Suddenly, John and I were almost alone on the trail. Where did all the hikers go? Because of the trail’s reputation for leading along many roads in the roughly 140-kilometer stretch between Auckland and Hamilton, many hikers skip that section and either hitch a ride to Hamilton or take public transport.
I was very much looking forward to “walking home” as I moved to Auckland over a year ago, and the trail winds its way through Aotearoa’s largest city.
After spending a few days in Auckland for work, I boarded an Intercity Bus to Kaiwaka and hitched out to Mangawhai Heads, where I caught up with John again.
The following days between Nikau Bay Camp and Ruakākā they turned out spectacularly beautiful and challenging.
The following days between Kerikeri at km 223 and Ngunguru at km 348 were characterized by lots of kilometer along roads and through farmland.
The last few days, a huge variety of weather, terrain and scenery were awaiting.
The first 5 days on Te Araroa.
After having hiked the South Island in 2018, now, it is time to check out the North Island by hiking Te Araroa.
Yes, indeed – plural! Many people escape the cold winter weather in Europe and fly to one of the Canary Islands for a vacation and do some day hikes in fantastic weather. But we decided to escape the cold and miserable winter weather, especially in Germany, and hike the length of the GR131 hiking trail that covers almost all of the Canary Islands. Ever heard of these islands? They are a region of Spain, that politically and economically belongs to Europe but is only about 60 miles off the western coast of the African continent.
Endlich! … Von der Elbe herauf kommt eine kühle Brise, die den Schweiß der letzten Stunden auf meiner Stirn trocknet. Die Steine der Sächsischen Schweiz hatten viel Energie und Kraft gekostet. Die Sonne, die heute heiß und unerbittlich vom Himmel brannte, hatte in der baumlosen Landschaft zwischen den kuriosen Steinsäulen und -plateaus leichtes Spiel.
A thru-hike is only a thru-hike if you actually thru-hike. That’s why we headed back south to finish hiking the Benton MacKaye Trail in the Appalachian Mountains. Unfortunately in April we had to leave the trail about half way in as John injured his back.