Tag: NOBO

I am off on another adventure. Te Araroa NOBO South Island

I am off on another adventure. Te Araroa NOBO South Island

Karen Griffiths

Again my legs will be chasing my mind and  my dreams;  following a winding path that heads along beaches, through dense forests, over high mountain passes, through rivers and valleys, mud and marshes.

Again I will wake up, pack up, walk, make camp, eat, sleep then do it all again for about 3 months.  My life will become simple.

In a few days I will be heading to Bluff, at the very bottom of New Zealand to start walking the South Island part of Te Araroa.  I will be heading North so I will be a NOBO this time and walking only 1,300km. https://www.teararoa.org.nz/

Two years ago I walked Te Araroa 3,000km from Cape Reinga to Bluff south bound (SOBO) so the idea of long thru hike is not new to me.

I have spent the last couple of years in lockdowns, doing some short term Accounting contracts and spending lots of time with my latest lot grandchildren, Indie – 3yrs and Finnley, who is just 14 months old. I will miss them very much as the time I have been able to spend with them has been precious. I hope they don’t forget their Granny!

Finishing at Bluff March 2020

However the trail will be different this time.  Most of the time the sun will be in my face, rather than at my back, I will struggle up the tracks that were easy downhills last time and  I may spend more time on my own as most people walk SOBO.  I think this will be the biggest challenge for me.  Last time I had a sense of security knowing there were other walkers ahead and behind me most days.  But Covid has changed the way people do Te Araora so I may be surprised.

Kay, a lady who walked most of Te Araroa last season, is planning on joining me from Queenstown for 2 or 3 weeks as she missed that section.  Also my daughter, Cara, is coming to walk with me from Nelson to Havelock in March. And my friend Jan may pop in somewhere for a bit as well.

  • This time my aspirations are:
  • to lose all the weight I put on since finishing TA last time
  • not have to use my PLB to call a helicopter to rescue me
  • meet interesting people
  • and not get lost.

I have given Garry orders to buy the Weather Gods a few more drinks to ensure I get good weather like he organised for me last time.

So for those of you who can’t or won’t ever do a long walk like this you are very welcome to come along for the ride virtually. I will only post once a week or so and hopefully I can brighten your morning tea break! Last Te Araroa I found that knowing you were all out there waiting for my next update sometimes was the thing that kept me going on a hard day. So keep up the comments and encouragement as this old Granny sure needs it!

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Day 5 Paekakareiki to Waikanae with some company – 22km

Day 5 Paekakareiki to Waikanae with some company – 22km

Karen Griffiths

After another fun night with Phillipa and her friend I was ready for another 22km walk along the west coast with some company for the day. Pip and Jane are walking Te Araroa South Island SOBO starting before Christmas this year. They have followed my SOBO blog and are all kitted out and excited about the adventure to come. I am sure they will love every hard damn step of it!

Also along for the walk was Linda, a landscape gardener, who was involved in planning the original track through the area with Geoff Chapple. She must be proud to see the trail being used by so many people now.

It was a chatty day as you would expect with 4 women together for about 8 hours straight. We walked along paths adjacent to the beach most of the way with a small section on the actual beach. That was enough to remind me that beach walking is not so much fun with a full pack on my back.

We came across some locals whitebaiting. There is is a short season each year where we can catch these wee fish in nets, usually in estuaries. They are a iconic New Zealand delicacy. People have favourite spots which are closely guarded and defended.

  • Coffee before we start
  • Rest break at the Paraparaumu wetlands
  • High tracks in some places
  • Scooping up the catch
  • Whitebaiters

The plan had been to head into the Taraura Ranges the next day with Lois but the weather was not looking good. It is an acceptable risk to be in rolling farmland in a gale but definitely not safe to be on a mountain range in a storm for 5 days. However Lois and Rohan met us along the trail and we joined them for a much deserved beer. over the beer or 3 we decided to try again for after the 25th, 2 weeks away. The others caught a train back to Plimmerton then I was picked up by my friend Trevor and taken to stay with him and Maxine in Paraparaumu for a few days while I tried to hatch another plan.

They were pleased to do their bit for society and take in a homeless, jobless tramp and feed her up with good nourishing food before sending me on my way back home.

It was 2 hour bus trip back to Palmerston North, all masked up, listening to my e-book “Batavia” about a shipwreck in 1629 along the Western Australian coast. I had downloaded this to set the scene for my walk in Australia. I definitely would not have wanted to come across any of the mutineers from that ship. They turned into thieves, rapists, murderers and brutes in their fight for survival and over the treasure aboard the ship. I hoped the resident Australians would have been a lot less scary. Those who survived had eaten a lot of the funny looking “cats” that hopped around on large feet and had babies in their pockets.

Day 1. Island Bay to Wellington Railway Station 12km

Karen Griffiths

Freedom again so I was out the gate like a cut cat. I enjoyed my stay with a cute wee grandson but I had left work for a bit more adventure so I was out the gate like a cut car as soon as we moved Covid levels.

Delta level 3 meant I could be on the move however buses and trains were still not running out of Palmerston North. To start my NOBO (Northbound) I needed to get to Wellington which is the Southern most end of our North Island.

So I called up my friend, Maxine and asked for a ride. I was pretty sure she would be eager to get out of the house after 2 weeks locked down and I was right. That got me half way and then I caught a commuter train, then a bus to Island Bay to start my walk.

Starting Te Araroa this time was nowhere as exciting or scary as when I began my SOBO in October 2019. This time I knew what I was in for, physically and mentally, I knew my gear was good and I knew the route.

I found it quite hard wearing a mask as my glasses fogged up meaning I couldn’t see much at all. I had trouble seeing enough through the fog and was fumbling to find money, so I was told not to bother, it was a free trip. Quite a good way to have a free ride.

I really respect all those people who have lived and worked with masks for the last 28 months.

I don’t like those masks but they are a necessity.

Starting was a bit of an anti climax as it was blowing a Wellington gale and there was no one else at the park to witness my start. Maybe that was a good omen as it was also blowing a gale when I started last time.

I was pleased to get away from the coast line and begin to walk up and over the first of the 2 mountains for the day, Mt Albert. Soon I was passing the line on the road telling me I was safe from a sunami so that was good. I followed the Southern Walkway up and over Mt Wellington along the high fence around the zoo then down to Oriental Parade and back through the centre of our capital city.

I managed to lose the track a couple of times so there goes my theory of knowing the route.

No animals to see over the fence to the zoo.

I was surprised to see everyone was wearing masks on the street and keeping their distance. There is no Covid in Wellington but being the home of our Parliament everyone is very compliant here. Noticeably no one else seemed to be wearing glasses and constantly having to wipe them as I was.

Second Mountain for the day, a walk through central Wellington to The Beehive (Parliament Buildings)

I had booked in at the Waterloo Backpackers and am sharing a room with a Japanese girl who got stuck here alone for the 2 weeks of lockdown so she was pleased to have some company.

Dinner out with my lovely granddaughter, Hope, has completed a good day for me.