The last day on Te Araroa!
A little overwhelmed by Wellington city life, I was looking forward to leaving the hustle behind and walking towards Island Bay, which is south of the city and not far from the airport.
After spending time at home in Auckland to nurture my feet, I boarded the „Northern Explorer „train. I might as well make it enjoyable and exciting to return to the trail (I love traveling by train). My right foot was almost pain-free, and my new pair of Altra Lone Peaks should do the trick for the remaining kilometers to the terminus of TA on the North Island.
With a pair of new shoes on my feet, after a day of rest and excited about no more road walk for the next few days, we left Palmerston North and made our way towards the foothills of the Tararua Range in the east. The TA shared its path with the newly developed Green Corridor.
Leaving Whanganui after five days on the river felt very exciting as it was way more comfortable to be back hiking and on solid ground. However, ahead of us were roughly 100 kilometers along mostly backcountry roads to Palmerston North.
The River! The closer we got, the more excited we were. Everyone hiking the TA knows what is meant by “the river”: a stretch of Te Araroa in the North Island is actually on the Whanganui River.
Then, when eventually, the forecast predicted a good day; however, with high winds and cold temperatures, we made our way into the Tongariro National Park, where we tackled probably the most epic day on TA so far: on our way to Whakapapa Village we would cross the volcanic plateau with the volcanoes Tongariro, Ngāuruhoe and Ruapehu.
Suddenly, we found ourselves in the middle of the North Island. Northland north of Auckland was characterized by beaches, bays, and road walk (well, road walk describes the trail on the entire North Island); the stretch to Hamilton by walking through suburban and urban areas and crossing a lot of farmland.
After surviving the infamous stretch between Auckland and Hamilton, we decided to push through Hamilton and make it all the way to Whatawhata, where hikers are allowed to camp out behind a café. After we spent (too much) time in Auckland, we didn’t want to waste yet another day in a city.
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.