| I seem to be literally falling apart at the seams! My socks have disintegrated and my shorts have lots of new vent holes. This is mirroring a trend on the trail with trampers dropping like flies, either quitting or going to the South Island. The main issues seem to be the track is not a trail, getting lost all the time (ok, ok I know YOU can see the markers!) ...and the endless road walking and muddy forests with no views (I think the weather and consequent state of the track seems to be getting me down – I guess it had to happen at some stage!) After yet another miscalculation I ended up at the Pahautea hut after dark and in the rain. Luckily there were 3 other trail trampers there –whoohoo, a social event! Devon from Colorado who had every piece of Uber-lightweight gear imaginable – Jealous much? – well, yes, I am! I seem to be the only TA walker who does not have a MSR Hubba (solo) or Hubba Hubba (2-person) tent. There are always a lot of questions like “Is it a Hubba/Hubba Hubba/weight/extra ground sheet?” when TA trampers camp out. Meanwhile I put up my non-Hubba Macpac. In reality, I love it… despite being a third of the price it still manages to keep me dry. Having met Stefan and Anneli on the track we tramped through mud, slips,steep hills, no signs and no track towards Waitomo. After a relaxing 11 hour/40 k day we pitched our tent on a slightly flat bit of forest. A lack of water during the day meant my hands were swollen up badly (it’s wet – why was I not drinking more??). Anneli has a Go Pro from Estonian TV as she is the first Estonian to do the trail and so is trying to make a documentary.I may be on Estonian TV – Finally famous? A small group of us rugged TA trampers met up in a hut on the Timber Trail to celebrate 1000ks completed – whoop whoop! This is far more social than I ever imagined! There were some guys there who were “doing some weeding” with very high-spec quad bikes and lots of food and beer which they shared – nice one guys you are the best!! Te Kuiti was confusing, until I realised that it’s very cleverly been frozen in time as a 1950s town as a social experiment, with no input from the present day, aside from a few confused TA walkers. Nobody who visits will ever leave without knowing who ‘Pinetree’ Meads is – We are truly a rugby-mad nation! After another 40k mudslide covered in gorse that is the 42nd Traverse, I ended up in the rain and mist walking to the first hut on the Tongariro section. I snapped a pic for you so you can experience the same wonderful views as me: |     |
Doc rangers were refunding hut tickets as the weather was so bad many people including me turned back to do it again another day.
Watch out for the next exciting (and hopefully mud-free) installment!!
Watch out for the next exciting (and hopefully mud-free) installment!!
Ka Kite
Rache X
(PS Currently in back-tracking mode but have finally managed to score kayak hire for convoluted Wanganui River section, yay!)
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