on an ATV track. 4 km until we got to a road which I had to follow for 15km. Today is my first real test of road walking.

It's quite dull but the highway was very quite with about 10 cars passing over 3 hours. Road walking makes for good time as well. 

My knee...again was in pain and this road walking didn't help so when I saw there was a holiday park just off the highway I was really really pursuaded to go there. It was Whangaruru Beachfront motel and camp. I started walking down the steep hill for probably 100m then decided 'hell coming up this is really going to do damage to my knee, let's keep going'. So I did, I kept on track and met up with Richard at km mark 288. 

We both went the wrong way and I didn't figure this out until 3 km in. Luckily there was a turnoff spot where we were so we waited and tried to hitch back down. Two minutes later a father and so. Pulled over and have us a 3km lift back to the right road. (We kept going up Russell road and didn't turn off onto Webb road. Sharp left turn)

Walking another 13 km we came to the start of the Morepork Track. Pitched the tent and had a good rest. The rest of the crew arrived a couple hours later. 

A farmer came around quite late and said he would bring us apples and meat tomorrow for breakfast. Let's see what he brings us. 

Nov 19. We out. Takahue to Kaitiaia

After yesterday I think everyone has had enough rain forests for a while. Before starting this hike I wanted to enjoy it, and walking through a green tunnel for 8 hours was not very fun. The plan was to hitch to Kerikeri and continue on from there cutting out 75km from our journey. (I'll most likely go back when I reach Auckland). 

Road walking into this little village of Takahue was uneventful and boring, nothing like walking through a jungle, but it was a good change. 

We walked out to SH-1 in hopes to catch a ride. 2km in a farmer asked us to come in for tea or water. It was the first person to offer a drink so we took it. He had a fantastic property and a nice patio area in the back. After a quick chat, back onto the trail. 

Once we made it to SH-1 my proposition was to both try and hitch hike one direction. He would for Kerikeri and I would for Kaitiaia. Because Kerikeri is 80 or so km away and off the main highway I thought it would be nearly impossible to make it with only 5 hours of daylight left. After 30 minutes a man in an SUV stopped and offered us a lift to Kaitiaia. He parked in the lane and just waited for us to pile in, didn't pull over on the side or anything. And strangely enough the cars behind him didn't honk, they just waited patiently until they could pass. That would never happen I'm Alberta. Or anywhere else for that matter. 

Made it and booked bus tickets for 9am the next morning to LeriKeri. We stopped at the local backpackers holiday park and got a nice room with two beds. 

I was hungry. So hungry. There was a KFC 2'mimutes away. I went in and ordered the two of the biggest burgers they had, and a big glass of water. 

There were other people at the backpackers who were ready to start their TAT and some wanting t start Herekino forest...for fun! I talked with them all and shared my views of the trail and what to expect. Soon after I crashed on the bed and read about half of my book 'The Martian'. Great book. 

Tomorrow off to KeriKeri. 

Nov 20. Zero day in KeriKeri

According to Richard this isn't a Zero day. It's a half zero day because we are busing for 2 hours. Anyways made it to KeriKeri and just hung out. Stayed at the holiday park there and got a basic cabin with two singles. Went to Countdown, the same as Safeway or Sobeys and stocked up on food. I bought lots of fruit and fruit juices and also ate lots of protein rich foods. 

There was a half marathon tomorrow so the place was very busy which was good to see. I went downtown and bought some more Clarityn for allergies and 50spf sunscreen. Then on my way to subway I stopped at vodaphone and found a 29$ iPhone 4 case which was great. I had to fix my last one and the superglue welds were coming off and dirt was getting inside. This one seems ok. And it was only 20$. 

Back to the cabin and read more. Had a mango and canteloupe for dinner. 

Paihia tomorrow, maybe do a zero day and golf there at the amazing ocean front course. 

Nov 21 Kerikeri to Russell Forest hut

I didn't stop at Paihia instead walked 38km to a bloody hut in the middle of a rainforest. My leg started hurting very early in the day, my left leg bottom calve muscle. Then about 2km in my leg knee started having crazy pain just below the knee cap. I was worried that this could be it for a while and I would have to take some rest days while it gets better. But I know what my dad would say. "It's fine, it's not even broken yet, tis but a scratch". He wouldn't say that, but something close it. 

So I cranked some times and continued to walk past Kerikeri and into a pine forest track with a real path! An actual path!  

At some points I would heel over and wince in pain from my knee. I thought something just be wrong with it, it really hurt. The next 2 hours I was trying to figure out how to walk so it wouldn't hurt. First I tried baby steps, that was hopeless. Used my walking stick as a crutch, but I'd max out going 1kph. Next I tried to keep my left leg stiff and walk like a gimp. This helped a bit but I would eventually jab my leg against the ground and the pain was even worse. Eventually I tried big steps, to stretch my muscles and joints even more. This suprisingly helped wonders. The pain was gone. I caught up with Richard and was given 2 ibuprofen which was a great relief. 

Anyways...got to Piahia and really really wanted to stop. The pain was back, but not too bad. The next part of the track you have to catch a boat across the estuary. So I called them at 130 and the owner told me the last boat was leaving at 3. Problem. We were 12km from Opua where the boat launches. He instructed me that he could pick us up at the Beachfront holiday park about half way down. 

So instead of putting my feet up and resting dor the rest of the day I found myself walking very quickly down the road to catch this bus. 

The pain was gone, adrenaline kicked in and I was motoring. Made it there at 230 and the boat suprisingly has only been there for two minutes. Score

Went down to the main dock at Opua where there were 4'hikers waiting for a lift. The boat journey costs 100$ per group or 20$ pp so it was nice to have such a big group crossing. We crossed the Waiweira Estuary and landed on a grassy spot at the very start of it.

I wanted to camp right there but the general consensus was to push on 3-4 more hours to a hut in Russell Forest.

There was a 4km road walk until we entered the forest. The trail then turned to a creek. The actual trail was to follow this creek for 4.5km. I put on my other runners and we all pushed on to find this elusive hut. 

Getting lost only a few times, all our problems were solved when 4 gps units were needed to find the right way. 

Nearing dark at 715 I was the first to arrive to this 'hut'. Turns out it was just an open shelter, which was still nice when it started raining an hour later. We had a nice spot to make our dinners.

Today I hiked 38km! Long long day and knee is just uncomfortable now. Downhill is the worst. It seems running is the best solution.

Off to Whananaki tomorrow. 

Nov 18 Herekino Rainforest Ahipara-Takahue

I had previously heard that the next 3 'forests' were pretty damn tough after a day or more of rain. And when I say 'forest' like it says on the topo map, it's actually a 'rainforest'! Not just a typical forest with a nice path. Oh and here's the kicker, just two days before we started, the northern jungles got a 75mm dump of rain! Exciting!

The first two hours of the day were walking through Ahipara then along a road which wasn't very busy up a hill. Once we got to the top of the hill we saw the ominous 'Herekino Forest Track' sign. We took a good 30 minute break then took off into the jungle. The first few hours weren't all that bad, I was thinking that it would be like the West coast Trail back he but it wasn't. There were no knee deep pools of mud with no way of avoiding them. The terrain was very steep tho, and with the rainfall it was quite muddy and slippery. Luckily I had great goretex shoes with vibram bottoms. They were very grippy, and also with poles the hike was pretty straight forward. 

The DOC times are normally halved by me, I remember the first day. A section said it would take 6.5 hours and I did it in 2.5. This forest said 8.5 hours and I was definitely thinking after a couple of hours it may just take us that, or more. 

The ""path"" was sometimes 1 foot wide with foliage at your feet covering all the slippery roots and rocks, and at your head level there were ferns and trees slapping you in the face so you sometimes couldn't even see the foliage. It was rough, and dangerous, not seeing what you're stepping on. 

Near the top of the hill where there is a viewpoint to Kaitiaia, I passed a woman who was going very slowly. It turns out she is American and started the day at 7 while campin in the forearm she was taking her time. We all had lunch at the top of the hill in the only open spot in the whole bloody jungle. 

The hard part was done, now it's all downhill from here. And oh man was it downhill. Some patches were over 60% grade and with muddy conditions, just meant it to be a death trap. I took the lead after lunch and got to this one really steep section. For the first time today I was nervous that I might fall and get impaled by a banana palm or strangle by a vine. I got down by "Tarzaning it". Using trees and vines I got down ok. I was about to keep on down, probably 30minites until we're out, but Richard and Vicky were behind and quite slow descending. So I waited there for them and helped them down carrying their packs and telling them what to grab. We all made it out around 6pm. Vicky stayed up top and Richard and I continued down for another 5 km to a forestry track, found a level campsite and crashed.