The Backcountry hiker

Saturday 10th of June 2023

• Drive time from Christchurch – 2 – 2.5 hours.
• Walking time – 2-3 hours.
• Weather – Cold with blue skies.
• Hikers – Myself, Antonia, Barry & Nick.

It is another excellent weather weekend for a hike so I messaged a few of my hiking buddies to see who was interested in joining Antonia & I. Barry & Nick reached out to say that they were keen.

We planned to leave our house at 8:30am on Saturday, Nick was picking Barry up on the way & they got here slightly earlier.

We were all packed and in the vehicle before our scheduled departure. Stopping at BP Ravenswood for a coffee on the way. We drove to Culverdan & stopped at the bakery for breakfast & to grab a roll for lunch.

Arriving at Lewis pass car park just on 11am we could see at least another 15+ hikers (adults and children) getting ready to start walking. After Barry & I asked where they were heading (so we could avoid the masses) they told us that they would get to Cannabal gorge hut & see how they go. Leaving us with an unclear decision on what we are doing.

We started off just after 11am, walking initially on boardwalk & then descending through the Beech forest on a well graded track to the Cannabal gorge swing bridge. At this point the big group of 15 & two other ladies were just behind us.

After the bridge it was a gentle climb up to gain 100 metres before reaching the viewing area. The rest of the track was undulating from here crossing numerous slips & side creeks through permafrost before reaching the next swing bridge 600 metres shy of Cannabal gorge hut.

We then had a short sharp climb up through the beech forest before arriving into the clearing where the hut was in plain site. We could see the two ladies who passed us earlier sitting there having a late lunch. We also took this opportunity to have our lunch.

We then decided that since it looked like a nice spot to camp down by the river in front of the hut that we would. We set up camp, cut & gathered firewood from the dead trees down in the river (I had my electric chainsaw) & by 3pm after the sun had lowered enough for our spot to be in the shade we seen frost forming on our tents & gear!

It was a cold afternoon & evening, I managed to talk Antonia into claiming a bed in the hut & I would sleep in the tent alone, but also join the other 2 in tenting outside. We were all in bed by 7:30pm after hanging out around the fire trying to maintain warmth.

It was a long & cold night! I felt like I woke every hour from my cocoon with numb toes & cold knees. Ice had formed inside the tent & even on the outside of my sleeping bag. I would periodically check the temperature & it was generally around -5 to -6 degrees Celsius!

Once my alarm went off at 7am I got up & out of the tent glad that I had survived the night without it being too miserable.

I had left our cooking gear out on the picnic table overnight & it had formed ice crystals. Antonia joined me not long after from the hut & we had a coffee & breakfast before packing up & walking by 9am.

It was a cold walk out & it took until around 11am before the temperature had reached a toasty 0 degrees. We were at the car around midday & set back off towards Christchurch.

It was the coldest night in a tent I have experienced! What an adventure & definitely a memorable one at that. I’m actually looking forward to the next winter camping trip!

• Te Araroa kilometres done: 810.4km
• Official kms: 25km
• Garmin kms: 26.10km
• Total time: 7.27
• Calories burned: 3086
• Body battery: 7/10
• Accommodation: tenting at campsite
• Tent nights tally: 8

Up before the alarm again this morning. I’m excited there is only 4 days to go before Christmas break & seeing Antonia. My body is also looking forward to having a few days off. I also know tomorrow is going to be a tough & long day, that has me a bit worried.

We said our goodbyes to Eve & the kids, Sam drove us back to our start point just before Whatawhata. It’s been amazing catching up & the food was outstanding! Thanks Sam & Eve!

We started off walking along road turning left at Whatawhata before a few kilometres of river track through farm. This was quite overgrown & muddy & had a lot of stiles that had to be crossed. I was glad to get back up onto the road after this!

We had about 8km of road walking that climbed up a few hundred metres before we started a farm track, which had amazing views in all directions. Oh & we reached the 800km point on our journey!

Gokul & I stopped for lunch around 12.30 just in the shade of the trees, listening to thunder in the distance, but no rain where we were.

Following lunch it was a steep descent down to meet a road again, which we would walk for over 3km.

The last 2.6km was a nice maintained 4wd track following the river to the Kaniwhaniwha campsite.

We arrived just before 3.30pm & set up & had a fairly early dinner around 5pm. But this was going to be an entree because….

Robyn called me just after 5 to say that they were going to get KFC, drive out to the car park & walk the 2.7km in to say hello with it. So awesome! Also very much appreciated as it will help with tomorrows big climb! Thanks Roger & Robyn.

8pm is bed time tonight, so I’m signing off. Let’s see how tomorrow goes.

• Te Araroa kilometres done: 785.4km
• Official kms: 33.4km
• Garmin kms: 34.14km
• Total time: 9.02
• Calories burned: 3359
• Body battery: 7/10 still feel slightly exhausted from yesterday.
• Accommodation: Sam & Eves house
• Tent nights tally: 7

This morning we left Sam & Eves not long after 7am as Sam was doing a big loop to drop us off before driving back to work. We got dropped off in Ngāruawāhia & started walking at 8am after a quick resupply for the next 4 days.

The river walk was beautiful & I soon pumped out 21km before having a break, this took me til lunchtime (12.30pm) & the 1st thing I did was go into Farmers & buy myself a new pair of hiking pants as the ones I’m wearing are getting worn out.

Gokul & I caught up with Sam for lunch just before 1pm. Gokul had Indian & Sam & I had sushi.

After lunch it was into the Athletes foot to get a new pair of shoes. My current ones are not going to get me over Pirongia & I have 2 brand new pairs at home but I do need something today so unfortunately had to fork out a few hundred dollars to get some. 😞

After an extra long break, having lunch & buying pants & shoes an hour and a half had gone by so it was time to hit the trail again. It took about 10km to walk out of the suburban areas of Hamilton & reach track & farm track. We finished at the 785.5km point & sat & waited for Sam who picked us up & drove us back to his place.

The evening was spent making up the next 4 day’s worth of food. Getting some washing done & having another amazing meal with the family! I then called Antonia who sounds a little better than yesterday so that makes me feel a bit better.

We are being dropped back to today’s end point tomorrow & will be hiking to a camp site to spend the night. Back to roughing it again & eating hiking food.

It’s been amazing spending time with Sam, Eve & the kids. They have been amazing hosts!

• Te Araroa kilometres done: 752km (25%)
• Official kms: 20km
• Garmin kms: 20.89km
• Total time: 8.03
• Calories burned: 4209
• Body battery: 8/10.
• Accommodation: Sam & Eves place
• Tent nights tally: 7

This morning I woke just after 6am. We are leaving here at 8am & are looking at completing around 30km. This includes going up & over the Hakarimatas into Ngaruawahia.

We left at 8am & were dropped at our starting point just before 8.30am. The 1st 5km was fast going & we were at the start of the Hakarematas within an hour. As the first 5km was easy I rang my wife who’s back home in Christchurch to check up on her as she has Covid. I wish I was there to take care of her.

This part of the trail started climbing steps fairly steeply before a right turn to do the Kauri track which wasn’t as steep, just as we approached the giant Kauri, Nichola & Ayumi were there! It was good to see our hiking buddy’s (Tramily) that we met on day 1.

We hiked for a while together until the lookout where we stopped for a quick break. From here Gokul took off & then me, followed by the girls.

This next 9km had to be some of the toughest terrain I have done on the TA so far, probably due to the fact it was so humid! Before the last climb I ran out of water & really struggled as I was hugely dehydrated, wet throughout just from the humidity & sweat. I was glad that I was able to get some water off a runner at the top, who gave me half a litre.

The last part of this section was a steep descent down with lots of steps. About a kilometre down & 250 metres of elevation loss there was a small stream where I drank a litre of water through my filter & filtered a further 750ml to rehydrate myself.

After the descent was done I walked a further 2km around Ngaruawahia before calling it quits just over the 20km mark as it had been a long & hard day. My brother in law Sam picked us up not long after & we arrived back at his house to have hot showers & an amazing healthy meal (just what the body needed) so grateful for family & friends & all they have done to support me through this.

Tomorrow we are slack packing it as we are staying a 2nd night at Sam & Eves place, so will aim for a 30km+ day. Hoping to meet up with Sam in town & take him out for lunch.

Let’s hope tomorrow is a better day…..

• Te Araroa kilometres done: 730km
• Official kms: 34km
• Garmin kms: 33.06km
• Total time: 7.27
• Calories burned: 3148
• Body battery: 9/10. Excellent sleep
• Accommodation: Robyn’s & Rogers house in Te Kowhai
• Tent nights tally: 7

Today is going to be road walking, this is due to the fact that some of the trail is underwater next to the Waikato river & our Trail angels from the night before warned us it could be difficult as well as reports from others that have attempted it.

We set off at 8am & about 4km in we hit the 700km mark! Not bad but we still had 30km of walking to do today.

The road walking was zigzagging on either side of SH1 going over the top several times before reaching Rangiriri where we then crossed over the Waikato river & stayed on the true right the rest of the way to Huntly.

I only stopped for one 20 minute break today & that was just to have lunch around the 19km point of the day. I felt good so decided to just keep walking.

It didn’t seem long before we were in Huntly with the big power station as the main scenery for this part. We walked to the 730km mark & then detoured across the bridge over the Waikato river one last time to wait at KFC for Robyn & Roger to pick us up.

Robyn & I have been friends for over 20 years. She had put a roast on for our arrival. There was also some marinated raw fish as an entree & cake for dessert!

After a few beers & a glass of wine to finish off the night, it is bed time. We are trying to do another 30km+ day tomorrow so will leave here at 8am. It was really great being able to catch up with Robyn, living so far away I don’t get to see her much, but the awesome thing is it’s always like it was yesterday that we have seen each other. A great life long friend.

• Te Araroa kilometres done: 696km
• Official kms: 22km
• Garmin kms: 19.52km
• Total time: 6.05
• Calories burned: 2275
• Body battery: 8/10. Air mattress deflated & had to blow it back up at 3am
• Accommodation: Airbnb in Meremere
• Tent nights tally: 7

This morning the alarm went off at 6am, I was already half awake. There is a rooster here that decided we should all be awake from 5am.

We are leaving here at 8am & probably diverting some of our track to road as we hear there is flooding & overgrown track.

We said goodbye to Adrian & Nadja drove us back to our start point, also Adrian gave me a pair of socks as my ones are just about done & I have no others.

We walked along the main SH2 for about 3km until we reached Dobson street. We have seen notes that going this route can save you walking an extra 2km along the busy highway & 1km along the stop bank but had to cross the river that is generally only waist deep. So decided that the river crossing was worth it.

We were in for a surprise. I tested it out without my pack on & it went over my head! It was at this point we decided we either need to pack float across or backtrack about 4km to get back to this point on the other side. The river was very slow moving so we decided to do it. I went across 1st, dropped my pack & swam back to help Gokul across as he’s not too confident in the water. It all went according to plan.

From here we walked along the stop bank for a few kilometres in grass that was sometimes chest high before getting to a road end where we took our packs off & dried out for 30 minutes before walking the next 4km to Mercer where we had McDonalds for lunch!

Then it was only 6km of hugging SH1 shoulder to Meremere so we took off down the highway in hi vis sticking as far right as possible. This was fairly simple & within no time we were in Meremere.

We are staying at an Airbnb with Worran. He cooked us a beautiful meal with a lot of home grown ingredients. Definitely a treat.

Tomorrow we are walking to Huntly & a good friend Robyn is picking us up to stay with her. Looking forward to seeing her & the family tomorrow.

• Te Araroa kilometres done: 673.8km
• Official kms: 18.8km
• Garmin kms: 19.02km
• Total time: 5.26
• Calories burned: 2704
• Body battery: 9/10 body feels rested
• Accommodation: tent at trail angels
• Tent nights tally: 7

This morning we are being picked up by Mike at 9am, thanks Mike for going out of your way you are a legend! I was awake just after 6am, it’s raining, I guess this means I can test out my new dry sacks & pack cover for waterproofness.

Our start point is just south of Drury at what Gokul & I know as the 655k point, from here it’s a 18km slow climb & then descend to where our Trail angel is picking us up at 673k.

Mike turned up at 9am, not only to pick us up but he had new shirts!! So excited, hi vis, quick drying, breathable material. Appreciate the little things! We also went to the drop off point via picking up some coffee.

The 1st part of today was, you guessed it, road walking with a bit of rain thrown in for good measure. Around the 10km mark we found a park which had picnic tables so stopped there for lunch.

Not long after this we entered the farm track that would take us to the summit of Mt Williams. We were fortunate enough to have great views from up there as we were nearly 400 metres above sea level.

After a fairly steep descent we soon found ourselves in some beautiful bush track.

This took us through 2km of bush before exiting onto a road, where we walked for just over a kilometre & waited for our trail angel to pick us up.

The trail angel wasn’t too far off & drove us back to their place where we were offered hot showers, fresh towels & then dinner was bought out to us without us even requesting it. Adrian & Nadja are amazing hosts! We are so grateful to be staying here.

The rest of this evening is going to be spent pouring over maps & working out how we get to Huntley as most of the track is apparently underwater. Looks like I may be doing a bit of road walking!

Todays appreciation goes out to the legends Mike & Joanna King for their support, backing & encouragement & also to the amazing Trail angels Adrian & Nadja for going out of their way to make us comfortable.

Tomorrow should be interesting as we navigate south! Stay tuned.

Oh by the way, everything stayed dry in my pack!!!!

• Te Araroa kilometres done: 655km
• Official kms:0
• Garmin kms:0
• Total time:0
• Calories burned:0
• Body battery: 9/10
• Accommodation: Airbnb in Papakura
• Tent nights tally: 6

The alarm was set for 7.30am. I didn’t wake up until the alarm went off! This surprised me as I normally wake around 6am regardless. I must really need this day off trail.

I caught an Uber just after 9 to a cafe to catch up with Mike & Joanna.

It was really great catching up with them & to know that we can all collectively make a difference, whether it’s fundraising, raising awareness, lending an ear, as well as just being kinder to ourselves & each other.

After getting back to the accommodation (thanks for the lift Mike & Joanna.) it was back to organising the next stage of the journey.

It really was a relaxing day where I even had an afternoon nap! I was also able to complete the next Chapter of my video so I feel like I’m all up to date!

Tomorrow Gokul & I continue on for 9 days straight before we take a few days off over Christmas. Really looking forward to spending time with my wife over the Christmas period & she will be joining me for around 3 weeks on this journey from Boxing Day.

https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/walking-te-araroa-3000km-for-the-key-to-life

• Te Araroa kilometres done: 655km
• Official kms: 29km
• Garmin kms: 30.18km
• Total time: 8.30
• Calories burned: 2642
• Body battery: 6/10. Looking forward to that zero day.
• Accommodation: Airbnb in Papakura
• Tent nights tally: 6

Up at 6am this morning. Leaving Troys at 7am as we have pre booked an Uber. It was really good to catch up with Troy last night & just chat about life.

The Uber arrived early & we were ready, so left just before 7, ready & walking near the airport at 7.30am. Neither Gokul or I had breakfast so we had a 7km walk to get to a cafe that we planned to eat at.

Not much in the way of scenery today as most of the day was spent walking on footpaths.

I was feeling a little deflated today & when I had seen a very generous donation & words of encouragement from the team at Pak’nsave Hornby, it really lifted my spirits to know that there is so much support out there & someone is always backing you!

Continuing on with the cafe tour (as Stu calls it) we stopped at Wendy’s in Papakura for lunch before continuing on to do the last 11km to get to today’s target of 30km just north of Drury.

We were completed by 3pm & back to our accommodation by 3.30pm. Since tomorrow is a zero day I had a quick shower & headed into Sylvia Park to get replacement gear from Bivouac & shop at Pak’nsave so I had more time to relax tomorrow! I need a real zero day.

I’m also meeting up with Mike & Joanne King tomorrow morning to catch up & discuss the journey so far, it will be awesome to see them.

• Te Araroa kilometres done: 626kn
• Official kms: 33km
• Garmin kms: 34.79km (got lost walking Ihumatua)
• Total time: 9.18
• Calories burned: 3323
• Body battery: 7/10
• Accommodation: Troys place.
• Tent nights tally: 6

This morning we all agreed to be ready by 7am & to call an Uber back to where we were picked up from.

Some old friends from Kerikeri messaged me this morning, wanting to say hi as I walked past. Bruce, Jodie & their kids came to say hi at the start of today’s hike. It was great to see them & really great that there are people like them just happy to support such a cause! Really appreciated it.

Not long after this we climbed steadily up towards Mt Eden, unfortunately the very top was closed but we were able to get a photo from the platform just below the summit.

After meandering down & around we hit another milestone. 600km!

This was cause for a celebration so we stopped at Royal oak mall for a 10am lunch. I had sushi & after this, that was all I ate for the rest of the day as it was very filling.

It wasn’t long before we were at the Mangere bridge, unfortunately this was closed & we had to detour under the motorway bridge.

The rest of the day was spent walking the Kiwi esplanade walkway, Ambury park through to Ihumatao in which we got lost & had to detour through farmland to find the trail again. During this we farewelled Jon & Caroline as they are looking at going back to complete the Dome & also have a zero day or two. We are hoping that they join us for the Whanganui River journey.

After walking past the airport a few kilometres a good friend Troy picked us up & Gokul & I have gone back to his place for the night.

Tomorrow we are catching an Uber back to the start point, hopefully doing a 30km day & then going to an Airbnb for 2 nights as Wednesday we are having a zero day to rest & recover!

• Te Araroa kilometres done: 593.5km
• Official kms: 28.5km
• Garmin kms: 29.52km
• Total time: 8.32
• Calories burned: 3141
• Body battery: 7/10
• Accommodation: Mark & Suz place
• Tent nights tally: 6

This morning is an easy pack up & drive back to the track with breakfast on the way.

We went through the drive through at McDonald’s Warkworth for breakfast for Danny, Gokul & myself.

Danny dropped us off just after 8am from where he picked us up from the afternoon before & we said our goodbyes. Awesome to catch up with him & the family!

The 1st part of today was 1km of beach before going up & over via road. This would be a similar theme for the rest of the day.

The rain started fairly early, so the rain jacket was required. About 5km into the walk we caught up with Jon & Caroline having a coffee at a cafe & then proceeded to walk with them off & on for the rest of the day.

We ended up stopping for lunch in Takapuna, it was fortunate that the eatery we were at let 4 wet hikers in.

After lunch we only had about 8km to get to Devonport where we were catching the Ferry across to the city, the 1st glimpse of Auckland was seen when coming around North head.

The Ferry runs every 30 minutes & we were in time to catch the 3.15. This is a nice quick 12 minute trip into downtown Auckland.

From here we walked about 4km & stopped just shy of 30km for the day at the bottom of Mt Eden, where we will pick up the trail again tomorrow. We Ubered from here to a good friend that use to live in Christchurch, Mark. He is hosting the 4 of us tonight.

It was really good catching up with Mark, we spent a few hours talking & having a pizza for dinner. Now for bed & hoping to do a 30+ kilometre day tomorrow.