Distance: 0km Days off. Total: 1051km. Smell factor: 0/10.
Having completed one third of the walk you would think we were camping professionals at this point. We can certainly say that we've learnt a huge amount. Nonetheless, aspects of our new found knowledge are immensely boring. You definitely dont want to know about how we cleverly pack our bags to ensure perfect weight distribution and expert water replusion whilst having everything important to hand in an instant. No, those details are not interesting. What is interesting to us is how normal this camping business has become. The other wet night on the timber trail I crawed into my tent, wriggled into my sleeping bag and read my book via my phone. The weather was lashing down around me but I had that warm fuzzy feeling you get after a day in the cold. My 4 cuben fibre walls are all I needed to feel comfortable. Now, don't get me wrong, sometimes we would kill to have the comforts of home. It would be idilic to casually walk downstairs, eat toast and eggs whilst lounging on the sofa watching films. This must sound rather ridiculus but we can spend many walking hours thinking how easy and nice home is. Instead, packing, cooking and preparing for a days walk on the trail takes 2 hours. Everything we do requires thought and time when you lack the ease of modern comforts. I can tell you houses are wonderfully perfected watertight creations. Nonetheless, trail life is the norm now. We have adapted and evolved to manage our new routines and environments. Everyday we sleep somewhere new and unexpected. Every process is now tried and tested. Continual tweaks refine these processes further. In turn, these systems enhance the experience and help eradicate the difficulties. Although I babble about craving home comforts I must remind you all that the trip is shaping up to be bloody briliant. Every week offers an array of new experiences and challenges. We are lucky enough to already have numerous memories to cherish and share. Despite this, I cannot yet say living out of a bag is not someting I would like to continually do. Travel and experience yes, but not to this extreme. We have met some hikers that have been going from trail to trail for 10 years; always on the move living in tents on a tight budget. Credit to them; the freedom of hiking and unpredicability of everyday is certainly exciting. However, I think I speak for both us when I say this doesn't interest us for such a lenght of time. We are extremly grateful to have such wonderful adventures but travel experiences don't have to be quite that raw for quite that long. I certainly couldnt be doing without normal food for so long. I need yorkshire puddings back in my life. Ultimately though, the challenge and personal achievement is what drives us. The walk is pushing our physical and mental limits to an extent we didnt expect. It has been completely out of our comfort zone. Each day is generally a cocktail of contradictory emotions cursing our self inflicted goal whilst similutaesly reveling in our achicement. What we remind ourselves is if we can walk 1000km we can walk another 2000km, if we can walk the entire lenght of a country then we can surely set our minds to anything. We may struggle or stumble along the way but that is all part of the challenge. I only hope there will be a platter of yorkshire puddings and gravy waiting when I return home.
0 Comments
Distance = 16, 34, 34. Total = 1051km. Smell Factor = 9/10
The mosquitos frequently woke me up through the night, but annoying as this was it did mean I was able to briefly enjoy the beauty of the clear night sky. I devised a pretty good bug net using my hat and buff so I did manage to get some sleep. The beginning of the track was very well kept and pretty flat which allowed us to fully enjoy the incredible alpine forest around us. Being at a fairly high altitude meant that the forest was covered in moss, making it all that little bit more magical. We took our time at this section and Emma helped to point out the many birds flying through the canopy. The gradient increased but the track was still good under foot until we turned off to head for the summit. It was back to scrambling over tree roots and dodging knee deep mud until we broke through above the tree line. We had been in the forest for a few hours and in that time the blue skies had been replaced with thick cloud, and we were in one of those clouds. We reached the summit, our highest point on the trip so far at 1,175 meter above sea level. On a good day we could see lake Taupo and even the volcanic summits of Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom) and Ruapehu in the distance. It was not a good day though so we couldn't see 20 metelrs in front of us, it was annoying to miss out on yet another summits view but such is life and we have come to realise that this trail is very rarely fair to its followers. The temperature plummeted at this altitude, helped by the strengthening of the wind, and so we didn't spend long at the summit. The descent was steep and muddy, like all the other forests. We made our way to the 'Bog Inn' hut and reached our destination in the mid afternoon. To our delight the hut had a small wood burner and so Tom went straight to work on getting it going, the hobbit was in his element. There were only four bunks and there was another TA hiker already at the hut. The hobbit and I earned our bunk by getting the fire going and keeping it going through the afternoon and evening. We collected wood from around the hut and although it was all damp we managed to get the fire hot enough to still burn the wet logs. Another TA hiker joined us late in the evening and due to the weather and our awesome fire he decided to sleep on the floor. The six of us talked and laughed into the evening in this very rickety, old, shabby but very cosy four bed hut half way up a hill in the middle of nowhere. The day that followed was possibly the worst of the trip so far. It was still raining when we woke but thankfully due to our great fire making skills most of our clothes were dry. The rain was relentless throughout the day and it didn't take long for absolutely everything to be saturated. The awesome suspension bridges dotted along the trail briefly brightened our spirits and we took great delight in bouncing on them to exacerbate Harry's dislike of heights, as all good friends would. The rain always put pay to this and quickly dampened our spirits, quite literally. Around mid day we passed the 1,000 kilometre mark. We celebrated as all full grown adults would with high fives all round and a sip of crap whisky from the hip flask. Passing the thousand k mark should have been much more of a momentous occasion, walking a million meters in just under two months is not something many people do, but the weather and our lack of food put pay to this. Food had been a big issue all week and every hiker we spoke to was having a similar problem. We had heard about hikers hunger but this was next level. We could eat endlessly and still not be full, we were constantly hungry even though we had sufficient supplies. Every conversation turned to food and we constantly thought about food, real food not this light weight hikers stuff. Food is a big part of both our lives but never more so than today. This coupled with the incessant rain really affected our mood. We trudged on for hours until we found a small spot we could fit all three tents on. Everything was cold and wet, even my sleeping clothes were slightly damp. I was in a foul mood and after eating dinner sat out in the pouring rain it wasn't long before I was asleep. I woke to even more rain and I also discovered my tent had let in a small trickle of water through the night so everything in my tent was nearly as wet as the stuff outside my tent. £400 for a stupid bag for life which didn't even complete its most basic of jobs! Tom was in the same boat, separate tents though. We ate breakfast in silence and packed up all our wet stuff into our wet bags, put on wet clothes, wet boots, and hit the trail once again in the rain. I was so close to braking point that I even took the guys up on the offer of coffee during our first break. It may have been the coffee but it was more likely the sunshine breaking through which lifted my spirits. It's crazy what a bit of sun and caffeine can do for someone close to their limit. The trail continued to be well maintained and the suspension bridges still delighted us, apart from Harry. We all turned our bags into walking washing lines so we could dry as many clothes as possible. We listened to music to keep our pace up so that we would make it out of the forest that day. It was another long day, at the end of a long day and the final push to reach the nearby village of Ongarue was a tough one. Our aim was to get to Taumaranui so we could stay in a cabin. This aim was quickly dashed when we called a shuttle company and they quoted us a price of $300 to take us 25 kilometres (10 minutes at most by car), what the frig New Zealand!?! The chap running the local store (not really a store but it did sell Coke) told us we could catch the school bus in the morning for $5 each. He pointed us to a patch of grass to camp on near the public toilets. We all enjoyed our well earned cokes before pitching up. Knowing we could resupply tomorrow was amazing and we all ate pretty much everything we had in our bags for dinner. Food, beds, showers, and shelter would be ours tomorrow so one more night in the tent was fine, especially as the rain had stopped. Even the ground shaking train line only a few meters from our beds couldn't bring us down. The Turner. Besides the day being our biggest walking day and Luke sleeping on the unoccupied Department of Conservation HQ fancy porch, the walking was uneventful. So, instead, we have hair growth updates for you:
Facial hair: The Turner: Vagely manly. Not Castaway Tom Hanks by any means but an significant evolution from Woody Tom Hanks. Th Hobbit: Pretty hopeless but some improvement. If you squint you may see it. Head hair: The Turner: Looks very normal but with stylised designer blond streaks (possibly grey). The Hobbit: Untameable. I constantly need to wear my hat to control/hide it. Im a bit scared of it. Give it time, we may still miraculously turn into man bunned, long bearded hiking hipsters. The Hobbit. Distance: 17km. Total: 932km. Smell factor: 5/10.
I was rather careless today with the metholated sprits and briefly set fire to my foot... Luckily, there was a river right next to me which I scrambled into. The day wasnt particulary pleasant after that. It blistered slightly and warmed a fair bit in my boot. The blazing hot sun and crazy terrain didn't help matters. Since then, we have switched to cooking on gas. The Hobbit. We had an unproductive day off relaxing in the sun on a river shoal bank. Sorry no blogging was achieved.
Distance = 17km. Total = 912km. Smell Factor = 0/10
For only the second time on the trail we decided to be tourists for the morning and visit the Waitomo glow worm caves. Although it wasn't cheap it was well worth the visit. The initial cave system was impressive enough, with gigantic stalactites and stalagmites all around. We ventured further down into the cave and as it became darker the glow worms became visible. We were herded into boats and slowly we made our way into the complete darkness. The glow worms were incredible, they transformed the cave ceiling into the most brilliant blanket of stars. They were on almost every surface above the waterline and in the darkness and silence it was magical. We filled up at the cafe again before heading back to the trail. The sun was at full blaze, this, coupled with some steep climbs, meant it was tough going. The trail took some very odd directions and there was rather a lot of cursing along the way. We were in good spirits though as we made our way into Te Kuiti. We hadn't worked out a place to stay but we did find a takeaway so we enjoyed some very mediocre Chinese whilst coming up with a plan. The plan was to resupply and then walk a couple of kilometres out of town to find a decent free camp spot. The plan didn't last long as we were offered a place to stay by a lovely Maori as Tom and I were at the check out. All four of us, our packs, 6 days worth of food each, and Middy squeezed into her car and we made our way to her house. Middy had a spare room for Harry and Emma, whilst Tom and I set up our pads on the living room floor, yes technically the same room but separate pads! We talked late into the night, discussing the similarities and differences between our cultures. A fantastically well informed and welcoming host, what more could you ask for. I guess fortune favours those who take ages at the checkout. The Turner Distance = 25km. Total = 895km. Smell Factor = 8/10 The night was cold and very windy but both tents stood up to the test. The morning was still windy but no where near as bad. The track was pleasant and although we were up high it wasn't too steep. The views at points were incredible, it was a beautiful clear day so we could see for miles. Emma and I rocked out to meatloaf to pass the time, singing along as much as we could when we had enough breath. Tom, Harry, and the hillside sheep were all very lucky to enjoy our amazing rendition of 'Paradise by the Dashboard light' as we filled the hills with a very unique sound of music. By doing this we managed to go slightly off track but thankfully Tom and his degree in Geography (colouring) managed to work out a way to get back on track. The views continued to amaze with rolling fields all around, the odd rocky outcrop and even Mt. Pirongia in the distance. We came across a farmer and she confirmed that we were indeed off track and that Tom's plan was correct. The farm was massive, stretching out as far as we could see. Once on the main road it was all down hill and we continued to play music to keep our spirits high. We reached Waitomo in the late afternoon and immediately went to the cafe. I had two ice creams amongst other things as the afternoon had been quite warm. We decided to treat ourselves to a room for the night and booked into the hostel. Following a heavenly shower and feeling relatively clean we headed to the bar for a good feed and some alcoholic beverages. The Turner Distance: 34km, 8km, 23k. Total: 870km. Smell factor: 2, 7, 8 (wet dog sort of smell).
Joan kindly dropped us back on the trail just outside Hamilton picking up Harry and Emma on route. We were all in good sprits following a needed rest. Bags were heavy from our resupply but we were all feeling ready to push out a big walking day. The trail was taking us towards the mountain of Pironga and we hoped to reach the campground at its base. It took a coffee shop stop and a bag readjustment to get comfortable, after that, progress was good. The terrain was mixed and Pironga loomed in the distance as we began to gradually climb. The afternoon gifted us a glorious spot and an awesome vista. We relaxed there for some time and absorbed the surroundings. The open and uninterrupted views are something I've been craving. The forests have their beautiful qualities but the ability to see miles of landscape can not be beaten. After unknowingly resting in a cowpat we continued on whilst I endured countless and ongoing jokes about my soiled shorts! We wound around numerous trails, farms and gravel roads, singing to more cheesy motivational tunes. Later that day we arrived at our destination in good shape, happy with our achievement. We all disappeared in to our tents resting and readying ourselves for a climb tomorrow. I poked my head out of the tent in the early morning encouraged by the sunlight beaming through my tent. Sadly, deep purple clouds were approaching from the west and before long we were enveloped in drearyness as Luke and I sat cooking breakfast. Fortunately, our good planning meant we only needed to walk 8km to reach the DOC hut at the summit. We would stay there the night and then decend in the morning. We briefly explored a nearby cave and then began our days walk. Once again, we traipsed into the depths of another forest. Initially, the trail and the weather were bearable. Two hours in and I foolishly expressed my thoughts; "we are making good progress guys". As a result, the rain and the wind intensified and the trail became a familar bog. We rose above the bush line and were pounded by the weather. Progress slowed. Waterproofing was ineffective and we were soon saturated. To add to the challenge the department of conservation (DOC) have a habit of building random 5 metre stretches of boardwalk which abruptly finish at the edge of another bog. With my head down I did not notice the nimble bog dogding from Luke and Emma in front, I steped off the boardwalk and immediately sunk to my knees. I cursed and back tracked as my 'friends' looked on and laughed. The rest of the climb was equally wet and muddy. We peaked and got a great view of nothing! We all stood at the top of the view tower taking selfies in a sea of cloud. Shortly after, we arrived at the hut, striped all our wet gear off, made hot drinks, instant soup, and spent the early evening playing cards in comfort. We slept intermitently that night. A seinor walking group arrived the evening before. Oddly, many of them went to bed at 7pm which we thought a little premature. Consquently, this meant our alarm was premature. The walking group had no conception of hush in a shared space and were clattering around and seemingly shouting to each other at the unreasonable time of 5am. This unintentionally kick started the day. Outside still looked grim and much of our equipment was still soaked. We wrapped up with our remaining warm layers. Naturally, a half hour later the weather changed its tune and we were soon overheating. The decent was another boggy venture but the weather held strong. At the exit to the forest was a small stream where we all cleaned down. The remainder of the day was straightforward and we dryed as we walked in the afternoon sun. Camp that night was a windy sheep field, this did us just fine. All in all, that was another epic few days battling New Zealand. One day soon we hope to get a view from one of these peaks! The Hobbit. Distance = 0. Total = 805km. Smell Factor = 0/10.
Following a tough day in the rain it felt amazing to have a couple of rest days. We spent a good portion of our time doing our trail chores, with the help of Bleddin. We completed our tasks during the day and we were fed like kings each evening. Joan cooked the most amazing dinners for us and she must have been informed of our appetites as there were always second helpings, sometimes even third helpings, and each glorious meal was followed by an equally scrumptious dessert. Hikers hunger can be really rather serious, not only for the bodies energy output but for Tom and I it changed our mindsets. So far since leaving San Fransisco Tom has lost 3kg and I have lost 5kg. Joan had certainly helped to combat this weight loss and we will both be forever grateful for this. The Turner Distance = 24km Total = 790km Smell Factor = 10/10 Tom returned from washing the breakfast stuff and filling the water bottles with a dog. His collar revealed his name as Sparky. We had been barked at by this elderly Jack Russell cross when we arrived last night but this morning he was brave enough to come over to our camp site. He was quite clearly no puppy (we all estimated him to be between 12 and 14 years old). He had a slight hobble due to a rather large growth on his back right leg. A cute little fella who seemed interested by everything we had. We packed up camp and headed back down the road to the entrance of the forest track. We passed a work man for the farm who lent out of his window and yelled to Sparky "go home you old bastard" before explaining that he might follow us a little way but he would soon wonder back home. We climbed up through the first part of the track, it was a steep climb but mainly steps. Sparky continued to follow us. The weather was awful and the rain showed little sign of stopping. The track became increasingly difficult, the steps were replaced by slippery tree roots and our old friend mud was back in our lives. Sparky continued to follow us. Roughly an hour in we took our first bag drop, resting in a small clearing whilst the rain continued to punish us. We had not seen Sparky for a while, when who should come wondering around the corner? Sparky the plucky little bugger, hobbling along, he was in no mind to stop and pretty much walked straight by us. What a little legend. We were too far into the forest to return him and we couldn't leave him as there was no telling if he could make it back home, he was with us for the day. However, Walkies and the Te Araroa are two very different things, especially to an old, slightly blind, possibly deaf, limping dog. It wasn't long before he started slowing. The growth on his leg was not looking good. We gave him as much of our food as we thought would be OK for him and to speed things up a little we used our day bag as a dog carrier. Each of us took it in turns to wear the bag on our front (as well as our stupid massive rucksacks on our back) and carry Sparky. After a while he would become restless so we would have to put him down so he could walk for a bit. By this point we had been walking for four hours and had only reached half way, soaked through to the bone we had one collective goal, get Sparky out of the forest and reunited with his owners. Not only was everything drenched and muddy but it was also now covered in dog hair. Poor little Sparky was also cold and wet. Towards the end of the day he didn't seem as reluctant to be carried, often sheltering his head inside the bag too. After a steep final descent and eight hours walking we were finally got out of the forest. We walked into the small local town and had coffee, hot chocolate, chips, and cake. It was exactly what we needed. We dried Sparky with our towels and he fell asleep almost instantly, the shop owner gave us some tea towels so I used those and my coat to try to keep him warm. Emma managed to get in contact with his owner, who was most relieved to know we had him and came to pick him up. What an amazing adventure for this plucky little fella, Spaky's big day out. An inspiration to all of us. The Turner Emma and our ingenious dog carrying system
|
Blog updated until Day 93.
Last update Day 71. Archives |