Day 62
Nov 1 day 62 Waikanae to Paekakariki 21 km 10:00-3:00 The Otaki Hotel is not the quietest place on earth. There were people and dogs bumping and thumping all night, and I definitely did not need to set an alarm. The place was rocking at 4:30 am, half the town came in for the game […]
Day 61
Oct 31 Day 61 Nichols Hut to Otaki Forks 18 km 7:00-4:00 Woke up ready, packed up in record time, stepping out into a bright but cold morning. It was sublime. Hands and feet almost numb, the ground was frozen so the trail was stable, not slippery mud. The morning trek was on razor peak […]
Day 60
Oct 30 day 60 Waiopehu Hut to Nichols Hut 17 km 7:30-4:00 A hard but beautiful hiking day, humbling too. Woke to clear skies but high winds and low temperatures. The decks outside the hut were iced up. Still, it was too beautiful not to hike, so soon I was climbing the first of dozens […]
Day 59
Oct 29 day 59 Waiopehu Hut 0 km The wind and rain continued hard through the night and into the morning. Woke to zero visibility and the trail looked like a stream. I’m not sure whether the weather here might often be more extreme, given the altitude and exposure, but people do occasionally note in […]
Day 58
Oct 28 day 58 Levin Campground to Waiopehu Hut in the Tararua range 18 km 8:30-2:30 (plus about 9 km from Levin back to the trail) I didn’t enjoy yesterday’s hike (and have not felt real pleasure walking the last few days). In part it was long hiking with new shoes and wet feet which […]
Day 57
Oct 27 day 57 James Burtton Whare site to Levin Campground 30 km 6:45-4:00 It rained a bit in the night, but morning was fresh and misty. Slept well listening to the river and a quiet breeze. Wasn’t sure what to expect today– just knew there wouldn’t be much road walking, which seems to have […]
Day 56
Oct 26 day 56 Palmerston North to James Burtton Whare site 34 km 7:30-4:00 Half way through! It was good it get in a long hard day. Winding out of Palmerston the trail goes up through Massey University. I missed the path that went up by a stream and found myself walking parallel to it […]