Month: January 2018

December 30th Ngaruawahia (km781)-Whatawhata (km816.5) Mileage: 22mi/35.5km It was a good night at the Arrow Lodge, after just a bit of noise from Friday night revelers died down. Days of the week have little relevance to a thru-hiker but we have begun to focus on where we will land for New Year’s eve. I did some hiker math in the morning to determine we could make Mt Pirongia summit and the nearby hut by Sunday night. But we needed to do another big day, plus resupply in Hamilton. The walk to Hamilton followed the Te Awa River Ride the whole way. This a paved multi-use path that is just splendid. The local communities have spent a lot on improvements of[…]

Read more

December 29th Rangiriri (km746)- Ngaruawahia (km781) Mileage: 21.8mi/35km There wasn’t a firm plan today but I hoped to end up in the Hakarimata range for a nice, natural campsite. The morning was spectacular: cool, calm, and gorgeous clouds. We crossed over the large Waikato River again, which was glassy calm. Mike assures me it is rare to see it so calm. There was an outrigger canoe paddling under the bridge. It was so quiet that we had a chat with her. Everyone says hello to one another here. It was a very pleasant walk on the stopbanks today. We were in the town of Huntly in no time at all. We got off trail to go across the bridge towards[…]

Read more