Twig Adventures

December 10th Puketi rec area (km199)-Kerikeri (km222) Mileage: 14.3mi/23km plus too much walking around town. Today was a short-ish walk into the first large town, Kerikeri. I woke to the sound of rain on my tent as well as the rooster crowing. The rain was light and let up shortly after. With no rain for the first whole week, I’d say I have been pretty lucky. I followed Mike on the route through paddock fields most of the morning. A paddock is simply a parceled piece of rangeland. New Zealand practices rotational grazing, in which stock is periodically moved from one small paddock to another to more effectively alleviate over-grazing. It’s more work for the farmer but seems to be[…]

December 9th Apple Dam Campsite (km174)-Puketi rec area (km199) Mileage: 15.5mi/25km plus 2.5 miles walking around the Kauri Sanctuary. It was so quiet overnight, save for the occasional Morepork hooting. I woke up at one point thinking I was in a void. Down here, out of the way of the rest of the world, there are no jets flying overhead and no light pollution. But as soon as the sun begins to peak up at 5 am, all the birds come alive and it is impossible to sleep in. I wanted to get up early anyways to go visit the kauri sanctuary a few kilometers down the road. These are some of the biggest and oldest trees in the world[…]

December 8th 580m summit at start of Raetea forest (km140.5)-Apple Dam Campsite (km174.5) Mileage: 21mi/34km Today was the day that the the forest got real. Mostly it was due to the mud but the steep climbs and overhanging vines were significant players. To start, the sunrise from my mountain top camp was really beautiful. About 20 minutes into the hike, I begin thinking of my tactics in terms of the popular TV show American Ninja Warrior. Usually one of the beginning obstacles involves a scramble across unstable stepping stones or a rolling log. Much of the forest today was this obstacle, except that the penalty for getting it wrong was a plunge into the mud rather than a clear pool[…]

December 7th Herekino track trailhead (km109) to 580 summit at start of Raetea (km140.5) Mileage: 19.2mi/31km Aside from hearing cars drive by all night (because I was camped near a road), I was treated to a chorus of Moreporks. This is the New Zealand owl, named such because its call sounds like it is demanding: more pork! I was hoping to hear one, instead I heard about a dozen. I didn’t sleep very well because my mind began fixating on the variance in their calls. There was one that sounded like someone clearing their chest. I then woke up early to a pheasant crowing and then flapping up into the air, doing a mating dance. I’ve spooked a few pheasants[…]

December 6th Karaka Stream (km82)-Herekino track trailhead (km109) Mileage: 16.8mi/27km plus additional 2km running back to hostel. I slept the best I ever have amongst some trees with the faint sound of the surf as white noise. It is even more peaceful sleeping here, knowing there are no animals that can harm you. I woke to birdsong early. I was pleased to find absolutely no condensation on my tent. The previous 2 nights were dripping wet. Sight selection plays a huge role in this. It’s best to camp amongst pine trees. Grassy areas near water are the worst, even if they are inviting. I skipped my breakfast routine and instead walked the 5 km to the Holiday Park. The water[…]

December 5th Maunganui Bluff Campsite(km41)-Karaka Stream (km82) Mileage: 25.5mi/41km Wow, I just realized that I walked the same amount today that I did in the first 2 days! Well, Day 1 was really only a half or quarter day. But yeah, I was on a roll today. I started just before 7 a.m. and had already caught up to Catrin by 8. She had gotten up at 4 a.m. and was rewarded by seeing wild horses playing on the beach at sunrise. I had actually seen the horses roll through our camp when I woke up but her description of them galloping and rearing on the beach, with the full moon in the background, made me wish I had got[…]

December 4th Twilight Beach campground (km12)-Maunganui Bluff Campsite (km41) Mileage: 18mi/29km It was the first full day of mostly beach walking on Ninety Mile Beach, a stretch of beach that is actually only 50mi/80km long. It feels like 90 miles when you have to walk it. I woke around 4am, still feeling the effects of jet-lag, so I worked on my blog and enjoyed the sunrise/moonset. My abode for the next 4 months. I decided to take a lazy morning, figuring I would have plenty of time to make it the 29kms to The Bluff campsite, not to be confused with Bluff, the end of the trail over 3000 km away still. I chatted with Shannon, giving pointers on how[…]

December 3rd Cape Reinga Lighthouse(0)-Twilight Beach campground (12km) Mileage: 7.5/12km All went according to plan today and my years of preparation have finally led to my reality…hiking the Te Araroa! The bus from Auckland departed on time at 7:30 am and I sat in the front seat to get a good view and avoid getting motion sickness. I chatted with a nice kiwi man sitting next to me who was one of the bus drivers, getting a ride back home. Along the way, I checked my GPS to find that we were currently driving a part of route! I told the driver to look for me as I was walking the road in this section in a few weeks. I[…]

December 2nd. Auckland Harbor Waterfront to Mt Eden Mileage: 6 kms I didn’t want to stay in the hostel all afternoon, knowing I would just get really tired and want to go to bed early, further putting me off this new schedule. What’s a great cure for jet lag? Walking! How convenient that the TA goes right through the city, following the urban and historic Coast to Coast path. The isthmus here is only 9 km wide (narrowest part of the country), thus it’s possible to walk from one harbor to the other in one day. I didn’t figure I’d make it the whole way but why not knock out a few kms, especially during such gorgeous weather. What a[…]

I’m off to a great start. In the line to board my first flight from MIA, a woman behind me said “That’s a really great pack. It’s the smallest one they make, right” I was in disbelief that anyone from Miami would recognize a Hyperlite pack, let alone someone on my flight. We had a short discussion about her plans to climb Mt Rainier with her boyfriend and my grand scheme to live out of said pack for 4 months. She’s a model on her way to a gig in Mexico City. If that doesn’t bash some stereotypes! A friendly, outdoorsy model from Miami. I love it. Then, in what was said to be a completely full flight, there was[…]