A vegan walks through Waikato

Days 33-38, Mercer to Waitomo

Kia ora tātou!

Over the last week I have become familiar with various kinds of farm fencing techniques and stile styles. Walking through farmland (which has been my occupation 98% of this past week) has made me appreciate how little I know about one of Aotearoa’s economic backbones, and one I do not actively participate in. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for farms, I have enjoyed observing the agricultural side of this country and respect farmers for the hard work they must do.

DAY 33 - Mercer to Rangiriri (25km)

Marianne and I ambitiously planned to walk 40km to Huntly, but soon realised it was going to be a slow-going day and re-adjusted to 25km to Rangiriri. We should have just read the trail notes. The track was so overgrown in parts that we were left questioning if it was actually the real thing. By the end of the morning we had become experts at getting over/under/through electric fences to dodge the bulls who wouldn’t budge from the stiles we were *supposed* to climb over.

The rain cleared by midday and the track became momentarily easier as we traversed the stopbanks. We rung Cathy, the trail angel in Rangiriri who is famous for her pies. I was pleased to discover she makes vegan pies, so I ordered one of those. The shop also we walked along by the river reminded me of north Germany where my Mum is from. (Mum - did you ever think the same thing when we lived in Waikato?) Just as the walking was getting easier, we were met my four goats on the path in a private property. Having only experienced stubborn or scared animals thus far, we were surprised when the friendly creatures started licking us and following us along the path. I have a real soft spot for goats.

It was fun walking with Marianne and talking about all sorts of things. We both stuck our headphones in for some motivation to get us through the last 8km and pounded the road to get to Rangiriri. Cathy welcomed us, fed us the most deliciously large pies (mine had veggies from her garden), gave us advice for the next section, and whipped us up some apple pies to take with us for Christmas Day. She told us about stories of walkers who had inspired her as well as how she’d come to be living in Rangiriri. She’s clearly a hard worker and we appreciated her generosity.

DAY 34 - Rangiriri to Ngaruawahia (34km)

I left bright and early while the roads were still sleepy. The official track went through pastures along the river, but the first one had too many curious bulls so I opted to walk along the road instead. The highlight of the day was calling in to our family Christmas Zoom while walking along the road. My family’s dispersed across the world so it was extra special that we could connect across time zones and activities. I missed being with my family in person so much, but I’m sure many people are feeling that way this year in light of COVID and I have been lucky enough to share this walk with many family members already.

I then zoomed through Huntly to the start of the Hakarimata Ranges. I was so excited to get off the farm and back into my happy place, the lush and rooty forest. I stopped off at Lorraine’s, a trail angel’s house, for some water before lunch and then inhaled Cathy’s Christmas apple pie to give me energy for the 900 steps up to the first summit. The track the then became technical and undulated a lot. ‘Undulating’ is a key word in the TA tramper’s vocabulary.

In 4 hours (not 7, take that DOC!) I got to the main lookout which offered a panorama of Waikato. I could see the trail stretching out in the distance from where I came that morning. The track turned into an easier grade and I soon met many Ngaruawahia locals climbing up to and down from the summit, which included 1200 steps. Not a bad way to spend Christmas afternoon!

In Ngaruawahia the accommodation options were limited but I found a motel where I pitched my tent under a lemon tree. The neighbours were playing waiata from the loudspeaker as I made dinner. It was a restless night because some guests at the motel were talking really loudly about a PlayStation or something and it smelt of smoke all night, but I got through it.

Getting excited for the next vertical scramble

DAY 35 - Ngaruawahia to Whatawhata (37km)

It was drizzling as I packed up my wet tent, but the rain soon cleared and made way for a pleasant, gentle 20km meander along Te Awa, a shared walking/cycle pathway linking Ngaruawahia to Kirikiriroa. I was walking to my birthplace! I had good chats with a few friendly locals out on their morning bike rides. One woman told me about her son’s challenges with finding a flat in Wellington. Yep, sounds like Wellington. On that note, I miss the blustery wildness of Wellington - every time a cold wind bowls through the trail, I get a bit homesick.

As soon as I got into the big smoke of the Tron I headed straight for the giant yellow building, Pak’nsave, for a much anticipated resupply. As usual, it was overwhelming to be confronted with walls and walls of food - I wanted to buy all of it and ended up walking out with about 6kg of food. I sorted it all out on a park bench and felt weird to spread all this food out so publicly. It’s all part of thy he thru-hiking experience, I guess. One guy asked me if he could have something to eat so I gave him a banana, but then I felt bad for not giving him more.

Walking out of the industrial outskirts of any city rarely offers inspirational scenery, but the Taitaua arboretum on the edge of Hamilton made up for this. The tree garden was gifted to the Hamilton district council and contains collections of various trees from all over the world.

I’d planned to stay at the bar’s backyard in Whatawhata but at the last minute read about a trail angel family nearby who sounded like they offered a more quiet than staying the bar. I called the Stoke family who were having their family Boxing Day celebrations that night, but they allowed me to crash their party and generously opened their home to me. Minutes after arriving at their door, tired and sweaty, I was in their ensuite bathroom freshening up. I joined in on their horse racing game, ate kai with them, then set up my tent for the night. They made me feel so at home and the coffee Paul made me in the morning was delightful.

DAY 36 - Whatawhata to Kaniwhaniwha (20km)

I headed down the next morning to the main road heading south. I’d read that the next part of the trail was overgrown and unpleasant, but I was feeling adventurous so I chose to follow the actual route. I’m glad I did because, apart from the first few hundred metres climbing through someone’s unkempt back yard, the river track was actually pleasant. At one point I unexpectedly plunged into a knee-high mud/cowpat puddle and was glad my shoes stayed on my feet! I stayed clear of the cow herd opposite me, who were probably laughing at me in pity after watching me flail.

Back on dry land, I decided to test out how many drivers responded to my ‘smile and wave’ gesture I’d become so used to doing to drivers on the roads of Northland. I found that about 95% of drivers up north smiled and waved back, but far fewer have done so since I hit Auckland (about 1 in 10).

Heading up Old Mountain Road was enjoyable. Despite being old, it was still a mountain to climb and soon turned into hilly farmland. What a relief it was to see sheep, not bulls, scattered across the pastures. I timed lunch well because just as I packed up, I heard distant rolls of thunder which seemed to chase me for a bit. It spat rain but luckily did not blow up into a storm.

I’m learning that Te Araroa loves to squeeze in as many ups and downs as possible. Regardless of the perfectly fine 4WD track, the orange markers pointed over a stile into a seemingly empty hillside. Respecting the privileges of walking on private land, I stuck to the ‘path’ (depending on how you define that) which slid straight down into the hillside, over a steep, vertical saddle, and popped me out onto a narrow ridge. The 4WD waited patiently for me below as I literally slid down the hill to the next trail marker, and continued on as if no comical detour had ever happened.

Fast forward through lush forest and a river crossing, I made it to the Kaniwhaniwha reserve and met Brett and his family, my Aunty and uncle’s friends who live ons lifestyle block near the trail. They drove me to theirs and I enjoyed a night of pasta bake, watching Batman, and cuddling their dog Rusty.

Sheep sitting in their little couches etched into the hills

DAY 37 - Kaniwhaniwha to Pahuatea Hut (10.5km)

The sunrise woke me up and I reluctantly got out of the actual bed I slept on that night. There was no rush as I was only walking up toPirongia summit and first official hut of the trail, 10.5km away but at 900m elevation. Brett dropped me off on the trail and I set off down the Nikau track, which is a popular walk and campsite. I passed a few day walkers and we exchanged greetings and light banter.

On the way up I listened to The Long Way Home, an RNZ podcast that Bruce Hopkins made in 2017 about his TA walk. I found it so relatable and comforting to listen to his experiences and challenges on the trail, and to know he had walked the same ground I am currently walking. I first listened to this podcast when it aired as I was on my exchange in Denmark, dreaming of walking Te Araroa. Listening to this reminded me that my dream to walk this trail continues to materialise each day.

Pahuatea Hut is a relatively new building and has a large selection of trampers’ reading material, AKA Wilderness magazines from 2011. I was the first one to the hut that day and chose a corner bunk. I love seeing who else arrives at the hut and watching how they do things, what they eat, how they spend their time in the hut. I felt like a fly on the wall, crumpled up in my corner in my sleeping bag listening in to conversations. If sociology is glorified people-watching, then tramping is a great application of this science.

Among the people I met, four of them were also walking the TA! Their trail names are Tip Tap, DiCaprio, Postie, and Baggins. They had been walking as a group for a few weeks now and I’d heard about them through the walking grapevine, so it was cool to meet more people going through the same wildness as me.

DAY 38 - Pahuatea Hut to Kaimango Rd (Jo’s place) (15km)

Outside was probably at freezing temperature as I left the hut. I whipped out my gloves for the first time and layered up. The layers soon peeled off as I scrambled up and down the rooty route, choosing each step carefully around the messy mud pools. The mud was not as deep or hard as many people make it out to be, but the weather had also been dry the last week so that helped keep the mud cake off my shoes.

Once out of the forest, I ate lunch by some horses in a field. Jo’s place, the next trail angel, came up quickly. I was greeted by Pip (the bounciest dog ever) who reminded me of my dog Nyla. I had a catch-up with my friend Shannon, who reminded me to keep it real on the trail and not hide away from the challenges. Thanks, Shannon!

An hour later the group I had met at the hut arrived. It was great to have company again. Jo was the most vivacious trail angel yet and had been proving warmth and hospitality to walkers since 2014 - a veteran! She cooked us dinner and provided ice cream and fruit salad for dessert. Her journalist neighbour Tom came came after dinner to interview us for the Te Araroa Project he’s working on, and took photos of us lying in our sleeping bags on the mats in the garage.

Pip the bouncy pup didn’t get the memo that I don’t eat meat

DAY 39 - Kaimango Rd to Waitomo Caves (37km)

Eating tinned peaches with my muesli this morning felt as luxurious as sleeping in a garage instead of a tent. We packed up and were waved down the drive by Jo, who was all ready to milk her cows. Tom was waiting at his driveway ready to take some more action shots of us for his project. We could see Mt Ruapehu in the distance as we strode along the dusty gravel road. I enjoyed new company and adjusted quickly to Tip Tap and Baggins’ walking rhythm.

The farmland rolled up and over hills, weaving between patches of native bush which provided much-needed shade from the sun and a bit of mud to scramble through. There were a few patchy moments where we had no clue where the trail went, but a bit of bush-bashing did the trick and we soon found the orange triangles again. The next mission for the day was finding a spot for lunch. We took a good hour’s rest before heading down a beautiful dry forest to two smallish river crossings.

The great thing about walking with new constellations of walkers is that time is swept away talking and getting to know each other. I hardly looked at my watch today. We got to the Hamilton Tomo Group’s hut, a DOC-style hut with many facilities including a lounge, a didgeridoo, many toasters, and books on caving. I don’t really get the appeal of caving, but I guess people would say the same about long-distance walking. We spent the evening in Waitomo village eating hot chips and drinking orange juice.

Mood: excited to get into the forest for a bit

Currently reading: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Total distance walked: 875km