Twig Adventures

January 26th Pukeatua Track (km1630)-Paekakariki Holiday Park (km1662) Mileage: 19.9mi/32km I was really refreshed by a good rest in my tent, looking forward to a day that involved country roads, a river, an estuary, a beach, and then dunes. The morning was beautiful and started off with some friendly horses. This mommy even whinnied at me and baby was keen to nibble on my stuff. Does a baby horse count as a new animal petting? Well, if not, then I have a few more that definitely add to my count. I found this sign unexpectedly on the side of the road: They had me at animal park. I could also here exotic shrieks emanating from the place and just had[…]

January 25th Waitewaewae Hut (km1608) – Pukeatua Track (km1630) Mileage: 13.7mi/22km Despite being really tired and the hut being very quiet, I didn’t sleep well. At first it was too hot and all night the mossies were plaguing me. I’ve determined that there are only 2 noises that keep me awake anymore…really loud snoring and mosquito buzzing. I thought there were only one or two, until I killed half a dozen in the morning, with many more evading me. My poor hut mates heard me slapping at them all night. Sorry for the noise, guys. Chalk up another night when I would have been better off in my tent. I took it easy and didn’t leave the hut until after[…]

January 24th Te Matawai hut (km1587.5)-Waitewaewae Hut (km1608) Mileage: 13.4mi/21.5km I woke and packed up early, hoping to do a big day, by Tararua standards. I was the 3rd to leave the hut at 7 am. Most make a day out of getting to the second hut, which is only 12 km away. Nichols hut has just 8 bunks, so for this reason, I wanted to try to push to the 3rd hut along the route at 21.5 kms away. Even at elevation in the Rockies, I’ve easily done such a distance by lunch before. However, this would turn out to be one of the hardest days of hiking I’ve ever done. The morning was completely clouded over and the[…]

January 23rd Makahika Outdoor Pursuits Centre (km1569)- Te Matawai hut (km1587.5) Mileage: 11.5mi/18.5km I slept pretty well and everyone was very quiet. I woke up early and sat on a couch, trying to catch up on the blog. I was pretty far behind. After breakfast, John came by to give us a lift into Levin. I again bought way too much food, but I was unsure how long the Tararuas were going to take me. It is only 45 kms through the range, along the TA route, but it is very high, exposed, and slow going. I’ve been warned to expect to make about 1 km per hour in some places. This is probably the most difficult section I’ve come[…]

January 22nd Burttons Track and Whare/Tokomaru River (km1543)-Makahika Outdoor Pursuits Centre (km1569) Mileage: 16mi/26km We had an easy day planned to get to the Makahika Outdoor Pursuits Centre. This is another must-stop trail angel place along the route. We figured we’d use the shorter day to go into the nearby town of Levin for resupply. It was rainy all day. I started out with my umbrella but put it away because the rain was too light to bother. We had a few climbs through forest, along with a short stint through gorse. The rain made the trails a bit slippery but the mud was manageable. My new shoes are no longer blue, though. Connor entertained me by belting out American[…]

January 21st WhioWhio Hut, Palmerston North (km1505)-Burttons Track and Whare/Tokomaru River (km1543) Mileage: 23.7mi/38km plus about 5 km walking around Victoria Esplanade After a nice early breakfast with Fiona (she had to work on Sunday-she’s a radiologist at the hospital), we packed up and headed out. We first needed to go to a small grocery to get a few item for the next 2 days. Then I convinced Connor that we needed to explore the Victoria Esplanade, which is the local park. I visited on my first trip to NZ and remembered it to be an excellent park. It seems to have gotten even better. We found the flying fox straight away, which entertained for a few rounds. We also[…]

January 20th Wanganui Top 10 Holiday Park (km1397)-WhioWhio Hut, Palmerston North (km1505) Mileage: 67.8mi/108km What a fantastic and action-packed day this was. We woke up excited to be off early for our big cycling adventure. This was T3 of the TA triathlon, where we traded our paddles in for wheels…big fat mountain bike wheels. I know what 60 some miles on flat roads with a road bike feels like, since I used to ride that distance training for triathlons. Cranking a fat tire bike over rolling countryside with a pack on for that same distance was going to be especially taxing. Oh, and no bike shorts to protect my bum…what was I thinking when I cooked up this idea? Well,[…]

January 19th Whanganui River (km1390)- Wanganui Top 10 Holiday Park (km1397) Mileage: 4mi/7km paddling plus lots of walking around town. A nero day. I had a big day planned for town, so we got an early start in the kayaks. Loading them in the mud was a chore and then we had to fight an incoming tide. At least we were at the holiday park by 9 am. Along the way, we encountered heaps of crew boats out for their morning row. They were all putting in at a ramp up the river, which we mistook for a crew house but it turned out to be the holiday park. Numerous teams from all over NZ were staying at the park[…]

January 18th Flying Fox campsite, Koriniti (km1344)-Whanganui River (km1390) Mileage: 28.6mi/46km We expected rain all night but it was surprisingly dry when we woke up. The wind was blowing pretty strong but it meant a tail wind for us, so we liked it. We were on the river by 8:30 am but not before packing some takeaway avocados from the overloaded tree. They need some time to ripen. We didn’t make it far before stopping at Down’s hut. This is a historic homestead from the 1920’s, built by Mr. Down of course. I wanted to check it out because I heard the hut book goes back to 2001 and is a record of all the former TA hikers. Sure enough,[…]

January 17th Ramanui campsite (km1292)-Flying Fox campsite, Koriniti (km1344) Mileage: 32.3mi/52km I woke in the morning to the sound of something grazing near my tent…it was two deer. I watched them for awhile, so close. Possums had woken me in the night, making their horrible little noises. I could see their eyes reflecting in the trees. There is so much life here, always something different. Thankfully, the deer woke me just in time to see the beautiful cotton candy clouds from the sunrise. I went back to the Captain’s Chair, where I found Black Cat still sitting! He went straight onto my lap and I enjoyed the sunrise while he served as a lap-warmer. So great! Everyone else was up[…]