TA Days 56 to 58: Taumarunui via Traverse 42

Greetings from Tongariro Holiday Park where I will spend the night at 1134km. Tomorrow we begin the Tongariro crossing. Part of the Te Araroa route is closed due to the recent fires, so we will take a detour “around the mountain”. Hopefully the weather cooperates for our trip!

Last night we were camping at 700 miles near a creek along the 42nd Traverse. It was a beautiful area and good for outdoor camping!

My sore ankle bathed in the cold water and dinner by the stream was very relaxing.

I woke up around 1:00 am to go pee and found another special treat. The forest was full of little blue lights; fireflies shining!

Today we had a couple of stream crossings along with an actual river. The rocks were a little slippery, but the current wasn’t too fast. After the trail, about 7 km of road led to the holiday park.

Although the signage along the 42 Traverse was not good, I took my time navigating the trail; enjoying the scenery and making sure I’m going the right way.

I especially liked the beginning of Ōwhango. There we took a scenic detour through the forest, past a pond and along the river. After crossing a bridge, the rest of the trail was gravel, minus a small section that had been affected by a landslide.

Driving to the 42 Traverse, there was a road hike from the Timber Trail exit to Taumarunui. A nice stop for ice cream led to a big shopping trip to restock; buying 14 days of food (7 for now and 7 for the river next week).

After arranging the canoe details for the next leg, we spent the night camping at Taumarunui. The next day was a long walk from the city center to Ōwhango. I was able to pet some friendly horses and met a friendly ostrich along the way.

In town, where we were going to camp was no longer an option. Instead, we spent the night at Ōwhango Memorial Park. That night we learned the 500th game.

Knowing we had a fairly short day and that one of our fellow hikers was going out of the way for his daughter’s graduation, we spent the morning chatting and eating pastries at a cafe across the street from the park. Thanks Ross for the gift; I hope we see each other again soon!

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