tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52502646299509042712024-03-05T13:40:13.365-08:00Em & Phil Go WildAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-13093767777889168002013-06-14T08:15:00.001-07:002013-06-14T08:15:32.152-07:0010 days to go!<p>Hurray! We're getting close now! And to be honest were all wanting the glory and are a little impatient for the end. I've been finding the psychological effort required to keep pushing and walking everyday quite tough really. Normally with sporting events I've done before eg, marathons and coast to coast, the finish line comes into sight and it's possible to wind it up, pick up the pace and charge to the checkered flag but it's not possible with walking. The days are slow, static and finding the motivation to get out the plod like 1st gear is hard. My moods are shooting from one extreme to another. One minute happy, then so bored and annoyed, then cheesed off and whilst I keep trying to gain perspective and remind myself I'm doing this through choice and that it's a holiday I can't shift the feeling of wanting it all to be over. I guess 4 months of mostly arduous walking has started to take its toll. But we have got a celebration arranged for Bluff - in Lake Ohau I got talking to some guy at the campground who had just got back from the Cayman islands and after hearing about our adventure gave me a Cuban cigar for the finish line. Me and Rajiv are planning to go two's up on a bottle of scotch whiskey and Emily is getting a bottle of champagne. Following that it's back to the fine culinary experiences of Invercargill to go and have a curry together! 202kms left! C'Mon!</p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-40340098006940382872013-06-14T07:58:00.001-07:002013-06-14T07:58:21.206-07:00Day 100 and counting.....<p>March 5th marked Day 100 of being "on the trail" and in true Te Araroa style we cut loose by rationing ourselves half a packet of biscuits more than usual. Rock n Roll.....let the good times unfold! It would of been great to of packed some cheese and red wine but our packs were heavily loaded to support our 8 day stretch from Lake Coleridge to Tekapo village. A few minor adjustments to our food and we're the heaviest yet. Easily 20kg which makes 1000m ascents feel like somebody's trying to pull you back down the mountainside but we stay calm and cruisy and just plod along.</p>
<p>And "plodding" seems to be the theme of the day at the moment. Not too sure why but since the complete utter highs of Richmond Range and especially Nelson Lakes I've crashed a little. We're still surrounded by fairytale type scenery and the lifestyle is so great so cannot make complete sense of the emotions but will just keep motivated and ride it out. Maybe fish n chips in Tekapo (or Takeapoo as I affectionately call it) and a rest day will turn the corner.</p>
<p>So plodding 1000m to the first saddle took us right up from the Rakaia river up and over and slapped straight back into the Southern Alps hut hopping our way to Lake Emily. Towards the end of the 1st day the wind started to pick up slightly then just out of the blue about 25m in front of Emily a little dust devil sprang to life on the track where it wobbled and whisked together on the spot, then after a few seconds it waved and wobbled its way to our right and down the mountainside where it unravelled itself and swirled back to fresh air.</p>
<p>The end of the day saw us escape the oncoming rain and strong, gusting nor'wester as we flung open the door to Comyns Hut. My favourite hut so far. It was old and built in the 60's out of the most basic of materials - wriggly tin and a mechano kit girder type assembly. It was dark but the many candles gave the hut a warm, atmospheric glow and the large open fire place allowed for a heartwarming heat and focal point to the evening as the wind howled outside.</p>
<p>Climbing, ascending, sidling and repeat. This was the theme to getting to Lake Emily and once there we snapped a shot as towering above Lake Emily was Mt Taylor so it seemed fitting. Joining the 4WD track to leave and finish this section Melanie noticed a presumably empty box of beers most likely left by some litter bug but upon closer inspection saw that there were 5 beers in there! BOOM! Within seconds the lids were popped and the 5 of us were doing a cheers in a real remote part of NZ! Happy days! It was only 11am but whose wearing a watch these days? Oh yeah......what day is it?</p>
<p>So tomorrow we head up to Stag Saddle, the highest point of Te Araroa at 2000m altitude. We pushed out an 11 hour day yesterday to get ourselves to the hut at the front of the pass for tonight then on Emily's birthday we will summit and if the weather holds huge views across Lake Tekapo to NZ's highest mountain, Mt Cook/Aoraki should be on offer! Happy Birthday Emily X </p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-40669350758363622332013-02-28T19:28:00.002-08:002013-02-28T19:28:50.466-08:00Hut LifeSo, on the whole we've met really down to earth, friendly people at the huts and campsites but every now and again you bump into a couple of whacky and odd people! I'm sat opposite one now.......Me and Em are doing our best to avoid eye cotact by burying our heads in books or writing to not encourage conversation but this guy doesn't want to take the hint. He's told us about how he likes trains and "if you want to get him talking then to mention trains", how he enjoys the circular routes that Christchurch buses take. He's then told us about how he like jigsaws and if he was to do the one in the hut that is "about 15 hours completed" he would use a "colour strategy" to complete it! Oh no, he's moved and is now sitting around mine and Emily's table eating an apple! Please help.....Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-74860565068428247682013-02-28T19:18:00.002-08:002013-02-28T19:21:13.350-08:00Man Vs PossumWe got a successful hitch to HanmerSprings by a couple of entrepenural type kiwis, Nelson born, one of which has done a fair amount of hunting and tramping so could tell us more about the netx section of the walk. Can't beat a bit of local knowledge!<br />
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Once in Hanmer we went crazy at the sight of a supermarket and smashed close to $300 without even blinking an eyelid! There we go, all resupplied ready for the next 7day section to Arthurs Pass via Harper Pass and Goat Pass. But first things first, lets go across the road to the leafy park, sit by a picnic bench and devour an artisan bread loaf with a jar of nutella, a slab of butter and a jar of strawberry jam! Satisfaction was guaranteed.<br />
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We then called up the Alpine Adventure campground to check for prices and once theyoffered a courtesy pick-up wehad to say yes. Couldn't possibly walk for another 10 minutes! This place was great - hot showers, hot laundry (trust me, that's nothing short of amazing) and the people running the joint were chilled out and real friendly so we decided to stay for 2 nights. The first night we slept like logs but the 2nd night we had an unwelcomed visitor - a bloody possum! These area pest in NZ as back in the early 1920's (I think) they were introduced into the wild for the fur trade but their numbers exploded and with it they caused havoc by knawing at certain trees, eating birds eggs and in Waitomo we even had a possum kill a bird directly above our tent, the blood of which spilt all over our abode! We've had numerous sleepless nights because of possums and now, here was another potential, but not if I can help it. Once I heard it close to the tent and the walking poles disturbed, I lept out of the tent with the headtorch and shone it directly at the tree adjacent to the tent and there it was, startled, daring not to move (this is why you see so many dead at the side of the roads). First thing I noticed was that it was trying to get away with Emily's walking pole would you believe. Second thing I noticed was in my right hand I was holding my 4ft long wooden pole with the thin end grasped in my hand. I looked at the pole, looked at the possum and instinctively decided it was time for it to die!<br />
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Keeping the possum in a daze with the headtorch, I drew back the pole with the precision of an archer, got myself into the position of a baseball batsman and I was poised ready to strike. The heartbeat got stronger, I took a couple of breaths knowing I would have to strike it hard in the head to kill it. But here goes..........here's for all theinnocent birds you kill, here's to devastating the countryside, here's to keeping me up all night and for infecting animals with TB you dirty pest and with all my might I swung the pole and SMACK! I felt a sharp shockwave go up my arms but to my dismay realised I had hit the tree and not the possum, who scurried up the tree out of reach and stared back at me! "Bastard", I though, here goes another sleepless night......Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-56597671992105653112013-02-20T20:45:00.000-08:002013-02-20T20:46:24.422-08:00Nelson LakesI'm not too sure why but since abandoning the tablet and putting pen to paper all of a sudden my blog posts have become more thought out, descriptive and enjoyable to write. I'm currently sat on a grassy mound at the shore of Blue Lake in Nelson Lakes National Park and the scenery around me is nothing short of truly magnificent.<br />
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Since arriving into the South Island the hiking has just got better and better. The 4 day Queen Charlotte Track scored a 6/10. After tasting the rigours and adventurous side of hiking it was a little tame to be honest but great warm up after completing the North Island and taking 3 days off in Wellington. Next we moved onto the Richmond Range, an 8 day epic that was rugged, tough and hard work but the alpine views and surprisingly consistent weather made it a 9/10 but since entering the Nelson Lakes it's been demoted to a 8/10 making Nelson Lakes 9.5/10! It would only be better if there was a skimpily clad bar women in each hut at the end of the day serving ice cold beer.<br />
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Yesterday, when climbing up the Travers river the sentence that came out of my mouth when approaching Upper Travers hut for a lunch stop was "...wow, I think that this is the closest place to paradise I've ever seen..." Insanely beautiful and picturesque. The hut lay on a plateau at the foot of a steep mountain ridge that seemed to cocoon and dwarf the hut. Snaking its way along the flat plateau was a crystal clear river with slight and occasional rapids and all around us was knee high grass and tussock, green, brown and yellow in colour with wild flowers in abundance. With the cloudless blue sky and the full strength of the midday sun the colours intensified.<br />
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Today we have decided on a short day as we have enough food until or next resupply and Blue Lake is outstanding - what's the rush! It has been crowned the purest water in the world with visibility up to 80m and is sacred to the Maori. Sitting here, drinking from the lake, washing adjacent to it and being drawn to sit at the source for a few hours I can appreciate why.<br />
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After Blue Lake we pushed on to Boyle Village then hitched to Hanmer Springs to resupply before embarking on the next 5-7 day mission up and over Harper Pass to Arthurs Pass. The Nelson Lakes was a complete Te Araroa highlight for me and the South Island is just amazing! We are now over 2000km into the journey and have less than 1000km to go so are two-thirds of the way through already! Happy days!<br />
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Bye for now....<br />
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Phil and Em xAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-73686533227142877942013-02-13T19:23:00.002-08:002013-02-13T19:23:32.944-08:00Richmond Range!Following on from the Queen Charlotte track we grabbed a hitch from Havelock to Nelson to hang out with Casey and Fisk, a couple of friends from back in the days of Karaka. Also, we needed to resupply our food and such for the next section - a 9 day stint from Pelorus Bridge to the next town, St Arnaud. 110km of untouched wilderness. Was great to hang out with Casey and Fisk so we decided to take a rest day with them. We drank beers and ate home cooked food - delicious. When hitching back out to Pelorus Bridge we got dropped off by Casey on the State Highway about 100m in front of two other hitch hikers, one of whom wandered down to us for chats and let us know he's been waiting for 1hr15mins and still no ride. Then he resumed his position back up the road, shortly after a ute pulled up and Cory the driver said its fine for a ride so we hopped in and as we pull off see the other two hitch hikers still trying to get a ride. I lowered my window smiled smugly and waved to them as we went past. All I heard was "...but we've been waiting for over an hour..!." Oh well, was good to be back on the road.<br />
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As we approached the start of Pelorus River track we bumped back into Rajiv so linked back up to take on the next big section. It was beautiful walking along the river. Tall ascents and steep descents broken up by many stream and tributary crossings, one of which saw Emily turn into a ninja as she was faced with leaping a long distance to the safety of the other side of the gushing stream or swimming down through the rapids!!!<br />
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Rajiv has been nursing a bad ankle which swelled up to 1 1/2 times its size and after day 2 with compensating for his ankle his knee started hurting so we took an early unscheduled stop for the day at a hut by the side of two joining rivers with 2 sets of rapids. A gorgeous setting.<br />
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After day 3 me and Em decided to push on and leave Rajiv in the company of 2 other walkers who were doing the same trail but at a slower speed so that fingers crossed after a 4 hour, 900m ascent to the hut we would wake up in the morning to blue skies and sunshine as forecast. The forecast was right and today was the best days walking so far!<br />
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Many hours spent walking the exposed tops with clear skies and not a breath of wind with views that were so vast and expansive it was hard to know where to look. Nelson and the ocean with Kahurangi National Park one way, Blenheim and the North Island one way and then a fine array of tall peaks dancing down the interior of the south another! Absolutely stunning! We took a lunch break and just sat there gazing for an eternity. Such a magnificent vista that felt all the better for knowing we had got there under our own power. This is why we trained up in the north island for 2 months. To be here right now trail fit and experienced.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-26173315773518112342013-02-03T21:36:00.000-08:002013-02-03T21:37:05.407-08:00Tararuas Day 6There was alot of hype about the Tararua Ranges - very unpredictable weather patterns, steep accents and descents, difficult navigation, typical strong winds, exposed summits etc. It's reputation preceded it and as a result we planned accordingly. Advised to wait out storms in huts and to be prepared to turn back if weather deteriorated we made sure we had plenty of food, gas and other essentials.
Arriving into Palmerston North after grabbing a hitch with four Taranaki, early 20's metal heads in a beat up 4x4 we started plodding our way through the city centre weighed down by a pack that seemed to of adopted its own being, now with 8 days food packed in. A desperate attempt at a hitch saw no results, so a little bereft crossed over the main highway then all of a sudden a shout of "PHIL" came out of the sky. I thought I was imagining it until I looked up and saw my old friend and house mate Saad driving his car with his head out of the window waving!! He turned around and immediately took us under his wing. He took us straight out to dinner and wouldn't let us pay, then put us up in his house for the night and even took us to the start of the track the next morning. Wow! What a stroke of luck that was. So great to see Saad. He's such an honest, genuine, humble and caring person. He couldn't do enough for us and we were so grateful when it came to our goodbye.
After 2 days of forest we were out of water and no potable water for a few km's so we decided to do our first "cold call" at a fancy house out in the countryside. This led to being welcomed warmly and treated to tea, coffee, cheese and biscuits and Emily even scored a shower! I wanted one but felt too British and polite. Oh well! The couple we met, Gill and John, were both great people to chat with and share stories. John knew a bit about the route we were about to embark on and let us know a story about a CEO of Te Papa National Museum in Wellington whom recently perished up in the hills when adverse weather kicked in. Apparently unexperieced and unprepared equipment wise. Looking at our packs we were quite the opposite so reinforced our committment to the 4 day traverse of the range and the forecast was for fine weather! Sweet!
We camped out at the very start of the track in a beautiful setting by a river so that we could start first thing for the 1000m ascent to the first hut. Once warmed up we constantly attacked the climb getting much rewarded views and lunch at the first hut. Absolutely stunning scenery, not a breath of wind - gorgeous! Very much like the Lake District as in compact and concentrated ridges and range but taller peaks. The second part of the day was a 5km section that was meant to take 4 hours! Very tough going. Went past a memorial to a 'local' who had been caught out in a storm and perished. A reminder that conditions like today are temporary and must be savoured. I took a fall and snapped my pole. Was a little annoyed at myself as wasn't watching my footing and looking at my GPS at the time. All good though as have resorted to traditional means and have a fantastic birch branch that I have customised and named 'Totem'.
Emily took a spectacular fall also. I heard a yelp, asked if she was ok, she said no and to come and help her. As I raced back she was lying half on the ridge track and the other half was down the side of the ridge and she was holding onto a tree root. Her bag was wanting to roll down the hill so she was pinned into that position. I grabbed her shoulder straps and helped her to her feet. We were both laughing and carried on (what else do you do?!) Finally reaching the hut, we both remarked that this was probably the best days hiking on the whole trail so far and what lay in our view was the entire ridge line we would follow the next day, if the weather holds.....
Rajiv, Kelsey and Emily (Sweden) met up with us in the hut so was great to see each other and catch up. Reading the intentions book 5 days earlier 3 TeAraroa trampers were pinned in the hut for 3 days following disastourous weather and failed attempts to get to the next hut. We felt lucky to have seen the Tararua's unvelied and had shown her face in the best light. In the morning me and Em decided an early start was warranted to try and get views from the summit of our second big climb in time for the morning mist to of burnt off. Up at 6am the climb was up a ridge, almost vertical in parts with steep descents both sides. The morning cloud hung about the tops but was optimistic it would lift. At one point the sun broke through and spots of blue sky appeared but it wasn't to be. The cloud hung, swirled, thickened and blew around the tops all morning as we commenced our main ridge walk from the summitt to the next hut for lunch. After a hearty feed we followed the main ridge t our highest hut destination, Nichols Hut. Part way through the afternoon the cloud lifted and the sun shone through the forest. Although we were on another 5km/4 hour slog of a track I wanted to hurry up and break out above the bushline to soak up the vistas but hurrying on this track wasn't possible. A strong head for heights, leaps of faith and a solid portion of luck was needed to tackle this beast but the final, long, arduous, stength-draining ascent was very much worth it as once above the bushline a full 360 degree view of the interior and intricacies of the entire range sat their suspended in time. Out of breath, sweat pouring off the face with legs burning it was truly a fantastic moment. And looking down the face of one mountain revealed our accomodation for the night. It was a room with a view for sure!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-79512018859503033842013-01-16T12:55:00.001-08:002013-01-16T12:55:08.245-08:00WRC part III<p>Today was the best day for being out on the water yet, despite the morning rain and afternoon showers. Actually, this place looks and feels more at home when it rains. The heavy rain clouds held up and suspended in the hilltops of the dense impenetrable rainforest with the lichen, moss covered cliffs falling straight into the rain drop covered river all seem to blend together effortlessly in the wet. The colours become more vivid and the scenery comes alive with cascading waterfalls and gushing side streams. Anyway, tried my best to describe it. The effort of paddling the beast of a canoe eased up today and managed to find a rhythm that was sustainable for all of the day bar the last hour which again became a bit of a slog but we're currently pitched with a view. Check out the photo. Makes the days efforts worthwhile. Day 4 over, 3 more to go. Cheers </p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xrI5LprZLCzYoHKTbfeU75QkMEiQ7SqpuHpBGGc_SWtnF1_pPrUB4M4e5vVHlp_Oy5CUvu9atDdLBskoxuBP0ULjHdisop7FrQYPfy3JrLZOvT2_75zWWZ1-P_ROqsZdJaSrACMCAaU/s1600/1358145397431.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xrI5LprZLCzYoHKTbfeU75QkMEiQ7SqpuHpBGGc_SWtnF1_pPrUB4M4e5vVHlp_Oy5CUvu9atDdLBskoxuBP0ULjHdisop7FrQYPfy3JrLZOvT2_75zWWZ1-P_ROqsZdJaSrACMCAaU/s640/1358145397431.jpg' /> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-64639313912030420582013-01-16T12:54:00.001-08:002013-01-16T12:54:13.350-08:00WRC continued...<p>We're at the end of the third day on the river and have cracked open a bottle of merlot and set up a camp fire together. Out on the river the level is low and so the flow is slow with more distance between the rapids but it's still great to be outside all day following a forever changing horizon. To be fair, the scenery has got more dramatic as the river narrows and the embankments either side of us rear up as cliffs giving a canyon feel. However, it is pretty hard to keep motivated at times when paddling a whale of a canoe that seems to push through the water as opposed to cut or slice but we're making progress and are 103km into the journey. Tomorrow we'll visit the Bridge to Nowhere and carry on to Ngaporo to complete a 36km day. Adios people! Goodnight.</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGhQutZ69US2pKWLEPRoR0I2IXT5zzN0iQnoh5xp89dWIg2toYzo5NL3Thp1nctE6Ls6vyNxZmLz_7JBRmRbNwB5SHgmAs1LZkRwf3jc1j24fGO4F0vg7r1W1SoMriVayMDDPEVIy2P8/s1600/1358055176184.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGhQutZ69US2pKWLEPRoR0I2IXT5zzN0iQnoh5xp89dWIg2toYzo5NL3Thp1nctE6Ls6vyNxZmLz_7JBRmRbNwB5SHgmAs1LZkRwf3jc1j24fGO4F0vg7r1W1SoMriVayMDDPEVIy2P8/s640/1358055176184.jpg' /> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-32766998426145286942013-01-16T12:53:00.001-08:002013-01-16T12:53:26.423-08:00Wanganui River Paddle <p>After an unscheduled 3 day rest in Taumaranui, due to having to book the river trip 2 weeks in advance and being slightly ahead of schedule, we were back on our way today. We traded in our backpacks, walking poles and boots for waterproof storage barrels, paddles and a  canadian style open canoe! Having to have to prebook campsites along the river in advance we set off at 11.30am knowing our first stretch of river was to be 35km. After doing a couple of turns to get used to the canoe and realise how docile yet powerful the beast was we were straight into our first set of rapids. It's primarily a grade 1 river so nothing too crazy but enough to get the adrenaline gland oozing and after hitting standing waves and bouncing of a rock garden we realised the canoe is also bomb proof! About 20 sets of sizeable rapids followed over the 35km. A couple of which were quite hard to read and required portage when we run aground. My favourite one being the standing wave that threw the top of the canoe up into the air and then crashed back down completely drenching only Emily! However, wasn't laughing for too long as on another rapid a whole torrent of water hit us from the side shocking and saturating me at the same time. A fun day was had. Another 6 more to go..........if we make it!</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlJAVDEwySWafWTaBXGpByETMkyN4lbyBMSagd0Ifv1i_OFG23ssF53KC8-x68q2K_fuSdCQw_Cjhz4HPZZzAAXo33odnp8lvfYs7Zn0Ifcz3eNYS0K-9P7FugJ5PNxdbLhd11xNqEcw/s1600/1357882286582.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlJAVDEwySWafWTaBXGpByETMkyN4lbyBMSagd0Ifv1i_OFG23ssF53KC8-x68q2K_fuSdCQw_Cjhz4HPZZzAAXo33odnp8lvfYs7Zn0Ifcz3eNYS0K-9P7FugJ5PNxdbLhd11xNqEcw/s640/1357882286582.jpg' /> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-45994087228445552452013-01-08T00:50:00.001-08:002013-01-08T18:47:26.574-08:00Thinking of you two Frenchies!<p>Hey Banette & Chris, hope you guys are all good and loving living it up! Can't wait to see you both in the South West! Might stick around for a while and get down to Grand Plage, as we all know, that's where the surf's at ;)</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccKokY0GCCFLtXCUYR-LiffJd_OU937ey14Mn75sfB4l3_VuJvqZotUwJwD2kV9Pz4MTDVs8eaHLklkOiSDqgm8hL8oUPRyoRlvDDxqX-N_DZkRiiZqbtT8OyAfWKTzRHh_803r2N42g/s1600/1357635012412.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccKokY0GCCFLtXCUYR-LiffJd_OU937ey14Mn75sfB4l3_VuJvqZotUwJwD2kV9Pz4MTDVs8eaHLklkOiSDqgm8hL8oUPRyoRlvDDxqX-N_DZkRiiZqbtT8OyAfWKTzRHh_803r2N42g/s640/1357635012412.jpg' /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZNNwz7fDjFu1WvvcPdEouYTyynROjHYW23ubeTx3YPekMYCSa_0nNlDSteE1xxsUb1Mc_6IonaGa6R2rRLr7ua30vz7afd9WycRgHO2xhLIbNguEoJUfmCNoNdCC1fhDluOlxe7lSUI/s1600/1357699308876.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZNNwz7fDjFu1WvvcPdEouYTyynROjHYW23ubeTx3YPekMYCSa_0nNlDSteE1xxsUb1Mc_6IonaGa6R2rRLr7ua30vz7afd9WycRgHO2xhLIbNguEoJUfmCNoNdCC1fhDluOlxe7lSUI/s640/1357699308876.jpg' /> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com2Manunui Domain, Manunui-38.88267 175.3104tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-20141981339123355132013-01-08T00:49:00.003-08:002013-01-08T14:39:19.656-08:00Te Araroans!<p>The blog has been a little slack recently, more like, I've been a little slack with the blog recently. I've not really been keeping on top of getting the tablet charged up. Anyway, yesterday we hit the 1000km marker which means were officially 1/3 of the way through the course! We're resting up in Taumauranui for a couple of days before setting off on the Canadian style open canoes down the wanganui river. Last night we checked into the local camp ground and stumbled across more of these strange long distance walkers (I've come to the decision were more like glorified tramps).</p>
<p>From left to right:</p>
<p>Emily, Kelsey, Will (UK), Rajiv, Emily, Me, Dean (NZ), Cisco (US)</p>
<p>Others in town but not in the photo:</p>
<p>Roadrunner (US), Mel, Sezz, Luigi (NZ), Sam (NZ)</p>
<p>That's 13 of us! We've just left the elf kingdom, now the fellowship continues on to wanganui!</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wpdtgujMWq0h0TNJl9qXMZUelDkNmmYXokTLFrRsq9kVYIGNPH0UfOPz9gRg91qQL63whvbnJx4pbZrJz2MYtTdYFessPV_ACcYqifptz-7rDYoNkvzC0d1_2uhSIzSj2dIM5Oi3g8c/s1600/1357633522361.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wpdtgujMWq0h0TNJl9qXMZUelDkNmmYXokTLFrRsq9kVYIGNPH0UfOPz9gRg91qQL63whvbnJx4pbZrJz2MYtTdYFessPV_ACcYqifptz-7rDYoNkvzC0d1_2uhSIzSj2dIM5Oi3g8c/s640/1357633522361.jpg' /> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-86301030704925197342013-01-02T18:41:00.001-08:002013-01-08T14:38:54.815-08:00Think wisely before buying Salomon!<p>Ok, so it's a little naieve to think that one pair of boots will make the entire distance but after only 800km my no longer waterproof boots have split. Buying boots was a complete minefield with so many options available so i put my trust in a global brand after having owned a pair of their trail runners before. For the outer material to have split and having no foot ailments or injuries i automatically assume it's the fault of the design/material of the boot and so expect some help from Salomon. However, this has only bred disappointment after Salomon US put me in touch with Salomon OZ who put me in touch with Salomon UK just to find out that Salomon don't have a dedicated customer service team and so cannot help me! They only deal with shops and not the end user so I'm expected to send my boots back to gooutdoors in the UK and then wait for up to 4 weeks for my case to be assessed and if they provide new boots they'll post some back out to me! That's 6-8 weeks downtime! What do i do? Stop the adventure because of faulty boots? Of course not, I'll carry on walking and risk not being able to get refund because of their archaic business strategy. Think wisely before buying Salomon unless you do all of your adventures close to the shop where you buy their equipment from. Other global outdoor brands have moved with the times and realise that being flexible and looking after the customer is of paramount importance so with that in mind, goodbye Salomon you have lost a valued customer and i will do my utmost to inform others of your weaknesses.</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUCXWUtEgmTfTxmVg_H-hTwROSaqVLoyPQnoszYtlHeGl6-eWOnUUVmJ37N2fdcCeZ7mVG3IsEb79p6msRDUGmAByZXiPMEeXP1BbQXjyr_isfpOEYCOjgFxlNjOgn_7v1F_iddOv9Zr4/s1600/1357180802346.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUCXWUtEgmTfTxmVg_H-hTwROSaqVLoyPQnoszYtlHeGl6-eWOnUUVmJ37N2fdcCeZ7mVG3IsEb79p6msRDUGmAByZXiPMEeXP1BbQXjyr_isfpOEYCOjgFxlNjOgn_7v1F_iddOv9Zr4/s640/1357180802346.jpg' /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChzZai4L3HKFzAGD5Y58tymseSHm_253jycOLgZMXajerDLukjBNFqXnl8ezPct3LPaMHzncqhgrRLYegS_UinnHTAWHKYBVsLDZBbZA-UFVpl6jeaZoTB3JyAXjth4q4Pb3ie6-G5sg/s1600/1357180843585.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChzZai4L3HKFzAGD5Y58tymseSHm_253jycOLgZMXajerDLukjBNFqXnl8ezPct3LPaMHzncqhgrRLYegS_UinnHTAWHKYBVsLDZBbZA-UFVpl6jeaZoTB3JyAXjth4q4Pb3ie6-G5sg/s640/1357180843585.jpg' /> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com0Taumarunui, Taumarunui-38.883247 175.26071tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-32746109989941896262013-01-02T17:51:00.001-08:002013-01-02T18:03:37.243-08:00Now that I've got your attention!<p><a href="http://www.everydayhero.co.nz/philip_taylor">http://www.everydayhero.co.nz/philip_taylor</a></p>
<p>With so much effort going into our walk, me and Emily want other people to benefit so we're aiming to raise $1500 (only a mere 770GBP)  by the time we get to Bluff in April for the charity that Emily used to work for, Childfund.</p>
<p>To try and encourage donations, so you can all point and laugh, I'll continue to grow my beard as long as donations keep rolling in. </p>
<p>So please, give a little or give alot, but give something.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.everydayhero.co.nz/philip_taylor">http://www.everydayhero.co.nz/philip_taylor</a></p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>Phil & Emily</p>
<p>X</p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-12807151561280387482012-12-30T13:05:00.001-08:002012-12-30T20:00:43.254-08:00Last Post for 2012<p>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.</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjaF67t1P_CPyyU9WNgyjBAC9MBiP_RSQ5_VYb3MOtvSX8id1i8RTxU4kYcZd6y23wfaE-zmry2FXUTdIW7DTrvr6r0tk6b2TT5lYuwMqueFnG8MxmMsTVhSczEk0RcrVa3jWfv34rIU/s1600/1356901428357.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjaF67t1P_CPyyU9WNgyjBAC9MBiP_RSQ5_VYb3MOtvSX8id1i8RTxU4kYcZd6y23wfaE-zmry2FXUTdIW7DTrvr6r0tk6b2TT5lYuwMqueFnG8MxmMsTVhSczEk0RcrVa3jWfv34rIU/s640/1356901428357.jpg' /> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-19754558051337009172012-12-29T10:18:00.001-08:002012-12-29T10:20:15.265-08:00Forget the running......leave that to Jezz Bragg <p>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 </p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-68806766458036609052012-12-25T23:24:00.001-08:002012-12-25T23:27:06.944-08:00Our camp for the night...<p>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 <u>there</u> 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.</p>
<p>20km to puhoi today and then seeing Sarah and Evan tonight, exciting! </p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUtH0QiJWcaA03-J9MCFTbCcJPl8m6ZmcSh-lVqhz2Ly2J7mrnUpZT1yo3y1IwUDUIp1kY7TivIJ06Qq8k1AOi1IGnaSMNOaJwI9S9OKoGgPsbO56S1OZKUkBFislDi_3lBHHEjyRcus/s1600/1356028781815.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUtH0QiJWcaA03-J9MCFTbCcJPl8m6ZmcSh-lVqhz2Ly2J7mrnUpZT1yo3y1IwUDUIp1kY7TivIJ06Qq8k1AOi1IGnaSMNOaJwI9S9OKoGgPsbO56S1OZKUkBFislDi_3lBHHEjyRcus/s640/1356028781815.jpg' /> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-41563828052920698712012-12-25T23:23:00.001-08:002012-12-26T11:16:20.561-08:00Forget the packs, let's run!<p><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></p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzshhDSpqDCBVpJHol36ZztkpfE0JLL1a9BqmyK7KPAOkxwPgh9vCH14ClH-dS4qiq1BjStAnWe-R6Ce3q_8UqdHzesSw9qFdheT4N95j_QUMdHXCjgUktmFNh3m3YpAdAgB8h6Uu2wes/s1600/1356506574988.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzshhDSpqDCBVpJHol36ZztkpfE0JLL1a9BqmyK7KPAOkxwPgh9vCH14ClH-dS4qiq1BjStAnWe-R6Ce3q_8UqdHzesSw9qFdheT4N95j_QUMdHXCjgUktmFNh3m3YpAdAgB8h6Uu2wes/s640/1356506574988.jpg' /> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com1Mt Albert, Mt Albert-36.8841 174.71559tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-28052764239413642822012-12-21T21:11:00.001-08:002012-12-21T21:11:18.213-08:00Scenic Drive, Waitakeres <p>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.</p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com2Henderson Valley, Henderson Valley-36.897022 174.596tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-22853368806822578982012-12-19T19:01:00.001-08:002012-12-19T19:01:08.071-08:00Dome Hill Tearooms<p>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?</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY-dvSxYPyXqB3qGDhJytdywduF048C6u4At2v4UI-ub-M3YAmX8a4VQtNegaAypS1AO1y2fZlr1ZqSuY6dHUgd_CuNWj6anftWCKXAPrRE1FwFBu-ZD9ToeeAjsqZlS0rkpEu7VUtGKo/s1600/1355971784609.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY-dvSxYPyXqB3qGDhJytdywduF048C6u4At2v4UI-ub-M3YAmX8a4VQtNegaAypS1AO1y2fZlr1ZqSuY6dHUgd_CuNWj6anftWCKXAPrRE1FwFBu-ZD9ToeeAjsqZlS0rkpEu7VUtGKo/s640/1355971784609.jpg' /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_z7Mxi-4rNWDyEfI5A-wlp_aKIEQ9dkqJiXZd7O2kMoC_VoR1SrREclKBPNHmEtx2T-xWbXSVNmLlk7uqp3ETd2MI7XtJ7IlinRDHpCOH0Q6Pc5fqqmJ39O8GD0c6jDEl2oyNhZuZzA/s1600/1355971811525.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_z7Mxi-4rNWDyEfI5A-wlp_aKIEQ9dkqJiXZd7O2kMoC_VoR1SrREclKBPNHmEtx2T-xWbXSVNmLlk7uqp3ETd2MI7XtJ7IlinRDHpCOH0Q6Pc5fqqmJ39O8GD0c6jDEl2oyNhZuZzA/s640/1355971811525.jpg' /> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com0Wellsford, Wellsford-36.293972 174.52391tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-63403655093020603042012-12-15T21:16:00.001-08:002012-12-15T21:16:30.616-08:00Lovin the kiwis!<p>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!</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc1mB_OuypSoog47qpEoMjQxn9vU1BvohTO-4CscE6pi03Z5XTlt1H2RvnzEqA99VntNheXiQm5U7odsNFbYrCfMOaeY3AiNPOx7p9SiKpc6rgIqPy4g-QsnjmXbZBwuWXQ_LJ8KH0hPY/s1600/1355634733003.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc1mB_OuypSoog47qpEoMjQxn9vU1BvohTO-4CscE6pi03Z5XTlt1H2RvnzEqA99VntNheXiQm5U7odsNFbYrCfMOaeY3AiNPOx7p9SiKpc6rgIqPy4g-QsnjmXbZBwuWXQ_LJ8KH0hPY/s640/1355634733003.jpg' /> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com2Waipu, Waipu-35.98473 174.44714tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-53601830949632918782012-12-09T20:47:00.001-08:002012-12-10T00:19:55.822-08:00The Gypsies <p>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.</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEy8SITN0PBSE06xdxCLjjrJgaA1plV5nHK773w2PG1mz1TzITnnBKoF8TgvY4l9eeHks4GYt7Eyx32VtK9xfytKYYzMvsQxL80y85HH68QkyNhf6LDgCcE74Z3QMipl1Sc4ys1kA2_b0/s1600/1355114681188.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEy8SITN0PBSE06xdxCLjjrJgaA1plV5nHK773w2PG1mz1TzITnnBKoF8TgvY4l9eeHks4GYt7Eyx32VtK9xfytKYYzMvsQxL80y85HH68QkyNhf6LDgCcE74Z3QMipl1Sc4ys1kA2_b0/s640/1355114681188.jpg' /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh27h2yT6MqYA9GrZmT1Mu6Vr0nXaGvKLmfwJ0zj71UL8H441kS7d7W6WYWNUoWdinkTUrBnYN4rtyF7guMcmUbtu2-F3_SGrJlyUmuUqahBypcVuF0LfZF029q37gjFo-p4Wkyn7REB0/s1600/1355106873409.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh27h2yT6MqYA9GrZmT1Mu6Vr0nXaGvKLmfwJ0zj71UL8H441kS7d7W6WYWNUoWdinkTUrBnYN4rtyF7guMcmUbtu2-F3_SGrJlyUmuUqahBypcVuF0LfZF029q37gjFo-p4Wkyn7REB0/s640/1355106873409.jpg' /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0uY5YcLAWh7EgdR9gEsXyPt0YCPZAkVeL6G7vjNSfFOGnPyRiVTqzwxEQvYURL9nEbpGUckxxF_H_5jKHIK4YHhBndNDiA_XQlQcG3M36qpxdchhfQJmL9xTBlTNx7e3xS0x5QbM5-JU/s1600/1355114732440.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0uY5YcLAWh7EgdR9gEsXyPt0YCPZAkVeL6G7vjNSfFOGnPyRiVTqzwxEQvYURL9nEbpGUckxxF_H_5jKHIK4YHhBndNDiA_XQlQcG3M36qpxdchhfQJmL9xTBlTNx7e3xS0x5QbM5-JU/s640/1355114732440.jpg' /> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com1Oakura, Oakura-35.391197 174.344tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-32318723268900823432012-12-08T10:37:00.001-08:002012-12-08T10:37:06.903-08:00Good Morning Paihia!<p>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!</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofqTvyXEhF_ywSnIibNrBrUuiWrMp_oQrmMgSLRLhxnghqPvYhchJqTKPtmcuf0nm0DiiaPFCaV24xFAiJJx__7Pr8kuV08tWtvhRgniVi9swrlAIAoR30HpBzsqvjL-0-lhyphenhyphenqEZdAgo/s1600/1354990477194.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofqTvyXEhF_ywSnIibNrBrUuiWrMp_oQrmMgSLRLhxnghqPvYhchJqTKPtmcuf0nm0DiiaPFCaV24xFAiJJx__7Pr8kuV08tWtvhRgniVi9swrlAIAoR30HpBzsqvjL-0-lhyphenhyphenqEZdAgo/s640/1354990477194.jpg' /> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com0North Island, null-37.896545 175.60237tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-67166994871350534382012-12-06T17:46:00.001-08:002012-12-06T17:47:08.273-08:00No longer a purist!<p>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!</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5tteJi13wYdH-rKrpVJhQzebOq5IUUkPxN19cKKq4p96F9PPPlRfpD01rprWd04h10oNvNfiud64s300NK8CKxPfuYHOMqGLDKO8119xXdOe6R3Olv6LETtR6k41md_ZrMcqHdjo5yY/s1600/1354844519059.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5tteJi13wYdH-rKrpVJhQzebOq5IUUkPxN19cKKq4p96F9PPPlRfpD01rprWd04h10oNvNfiud64s300NK8CKxPfuYHOMqGLDKO8119xXdOe6R3Olv6LETtR6k41md_ZrMcqHdjo5yY/s640/1354844519059.jpg' /> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5250264629950904271.post-65575036610353272552012-12-06T17:30:00.001-08:002012-12-06T17:30:01.688-08:00Mangamuka haha!<p>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!</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFxtmNHCJKrLXLNTQSQ8pga2R3KDx9IXncdGulssBHzCnjC_ZYI4ZMgTojg4wzW7NFb3WYL-4RkSALRjSnC5rAqy8BkoUDB0E_m0hlTRJ48V0SxPGR5INTTI0T_JC3pPeKeIwSeRDiaQ/s1600/1354769223254.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFxtmNHCJKrLXLNTQSQ8pga2R3KDx9IXncdGulssBHzCnjC_ZYI4ZMgTojg4wzW7NFb3WYL-4RkSALRjSnC5rAqy8BkoUDB0E_m0hlTRJ48V0SxPGR5INTTI0T_JC3pPeKeIwSeRDiaQ/s640/1354769223254.jpg' /> </a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422060198327664568noreply@blogger.com0