Author: Karen Griffiths

I spent a day in Wellington to plan the first part of the South Island. The first 30 or so days needs to be planned carefully as there are 5 sections, from 5 to 8 days in length, without access to shops to resupply. So some bags of food need to be parceled up and sent ahead for pick up later. At this stage I decided to come out of the Richmond Ran=ges to Nelso where my brother lives. From there I would purchase food to send ahead to 3 different places en route.

I am moving into the much less populated part of New Zealand. There are only 4 cities and we do not walk through any of them. Also we go through very few of the small towns. So parcels of food must be sent ahead and there is quite a bit of hitch hiking off the trail to resupply.

I don’t enjoy this planning and really miss Frances who did enjoy it. Anyway I have a plan now and left Wellington with 6 days of food on board which would see me through to Havelock.

Also while in Wellington I had dinner with my friend Margaret. We had met over 40 years ago when we were new mothers and supported each other through the hard years of having babies and toddlers.  Between us we have 9 children and 15 grandchildren so there was lots to talk about.

Queen Charlotte Track

Friday morning I was on the Interislander ferry with about 12 other TA walkers. It is a 3.5 hour trip across Cook Strait. We had a calm sailing and as it is school holidays and peak tourist season, the boat was full.

On arriving at Picton we all made our way to the mail boat for a 2.5 hour trip through the beautiful Marlborough Sounds to Ships Cove. I had a wee sleep on the boat so was ready to go when we landed.

Meretoto/Ship Cove was James Cook’s favourite New Zealand base during his three voyages of exploration so there is a monument there to him. I took a quick photo, used the toilet then headed off for a 1.5 hour easy walk to School House Bay campsite.

There was about 12 of us at the idyllic campsite by the sea and I slept quite well.

The next day was 22 km day to the next DOC campground. I was first to leave at 7.30 am and first to arrive at 2.30 pm. That included an hours break for coffee and cake at the posh Furneaux Lodge. I also paid $6 for a packet of chippie to take for my munchies tonight. This lodge is infamous because 2 young people went missing after a New Years Eve party here 1998. Someone was convicted with their murder, even though a bodies were never found. Many people still believe that he was innocent and that the police got it very wrong. I felt a bit uneasy being here but coffee in the sun can’t be beaten.

This track was the easiest so far on the trail. 100s of people do all of it in up to 5 or 6 days or just parts. There are boat pick ups and drop offs all along the 71km track. You can also have your pack carried by boat between camps or lodges. If you want to follow in the easiest of my footsteps, then this is the track for you.

I enjoyed the walking on my own lost in my own thoughts.

I had 2 more nights on the track, in my tent at Camp Bay and then Cowshed Bay. The track continued to be easy going with stunning views, lovely native bush a lots of Wekas.

Wekas are cheeky little birds who are very inquisitive and like to steal things from hikers. There are plenty of warnings around about keeping your things safe but they are persistent little creatures and not afraid of humans. I was just leaving a lunch shelter one day when a week took off down the track with someone’s lunch bag. 4 people ran off after it but I was on my way and didn’t find out whether they managed to retrieve the lunch or not.

As the track winds around the bays there are pockets of holiday homes, each with a boat or two, and B’n’Bs, lodges and posh hotels. I stayed at the basic DOC campgrounds that have a cooking shelter, a toilet and a tap. Most if the people staying were Te Araroa walkers including

• Anouk from the Netherlands and her parents who are walking with her for 3 weeks
• A German couple who honeymooned in NZ 27 years ago and have returned to walk the South Island part of the TA
• 2 young giggling German girls who seemed to have skipped more of the trail than they have walked
• A shy American lad (unusal)
• A kiwi couple from Auckland

The last day was a 21km walk to Anakiwa and the first half of the day it was raining li so I took off early and went as fast as I could to keep warm, managing to finish in 6 hours. I was pleased with myself as the signs said 8 hours. I was spurred on by the thoughts of a hot coffee at a cafe when I arrived. However there was only a coffee cart that took only cash. And I had $3, not enough for coffee so I made do with a cup of tea which was not the same.

My cousin, Glenis and her husband Tim were staying in their 5 wheeler at the camp ground in Havelock, which was another days walk for me, mostly along a gravel road. So I accepted their offer of a pick up so I could spend some time with them while resupplying in Havelock. We also gave the 2 giggling Germans a ride part of the way.

I spent Tuesday yakking with Glenis and we went for a drive out to Canvastown camping area which is a really nice secluded gem of a camp area near a crystal clear river. Lots of sand flies though. This was the start of the sandflies which would drive us all to distraction for the next couple of months

I picked up a few supplies for the next section and did my usual camp duties of washing clothes, updating website and having a pub meal.

Day 74 Pukeatua Rudge Track to Waikane 4 hours 14 km.

This was a really good day for me. I started out feeling relief that the Tartarua Ranges were behind me. I was going to climb over the last range to get me onto the home straight to finish the North Island in one piece.

The Pukeatua Ridge track is 7 km up hill followed by 7 km downhill. I had read that someone go up in1 hour but most TA people take 2.5. So I took off full of energy and enthusiasm attempting to reach the summit from the turn off in 2 hours. I had very little food left so my pack was about as light as it gets.

Being on my own meant I could make my own pace and I went for it pushing myself and even running for short periods. The track was very well formed and went through a number of grassy clearings which helped considerably.

I reached the summit in just over 2 hours so was very pleased with myself. It was a bit windy so I took a while to find a sunny spot that was sheltered enough to sit for my lunch.

Unfortunately I shared it with an ants nest. They were down my socks and up my pants in no time at all, and they were biting. So I had to find another spot and rid myself if the creatures.

I met a few T A walkers, coming in the opposite direction to me as they were doing “flip flops.” This means they are not walking the sections in the usual order. E.g one had sustained an injury in Te Kuiti so had been recovering in Wellington. He was now walking North back toTe Kuiti. Another had not been able to cross the Taruruas because of bad weather so had hitched to Wellington to make his way back.

They had all seen USA Carolyn about an hour ahead of me but she must have been moving fast too as I didn’t catch her.

The final part of the trail was through lovely native bush on a privately owned farm. Again I gave thanks to the owners for letting us cross their land.

Eventually I came out of the native bush smack bang into a recently logged area of the farm. It was downright ugly! The track was steep with very sharp rocks that scared me a bit. I didn’t want to slip on them so I took it easy until I was out.

Rest Day at friends in Paraparaumu

Day 75 was a busy rest day. I washed every piece of clothing I had and every piece of body too. Also I had a haircut, dud some shopping, lots of catch up stuff with my good friends, Maxine and Trevor, as we as updating my website. A rest for my legs but not much else. But I mostly appreciated a comfortable bed to sleep in for a change.

Day 76. Paekakarikei to Paramatta via the Escarpments Track. 21km in 6 hours

My friend Royce, from Palmerston North was meeting me again to walk the day with me. Also another friend Jan was walking in from the Paramatta end to meet me.

I was glad for the company on the Escarpment Track as it was very windy and exposed up there. The track was built to get the TA walkers off the busy highway below. It has become a very popular walk for locals and tourists alike. We passed a a few people running and walking the track which is good to see.

The track is very steep, with lots of steps and a couple of swing bridges; not a place that would be enjoyed by someone with vertigo.

We met up with Jan along the way and then there was 3 of us chatting as we walked. We also met up with te English couple, Andy and Moni, who were just doing day walks so as to rest Moni’s injuries. ( I had met them previously just out of Palmerston North)

I stayed the night at Jan’s place in Whitby and we were joined by Phillipa for a evening of laughs.

Day 77 to Ngaio. 28.6km in 9 hours

Jan dropped me back on the trail the next morning and I headed off I the direction of our capital city, Wellington, at 7.30 am.

After a couple of hours I was joined by Anouk from the Netherlands who I have met up with a few times since starting the Te Araroa. She is now walking with her parents for 3 weeks so the 4 of us had a good day together. Wellington showed its true colours and served up the wind for us. We went up over Colonial Knob which was a big climb and the Mt Kaukau. I’m not sure how the colonial women managed in their long skirts and stays!.

Below us were the outer suburbs of Wellington and we had magnificent views out to Kapiti Island, of Wellington Harbour and over to the South Island. Mostly it was too windy to stand and gaze for any length of time. We had lunch in a bus shelter along a connecting road walk.

Anouc had managed to get accommodation in Ngaio but I didn’t. Even the Trail Angel’s were full up so I caught a train into the city and stayed at the Hotel Waterloo backpackers right by the station.

Last day in North Island Day 78

I woke up feeling a little apprehensive about finishing the North Island. Firstly because it meant that the end of my journey was getting nearer. 1,620 km down and 1,380 to go. Also it meant that I will be going down into a part of the country that I did not know well. I have cycled there, done some of the Great Walks and driven around it but not much else.

But off I went by train back to Ngaio and began walking the Northern walkway all the way into the city centre. Even though I was in native bush for most of the day I knew I was on urban tracks. There are bridges over tiny streams that we would have waded through when in the back-country, the track was wide and solid. No mud all day.

I stopped at a few outdoor shops in the city not interested in any other shopping at all. A pie and coffee at Te Papa, our best museum, then I was off again.

After lots of ups and downs I headed into the city centre, and along Oriental Parade then onto the Southern Walkway to Island Bay, the end of my journey.

I walked up and down as Wellington is built on hills. I told everyone that I met that I was nearly finished the North Island part of my damn long walk. I took their congratulations with pride.

Finally at 3.15pm on 8 January 2020 reached then end of the North Island feeling very emotional. I rang Frances to share the moment with her feeling sorry that she wasn’t there too.

About 10 years ago I decided that my New Years Eves were probably limited so I had better make sure I remember them all from now on, so each year I have made sure I am somewhere different and memorable and not drunk.

So as 2019 ended I headed up to Te Matawai Hut in the Tararua Ranges with my younger son, Dean. I had commandeered him to carry up my 6 days of food because it was one heck of a climb straight up a mountain for 13 km taking nearly 8 hours. That is 1.6 km per hour which I think I could crawl faster than!

So with my new lighter pack (thanks Roman) and no food on board I was able to keep up with my big strong son all the way. We chatted all day and again I enjoyed having that one to one time with him. He has also made me very proud of what he has achieved in his life time and of the lovely family he has. He also brought along some red wine and cheese and crackers to celebrate the sun going down on 2019. I had an early start to a big few days so staying up to see the New Year in was not a viable option.

The hut soon filled up. There was a young American TA hiker, Caroline, who I had met at Toko Corner, and a few other locals on overnight tramps.

A group of men arrived with a 5 year old boy and a dog in tow. The boy looked in better condition than the dog, which proceeded to grow severely at anyone who moved. I have felt like that at times when I have had a day with only 2 feet in the mud so I sympathised with him having to deal with 4 wet and stuck feet. However I did insist that the dog not sleep in the bunk room as they had wanted, and be tied up outside. I didn’t want to get up to pee in the night and have to come across a growling pig dog.

Mask on and ear plugs in I slept as well as an old lady can on a platform bed in a room full of people.

I started back on trail with Cara who was to join me for three days from Palmerston North to the back of Levin. Her husband Daniel was dropping us all off at our start points. The Lazy German was hitching to Turangi to pick up a parcel, Roman was starting at his end point, being Burger King on Rangitikei Street and Cara and I were skipping a bit of road walking that I had done before. Poor Daniel had been up all night with a stomach bug so he was not feeling the best as he dropped us off.

Cara and I walked our first day along Kahutere Road, onto the Back Track to the new Toko Corner shelter. It was about 16km mostly through bush and forest that has many mountain biking tracks.

We stopped for lunch at the 1,500km sign. I felt very pleased with myself for reaching the half way mark, but also felt that it was just going too fast. I am loving doing the trail and don’t want it to finish too soon. But I believe that half way in distance is not actually half of time needed to complete the damn long walk.

A Canadian couple came along and we chatted a bit about our trail so far. They had started a week or so after me. Eventually the girl asked if I was Karen. Apparently her mother in Canada had been following my blog and passing on what I had been doing to her daughter. “Karen did this, so you should.” So she had been curious to meet me. Needless to say she took off quickly, glad to be ahead of me to prevent her mum quoting me all the time.

We were first to arrive at Toko Corner shelter, which I had stayed on last May with  NOBO (North Bound) hiker. We had been the first ones to sleep in the shelter and my note was pasted in the front of the Intentions Book.

There were rather large beatles on the wall so we decided to sleep in the tent for the night. By night fall there were 5 others there with us including 2 girls from USA, Swiss Roman,  and an English couple, Andy and Moni,  who were older than me. Unfortunately Moni had a knee injury that was not getting better so this was to he their last section. Another sad decision  made. I do hope I get through without injury.

After a cost night in my 2 man tent I was glad not to be sharing for whole trail. Cara had my old 3 quarter Thermarest mattress and kept waking up thinking possums were looking at her. This was the result of us all talking about our experiences with animals and insects while tramping. This is not really good night time topics for this not used to sleeping in the outdoors, like Cara.

Burton’s Track

Our second day together as very enjoyable as we rarely have much time alone together. We chatted all day eventually arriving at the Tokomaru Shelter six hours and 14 km later.

The day was fine as we headed along the Burton Track. This track is best marked and maintained track so far on the Te Araroa. The styles were 10 star and the wet sections of the track had been dealt with well by the local volunteers, therefore consuderably reducing the mud.

We passed through a section of track that I had helped clear in early October.

I really appreciate the hard work the volunteers do throughout the country to keep the tracks open for us. And every walker I come across is reminded of this. My mission is to ensure everyone understands the effort put in to provide the trail and that they need to donate to the Te Araroa Trust to ensure the survival of the trail.

You never know, you may want to follow in my footsteps one day. (Maybe choose a few of them better than I did )

Cara didn’t sleep well that night in the shelter as she had spied a mouse shortly before bed time. As for me, I just put on my eye mask and seal in my silicon ear plugs taking the “see no evil, hear no evil” attitude.

Next day

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It rained through the night and we awoke to light but very wetting rain. So it was to be another TA experience for Cara walking in the rain.

The first part was along forestry roads passing one of  the Mangahou Dams. Then into the Tararua Firest Park for a day of trudging up hill through mud and stream crossings. Cara was enjoying herself which was a relief for me. The last thing I want to do is give someone a bad experience.

I had a relaxing 6 days off for Christmas staying with my daughter, Cara. It was so good to be back with them and catch up on the news. My youngest grand daughter, Indie, is 13 months old and we were delighted to have a little kiddie opening Christmas presents again.

We also had 2 T.A. walkers, Roman from Switzerland and Gabrielle the lazy German to stay with us. So they were treated to a summer Kiwi Christmas with mini stock car rides around the track in Daniel’s yard, backyayrd cricket and bullrush and kiwi christmas food and games. Very different to their usual Christmas.

The days went quickly and, unfortunately I didn’t have time to catch up with as many people as I had wanted to.

Roman is a very fast hiker and he does much longer days than I do. Roman took up the 100km challenge, walking from Wanganui to Palmerston North in one go; 20 hours. I was planning on doing the same but when I got off the river I just wanted to go home. So now my plan is to continue to Bluff, the bottom if the South Island

, then return to Wanganui. I will then walk to Palmerston North. Thus ending at home.

Roman has done quite a few ultra long hikes around the world and carries a very light pack. He also manages to survive on cigarettes, beer, weed, and one meal a day of noodles or pasta. This is not the usual diet prescribed for a long hike but it seems to work for him. Maybe I need to follow suit?

The Lazy German keeps up with Roman by hitch hiking most of time. They seemed to enjoy a NZ christmas and meeting my family and their pets.

Roman went through my pack with me and we managed to remove about 2kg of stuff. It was a combination of alot of little things that were discarded.

My pocket knife weighed 160 gms and I only used it to cut my salami and cheese so it was swapped out for a small plastic kitchen knife that weighed only 50 gms after Daniel had cut off some of the handle and drilled holes in what remained. My toothbrush also lost some of it’s handle. My fleece top went as I have a down jacket to keep me warm at camp. I had not used my Cuban Fibre rain skirt so it was cut up to make one very light bag to replace the 2 kitchen bags I had been using, and stuff sacks for my sleeping bag and tent. This saved me quite a few grams too. My cup went as I can drink out of my pot. I had a wee sewing kit that was reduced to one needle and some cotton and my first aid stuff was halved.

The one thing I didn’t give up was my Teva sandals even though I could have saved another 400gms. That was going too far!

So I was ready to go again lighter than ever. Pack and body.

Day 58 To Pipiriki

After our extra rest day at John Coull Hut we were given the all clear to go on our way. As we had lost a day we decided to go all the way to Pipiriki so left in clear weather and had a good day on the river. No-one fell out and there were only a few rapids because of the high river. The water was very muddy and was running fast so we made really good time and were at Pipiriki by mid afternoon. Cabins were sorted, showers had and we spent the evening in their spacious common room.

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Roman and The Lazy German were there so we had a catch up with them too. Roman is the super fast Swiss hiker who lives on beer, cigarettes and instant noodles. He is paired up with a young German guy who doesn’t much like walking so he hitch hikes from town to town meeting Roman in the pub when he arrives. They are an unlikely pair but it seems to work.

Day 59 to Flying Fox campsite

The next day there was heavy rain predicted by all weather sites but there was a variation in times. So we took off at 9 am to make a run to The Flying Fox Campsite. By 11 am it was pouring with rain. The water was so choppy that it seemed like we were out at sea. We just dug in and paddled as hard as we could to help keep us warm, bailing the water out regularly. As soon as we slowed down were felt the cold my feet especially as I was only wearing sandals. No photos as we needed all our concentration and energy to get to our destination.

Today I saw the funniest sight of the whole Te Araroa. We came around a curve in the river and there was Swiss Roman and The Lazy German in their canoe in the pouring rain. Roman was at the back holding his umbrella in one hand, a cigarette in his mouth and a can of beer in the other hand. On the barrels in front of him was another couple of cans of beer. He was calling out “Paddle faster, you lazy German” and the young guy was paddling at full pelt. Unfortunately it was raining too hard to have my camera out but we laughed so hard. We came alongside them in a calmer area to find their canoe nearly full to the brim with water and floating beer cans. They had lost their baler so we shared ours with them making sure the cans stayed in the boat, of course.

Finally arriving at the Flying Fox about 1pm all wet cold, and miserable. The mud was knee deep as we pulled up our canoes and tied them to a post. Then we slipped and slided our way up the muddy path to the campsite to find we did not have bookings as we had expected. So there was a bit of hassle with the owners who were not so friendly . Eventually Dave, Baxter, Matt and I were in a posh chalet costing $300, Kay was in a Glamping tent ($125) and Roman and Lazy in basic tents.

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We carried our barrels up the slippery cliff, had hot showers, Dave lit the fire and we were all soon sitting in the sun and enjoying the afternoon. Our wet clothes were on a rack in front of the fire and we were all happy again. There was an earthquake during the night very close to us which woke everyone except me. I was sharing a set of bunks with Matt so I would have thought any movement was him on the top bunk. I did get up in the night to pee and felt a bit weird and dizzy, maybe I was having a stroke? getting back to our room found that I had put on Matt’s glasses so that explained everything.

Day 60. 21 Dec 2019. to Wanganui Holiday Park

We hatched a plan to go all the way to Whanganui today rather than take the 2 days we had planned. This would mean we had totally made up the lost day and we would finish on Saturday as originally planned. Usually the last couple of hours into Whanganui is effected by the tides but we had been told that the high water levels would mean we could get there at any time of the day.

So we headed off and had a really good day on the river. No one fell in, we moved very fast, the sun was out and we found a lovely picnic spot for lunch.

Arriving at The Holiday park, we emptied our barrels and repacked our packs and said our goodbyes. Cara arrived to pick me up to take me home for Christmas having reached the 1,355 km mark.

Today was the Tongariro Crossing which is one of New Zealand’s top day walks. We climbed the equivalent of 366 flights of stairs. 22km in about 8 hours. 38,000 steps.

We walked the opposite direction to most people keeping with the Southbound route of our Te Araroa. Because we started at a lower altitude to the usual we had another 350 meters of altitude to do. Because rain was forecast for later in the afternoon there weren’t too many people to pass on the track. Maybe only a 1000 or so. In saying that I did run out of my ” Hellos and “thank yous” by about noon.

Swiss Roman joined us for most of the day. He is a 50ish year old machine who has been travelling for about 5 years and has completed many long thru hikes across the world. Hi pack is ultra light. He survives on a packet of cigarettes and a couple of packs of noodles a day and lots of beer when he reaches towns. I do wonder if this holds the secret of thru hiking.

We had to climb up a very steep part covered in scoria which I usually come down very quickly in ski like fashion. This time I plodded up, 3 steps up and 1 back.

I spent the day remembering all the people I have done the Crossing with before. This is a magical place to make memories.

The White Island eruption was only a week ago so looking at the active stream.vents and crater lakes made me very aware about how vulnerable we are in places like this. However I did not dwell on this and enjoyed the day.

The drizzle came as we began our decent down to Mangatepopo which meant we didn’t stop for a lunch break, just topping up on the go with protein bars and nuts and dried fruit.

The TA continued on for another 3 hours to Whakapapa but unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?) there was no accommodation left there so we had to go to National Park village for the night. We had done 8 hours of hard slog and were cold and hungry so Dave called the YHA and they sent a car out to drive us the 13 km to National Park Village.

I showered and headed off to meet Dave and Baxter at at the only restaurant open. Then it was sleep time. I had been going now for 8 days without a rest day so I was a bit tired. We had our canoes booked for Tuesday which was 4 days away. There was only 2 days walking in between so we had a whole 2 days to rest up.

Day 52 and 53. 13 and 14 Dec. Rest days

We were now 2 days ahead of schedule so lazed around doing our housekeeping jobs such as washing clothes, updating websites, eating, drinking, eating, drinking and catching up with the tails fro. Other hikers.

We will leave tomorrow for a 2 day walk to Whakahoro where we will pick up our canoes for 5 days on the Whanganui River. This is very weather dependent and currently it is not looking too good for us. But we will walk on and hope that Garry buys the Weather Gods enough beers to get it sorted.

We had decided to do this in one damn long day instead of the usual 2 days. That would give us a much needed rest day as we had been going 9 days straight with some long hard ones in the mix.

The 42nd Traverse is mostly used for 4wd vehicles, trail bikes and mountain bikes but us Te Araroa walkers walk the old logging tracks through remote native bush.

We were each allocated 5 whinges for the day. Any more above that meant we had to forfeit one of our treats. Dave did well and only used a couple at the end of the day but I used mine quickly as my shoes pinched my feet. My bag of chippies were forfeited early on.

I had spoken to my friend Bernadine about the possibility of riding this one but thankfully she advised against it. We kept making comments about how glad we were that we were not to be riding this track.

It was steep and the day was very hot. We had a lunch break in the shade and later stopped for a rest where a couple of other hikers had put up their tent beside the track. I was tempted to join them but after cooling off in the stream, with some unexpected help from my friends, we were ready to go again.

A rest cures grizzles, grumbles, cuts and scratches and blisters on your tootsies.

Eventually we turned off onto the Waione Cokers Track and it became narrower, trickier and muddier. This was really hard going in some places and I had no qualms about complaining because I had already forfeited my treats.

We walked up a creek for a while before crossing a small river. So now my new shoes were well and truely christened.

The mountains got closer which kept us going for the 12 hours it took us to get o the end of the Coker track and out to the road by the Hilliary Outdoor pursuits Centre.

And we still had 5 km of road walking to go. I rang the Tongariro Camp ground to say that we were going to arrive late and could they please leave a key out for us. The nice man asked how I was feeling. “F***N knackered” I said honestly.

I had carried a packet of chippies on the back of my pack all day and Baxter had been chasing them for the last couple of hours knowing he could eat them when we hit the road. So they were scoffed with glee.

It was now dark so we put on our head torches, another layer of clothing and high viz gear and dug into our reserves to get going.

We hadn’t gone too far when the camp owner pulled up in his car and gave us a lift to camp. What an Angel! He declined my kiss of gratitude, probably smelt me.

So we quickly showered, prepared and ate our dinner then fell into bed in our cabin very pleased with our achievement for the day.

1,098 km completed in 50 days