(200-400km) Over the hills and far away

Towards Kerikeri, across meadows and farmland. Sheep's and Turkey and bulls. Shoes off I feel like Frodo in Lord of the rings, when I walk barefoot through a landscape that looks like the shire.

Paihia. Finally back at the sea. Sun is strong. My umbrella helps to prevent me getting  sunburned. I dig some Tua Tua shellfish from the beach for dinner. Peanut butter into zip locks. Ready to leave town.

The next 13 km are leading along the bay. The car-ferry is transferring us to the other side onto a peninsula for just one dollar. Some locals offer to stay in their caravan.

Russel forest. River's are the highway in the jungle. However 3km walking upstream take time.

Moreport track. Lot's of work going on to bring the trail in good condition. Occasionally there's even gravel put into the mud pits. Paradoxically everything humans do to the ground to build better roads makes it worse to somebody, who is walking barefoot. The mud feels alright. Feet keep getting wet anyway.

Tane Moana Forest. I wake up to a bird singing the intro of Game of Thrones -  almost at least. Giant Kauri tree makes me feel small. Can't get to the other side of the river at Ngunguru. So I stay here and meet Vinc the Dutch Hiker while fishing. Friendly locals let us camp in their garden. The town is well aware of us hikers and a lot of trailmagic is happening.

Instead of crossing the river, we take the road around. Wanted to move on, but then go fishing with Vinc. Four hours later we end up with two kawai, a pheasant, five different herbs, lettuce, an orange, an apple and a citron - all found on the way. The dutch guy is a chef. Lovely dinner with five different courses. Insane! Everything just falls into place! The fellows hitchhiking the road sections miss out a lot!

Pataua estuary: River melts into sea and I have to walk through it. Low tide at sunrise makes me start early. More hills, a beach and then crossing to Marsden point by boat. Late and sunburned I arrive in Ruakaka. Holes in the socks, holes in the shoes. All good, no hole in the pocket!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bonus Level: Stewart Island

Image
Ferry at Bluff: Reunion with the Scotsman Kieran. We met near Wanaka. Meet two German girls from my town. Good to hear that dialect. Sea is rough. Waves crash the window. Too rough for my stomach. Stewart island is love at first sight. Fish some spotties for dinner. Cut them with a shell fragment. Camp off trail beyond Port William. Hear a Kiwi at night. Awake with the birds: Tuis and Kererus, Fantails and some new sounds. Is it the Kokako, which brings 10000$ to the one that can prove its existence? Catch a leather jacket and a wrasse for lunch. Shellfish as bait. Sit at Bungaree hut and stare at the waves. Oystercatchers and seagulls. Traces of deers and sealions. Camp in the forest. Wake up two times by what seems to be the sound of a small biped - as close as a meter. Can't see a thing. The sky pitch black as the forest floor. Later spot three deers in-between trees, gazing at me. Catch a bluecod and an even bigger wrasse near Christmas hut. Find a wreckage. Remove a thin
Read more

(1800 - 2000km) I'm on a plane

Image
Out of Queen Charlotte track. Sun rising fast in the bays. Cormoran nesting close to the water. Pukeko on the meadows. No clouds, no shade. Umbrella saves me until Havelock. Resupply, WiFi, siesta. Owards alone. Easy gravel road to Pelorus Bridge. Walk into the sunset, camp in the dark forest. Middy Creek Hut. Gravel, gravel - barefoot devil. Into the forest before it's too hot. Tramping track. Wash&bath in the river. Shady beech forest, cold streams. Sweat anyway. Goats around the hut. Hacket Hut. Wake up at 5am. Full moon guides me until sun takes over. Easy climb in the cold morning. Rocks hut: Martin the Australian - still in his sleeping bag - is quite surprised, when I enter at 7:30 am. Breakfast together. Trees, no trees, trees. Rest at a little creek. Old Man Hut. Alone. Across the river, along the river. Rough big boulders. Starveal peak. Spear grass is spiky. Epic view of awesomeness: Tasman Bay, woods and mountains and mountains and woods. 14 hours of sunligh
Read more

(2000-2200) Misty Mountains

Image
Are you prepared for Travers Saddle? 500m uphill through speargrass. Cold, chilly wind. Patches of snow where I cross at altitude 1800! Thousand selfies later: descend into misty beech forest. South Island Robin eating the sandflies around me. West Sabine Hut at altitude 700. Sabine river is white. Blue lake is blue. Beautiful beyond comparison. Push onwards to Waiau Pass because of bad weather. Lake Constance. Extremely steep climb on sharp edged loose rocks. Walk on snow at altitude 1900. Steep descend on solid rock. Can barely see the vertical poles. Join a friendly Kiwi camping at Waiau river. He already has a campfire going. Sportiest day I had so far. Annes Hut. Walking through meadows along the Waiau river. It's like Rohan in Lord of the rings. Workers at a new hut invite me for smoko (tea break). Clouds of sandflies. Grass, grass grass, dead dragonfly. Metzli and Alex from Mexico, Camille from France and Enrico from Italy. Magdalene Hut. Along the valley. Meadows, swa
Read more