Thursday 26 November 2015

Day 26 - Rest day - Auckland - numerous steps, probably numerous kms, up the hill and into the city and back again!

Looked at the 'schedule' and figured the kms out of Auckland are probably unrealistic given that one of us still has to walk into her fitness and one of us has a right appendage that doesn't want to be in the game.

Strategic journeying coming into play. Revised plan looks a bit like this - walk to Hamilton as per route but shorter distances meaning extra two days travel time.  Hire car in Hamilton and drive  to Waitomo, missing a section that is pretty miserable by previous accounts including a bit described as '5km of continuous bog'.  See the glow worms and pick up my box. Drive to Tongariro an do the crossing, then across to White Island for some more volcanic action (missing the whanganui river leg), then on to Wanganui township, drop off the car and back to walking the rest of the trail into Wellington.

Because of this rejigging, had to put on my logistics hat and spent a good part of the day amending or cancelling or making new reservations. Part of the plan is to leave Auckland City a day early, not just because we're keen to get going, but because the backpackers we are staying at, well let's just say it's not our cup of tea and leave it at that.

Went into town to Resupply had a coffee and then came back and got all the supplies  packed up. We were just about to head out again , because we'd promised ourselves an ice cream, when I realised I'd left my hoody at the coffee shop. No worries - we'd just pick it up on the way back into town, but when we got to the cafe  it was shut. Frustratingly, we could see my hoody through the window. Checked their opening hours and they open at 6:30 in the morning - thankfully we will still be able to get an early start, secure a coffee and pick up my hoody!

People who know me, know I'm an icream girl, so it will come as no surprise that an icream by the harbour was a highlight. Majella wanted to walk all the way to the end of the harbour again because she didn't have her camera when we did it yesterday - so much for a rest day!

On the way there is a pedestrian bridge that opens to let boats through. It was opening as we arrived and we stopped anticipating one of the multi-million dollar yachts to appear. And then we saw it - the little boat that could. We figure if it had taken its little flag off it could have gone under the bridge! It was soooo funny. You could just imagine it puffing out it's chest at the indignity of it all.

Pigeon xx



Tuesday 24 November 2015

Day 25 - Into Auckland -about 9km

My feet were so sore yesterday that I had planned to catch a bus into Auckland, but it was a sunny morning and not too far to go so I pushed my still swollen feet into my shoes and headed off to Devenport to catch the ferry across. More little bays and more headlands. It was dog walking time and lots of people stopped to have a chat to me about where I was walking to and just about all of them told me I was amazing for doing it.
I don't feel amazing. I feel just like me.

I was chasing the feeling around that I was a little bit reluctant to get to Auckland so I found a park bench to sit with it for a while. I decided it was a mixture of things, not the least of which is I don't like cities much. But Auckland is like an ending in away, the end of the first part of the story where I was responsible just for me. Part two starts when Majella gets two Auckland and it becomes 'our' journey for a while. I guess I'm a bit anxious about it - Majella wouldn't be doing the trail if it wasn't for me and I know what the trail can be like.  I finally decided that the best we can do is just take it as it comes. I can't control what the trail has in store for us so no point worrying about what I can't control.

Had a coffee and then caught the ferry across to the city. Long walk to the backpackers - I think I'd managed to pick the one furthest from the city!

Washing done.

Waiting for Gel (Majella) to touch down.

Pigeon xx
















Day 24 - Orewa to Takapuna Beach Holiday Park (TA 583) - 37 km

There was an estuary crossing at the Okura River on today's route. It was meant to be hip deep at low tide which probably meant about waist deep on me. There was a walk around which of course was long and involved roads and Alex and Harriet had decided to miss this section should f the coast altogether and push push on down East Coast Road to Browns Bay and rejoin the trail there. I was initially going to do this too, but I woke up deciding I didn't want to pound the pavement for that long and would take the TA route all the way.

The 2 days without walking should have refreshed me, but my pack, which was relatively empty, felt like a tonne of bricks when I put it on and my legs felt heavy and unwilling. The day started off with a walk on the footpath around the estuary. I got to the point where the TA is meant to go left up a grassed walkway and someone had erected a cyclone fence with a sign 'Private Property' - I guess some more negotiations are required to allow us troublesome hikers to walk on the grass. After a bit of a detour I was back on trail again and a bit of a road slog until the turn off to Still Water. I'd just turned the corner when a 4-wheel drive stopped and a man (Dougal) asked me if I wanted a lift to the trail head. 'Yes please'. I had a long way to go today and was happy to skip some bitumen.

It was a lovely day and I was enjoying the Okura Coast Track - it was a pretty walk around the estuary and over the headland. I was taking my time as I knew I would hit the estuary crossing before low tide and would have to wait a bit. I got to the top of the headland with a viewpoint across the estuary - the tide was pretty well out but I could see the channel on the far side which still looked quite full. I made my way down and along the beach to the spit which was the crossing point - about two hours to low tide. I looked across the estuary and I could see two people - hikers, likely to be Barnaby and Laura who I had seen in Orewa.  It looked pretty shallow where they were but they appeared to be waiting so I guessed the channel was still too deep. I had a snack and moved some things to the top of my pack and started across the estuary to where they were. It was easy going over to the sandbar where they were and yep it was Barnaby and Laura. I waited a bit with them but patience isn't something I do very well. I headed out what would have been the last 50m: ankle deep, knee deep, thigh deep, groin deep, waist deep, boob deep. I had about 10m to go when it got too deep for me to stay grounded and I started to float - so close! Reluctantly I turned around, but not being the best swimmer thought caution was the way to go!

Waited for another 20 minutes and then some more. Barnaby wasn't keen to get his gear wet but mine was already wet. Started in again - ankle deep, knee deep, thigh deep, waist deep, boob deep, tippy toe top of boob deep - across! It was such a good feeling!  Walked up onto the bank and emptied out my pack - not to bad on the inside considering the two submersion sit just had. Wiped the bottom out with a towel, repacked, shoes on, back on my way.

It didn't take long for my clothes to dry but my tent bag must have been still ho,ding some water as there was a constant drip, drip, drip on my leg as I walked.

The rest of the day followed the coast through numerous little bays and towns that all involved a walk along the shoreline and then a climb (with obligatory stairs). It was lovely but loooong and by the end of the day, my very tired feet were very thankful to get to the campground.

The Takapuna Holday Park is a little frayed around the edges which I thought was interesting as Takapuna seemed to be quite an affluent area. It also seemed to fit with the 'closer you get to Auckland the less you get for your dollar' theory, but my site was flat and the bindiis were still green and the shower was hot.

I lay in my tent that night and looked at the lights of Auckland across the harbour. Only a short walk tomorrow and I'll be there.

Pigeon xx













Sunday 22 November 2015

Day 22-23 - Rest days Orewa - Turn Around Points


Because of my strategic journeying I am ahead of my own schedule. I had a rest day in Orewa yesterday and caught up with Alex and Harriet (or more correctly they caught up with me). They were pushing through to Auckland today, but if I had done the same I would have got to Auckland 2 days before Majella flew in. Weather was meant to be good for today so I decided to take an extra day here and get a few things done like get my glasses fixed (they'd got caught on my pack and I'd broken the arm off) and go to Vodafone about the data for my IPad.

Spent a lot of today just kicking back reading a novel and took a couple of walks along the beach.




Orewa beach is a great walking beach- flat and firm - and you see lots of people taking a stroll both with and without a perceived purpose. It is covered in shells which crunch satisfyingly when you walk on them.

I was walking along the beach this afternoon and having an inner dialogue about whether I 'should' walk all the way down to the furthest tree or turn around at the tide marker. I was laughing to myself because it didn't really matter and I should just turn around when I wanted to.  I walked a bit further then turned around. An elderly lady was walking up the beach toward me and then, at no obvious end point that I could see, turned around and headed back. Everyone has there own turn around point.

And of course that made me think of the trail and the journey it's become for me. Like the beach, the turn around point, the point where I head back home is when the time is right for me - there are no shoulds.

Pigeon xx

Saturday 21 November 2015

Day 21 - Puhoi to Orewa - Top 10 Holiday Park (TA 546) - 17km

I'm sitting in a room at the Top 10 Holiday Park. It's not the games room and not the kitchen but it has a cool window seat and dining tables and is not a bad spot to spend a windy rainy afternoon.

I got into Orewa just before lunch after a longer than expected walk in from Puhoi. The route took me along the beaches and around the rock platforms and navigating the rocks took a lot more time than I thought it would. One, because they went on forever, and two because they weren't that easy to pick a progressive path on so I had to do some backtracking.

I left the Puhoi pub at around 7:30, planning to hit the general store for breaky. No one was up when I left and all the exits were dead locked so I followed my nose out through the kitchen and found a black door - freedom.

Walked down to the store and who should be there but Nancy and Nathan - super hikers! I laughed and told them not to ask me how I got there and then proceeded to tell them I skipped a bit. They just laughed and told me that the section I missed did have some real shitty bits and they didn't make it all the way out and ended up setting up camp at 9:00pm! That was the best first aid for guilt at skipping a bit that I could have had - these two can and do clock 50kms a day so it must have been pretty tough going at times. Gave them a hug and a head start - can't imagine I will catch them again unless I do some more strategic journeying!

I'm actually in my tent tonight as most of Orewa is booked out due to some concert in Auckland. That must mean I'm getting close to the capital which seems a little unreal. It once seemed so far away and now I'm just about there.

My buddy Majella will join me in Auckland - we've been talking about rejigging the journey a bit.

Pigeon xx

Ps My sanctuary from the rain has been invaded by a couple of fellows who came in, turned on the tele, proceeded to chat and not watch it.  Sigh! Lucky am up to date.

PPS Last night there was a huge storm - fierce winds, pouring rain, thunder and lightning. I abandoned my tent around midnight and headed back to my sanctuary with sleeping bag in tow. Much less scary under the table!

















Day 20 - Pakiri to Puhoi Pub (TA 529) -lift to TA502 then 25km walk

Waved goodbye to Alex and Harriet and then sat around for the next couple of hours waiting for my ride.  I was still giving myself grief for skipping a bit, and then it would pour and I would think that I'd made a good call.

Christine arrived right on time and it was a quick journey by car to where I would pick up the trail again. It wasn't raining there and the clouds were quite high so fingers crossed  I started just across the road from the Dome Cafe, unusually with a road walk up a hill! Then onto a forestry road, bit of a bush bash, bit of a felled timber bash and back out on the road. Nice big hill for the middle of the route which was made more interesting because they had just done some work on the road and it was churned up with lots of loose dirt and rocks. The weather was holding and the sun was making a comeback so I wasn't wet with rain but I was sweating a river.

Stopped for a break and a wee. Just as I was doing my business, Siri goes off in my pocket 'Commencing face time with Peter Prammer'. What the?!  Now is NOT a good time for my phone to establish face time with my boss! Fumbled my phone out of my pocket and promptly dropped it - thank goodness for my Lifeproof cover.

Drama over I continued on to top of hill - only about 5 more km to the campsite where I had planned to camp. Of course when I got there the basic DOC camp on my map was even less basic (read non-existent) so I pushed on to Puhoi - wondering where I could stay. I walked into the town and found the pub. Old world, quirky decor, very cool.

Fish and chips for tea.

Pigeon xx












































Day 19 - Mangawhai to Pakiri Holiday Park (TA 476) -22kms

We were on a mission to beat high tide today. We had 15km of beach to cover and 3 river crossings today - all of which could be a bit deep and nasty at high tide. Low tide was at 6:30 am but we had a 5km road walk before we even touched the sand.

Just before the beach I came across Barnaby and Laura. Barnaby said there was some nasty weather coming through and when I got to the top of the dunes I could see the dark clouds he was talking about. The storm seemed to be coming up from the south so I figured I had a bit of time before it hit and hopefully could make the end of the first beach.  I started off at a good pace and when I got to the first crossing it was only an inch or so deep.  Hit first headland, raincoat on, and just as I started up the front hit. Rain, fierce winds and exposed headland. Had to take my glasses off because I couldn't see with them on, wasn't much better without them! Down the other side and I got a little bit of a reprieve in the pine forest, before back on the beach to be buffeted about by the wind again. It is suprisingly exhausting walking in the wind (even if it's not a head wind). It's like the wind steals your breath away. 5km down the next beach the next crossing was ankle deep - all good so far but I was getting tired and I was losing firm sand to walk on.

I was running out of mojo and the last crossing seemed to take an age to get to.  I passed some people on horseback and then had to work to pick a path of firmer sand in between where the horses had been.

I finally got to the Pakiri River and thankfully the tide hadn't quite tipped over the lip of the beach - only thigh deep for me.

Auckland prices at the campground, but got a cabin anyway. The cabin didn't have much, but it did have a little fan heater so we used it to dry our shoes and all our dripping gear.

Alex's scary bedtime story about our next day's track had been playing on my mind. It was going to be a nightmare in this weather and given that I am so slow, it was going to be a neverending nightmare for me. I made the call to skip it and promptly beat myself up about making that decision.  Decision was made though and plan was to get a lift past 'Danger of falling Pigeon' zone to Dome Cafe where I would walk out from.

Pigeonxx











Day 18 - Waipu Cove to Mangawhai (Riverside Holiday Park) -TA454 (30km)

Big kms today so I headed off early. It was trying very hard to rain and the day started grey and uninviting. I really didn't feel like walking. The wind and the rain were having their way with me and blowing me about.

It was a big road climb to start (about 7km), then onto a forest track before heading out and down a very long, very steep gravel road. My temperamental right leg wasn't happy about it, but the sun was trying to come out which made it all better.

I finally got to the bottom, crossed the road and surprise, surprise headed up again, this time into farmland. Steep ups and downs along the fence lines. The cows and sheep weren't quite sure about my walking poles and we're happy to give me a wide berth.

After deciding to stop for lunch at the top of the hill several times, I stopped half way down for a quick bite and a magic pill to try and get my leg through the afternoon.

The afternoon coast walk followed the cliff line - sunshine, turquoise water, gnarly trees, good track makes for a happy pigeon. Favourite walk day so far.

Down to the beach for a short walk around to Mangawhai Heads - milkshake stop- then last 5kms to the caravan park.

Alex was reading the trail notes for the track in a couple of  days time- slippery, steep, muddy, care required etc - not looking forward to it.

Pigeon xx