I’ve been told to include more detail, so here we go. Sorry for the delay – lack of WiFi. Also, thank you to my most wonderful assistant, Flora, for helping me upload photos and all. Cheers sis


Map

Here is the map for this section:

https://onthegomap.com/s/eokc96in

Short Summary

Wednesday 9th November

Today was a zero day! Our first zero day and we were intending to take full advantage of it! We all woke up late and spent the first bit of the morning drinking plenty of tea and coffee. Tea for me, coffee for Rob and Reid. We were gonna make breakfast for us all, beans and eggs and toast, but I first had some phone calls to friends and family, so they went ahead without me. When I did get round to breakfast, yeah, I ate like six eggs, six slices of toast, a whole can and a half of beans… It was a lot.

We went about exploring Kerikeri. We had picked up Luuk and Melissa and we went to find a coffee place that Rob and Reid wanted to go to, Max Coffee. That was good. Had myself some too to try a proper Flat White. (*Whispers* I actually really enjoyed it). We then went to a café and sat with fellow TAers eating food before heading out to the shops for a full resupply for the next several days.

I finished my pasta bake for lunch from the pot luck the night before and then sat in the hostel playing pool, winning at table tennis and packing and tidying my stuff away – it had been hanging out to dry from the previous day. Reid, Rob and I went and got some pizza for dinner and ate it in the skate park before I had a phone call to Cam in the evening which was nice for sure.

Thursday 10th November

Up at 06:00 and packed and ready to go before long. I made some pancakes from the remaining eggs we had, some milk a German couple gave us and some wholemeal flour I found in the free section of the hostel. Winning. Reid and Rob enjoyed them I believe, although having them as wholemeal was interesting…

A short 20km day today, and so after thanking our hosts, David and Victoria (best hostel I’ve stayed at), we navigated our way back to the track and started stomping again. I put some music in myself since we were walking beside a road and there wasn’t much natural birdsong to listen to. We road walked ourselves out of Kerikeri and into Waitangi Forest where there was a bunch of logging going on, whole swathes of this forest left a desolate waste. It’s such a shame. Still, nature wins in the end, we saw lots of parrots and birds still around despite the occasional lack of trees.

This track emerged out onto a road (after a short trip to Mt. Bledisloe for a stunning view over the Bay of Islands) and down through a prestigious golf course. We were at Waitangi which was where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the Crown and the Maori people I believe. Reid gave us a brief history lesson as we sat on some pristine grass eating some snack bars.

Across a bridge and into Paihia and into a hostel at the furthest end of Paihia. We had booked a room of six and before long Luuk, Melissa and Nico joined us. It was a tiny cabin and squeezing six of us was an interesting experience. Still, it worked. Reminded me of Albany Park big time.

We planned a big group dinner and it soon escalated from the three of us to like twelve of us. I made a veggie curry, Reid made a meaty curry and an American, Tony, made a Mac ‘n Cheese, American style, much to the amazed disgust of Nico. That was a really fun evening with everyone reaching over each other and helping themselves to a whole bunch of food and Nico providing some chilled music. Speaking of Nico, he really cannot keep to time. He was in charge of rice, right, and he was told “Rice by, like, 19:15 yeah?” and he finally got finished cooking it at 20:45. Still, we all forgave him, eventually. It was good, well cooked rice for sure.

Friday 11th November

OK, so the weather forecast had said that there was storms and a cyclone pattern moving through the area today, so we weren’t planning on doing anything but bunkering down for the day, another zero day really. However, when we woke up… Sunshine and blue sky. Come on! But we had already paid for the room soooo… Guess it’ll be another day here anyway.

I got up early and had a nice phone call with Billy and Ishbel, that was a nice catch up for sure. After that, and after everyone was awake, we decided to head to Russell for a small day trip. $14 return ferry trip after all! Russell was across the bay and was meant to be one of the most beautiful places in Northland, if not New Zealand!

And for sure, it was wonderful. A cute ferry ride in some misty weather and then we wandered around Russell. Saw the oldest church in NZ. Posted some excess weight off to Denis (the TA guy who has pretty much every international travellers bags). Drank some coffee. Skimmed some stones across the harbour. The sun came out to and Melissa and Rob went swimming in the bay. I felt a bit vulnerable without any suncream on!

We caught the ferry back in the sunshine and set about buying a little bit more food. Just stuff we had missed really in Kerikeri. I packed my bag back at the hostel and then sat and read and chilled out with everyone on the picnic benches outside our room. Niv had also joined us, having a room to himself, so even more company! Yay! Rob made too much food so I had a free dinner and was in bed before long. Looking forward to moving again for sure!

Saturday 12th November

The worst night’s sleep ever. There was another hostel/motel/hotel next door to ours but they evidently had a gentleman there who was staying there for emergency housing. But he played Rock ‘n Roll music at pretty much max volume all night and then got drunk and started shouting and swearing all night. It was freaky man, like, truly a scary experience.

As a result, when we all got up, we had had maybe a couple hours of sleep each in total. Not so fun. Our hostel owner, Andy, apologised to us for the evening too, he felt embarrassed. Eek. Nico was staying behind because his foot was sprained or something so after phoning the doctor, he was told to not move for a week before resuming. Bit peak for him.

However! We got going, places to be and trails to be walked. This was a unique section of the trail. We could catch the ferry across to Russell and walk from there ooorrrrrr…. We could kayak along the Waikare Inlet! And that’s what we all decided to do! We got ourselves some kayaks at the beach and set off as a big fleet. We met some new people there too! Everyone charged off ahead, paddles churning like a Louisiana riverboat’s propellors whilst Rob, Reid and I pratted around behind everyone else. We felt like the naughty kids in the class, holding everyone up. Chatting, racing, going off to look at fancy yachts… Yeah. But like, we were in no rush – the tide was rising pushing us in faster than we could paddle and the wind was behind us. It was actually just as fast to not paddle… That’s my defence at least! Haha

We got to the end of the inlet in one piece (Luuk and Catherine got lost whoops) and picked up our bags at the end from the guy who drove them down and was now picking up the kayaks. Road walking, fun. We set off and made our way along back north a little before heading east and over some small hills.

This emerged out onto a road and we walked along it. There were two places to stop, a closer place called The Farm, or another place 7km further on called Tammy’s Place. Rob and Reid and I were gonna head to Tammy’s Place and by the sounds of it, this was the correct choice! The Farm was like a hippy commune apparently and all the TA hikers were lumped into a small field covered in sheep, uh, dung. Yeah, didn’t sound great. In contrast, Tammy gave us some eggs, hot showers and a wonderfully cute, sunlit campground. Correct choice indeed. We fell asleep to the sound of birdsong.

Sunday 13th November

I woke up early but I think the previous day had taken it out of Rob. But that’s OK, it was a short day today, not difficult at all really, since we had pushed a little further to Tammy’s Place the previous evening.

We set off at 09:00 and came across Mel and Aub who had stayed at The Farm. They really didn’t paint a good picture… We road walked along, past Ōakura and towards Helena Bay. Nothing much to say about that really, except that it was nice and sunny and just easy walking. No music though, needed to keep an ear out for cars! We also passed (sanctioned Russian oligarch) Alexander Abramov’s compound. There’s a whole issue there since he funds a lot of stuff around here, but is sanctioned because of Ukraine soooo… What to do, you know?

We arrived at Helena Bay and sat at the beach where we met Luuk and Niv sitting at the beach. Niv asked for a photo since it was his grandmother’s birthday soon and he needed to send a picture for a picture book his family was making. The sun was also very agro and I must have slapped on some sun cream a couple times in a single hour from how intense it felt. By the way, this place was also called Teal Bay, and the water really showed why. The turquoise, teal water was swashing up on the beach and it was just paradise. So wonderful. We ate some Oreos there. I even put some in my tortilla with banana chips and peanut butter. Absolutely feral, I know.

We then pushed on to the Helena Bay Ridge track. That was stunning. Just some spectacular forests with the agro sun finding it’s way through the leaves and branches. It was a slippery track at points too, but honestly it was so good. Fresh, green smells and Tūī birdsong, mixed in with faint panting and the squelch of mud.

We got to our freedom camp spot, a small spot on some farmland that TA hikers were allowed to stay at. We pitched up and filled our water from a nearly empty barrel. Niv arrived shortly after us, before Mel and Aub, as well as Spencer and Jayden joined us for a fun evening.

Monday 14th November

The Morepork-Onekainga track to Whananaki was closed due to Kauri dieback, so we were forced to take a 20km road detour. Yeah, doesn’t sound fun does it?

What it did mean though is that I could stick some music in (some Disney tunes, and then Stick Season album) and just pump out the kilometres. And that’s what I think everyone did. Some dogs ran out growling at me at one point. A guy offered me a lift at another point. I waved to a lot of driver’s… Yeah, just easy kilometres.

I got to Whananaki well before Rob and Reid and headed to the beach store to grab some food to share with them when they arrived. I sat in front of the longest footbridge in the southern hemisphere and drank some cool Coca Cola, eating some crisps before they arrived. They also went and got some food and so we all sat on the bank there, eating food, looking at the bridge spanning the river, the cool blue water sparkling with the sun and tropical green hills around us. Idyllic.

New People I have Met

  • Nas: French lady with a large pack and enjoys hitch hiking the road sections
  • Simon and Catherine (or is it Catriona?): An older couple who are both foodies. Simon has too many blisters from Ninety Mile, so has hired a car and is supporting Catherine until he is healed
  • Charlotte: Bought all her stuff a couple days before starting, and as a result is all MacPac. She was off to a wedding though so probably won’t see her ever again.
  • Mark: Broke his phone into Kerikeri from all the rain and was looking for a new one to continue on. Offered us his place in Wellington when we get there
  • Tony: American who was staying with Nico due to bad feet. He has a PhD in Astronomy, specifically in geology on exoplanets.
  • Jupe: Dutch guy who knew where to buy good cheese whilst in Paihia
  • Spencer and Jayden: Bubbly Americans who are super friendly and have Ospreys, winning
  • Jesse and Emily: A couple who always have delicious looking food whenever I look
  • Sam: Charlotte’s “cousin” who has the same bag as me and is suffering from a lot of blisters. He performed open surgery on one of his blisters after it filled up with sand after kayaking. Yeah that was a nope for me and that’s when I set off walking without looking back
  • Chris and Harriet: A Kiwi couple who we have bumped into a handful of times in random places
  • Marcello and Janine: Very cool, German ultrarunners who did like 50km days. Seemed to be sponsored by Buff

Status

  • Physical: 9/10. Just muscle soreness, innit. Honestly, I may as well be 10/10.
  • Mental: 10/10
  • Distance covered: 321km total to Whananaki
  • Most memorable moment: Kayaking the Waikare Inlet or Tammy’s Place.
  • Toughest moment: Sleepless night in Paihia, or 20km road walk into Whananaki
  • Burnt-o-meter: 4/10, starting to get charred
  • Random thoughts: Dry bags as Christmas stockings
  • Song suggestion: Until the Beat is Gone, Felix Riebl

What’s Next?

I’ll head over the Whananaki footbridge and then heading on down to Matapouri. From there we’ll make our way to Ngunguru where we’ll then do several estuary crossings and walk along the coast to Bream Head and round to Ruakaka. Then, it’s just a straight shot down the coast to Mangawhai and that’ll be Northland done! Easy peasy!

Comments (8)

  1. Reidzo

    Reply

    Loving the details! Looking forward to hearing more about these characters Rob and Niv..

  2. .

    Reply

    My new fav post (together with the paris post). Sounds like you have a solid group of friends around you(These Reid and Rob), you should let us know a bit more about them on the next post!
    Nice editing job and great pictures.
    Keep having fun and updating us, the readers, about your adventures, and most important – stay safe.
    P.S – love the map.
    Kind regards,
    Niv.

  3. Michael Duncan

    Reply

    I am loving your blog with all the details of where you have been and with whom. I have my fairly detailed maps out of NZ and have followed your trail from Cape Reinga. We had a few days with George and Del, our friends in NZ in Northland, staying in a hotel in Paihia with trips to Russell, Waitangi, and a trip out into the bay where we went through the hole in the rock. We also stayed in Warkworth, went for a day to Tiritiri Matangi Island and stayed with some relations of George and Del who lived somewhere around Cape Rodway. Keep enjoying this marvellous experience. Grannie and Grandpa.

    • Al

      Reply

      Amazing! So glad to hear you are enjoying the blog! Yes, Paihia and the Bay of Islands was wonderful for sure. Hope you are both doing well!

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