TA days 50 to 53: repairs, rain and noisy bulls

Greetings from Ngaherenga Camp in Pureora Forest 963 km away!

I’m lying on the floor of my tent as the wind whips the walls and raindrops fall down the sides.

I arrived before 2:30 p.m. and finished setting up my tent before the first drops fell.

Today I had a 37 kilometer (23 mile) hike from just outside the Mangakowea Scenic Reserve. The clouds were a nice sight that kept me cool during the hike. Despite the distance, I was in the zone; surfing while listening to music and singing out of tune out loud.

I knew there were no other hikers near me when I arrived at Pureora. However, I didn’t expect a cyclist to pass by pedaling while singing Celine Dion’s “Power of Love” at the top of his lungs. I visibly jumped when he said «hello» and felt quite embarrassed haha.

The night before, thirteen of us stayed on a farm flanked by sheep in the eastern hills. Meanwhile, there were large bulls in the pastures and on the road adjacent to the camp. The bulls were extremely active in the dark; bellowing loudly during their nightly turf wars.

Luckily, a new pair of earplugs did wonders at blocking out the noise, so I was able to get some rest. It had been quite a long, hot and stressful walk from Te Kūiti.

Although the scenery was beautiful, Mangakowea was a challenge!

Sections of the old trail have fallen into the river causing a detour that resembles a possum trap trail. Additionally, signage was poor. Sometimes there were two paths because the old markers had not been removed. However, there were also not enough new markers that clearly showed the correct path.

Despite walking separately, the thirteen hikers who spent the night 626 kilometers away had to climb a fence and do some hiking to find their way.

I fell in some mud and jumped over the fence. A friend and I then scrambled up some vertical rocks, before climbing a steep grassy slope to find the trail. Just after reaching the top, Distance Frog appeared from the forest in front of us; also climbing the hill to rejoin the trail.

Confusing and dangerous. Much of the trail was narrow (single shoe width) along steep slopes. I’m glad everyone arrived safely despite being lost.

Fortunately, the previous day’s walk from Waitomo to Te Kūiti was much easier. I missed the trail a couple of times and there were some slippery hills, but most of it was through farmland.

We spent a rest day in Waitomo and went black water rafting. Back on the trail, we had a fairly short, albeit hot and hilly hike.

I’ve had great luck with most of my gear, but I eventually had to make some repairs. I sewed some mesh in my tent tonight, but most of the repairs were done in Te Kūiti.

Easily forgotten he helped me fix my trekking pole. One of the buttons that prevents the pole from collapsing had gotten stuck and needed some lubricant to get it working again. He was also able to reattach a zipper that had fallen off my tent door.

I bought new shoes in Auckland a couple of weeks ago and the insoles had already broken. Now I have a new pair and I’m ready to go!

It’s going to rain, but tomorrow we’ll start biking the Timber Trail. Hopefully we have a safe trip!

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