Faces and Places

Shona and Steve at start of Walkway.

We have been lucky to meet so many wonderful people on our journey, that have helped us on our way – many thanks to you all.

Shona and Bruce run the Karamu Valley Lodge and offer great support to Te Araroa walkers with their Travellers Rest.

John at the Te Kauri Outdoor Pursuits Centre will pick walkers up after the Pirongia section at Gayne Road and whisk you back to the centre, very similar to the Forest Camp in Hanmer except that it also had 1400 hectares of bush reserve as well !! Thanks John and for going the extra mile!

Monica and Maurice at the Art Coc Gallery and café in Bennydale have been awesome in helping us to change plans due to track closures, we wish them success with the Timber trail accommodation plans. The Timber trail is an exciting new 85k cycleway from Pureora to Ongarue, well worth a return trip.

Finally Linda and Tracy  at Te Punga on the Whanganui River who were the ultimate hosts when we shared our journey with Sally, Pete, Geoff and Janet who we had met earlier on the way through Kerikeri.

Whanganui River Journey

Davey Crocket !!

We started our journey on the 13^th Nov at the Blue Duck Station , Whakahoro – it was our 30^th wedding anniversary and a great place to be for such a momentous occasion!! Lynne deserves a medal or is it the other way round?

We had a 2 day walk to get to the Bridge to Nowhere from Whakahoro  along the Kaiwhakakauka Track/Mangapurua Track and camped at Johnson’s campsite  - a stunning spot and luckily hot and sunny. These 2 tracks are essentially old tracks that have been magnificently upgraded to form part of the new Mountains to Sea Cycle route. This is an awesome part of NZ. Land within these 2 valleys was offered to returning World War 1 servicemen. These early pioneers cleared the land of its forest and transformed it into farmland but access, bad erosion, falling prices during the Depression forced most of the settlers to abandon their farms. All away along the valley the settlers names appear on posts marking their sections. A sad story capped by the ironic Bridge to Nowhere. Just passed the Bridge we met the gang (who had arrived by Jet boat from Pipiriki) – and had the biggest packed lunch ever !!! ( Sally, Pete, Geoff and Janet )

The team

From Mangapouri Landing we got into our Canadian canoes and had a few lessons from Big Chief Sitting Bull Brodie on how to paddle and off we went down a few exciting rapids till the river calmed and passed though the most incredible gorges.

Our trip became a great adventure staying at the Convent in Jerusalem, where we had to bash out an access point with our barrels, meeting Tracy and Linda at Te Punga and being treated to culinary delights, getting soaked in a storm and having lunch in the Marae, visiting the Flying Fox and walking and cycling the last section when the river rose and it was too dangerous to continue.We would thoroughly recommend the trip to anyone and especially with the help of the Te Punga girls.

For the canoeists out there reading this the Wanganui River Journey from Taumaranui to Wanganui must be one of the best Grade1 / 2 trips you could do. We only did part of it. Lots of options with campsites, tremendous scenery, no cell phone coverage, lots of canoe hire companies. A basic understanding of moving water techniques would be useful. It has a huge catchment area and can rise dramatically. It’s definitely not for novices. A canoeing guide is available from I Centre in Wanganui. Treat it with respect.

Filling in the gaps 

Ruapehu

We had hoped to do the Tongariro crossing section next but the volcano erupted and put paid to that. So we have spent the last week in and around the area, we did the 42^nd traverse on foot  - better known as a mountain bike track, a stunning route through the Tongariro Forest Conservation Area. Also the Mangetepopo Hut to National Park via the Whakapapa Village and Chateau !! Then added in the new section of the Mountain to Sea Cycle track along the Fisher Track and back to Whakahoro. 1200k plus completed.

We are now taking a break to have Xmas with the Brodie bunch who fly in from the UK all wearing their England rugby tops!!!!

We need to come back to do full Tongariro Crossing and then our plans are to finish final 300k of N.Island during the first 3 weeks of January then the Queen Charlotte last week of Jan and the Richmond Hills starting first week of February. Although not exactly sure of dates if you are keen to join us at all please keep in touch.      027 315 7383

Happy Xmas and hope to see you next year sometime.   Lynne and Steve    xxxxxxxx

Thanks to Sportsmed.

It is all about our feet !!!!

Having successfully moved Beth back to Hanmer Springs we took the opportunity to call in at Sportsmed Podiatry in Christchurch to try to sort out our sore feet. A new set of orthotics was a simple solution for Lynne. However Steve needed substantial strapping to carry on ....(Thanks to Kate and Adela for their help and the generous donation by Sportsmed of 12 rolls of tape to keep us going). Although the tape was just for his foot I have been tempted to use it over his mouth at times !!!



Final resting place for our first pair of boots.

We left our old boots behind at the Trampers Rest and said a fond farewell to Shona and Bruce at the Karamu Valley Lodge and tramped over the Kapamahunga Reserve and up to the Pahautea Hut in the Pirongia mountains. The first North Island hut on the trail, which was spectacularly located and gave us the view of a tremendous sunset.

We carried on through the Limestone country, through Waitomo and on to the centre of the universe - which as you all know is Bennydale, close to the Te Miringa Te Kakara (the temple of the four winds).


Hihikiwi summit 900m, Pirongia Mountains

We have also completed the Wanganui River Journey with friends Sally, Peter, Janet and Jeff and will tell the story in the next blog entry. So we have travelled over 1000k now, only 2000 to go. The next section includes the Tongario Crossing - which may have to wait as the volcanoes are being temperamental at the moment!!!

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The Waikato Region - the home of dairy herds.
We have spent the last 6 days heading south through the Waikato. A diverse section of paths, alongside the mighty Waitako river on stop banks and paddocks. Past the Huntly power station whose orange towers could be seen from a long way off and on to Ngaruawahia the home of the Maouri King.

Huntly Power Station

We then traversed the Hakarimata Range - a great DOC tramping track with a huge look out tower at the end so that at last we had a view from the bush!!
We must say a big thank you to the Huntly Golf Club for the free drinks and whip round donation of $90.
We then followed the City to Mountain track through Hamilton. A wonderful route along the river, past Lake Rotoroa and onto the Arboretum, then heading for the hills.
We have now completed 804 kilometers - that is half way down North Island and have raised $3450.
Now taking a 4 day break to move Beth back to Hanmer.

Across Auckland and the Hunuas!

We said a fond farewell to Penny and Frank - thanks for all your support guys! Across on the Devonport ferry to walk the Coast to Coast! A great walk across the city through Parks, over extinct volcanoes to the summit of Mt Eden which for once we shared with swarms of tour bus visitors. The views of the city were amazing - what a diverse walk the Te Araroa is.
 We crossed over to West Coast over the old Onehunga bridge and through to the Ambury Regional Park - a reclaimed haven for birds and shellfish. Past the Stone fields and the airport for a very noisy section on the road but a great finish to the day at the Botanical gardens.

A thankfully dry river crossing in the Hunuas.

The next day was our earliest start yet at 5.45am but only to miss the AKL traffic with our drop off. So we made it to Clevedon before lunch which is a charming little village nestled in the foothills of the Hunuas.
Through the Hunuas passing 3 reservoirs, Aucklands water supply. Reminded us of the reservoirs in the Peak District in UK. ( Don't worry not getting homesick!!) Through the Hunuas on a range of benched, gnarly, unfrequented tracks that were yet again a challenge. By no means a stroll in the Regional Park! 
Many thanks to Jill at Twilight Hill for her drop offs support and donation.
We made it through drained farmalnd and very curious dairy herds and onto SH 1 and Mercer where we were greeted by the Yellow Towers of McDonalds and a motorway service area!!. Another Te Araroa experience. Looking forward to Waikato river and onto Hamilton. 700kms done.......2300 to go. Yee ha.
For all you geographers out there we came across an Archimedes Screw yesterday so there is a little bit of homework for you!!

We have been blown away by the very generous donation of $2000 to Cancer research by Mr Ashton, his son was my brothers best friend and he too has lost friends and family to cancer. This is a great boost to us and an affirmation of our journey. 

With Graeme and Sandy at Pakiri.

We woke to dawn over Pakiri beach and then headed off over Tamahunga Mountain, the track was opened in 2001 by Sir Edmund Hilary. We had stunning views and it was a slip slide down to the Omaha Valley. The next day was through the Dome Forest, fondly renamed as Mt Doom. No it wasn't that bad, just very muddy. Thankfully the tearoom at the end was still open to lift our spirits and help us on our way to Moirs Hill. We descended into The Puhoi Valley and stopped for a rest at the Cheese factory, it was very difficult to set off again, but worth it.

Puhoi is an awesome spot with the historic pub , store and library and a River Kayak Company that hire out Kayaks to you for the next leg of the journey. We were blown down the river, thank goodness it was a tail wind and across the estuary to Wenderholm - 7kms later. A great feeling to have gained the distance with no leg power!!
The next section from Waiwera to Orewa needed to be walked at low tide, so we had to spend 3 hours waiting for the tide to drop at the Hot pools and had a leg massage, it was so so good. It was then a scoot across the sand and rocks to Orewa and Roger from Herikino picked us up and took us back to his son's house for the night. Thanks guys for that.We had an early start the next day to get to Gunter and Jan for a boat ride across the estuary before they set off for a weekend trip on their boat. Many thanks you guys, what a great support to the Te Araroa you are.It was then down the coast towards civilisation and the North Shore walk. (Just another thanks to Charles and Chico who gave us a lift at the end of a day - good luck with the Queen Charlotte.)
Sadly we had a bad day of weather for the North Shore Walk but we were happy to duck into a cafe or two to get out of the rain. We are staying with Frank and Penny in Devonport for a couple of nights and finally discovering Auckland. Their hospitality and generosity is overwhelming, cheers.

In Devonport, Auckland in sight!

The phrase "How do you eat an elephant" has been in our minds! One bite or step at a time. I think we have finally come to terms with the fact that we are not as young as we were and being in our fifties our bodies are taking longer to adjust to the daily tramping than we thought. So we have had a two day break at Pakiri Camp with Graeme and Sandy Ruth who we used to work with in Hanmer. It is a beautiful spot beside the sea and the weather has eased off.

We have had an awesome journey to get here from Tidesong on the Taihururu Estuary. Thanks to Sam Palmer's Uncle Chris and Donna for looking after us and organising for us to stay at the Ocean Beach Life Saving Club after we had walked over the Kauri Mountain and along the stunning Ocean Beach. The next day was another steep gnarly track over the Whangarei Heads, it was a 7km track and took 5 hours to walk!! At the end we went off down for a swim at Smugglers Cove which was refreshing to say the least.
The next day in the Te Araroa notes tells you to hitch a ride across the Bay with fishermen. That seemed a bit too risky for us Brodies, so we organised a trip with a guy who crosses everyday, unfortunately he forgot about us !! So we went to the marina and waited for the fishermen and literally hitched a ride!! The guys were a bit reluctant at first but ended up taking us right into the new Marsden Cove marina. We were off route a bit so thanks to Hope from the Marina cafe who took us to the start of the beach walk.
The walk along the beach was magic, the weather was beautiful and the river crossing was not deep so we pressed on to Waipu - the town with Scottish connections and their own highland games. We were overwhelmed at the pub when a lady who had seen our charity sign gave us a $10 note and wished us well. We have heard so many stories of families affected by cancer, it is such a huge issue.

Crossing the Pakiri Estuary

To avoid a closed track we walked to Waipu Cove which is a surfers haven and then up and over Mangawhai Heads - a stunning track along the ridge and down to the beach. We continued on to Riverside camp ground and a warm welcome from Maree, who on hearing our story donated a night in a caravan to the cause - Many thanks guys.
The bad weather hit us the next day and the only saving grace was that the wind and rain was directly behind us and we virtually flew along the beach over Te Aria bluff and onto Pakiri. At lunch time we had a wonderful text from Sandy to tell us she was cooking a roast and a big pudding and to keep smiling !!!
About 2 km from the campsite the sun came out and Steve suggested we took off our wet weather gear, however I was too tired to do it and he had to do it for me - I had hit the wall!!
We have had a well earned rest here with Graeme and Sandy and a night of luxury in one of their beach front units. Again thanks guys for all your help it has been great catching up.

We have reached 350 kms and $650 so we are feeling very pleased but weary !! A day off today thanks to the generous hospitality of Sam's Uncle's family - Chris, Donna and Jess. It has been quite a while since we were last with internet!

Old Grizzly Beardy in the tent!

We walked through the Waitangi Forest and were very pleased to be joined by Sally and Rob (a Dutch backpacker), it was great to be spurred along and have others to talk to. Thanks to Peter for being shuttle bunny. We had great views of the coast at last and easy tracks to walk.
Through civilisation, past Paihia and onto Opua to the car ferry , a beautiful day for crossing and a walk along to Orongo Bay to a great campground surrounded by kiwis. After a long walk along the road we got to the Russell Forest and a tough walk up through the magnificent forest, past all the Kauris onto the ridge. A long undulating ridge that seemd to only go up!! Finally we met an old logging  track which was great to walk on and a gradual descent down to the road. Sadly the second part of the forest is closed and we hitched onto Oakura to have a night at the campground. What a beautiful spot, we will have to go back.
Liz and Terry gave us a lift back to our end spot the day before and sent us on our way with homemade fruit cake - what a treat. We walked on to Helena Bay and Steve had his first swim, or should we say dip in the ocean, too cold for me !!
Another bypass day and a walk around to Whananaki North. Well done to the Whangarei District Council for the paths and signs for the Te Araroa. The estuary path was stunning. We had a wonderful night at the campground and especially enjoyed Happy Hour with Pat and Liz and all the campervan folk.
The walk from Whananki North to Ngunguru has to be one of our favourite so far 24k but a stunning day of views, beaches, forests and streams.
We collapsed at the Salt Air cafe for a great pizza ( Steve had an all day breakfast at 6pm !!) where the guy told us he had had a few Te Araroa walkers through but we were definitely the oldest !!. We took it as a compliment !!
Sally and Maureen joined us today from Kerikeri - thanks guys, it was awesome to have company and a shuttle bunny. The Mackerel Forest track was wonderful and the river crossings not too deep. On we went to Tidesong - what a beautiful haven nestled on the estuary. Thanks to Ros and Hugh for sharing their family birthday with us and firing up the pizza oven.
We were rowed across the estuary by Hugh - a great new boardwalk has been constructed to help with this and onto Taihararua.

It can certainly rain in Northland! The poor farmers are having a tough time with the wet pastures and all the mud. We have been hauled up in Kerikeri with Sally and Peter Burgoyne, who have been so generous to help us with drop offs, pickups and accommodation as a contra deal to support Cancer Research. Many thanks guys, we feel we have know you for years !!
After a couple of treatments at the Physio my sore shin has recovered well. Not sure that I should actually thank Daniel as the treatment was so painful. But Andrew Oh, may donate more money now that I have had trigger point dry needle therapy and lived through the ordeal !!
Thanks to everyone for your emails and encouragement, I am sure you chuckle each time you see it is raining, but next week is a good forecast as we walk down the coast towards Whangarei.
We are thrilled that we will have Sally to join us tomorrow, our first drop in walker as we head to Waitangi.

We have made it to Puketi, near Kerikeri, having crossed Northland through the Herikino, Raetea and Puketi forests. Thanks to Sally and Peter for the pickup and hospitality.
What an adventure!! The walking was very challenging through the first two forests, the tracks were gnarly and muddy and it was literally one step at a time ! The best part was crawling through the giant flax bushes on the summit ridge of Raetea. 
Many thanks to Gill Minogue and Roger Gale for their help and support on this difficult section - offering a great shuttle service, unique accommodation on their amazing 100 acre native forest block and expert local knowledge of the forest and tracks. We will hold fond memories of our time in Waimihia.
We felt it was wise to walk the wet weather track for the Puketi section due to the state of the tracks and the weather. This track is along forest logging roads high up and along the ridge with stunning views of the forest and coast - it was a worthwhile alternative, we camped on the ridge and enjoyed being able to stride out !
Having a couple of days in Kerikeri to rest and repair - looking forward to the next coastal section.

We started the Te Araroa Trail from Cape Reinga on September 9th, Lynne's Mums birthday. It was a beautiful sunny day after a week of bad weather. Thanks to Mark at Marty's Adventures for the lift to the lighthouse. If the car could make it to the Cape we were sure we could make it too!!
We had a stunning walk around the Northern end of the Aupouri Penninsula to get to 90 mile beach. We had 3 nights out camping , a night at Hukekere Lodge - What an oasis and thanks so much to Gabrielle and Uncle for looking after us - then on to Ahipara. 
90 mile beach was stunning, the walk was quite demanding both physically and mentally as it is just "a long way!"
Ahipara is a gem and a surfer's paradise. Thanks to Anna at the Endless Summer Backpackers - well worth the extra 2 kilometers to Shipwreck Cove and a well earned rest.
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