Legs and Borders

"Nature is by and large to be found out of doors, a location where, it cannot be argued, there are never enough comfortable chairs" Fran Lebowitz Today, second of my planned skips to allow finishing TA on time happened, I've took a bus over a 60 miles section from Whanganui to Palmerston North. That section was following mainly roads and beaches which I wasn't particularly interested in. From this point on I should be covering Te Araroa to it's end in Bluff. Yesterday, just before going to sleep, I've made the final decision how to tackle the rest of North Island as it involved planning ahead. The main issue was a ferry which every hiker had to take to cross between North and South Island, Christmas-time tickets were selling fast and there were no boats at all on Christmas day. In the morning I walked to Whanganui bus station and took the Intercity. I've arrived in Palmerston North at 10:00am, resupplied at P...

I've spent most of this hot, sunny day walking with Camille from France. In the morning I hiked the first 6 miles quickly in hopes that a coffee shop at Matahiwi will be open. Unfortunately it was closed every Monday and Tuesday, so I just sat outside and had my breakfast. Soon after Tim from New Zealand walked pass with his bicycle, he was surprised I was here so early and asked where I came from. I noticed that his back tyre was flat and I pointed it out. He couldn't believe that it happened to him on the last day (he was cycling TA in sections). I suggested that if it's a slow leak he could be able to pump the tyre and it might stay good for long enough to get to Wanganui. It worked just fine and I saw him cycling past me half an hour later. After two hours when I was having another short break, one of the hikers who stayed at Matahiwi caught up with me. Her name was Camille, she was from Lyon in France. We spend rest of the day hiking...

Jet boating from Bridge to Nowhere to Pipiriki commenced and it made me regret opting out of canoeing the river. In the morning I walked the remaining ten miles to the Mangapurua Landing without any issues, stopping for a while by one of the landmarks of the Wanganui National Park called Bridge to Nowhere. It was a big concrete and steel structure government decided to build here with the idea of running the road into the Wanganui park. They wanted to do that because after WWI soldiers who returned to New Zealand were gifted plots of land here and many went into the wilderness to work it. Unfortunately the area was to remote and difficult to farm and access points were often buried by the landslides. Within 20 years most of the soldiers and their families abandoned their farms and moved back into civilisation. The bridge remained unused and disconnected, leading to nowhere. A statement to the failed human ambition, standing now forgotten in the middle of the forrest. I found it quite p...

"This hamish coleslaw can last a month" Chef at the Blue Duck Cafe Today since I diverted from the main path at Whakahoro I haven't seen another human being. I left Couper's Crossing Farm as planned at 6am, few other hikers were also awake but it looked like they were waiting for breakfast at 8am. I followed the road towards Whakahoro 15 miles south where the river section was starting. Several vans full of tourists with attached canoe trailers drove past me. By the time I've reached the village, they were all floating on the Wanganui river and the place was empty. I went for breakfast to Blue Duck Cafe, they were using convincing slogan: "Last coffee for the next four days". I've asked if kitchen was opened for food, chef said they were so I've ordered ham and cheese toastie and a latte, it was 20$ in total. Toastie arrived ten minutes later with a special coleslaw that apparently lasted for a month, and it mu...

"If you'll piss on that lemon tree, it will make it grow faster." Roger Tongariro National Park has ended and the connecting trail to the Wanganui National Park today was a bunch of roadwalking. It started with finding the way out of the forrest onto a busy asphalt road leading to National Park Village, the last place I could get my resupply before entering the park and spending there approximately five days. I arrived at the village at 8am, and spent around 80$ on breakfast and food for the upcoming days. I also met Frogga from Australia, I saw him before when he was flip flopping north, trying to make up miles in the bad weather. He used to hike in USA, we spend almost an hour reminiscing adventures we had there. Around 9:30am I decided to move on. Trail was going through the forrest on a gravel road then after couple of hours it opened up from one side to a picturesque countryside with a lot of green hills and meadows. Then after few miles it wa...