Northland: Whananaki to Kerikeri
Day 11: Whananaki to Helena Bay (approx. 27km / 7hrs)
Fortunately the rain eased overnight (the MetService had issued a heavy rain warning which could have made things tricky dicky) and we left our very comfortable cabin to start another great day. Our start time was determined by what time the cafe/store opened (guess why….!!) but I did not mind as it meant not too early a start.
It was a reasonably long day. with lots of ups and downs on different terrain including roads, farm tracks (including the compulsory cow-trodden tracks), muddy tracks, forest tracks, and beaches. All what seems to be becoming part of our regular routine!
We finished off at Helena Bay Beach where Ken, the brother of Dave, one of the Trail Angels, kindly picked us up and drove us the couple of kilometers to Dave’s house at LXM Studio.
When we got there we were greeted by Dave, a couple of SOBO TA walkers, two German WOOFers, two dogs and a cat. Sadly Alex, Dave’s partner and the artist LXM, was away as it would have been lovely to meet her too.
We had a great evening sitting around chatting with everyone drinking wine and beer and eating the delicious BBQ and salads made by Dave. Another incredibly kind and generous Trail Angel.
Dave also very kindly offered for us to sleep in his Toyota van which had been converted to have a bed in it. This meant we did not have to set up our tent and camp (which as you know by now, dear reader, is something I have a small aversion to!)
Day 12: Helena Bay to Paihia (51.5km, of which we walked 25.5km)
An early wake up as Dave was going out (in the van we were sleeping in!) so we then walked to the junction with the main road.
Te Araroa Trail used to go through the Russell Forest but sadly this is now closed to prevent the spread of Kauri Dieback. The detour route is all on roads, some more dangerous than others. With this in mind we made a decision to hitch and see how we got on.
As soon as we started hitching, the first four cars all stopped straight away. However, they were only going 8km up the road so we kindly declined them all and said we would wait for someone going a bit further.
The next guy that stopped was going further but did not have room for us in his van. However, that did not stop him getting out of the van and having a good old chin wag with us for about 10 minutes or so! Really nice guy, who is planning to build a cabin and shelter on his property for TA walkers.
Unfortunately we then had a bit of a dry patch and all in all it was well over an hour before we did manage to get a ride. This was by a lady called Cheryl who had her five year old son and two other child seats in her car but kindly made room for us to fit in. She kindly took us up to “The Farm” (about 18km up the incredibly narrow, fast and windy road).
“The Farm” is a commune/backpackers/cafe/shop/physio/dirt bike track & rental/horse riding….you name it they seemed to have it there. Sadly (especially for Roger), the coffee machine was switched off but one of the guys living there kindly gave us a couple of apples to eat on our way.
We had only walked about a kilometre or so further up Russell Road when out of the blue a very vicious looking dog ran out towards us. Roger tried to fend it off with his poles and the dog started biting at one of the poles. The dog eventually gave up and headed back to its property where there were several other dogs barking away. We did not know if any more were going to come out as well and it was all a bit scary and not very pleasant.
Fortunately it was not too far before we turned off Russell Road on to a much quieter road through the Ngaiotonga Reserve which took us through some beautiful native bush and massive big Kauri trees. It was lovely along that road and a good place to stop and have some lunch.
Once we popped out the other end back on to a main road we hitched again and immediately a guy with a pickup truck stopped and we clambered on to the deck at the back. It was another fast, windy road and it was great to not have to walk it. What seemed like ages later he stopped at a junction and told us this was where we were to part ways. It was then only about 5km to Okiato where we boarded the ferry to Opua. The ferry runs every ten minutes across this short channel and costs $2 for a foot passenger. It could probably take around 10 vehicles at a time and there seemed to be a constant flow of traffic in both directions.
Once in Opua, we stopped at the local shop (Roger, coffee & slice, me, ice cream) before finally getting to do some off road walking along the Opua to Paihia Coastal Walkway to, yep, you guessed it, to Paihia. This was really pretty and also pretty easy going and a great way to finish the day.
In Paihia we treated ourselves to staying in a motel and going to an Indian restaurant for dinner. Luxury!
It rained for about two minutes in the morning, creating this rainbow
Leaving Dave and Alex’s place
The Okiato to Opua ferry
Day 13: Paihia to Kerikeri (28km, 7.25hrs)
Breakfast in our motel room, takeaway coffee for Roger and we were on our way. We passed Waitangi Treaty grounds and then took a detour (not part of TA) through the Waitangi - Hururu Waterfalls Track. This was a really lovely track which ended at the waterfalls which were great to see. This detour added a couple of kilometers on to the route but was definitely worth doing.
Once back on the track we climbed up to the lookout at Mt. Bledisloe which gave us some great views of where we had come from earlier that day. Whilst sitting there, enjoying our morning tea, a Canadian SOBO walker came up and joined us. I am secretly quite jealous of all the SOBO walkers we are meeting as they have nearly all of this amazing walk ahead of them whereas we are very close to finishing. :(
We then headed in to the pine forest and walked for about 10km along forest roads, some of which have been smoothed out by the logging trucks. The Waitangi mountain bike park is in this forest and we are both very keen to come back one day and ride there.
Once out of the forest we then had about 5km slog in to Kerikeri. This was quite tough going as all the gravel roads had been hard on our feet so we were very pleased to reach the town where yep, Roger had a coffee and slice and I had an ice-cream before a spontaneous drop in to surprise a friend, Samantha Fleming, who worked in the local optometrists. It was then the final 500m to the holiday park where we had a cabin booked for two nights.
Shower, laundry, takeaway curry and beer. A good end to a reasonably good day.
At Waitangi Treaty grounds
On the Waitangi - Hururu Waterfall track
Day 14: Zero (rest) Day
We decided to have a rest day as we knew that the next ten days would be quite tough and we are slightly ahead of schedule for meeting Anne and Chris at Cape Reinga.
It was a very cruisy day. Breakfast at a cafe followed by coffee with a friend (Audrey Petersen). The rest of the day was really just about resting and doing admin: planning, food-shopping & sending excess gear back to Auckland. Then it was takeaway pizza and beer and before you knew it, our rest day was over!
Someone who has just finished reading this blog
Friends listening to me talk about Te Araroa
By the River at the holiday park!
The river at the bottom of the holiday park
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