#te araroa

[adventureswithteddy]

Teddy left the trees and shrubs of the low lands behind and trekked up Melina Pass. Transitioning from one side of a mountain to the other and seeing every little rock along the way. It's always amazing how much ground you can cover given some time on such little paws.

[ellmovy]

forgot about posting Te Araroa sketchbook stuff here (it's been over a year since i finished the trail...) - here's the first chunk of the South Island, encompassing some of the best moments of my life and also the moments i've come closest to accepting i might end up dead out there... Queen Charlotte Track, Richmond Ranges, Nelson Lakes, Rakaia & Rangitata Rivers

Bonus photos of me at my lowest (got sick in the longest and most dangerous section of the entire 3000km trail):

[equatorjournal]

Sunrise at Te Araroa, 1969.

[jugs-and]

[21/04] Motatapu Track - Day 2

The day was relatively short, knowing there was a small weather window in the morning to walk before the rain really set in. I set off before 8am before the school group camped in front of the hut was packed. They faded into the distance as I rounded the first of the peaks of the day.

I arrived at the top of Jack Hall saddle (1267m) where the weather was already deteriorating. The rain was running view from the top was incredible, but also incredibly worn and slippery. I waddled my way down inbetween the sea of golden tussocks, down to Highland Creek hut below in a sheltered basin at 900m elevation.

This was all before midday - and I changed out of my soaked clothing, hanging it in the rafters in the verandah. Holly and Max arrived after me, and I had a billy of hot water ready for them to arrive. We sat in the afternoon chatting about the trail and reading, waiting for the sun to set.

[thelilkiwibird]

An earthquake in the middle of the night is NOT the wake up call I wanted. Thankfully everyone's ok, but still...

Hope others are doing well--anyone else feel that? Geonet's saying it's a 6-7 magnitude off the east coast, further up the island.

[theninjazebra]

did the paekakariki escarpment track today. 

[nzstories]

Flowers and trees on the endless hills

[koala-chaser]

East Cape: Lottin Point to Tolaga bay It was a surprisingly warm night in the car (finally!) and in the morning I got up early and they let me sit in on the truck up to where they were working so I didn't even have to walk all the way up the hill. The view from the top was amazing, over the bays on one side and the mountains on the other. I walked most of the way down (well, about half since the tractor was heading back that way at around the same time ;) ) and it was such a warm day that I was actually hot by the time I made it to the beach, and decided to go for a swim!

Not my finest idea, I didn't say in long but the water was beautifully clear and it definitely woke me up ;) I was exploring the beach after and I ran into two guys de shelling Paua shells after a diving session, and it turned out to be the two forestry guys from the road the day before! They hadn't gone out fishing in the end, but had come up for shellfish instead. It's a small country! :)

I had a quick shower to warm up, then headed off again. Instead of going to my planned campsite at Te Araroa (about 20km of gravel away from the lighthouse) Troy told me about an alternative site, 16km down the road. That equated to about another half an hour in bed, so I headed out there. It was a bit back of beyond, just a field by the beach really, and there were two hours of rain during the night in which I briefly thought I might be stuck out there, but it all cleared up nicely and I managed to wake up in time to drive out and climb the 800 steps.

Not sure I got the first sun in the world, since there was a solid belt of cloud on the horizon delaying the actual sunrise by about 15mins, but it was a nice location anyway and I've been meaning to watch the sunrise over the sea since - oh - the east coast of Australia, so it was a good incentive to actually get up and moving for it!

After that I drove down the next part of the east Cape road. This section was a lot more inland, definitely a less interesting drive. I stopped at a church that was a fascinating fusion of Christian and Maori culture, and then at a few bays with a couple of historic buildings. In the afternoon I made it to Araoa bay where there was a DOC hike. It was up in the trees where the sun hadn't reached to dry out the night's rain, but it was a decent enough bush walk and nice to get out of the car for a while before heading to camp at Tolaga bay. At least, that was what I thought before I had to spend the next three days drying out my hiking boots!