Sunday 30 December 2012

Last Post for 2012

So far the best thing about this trip is the people we're meeting along the way and the shear friendliness and genuine support the kiwis are giving us. We hope to absorb this and learn from it making sure we keep ourselves open and not to cocoon ourselves when we get back to the so called real world. With walking you don't get to travel that fast so you have time for people and places. When plodding into a new settlement absorbing the intricacies of a slowly unfolding panorama you get to meet people at eye level. Conversations that ensue are cheery, relaxed and honest. We've just tackled the Pirongia traverse and a great way to finish for the year. Our mate is coming to pick up us and we're all heading to Raglan for New Year. Back on the track 2nd Jan.

Saturday 29 December 2012

Forget the running......leave that to Jezz Bragg

We tried running to Hamilton from Auckland as the track was essentially a river side track which in our mind's thought it would be easy going. Lesson #1 - never underestimate te araroa. We had head height gorse bushes to fight through, poorly marked tracks and overgrown vegetation ripping away at our shins. Anyway, with no desire left to run we plodded on to Rangiriri Tavern where the food was excellent and the locals were drunk. One of which invited us back to his place to crash for the night after hearing Emily at the bar enquiring about places to camp in the area. He moved empty boxes of Lion Brown beer, newspaper, tools, a chainsaw and a rifle out of the back seats of his ute so that we could take a ride out to his place! Back to his for a couple more Double Brown beers then out for the count. Very very nice of Jason to offer us a room for the night and the experience was fine but his place was a little rough to say the least. He's a tractor driver in the summer and a posom trapper in the winter. His girlfriend was really sweet. A dairy farmer by trade and she told us of how she's just survived a terrible car crash resulting in nerve damage, paralysed fingers, lazy eye, ruptured liver and kidneys etc etc. She was txting whilst driving! We got dropped off back at Rangiriri the next day and ventured on through huntly, where we had to leap over a fence from a heard of young bulls and then retreat from a field of 5 massive bulls shortly after, and up in a beautiful forest where we camped for the night. We cleared an ideal spot, then pitched the tent on a bed of punga leaves as we had left the air mattresses behind. It was pretty comfortable yet we were up at first light to tackle the remainder of this awesome forest. To be in a rainforest for a hazy, misty, atmospheric sunrise was a awesome experience. I'll take that over a coffee anyday. Anyway, i could keep typing away but should get up and start the day as we head to pirongia today. Speak soon

Tuesday 25 December 2012

Our camp for the night...

We realised that this post failed to publish so here goes another attempt - Just wanted to say a massive thank you to Carol and len! They let us sleep on there lawn after a big 25km day through dome forest. Then they provided tea and fish in bread crumbs and coldslaw. Then tea, toast and fruit for breakfast! Just amazing generosity and kindness.

20km to puhoi today and then seeing Sarah and Evan tonight, exciting!

Forget the packs, let's run!

<p>A mixture of being inspired by Jezz Bragg, of wanting to speed up the north island to get to the south, of the route from Mercer to Hamilton being rather flat and just for a change in tempo we've stripped our packs to the bear minimum so that we can run. Sarah and Evan are heading to Wellington for New Years eve and are fine to drop our packs off at a campground in Hamilton. Fast and light, think our future planning will include more of this if at all possible.</p>

Friday 21 December 2012

Scenic Drive, Waitakeres

Yesterday was the day me and em got a lift from our friends from puhoi and so was the day we left rajiv and Kelsey. Felt strange saying goodbye after 3 weeks of living and breathing together. After dramas of ratea, getting lost, happenings of the trail and much laughter great friendships have formed and memories made. Now it's time to put the feet up and rest for a few days. We've made it to Auckland and are currently sitting out in the waitakeres at a friends place out in the bush. It's a relaxing affair and have now planned the next step of the journey which was done over a block of blue cheese and a bottle of red earlier today. It feels great to be in a house and have comforts around us. However, the water tank is empty so haven't managed to shower today but we're kind of used to that now! 14,500 litres of water are arriving tomorrow so plenty of showers await. Our newly formed plan is to grab a train or lift out of Auckland to pukekohe where we will then begin a 3 day run to Hamilton along the te araroa track where our big heavy packs will be waiting for us at a campsite or something similar. Got to make a couple of phonecalls tomorrow about that. From there we trek up and down dale and plan to get to taumauranui for Tuesday 10th Jan and start the nearing 200km kayak to wanganui on 11th. We begin again the day after boxing day so plenty of time to fatten up on xmas food and drink.

Wednesday 19 December 2012

Dome Hill Tearooms

We all went to watch The Hobbit at the cinema's last night and were all nudging and smiling at each other when the scenes of the south island braided rivers and high tree lined snow capped mountains were shown. Me and Emily whispered to each other, "what the hell are we doing in the north island? let's get south!" I think Kelsey and Rajiv must of been thinking the same as today's pace was fast with efficient breaks, or maybe it was the pot of tea waiting at the end of this leg?

Saturday 15 December 2012

Lovin the kiwis!

It's been a while since our last post but not to worry, we're doing just fine. Thanks largely to the random acts of kindness from the genuine friendly kiwis we're meeting along the way. The people that we're meeting are fully supporting our adventure and are making it actually happen. We've had our water bottles filled up multiple times by locals, we've had rides in the back of utes, vans and cars to get us to the resupply city of whangarei, kind gestures have been offered for places for us to set up camp, we've even had a friendly guy in parua bay overhear our plight of needing to cross over the ocean between whangarei heads to marsden point who then proceeded to offer us a lift over in his boat! He went home, dropped off his groceries, came back with his boat and took us over and didn't want or expect anything in return!!! We gave him a bottle of wine as a gesture in return but it seemed dwarfed by the huge genuity of his. Our luck seems to be holding as even today we spoke to a woman in waipu cove who offered for us to stay at her place when she heard we will be free camping. Turns out she has a great house on top of a hill looking down into the bay and out to the ocean! I feel like we died in ratea forest and went to heaven especially when we walked through a nudist beach today!

Sunday 9 December 2012

The Gypsies

An awesome walk today. Lots of ascent, great rewarding views and bumping back into our te araroa buddies at the end of the day to finish it off nicely.

Saturday 8 December 2012

Good Morning Paihia!

We left kerikeri yesterday morning after a 10.30 check out........a bit of a lazy start to be honest but felt like the right thing to do. Poached eggs on toast and a steak and mushroom pie set me up well for the day and with us doing a one day trip meandering through the pine forest we were able to buy a sandwich for lunch for the day rather than firing up the stove for yet another dehydrated meal or eating another random concoction of food we have available - smoked processed cheese on ham bitesize crackers or peanut butter rolled up into a dry roti.......ummmmm........yummy!? The day was probably the best day of walking we've had yet.......sure footing with ability to look around other than at the feet the whole time, clearings and openings for 180 degree vistas and 28km covered in good time before catching up with te araroa trampers Ben and Dan for a beer. Were taking the day off in paihia and heading out on a boat around the Bay of Islands. Loving the east coast compared to west coast!

Thursday 6 December 2012

No longer a purist!

We were up and out early today after camping in a farmer's field by the river. Such an idyllic spot after the hardship of ratea. Our mission was to ascend up onto the ridge line above the forests, up into the hills and once at the highest point descend all the way back down to puketi campground hq. It didn't quite go like that as rightly or wrongly once at the highest point of the trek and taking a quick stop for lunch a forestry worker who we had spoken to earlier in the day offered us a lift.......so we took one look at each other and snatched at it. He took us all the way to Kerikeri!

Mangamuka haha!

After leaving mangamuka bridge we headed out into beautiful undulating typical northland countryside and got talking to a couple of friendly farmers who provided us with much needed drinking water. We've pitched up early to get over yesterday's 15km in 9 hours intense slog and prepare ourselves for tomorrow's 30km bypass route on forest ridge roads. We've opted for the bypass as the next forest has flooded and have heard reports of people swimming across some tracks to get across. This is a walk, not a duathlon!

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Out of Ratea! Hurray!

So we woke up this morning and listened to music as we packed up seeing as though the rain had subsided. This lifted us once again and we once again looked out to the day optimistically. Our plan was to try a track that wasn't actually the te araroa track but one that would hopefully release us from the jaws of this forest. Ironically, the track that we started on yesterday before turning around after realising our GPS position was no longer on the route we should be following. If it took us further into the forest at least we have a whole day to trek it and keep fingers crossed that it leads to a farmers field, a road, anything but more forest! Keeping a watchful eye on the GPS the track led us around the peak we were trying to go up and over last night and finally a clear view of fields and the way down opened up. A group hug was warranted and smiles from ear to ear, happy that ratea had released us.......now just demolished burgers and chips at a local dairy! That's the toughest parts over, more fun, less stress please!

Tackling Herekino!

After a final visit to kaitaia to post some stuff back to Auckland, grab some more gas and get more first aid supplies for blistered feet we got a lift to the start of Herekino saddle. It was raining, the forest looked dense and a little daunting but we were excited all the same for a change from the beach! First impressions last as the start was a very steep incline up into the misty peaks. Following was a slog of a walk that demanded concentration due to the technicality of the terrain and provided little or no lookouts. However, we passed through an impressive kauri forest and marvelled at the size and shear volume of them. Coming out of Herekino a panorama of beautiful NZ unfolded as we descended to find camp for the night. We're currently in the tent surrounded by the sounds of the forest. Night all x

Ratea is breaking us....

We woke in the middle of the night to the sound of howling winds, trees creaking and rain lashing down onto the tent. We were in a storm and even though the eye of the storm had passed over by first light, the monsoon type rain had not. We started the day with high spirits to get out of this forest but we are currently pitched up for another night in the forest after treacherous conditions. We've all fallen and slipped over numerous times, raj and emmy have snapped a walking pole each, tracks turned to bogs, swamps and rivers. Even with all the right gear we ended up drenched to the bone.....for hours as the rain just wouldn't stop. The straw that broke the camels back and resorted in us having to retreat and find camp just before nightfall was being 400m from the forest edge, losing the track and resorting to bushwhacking out of shear desperation only to admit defeat and try again tomorrow. Ratea seems to be playing with us and she shows no mercy.

Monday 3 December 2012

Bushwhacking!

Herekino and Ratea forests are talking points for te araroa trampers, the reason being - they're bloody hard!!! After our normal wake up routine we started off down a logging road that cuts through stunning woodland and links herekino to ratea. Once at the foot of ratea we commenced a ruthless climb up into the low lying clouds and beyond. The panorama that unfolded during the ascent was fantastic. We're currently 2kms shy of the summit hunkered down for the night after an exhausting day. Rajiv fell over numerous times, we lost the track and literally had to start bushwhacking - not cool - and all in all a tad stressful. However, it will take more than knee deep mud, near vertical inclines and non stop rain to break our spirits.....

Saturday 1 December 2012

Carb loading before heading into the forests!

This ones for you Chris desendre

This morning was so lovely, waking up in a bed and knowing that it was our first rest day in 6 days. Well deserved! So we're 100 km in and still feeling good, apart from my massive blister. Nice.

Teri  and raa, the lovely ladies who let us stay in their outhouse took us fishing out at ship wrecks bay this morning. 

Fishing with the locals, sweet!

Thinking about all his failed fishing expeditions to date (with Chris) meant that Philly had extra determination to succeed and bring home dinner.

This one was for you Chris!

But alas, it was not to be. Poor Philly!

Fishless he was forced to have a tin of soup bought at the supermarket yesterday. Ha ha ha.

We're  all supplied and ready to hit the infamous herekino forest tomorrow.  This is another big stretch, 6 to 7 days to the other side of the coast and our next rest day in paihia. We're all looking forward to the change in terrain.

Speak to you all from the trail!