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: 564.5km
• Official kms: 23.5km
• Garmin kms: 25.14km
• Total time: 7.53
• Calories burned: 2777
• Body battery: 7/10
• Accommodation: Daniel & Shars house.
• Tent nights tally: 6

Today was a sleep in. Waking at 6.30am we are planning to leave at 8.30am

Luke, Cristal & the kids are going to cheer me on & say hello as I walk past. We left on time & said our goodbyes to Kevin who is having a zero. I hope he catches back up! Especially for his mums sake who likes seeing him in my blog.

Within 45 minutes & 3km we bumped into Luke, Cristal & my nieces & nephew. They put in such an amazing effort in creating those banners! I felt so grateful.

After saying our goodbyes we walked up the street a further kilometre & found a Cafe to stop & buy a coffee where we bumped into fellow hiker James then Matt & Naomi.

After this it was mainly road walking for the rest of the morning, making our way to Stillwater where we had to be extra vigilant on the narrow winding roads. I stopped for lunch at the Stillwater campground for an hour as low tide is 3.45pm & there is a rather deep estuary crossing coming up only crossable at low tide.

After lunch I got to the start of the crossing at 2.30pm & James was there ready to cross. I decided to follow him but without my pack to see how deep it gets. It ended up being chest height for him but only for a few metres. After he crossed I returned to the start grabbed my bags & proceeded to cross with Gokul & another hiker Chad. It was a fun crossing & just below my chest at the deepest.

After the crossing we had a nice coastal walk of around 4km to get to the Long bay car park where my younger brother Danny was waiting.

He took Gokul & I back to Wellsford for the night where we got to catch up with him, Shar & my nieces. Danny also cooked some amazing burgers for dinner! Really awesome & blessed to have such great family & be able to spend time with them while on this journey!

Tomorrow we are leaving here at 7am to be dropped off & start walking at 8am. Hoping to put in a 30km day.

• Te Araroa kilometres done: 541.8
• Official kms: 18km
• Garmin kms: 20.68km
• Total time: 6.42
• Calories burned: 2102
• Body battery: 8/10
• Accommodation: cabin at Orewa holiday Park.
• Tent nights tally: 6

Another morning of waking before the alarm clock. It’s raining again this morning. I hope it eases off.

Today we say farewell to Mark, he’s been such an awesome host, it’s been so good having the support of my family.

We were dropped off just before 9am & walked the 200 metres up to the kayak place where we were met by the instructor & her team, after a quick briefing we were off.

Gokul & I had paired up in a double & kayaked the 7km down the Puhoi River, such a great change to walking. It did get a little choppy though & at the end we were fighting against the wind.

It only took just over an hour to do the 7km & we were met not long after with our packs from the Kayak company. From here it was a 10km walk up & over to Waiwera & then along the rocks to Orewa.

Once in Orewa I stopped at the local New World to catch up with Steve who is the owner, unfortunately he is away doing the Milford but I was able to catch up with his daughter Jess. Big thanks to these guys as they donated & offered words of encouragement to my Givealittle a month back. Also a big thanks to the Foodstuffs community trust who have sponsored me with vouchers to assist with food costs for this journey.

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

After getting some resupply items, I headed to the Orewa holiday park & checked our team of 4 in. Not long after Jon, Caroline & Gokul turned up. We are now settled in, cooking dinner & just relaxing. It has been a really amazing day with great variation on the TA with Kayaking, track, rock hopping, beach walking & road.

Looking forward to seeing the Brother in law & family tomorrow as they will be cheering me on as I walk past.

Also looking forward to seeing & staying with my younger brother Daniel & his family tomorrow as they are hosting myself & Gokul. Tomorrow is going to be a good day!

• Te Araroa kilometres done: 523.7
• Official kms: 27km
• Garmin kms: 28.22km
• Total time: 8.14
• Calories burned: 3603
• Body battery: 6/10. Yesterday drained me.
• Accommodation: Marks place
• Tent nights tally: 6

I felt like my sleep wasn’t that great last night. Probably due to the lack of downtime & a sore body from yesterday.

The alarm went off at 6am & we were ready to go by 7.30, Mark dropped us off at the Dome cafe, our starting point this morning.

Within 4km we had passed another milestone. 500km of the trail completed!

The track was easier than yesterday with some road, metal road, 4wd track & mud track.

About 11km into today Mark drove up with a couple of sausages rolls for us!

The last 5km of today was on the Puhoi River track. This was beautiful track, but also has forestry going on halfway through it.

After just over 28km & 8 hours I made it to the Puhoi pub where the rest were there having a beer. Gokul, Kevin & myself waited for Mark to pick us up, got back had showers & went to Matakana for dinner with the others that we hadn’t seen in days. It’s also Nici’s 30th today, so was good to be able to be there for that.

Tomorrow is a nice easy 7km kayak down the river from Puhoi & then a 10km walk to Orewa. Looking forward to an easier day. My legs are going to thank me for it.

Talking about thanks, my brother Mark has been amazing having all of us at his house & driving us to & from the track. Such an amazing thing to do & really appreciate the support!

• Te Araroa kms done: 496.5
• Official kms: 24km
• Garmin kms: 25.25km
• Total time: 10.23
• Calories burned: 5310
• Body battery: 9/10 seeing my wife was a big pick me up!
• Accommodation: Marks house.
• Tent nights: still 6

Today I got to wake up next to my wife, it was so nice seeing her. She is leaving for work at 6am this morning.

The rain started last night & got heavy at times. Jon & Caroline are going to do a zero as they have injuries & with the rain & muddy track it’s not worth risking aggravating it.

Gokul & I are still going to try & get through the Dome today. Hamish is picking us up at 7am & dropping us back to Pakiri School where we pick up the track again.

We met Kevin walking at the start, but soon lost him until the end of the day. The 1st part of the track was a 300+ metre climb & was exhausting as I’m still not a hill person! Then as it flattened off it turned into mud which at times was technical. We stopped for a 15 minute break at the weather station about 2 & a half hours in. The good thing is it only took us 3 hours & 45 minutes to get to Matakana valley road.

From here it was about 3km of walking to get to the Dome track. Not long before this there is a lovely trail angel at 202 Govan Wilson road that offers free drinking water from his outside tap! So was able to fill up here for lunch & the rest of the journey.

About half way through the dome track we bumped into Luke, Sam & Frank, boiling water for a coffee break.

The track was slow going at times but had a variation of good track, road & mud. Just towards the last 1.5 kilometres my brother walked in to meet us & walk the last part to the car park.

He also offered Kevin & Ian a bed for the night. We got home, showered & a surprise was out in the living room. My uncle & aunt had come to visit.

After everyone had showered we ordered pizza for delivery, ate & then it was time for bed. 27km day tomorrow, hope the body holds up.

• Te Araroa km done so far: 473km
• Official kms: 23km
• Garmin kms: 23.64km
• Total time: 5.31
• Calories burned: 2169
• Body battery: 6/10, feeling sore & deflated today.
• Accommodation: Marks house
• Tent nights: still 6

The alarm went off at 6am, we are leaving at 7.30am with a 40 minute drive to our start point. The aim is to be finished around 2pm & Mark will pick us up.

Full packs today! It’s been nice to slack pack it the last few days. We said our goodbyes to dad as he had a repairman turning up & Andrea drove us to our start point.

It’s been awesome staying with them & they have been so accommodating, couldn’t ask for more! I have such an amazing & supportive family!

It wasn’t long into the walk that Matt & Naomi caught up to us, we 1st met them at the farm a couple of 100kms back. We talked & walked for a few kilometres before they took off again.

5km after starting we were on the beach, where we had a 4km walk, then up & over a bluff before descending onto Pakiri beach which would take us another 10km of beach walking.

Jon & Caroline had started an hour earlier & we caught up to them having their lunch about 3km before the beach ended. Gokul & I carried on until the campground for lunch. Where I treated myself to a Gingerbeer & we had more homemade bacon & egg pie courtesy of Andrea & dad.

The last part of the walk was only 3km & along a metal road, about a kilometre before the end Mark was waiting to pick us up. He took our packs & we marched off to finish the last kilometre.

We then got dropped to his place to shower & get ready while he went back to work.

Not long after Mark got home, I got one of the best surprises! I came out of the bathroom & my wife was sitting in the room! I was so confused & surprised. She had talked to my brother & organised to come stay the night as she is working in Auckland today & tomorrow.

I haven’t seen her for 23 days, such an amazing thing to happen!

We all had an amazing dinner that Mark cooked & am now ready for bed! It’s going to be a big day tomorrow. We are off to do the Dome valley walk from Pakiri & expecting a 10+ hour day……

• Official kms: 27km
• Garmin kms: 27.78km
• Total time: 7.32
• Calories burned: 3626
• Body battery: 8/10
• Accommodation: Dad & Andrea’s
• Tent nights: still 6

The alarm went off at 6.30am, I got up & proceeded with my morning routine, we are leaving here at 8.30am & being dropped at yesterday’s end point.

Dad will pick us up when we are ready this afternoon, minus Jon & Caroline who are going to camp tonight at Mangawhai.

We started at 9.10am & climbed gradually leaving Jon & Caroline to cruise as we had a pickup planned for 4.30pm.

It wasn’t long before a group of ultralight hikers caught up behind us & Gokul was able to keep up with them, as for me I’m not that fast, I wouldn’t see him again until Mangawhai.

Around 8km in I stopped at a nice viewing point that had a picnic table for a break, some cake & to enjoy the views.

After a few more kilometres I made it down to the main road & started the farm track that would lead to the cliff top walk, within a few minutes I heard someone call out my name & Kevin was behind me! They had done the coastal track instead today (Kevin, Ayumi & Nichola). I joined Kevin at that point until where we would meet Gokul & Kevin would stop there to wait for the others.

Kevin & I stopped for lunch once we found a nice viewing spot & a bench seat on the coastal track. I was lucky enough to have a Bacon & egg pie that Andrea & dad had made us all for lunch that day! So good!

We then proceeded to walk the track until it met the beach & to the car park where Gokul was waiting with the crew he had walked with.

From this point it was only 9km to the pickup point & we walked until the 1st lot of shops, where an ice cream was in order due to it being such a hot & demanding day. We also bumped into Luke again! He wasn’t having a coffee for a change.

We then had about 6km to go so set off at a faster hobble (the feet were sore) to get to the pickup point & end our day at just under the 28km mark.

After arriving back at Dad & Andrea’s & having showers we enjoyed a beautiful dinner & great company before setting off to pack full packs as this is our last night here.

Tomorrow should be an easier day where we are aiming for a 23-25km day depending on time of flattish walking. My brother Mark Is picking us up around 2pm & we are staying with him a few nights! Looking forward to seeing him.

• Official kms: 30km
• Garmin kms: 33.46km
• Total time: 8.30
• Calories burned: 3349
• Body battery: 8/10 a bit of a restless sleep.
• Accommodation: Dad & Andrea’s
• Tent nights: still 6

The alarm went off at 6am & I awoke as planned, finished off yesterday’s blog & then cooked up breakfast of Bacon & eggs for everyone.

It’s Gokul’s birthday today so we are planning a dinner at a restaurant tonight which has been booked for 7pm. Andrea has baked him a cake & we are going to surprise him after coming back from dinner.

Today we took off just after 8am & as we were slack packing (just day packing) as dad was going to pick us up at the end & bring us back to his house. The aim is to get about 33km done.

It took about 3km just to get back onto the trail from dads , going around Marsden refinery & then we were soon on the beach which was just beautiful!

Within about 11km we hit another milestone. The official 400km mark on the trail! Not bad for 21 days with 3 zero days included!

Another 4km down the road we stopped at a cafe in Ruakaka for coffee & cake before heading back down the beach.

Gokul & I then walked about 4km of road & got to Waipu just before 2pm to have a late lunch.

After lunch there was some off road, then on road & then some off road track. While walking along the road a car pulled up behind & I heard my name called. An old friend from when I lived in Auckland recognised me & we stopped & chatted for 5 minutes. It was good to catch up with Mini, she had just been at the beach with her kids.

Gokul & I continued along until just before the intersection of the main road & Cullen road, as we were making our way there for our final break, a man walked past & wished Gokul a happy birthday, he thanked him & we carried on walking looking at each other confused? About a minute later we got to the intersection & there was our crew singing happy birthday as we approached, they had told the man they were waiting for their friend whose birthday it was!

After catching up for 20 minutes & when Jon & Caroline had caught up, we carried on up Cullen road 3km & got picked up by dad. Once home Gokul & I went for a swim while the others showered & then showered & went out to dinner in Waipu for Gokul’s birthday, with dad & Andrea.

We got home around 9pm & had the birthday cake for Gokul. It’s been a good day & evening, but I am tired! So off to bed I go, ready for another hot day of walking tomorrow!

• Official kms: 0
• Garmin kms: 0
• Total time: 0
• Calories burned: 0
• Body battery: 6/10 sore & tired & glad to be having a zero day.
• Accommodation: Dad & Andrea’s
• Tent nights: still 6.

I was looking forward to a sleep in this morning, unfortunately my brain & body had other ideas & I was awake & up before 6am. Today is about life admin & I plan to go in to town to get a few things, I’m also going to take Kevin with me & help him buy a new tent as his one is now broken (hence the trail name!)

Kevin got a Nemo Hornet 2P, so much better than his 1P coffin tent! I also shouted him a pair of crocs from the warehouse as he only had his boots & no footwear for when not walking.

The rest of the day was spent doing admin, making my next video (chapter 3) & dad & Andrea arrived about 3pm so was good to just catch up with them.

We cooked a roast dinner & the 6 of us sat down to enjoy this with a wine & beer.

Kevin, Marko, Ayumi, Nici, Gemma & Nichola did a half day today & walked to Ruakaka campground, where Kevin got to use his new tent!

Tomorrow we are aiming for a 30km + day to get to Waipu cove & be picked up by dad that afternoon. This means light packs! Hoping for an easy one…..

• Official kms: 15km
• Garmin kms: 15.55km
• Total time: 6.36
• Calories burned: 3287
• Body battery: 8/10
• Accommodation: A bed at my dads place.
• Tent nights: 6 total.

Last night was an early to bed night & I set the alarm for 6am. I didn’t get up until then. My feet are extra sore this morning as i hobbled down to the public toilets.

The plan is to leave before 9am & just take our time up & over Whangarei heads. Dean turned up at 8.15am & we set off around 8.30am. He also gave me 2 packs of Migoreng noodles as that is what he gave me the 1st time I met him in the Richmond ranges. Below explains:

Day 11 – Richmond Ranges – Tarn Hut to Top Wairoa Hut

It was also awesome that Dean bought some fresh sandwiches & a powerade for me for lunch! I was so grateful.

The morning started with a pretty steep climb of just under 500 metres of elevation & was the 1st real day I’ve had where my calve muscles were burning! It wasn’t too long before we hit the high point & the views were spectacular!

The track was quite undulating & technical with a bit of mud, rocks & routes to navigate, before the final descent which consisted of over 1,000 stairs (so I have been told). This was slow going & I was trying to preserve my knees as they like to let me know they prefer not to go down steeply!

I finally made it down after about 20 minutes of slow descent to drop over 350 metres. The crew that had started earlier were all at the bottom having lunch & were just leaving. Dean & I carried on to the beginning of the road & sat down to eat lunch.

It wasn’t long after this point & less than a kilometre of road walking, Dean & I said our goodbyes & he turned right to walk the road back to his car which was at the start of our walk. It was great seeing him & just chatting & catching up for the day.

The road walking part was only 7km & was fairly fast going & about 30 minutes prior to arriving at today’s destination of the boat ramp I text Blair who does the boat taxi across to Marsden to let him know we weren’t far off. When Marko & I arrived, Gokul & Broken were there waiting & Gemma was only a minute behind. We jumped in the boat put the life jackets on & were off. We were able to get dropped straight to my Dads jetty in Marsden.

Once all the crew arrived we got all set up & washed & went to the local Foursquare to buy stuff for dinner. This was an easy dinner of hot chicken, chips, salad, fresh bread rolls & a box of beer to share between the 10 of us.

The Foodstuffs Community trust & Foursquare have offered me support with my fundraising hike with gift cards to help with resupply, such & awesome thing to do!

It was another early night with all of us retiring to bed before 9pm. It was quite a hard day of walking that took a lot longer than expected! Looking forward to a zero day tomorrow & seeing Dad & Andrea. Big shout out to Dad & Andrea also, for hosting the Tramily (hiking family) & allowing them to tent next door & use the facilities.

• Official km: 29km
• Garmin km: 30.52km
• Total time: 8.21
• Calories burned: 3717
• Body battery: 8/10, arghh 4.30am alarm!
• Accommodations: tent at trail angels
• Tent nights = 6 so far

This morning the alarm went off at 4.30am! It wasn’t easy to get up but we needed to be gone by 6am to be able to hit the two estuaries that are only crossable at low tide.

It was an undulating 6km walk to the 1st crossing, with some mud thrown in for good measure.

We reached the 1st estuary crossing just after 7am & proceeded to cross. There were 3 braids & the deepest being the middle one which was only knee deep. Coming out of the mangroves to reach the road was quite muddy & I was grateful there was a large puddle at the roadside to wash off all the mud from my trail runners & gators.

8km of road walking later a footbridge & the 12% point, we were straight into the next estuary, this one was over 2km of sidling around the estuary before crossing. I then stopped for my 1st break as I no longer needed to worry about low tide crossings.

After the last estuary & regaining muddy shoe’s & gator it was a quick walk through a farm & then a steady & sometimes steep climb up the Kauri mountain track to the high point of 245m. Here I stopped for my 2nd & final break to eat lunch, before I set off to get the last 10kms done.

It was then a descent to the beach through forest & a gravel road. Once I reached the beach I realised it wasn’t going to be easy as the tide was almost in & you either had to walk on the soft sand or in the water, I chose the later. This last 6km stretch was the slowest & it ended up being over 30km today!

Once i arrived at the campsite the first person I seen was Felix. I hadn’t seen him since Waitangi. He had done to shorter days which we had done combined today.

Once we were all here the campsite got really busy! So many tents! it’s also a really windy afternoon/evening so hope that everyone’s tents hold up ok!

Tomorrow I have a mate that I met on my section hike last January joining me for the day. Dean did the TA South Island section raising money for Alzheimer’s. It will be really good to catch up with him.

Tomorrow is going to be steep, with nearly a 500 metre climb 1st off. At least it’s only 15km & we are having a zero day at my dads the next day. Looking forward to having a break & seeing the old man!