Tātou Araroa — Episode 12: He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata (What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.)
Progress: 1532.8km — 50.96%
Whanganui to Levin — Marvellous Manuwatu.
Halfway there!
Sometimes Te Araroa will astound you with a broad and stunning mountain vista, sometimes with a scene of rich and verdant forest. Our astonishment over the last section however has been the earnest and overwhelming generosity of the people of Manawatū.
We set off from Rob and George’s last Wednesday after an inevitable rest day (I challenge anyone to leave Rob and George’s without spending an extra day!) to overcast but mainly calm weather. Our aim that day was a walk along the beach from Kotiata to the town of Bulls.
We hadn’t seen a beach for almost 900km, so we ambled our way across the driftwood strewn beach in speedy and contented fashion. Offering views of Mt Taranaki to the northwest, and the Tararua Ranges to the south, it made for an enjoyable day.
Kotiata Beach on the Tasman Sea
We arrived at our destination for the night at around 3PM. From the outset, we immediately knew we were going to enjoy "Mayhem Roost" - and we were right. Jo and Mike welcomed us warmly onto their farm and showed us to our home for the night, in their purpose-built hut for Te Araroa walkers in one of their paddocks. Amongst the sounds of turkeys gobbling and cows mooing, we had a nap. Awoken at 5PM with a gentle knock on the door of the hut by Jo with a beer each and the question: "Is roast mutton ok for tea?", we replied in the affirmative and enjoyed a delicious dinner of roast mutton, parsnips, butternut squash, kumara (sweet potato) and broccoli.
The TA Hut at Mayhem Roost
We headed off in the morning for the short 22km predominately road walking section into Fielding. Buffeted and harangued by strong blustery winds and dampened by occasional rain showers it was not a day that will live long in the memory of these TA walkers. The day was not without joy however as we had been recommended a good ice cream spot in Feilding by Mike’s daughter and "I scream for Ice Cream" delivered in droves. After polishing off our chocolate, salted caramel and almond (Sarah) and toffee crunch (Bill) we were picked up by our host for the night, John.
Bulls likes to play on its peculiar name. A lot. (Zoom in)
John, his wife Rhonda, and their son Josh treated us to an evening of warmth and hilarity. Josh’s curious mind taking us on tremendous journeys into the world of a 9-year boy’s brain. John is a stalwart of the trail and has hosted many many walkers during his time as a Trail Angel. Continuing the trend of being well fed, tonight’s dinner was roast chicken, salad, new potatoes, and asparagus which was obviously delicious.
The bustling metropolis of Palmerston North was our goal the following day. We knew again it would be a short day and again unfortunately predominately road. 2021-22 season Te Araroa walkers will be able to enjoy a new section of cycleway being completed, but for us it was hitting the hard shoulder again.
We headed into the centre of the city and (as if we hadn’t eaten well enough recently....) enjoyed tremendous sushi and beer. Bill had also been experiencing some shoulder issues with his bag recently and we consulted an outdoor shop and made some adjustments.
The clear highlight of day was however again our accommodation for the evening. We had been looking forward to staying at the unique Whiowhio Hut since Cape Reinga. Whiowhio Hut is, amongst other things, a conservation project, the Blue Duck or Whio is a native endangered species and a unique taonga (treasure) of Aotearoa New Zealand, the fight for their future receives all funds from stays at the hut.
Department of Duck Conservation
The immaculately designed and adorned hut was tremendously well done. Highlighting this were authentic Department of Conservation (DOC) signs and even a genuine DOC licensed intentions book.
Our joy was piqued further when we had a realisation - We Were Staying With Celebrities. Celebrities here is meant in the loosest possible way, but to us they were mythical figures of the trail. These lofty titles come from the book Sarah and I had read called "Pants of Perspective" by Anna McNuff. Anna chronicled her experience of running the entire trail on her own in 2018. Her gripping prose and personal touch proved a huge inspiration for us to undertake this odyssey ourselves. Anna goes through many tough moments in the book but among her highlights were the time she spent with two amazing people - Finny and Fi, our hosts for the evening.
After much gushing fanboy/fangirling later we learnt another main protagonist of the book, Coach Ron, had passed through a few days before. Ron had left two copies of Pants of Perspective, complete with a personal note, behind at the Hut with the hope kind walkers would pick one up and deliver to a different Hut along the trail. We eagerly offered up our services as Sherpas for the sacred text, promising Finny and Fi we would deliver it to Lower Princhester Hut, scene of a desperate time for Anna following a gruelling and muddy section. We offered up our beautifully painted stony rock mascot up as a trade which was accepted and now resides happily on the shelf at Whiowhio Hut.
Two peices of the trade
Following a richly contented sleep, we set off on the route out of Palmerston North and towards the Arapuke Mountain Bike Park. As we strolled along the riverside path, we were inundated with well wishes from day walkers on this overcast Saturday morning. Buoyed by this, we pressed on into the hills, passing through the Mountain Bike Park, into the Gordon Kear Forest and on to Te Whare o Moturimu, our beautifully adorned shelter for the night. A new addition to the network of Trail sleeping options, we sought refuge within its welcoming interior. We had walked 35km that day and, given the incoming weather we planned the same the next day, so sleep found us quickly.
The tremendous Te Whare o Moturimu
We had passed a huge milestone on this day. Just before we left the Mountain Bike Park, we came across a sign congratulating us on reaching halfway through our epic journey. Joy and contentment were met too with a pang of sadness - what can we possibly do after this that will present us with the same challenges, rewards, and beautiful simplicity this life affords?
We arose early the next morning and soon began Burtton’s Track. A beautiful trek through rich and diverse bush soon turned into a delightful riverside track that wound its way alongside the Tokomaru River. After crossing the river, we came across Tokomaru Shelter, another gem of a hut which, like Te Whare O Moturimu before were constructed following great work from the Manawatū Te Araroa Committee (of which Finny and Fi are members of course) and Palmerston North City Council.
Sarah on the Tokumaru River
Pressing on from the shelter we walked on a 4x4 track, passed a reservoir, had a spot of lunch, and then entered the hugely muddy Mangahao Makahika Track, with the trail sign indicating 6hrs and it being 2PM it was going to be a late one.
Mud mud mud!
It was tough going, with Raetea Forest-esque mud making for glacially slow progress, further exacerbated by the general upward trend of the trail. We were motivated by one sole comment in the trail notes "views from this high point often extend as far as the South Island" - with clear patches amongst the cloud we hoped that we may be treated to this dangling fruit. The thought that perhaps we may be able to soon know that we’d walked from the very top of the North Island to a place in which we could see the South Island was all encompassing and tremendously exciting.
Alas, it was not to be, the cloud level had dropped, and we were treated to a view of the valley below and not much else.
After the viewpoint the track levelled off and became an enjoyable network of mud and streams. Mud is fun when you know in two minutes you can wash your boots again. After 30 or so stream crossings we finally veered away from the river and into our campsite for the night in the Makahika Valley.
Raindrops on the tent roused us from our well-earned slumber. Our mission for the day was a simple one - get to our friends Sam and Sabrina in Paraparaumu. The trail would usually take you into the imposing Tararua Ranges today but with its razor thin ridgelines and 80km gusts forecasted it would be a folly to even consider. A lift from the lovely folk at the Makahika Outdoor Pursuits Centre and a bus from Levin and we achieved our goal in good time.
Since arriving at Sam and Sabrina’s we’ve planned our next steps. Our 22nd December flight out of Wellington providing us with a deadline to complete the North Island section of our walk. Since our arrival on Monday, we’ve managed to tick off a few sections of the Kapiti Coast as we connect the dots from here to the terminus in Wellington itself.
A fixation with the weather has dominated our days too - we need to find a window to walk the 3/4 treacherous Tararua Range days. As it stands, we’ve got a window from next Monday-Thursday. With several our trail friends also hitting this weather conundrum we are hoping to form a posse to attack the beast.
For now, we wait and relax, recuperate, and mainly hang out with Sam and Sabrina’s wonderful child Florence.
To beard, or not to beard? That is the question.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us support the Mental Health Foundation as they support our nation’s most vulnerable through their own troubled journeys.
In a shameless effort to raise more for the cause, Bill is auctioning off his beard. It is very simple, just head to our fundraising page HERE and send us a donation, add a comment of either "Beard" or "Not to Beard" - highest total decides the future of the beard. At time of writing its $170 vs $150 in favour of "Not to Beard" - competition closes on Xmas Eve for a Christmas Day Shave if required!
The power is in your hands!