Wellington to School House Bay Across Cook Strait on ferry, 3.2 k hiking The morning comes quickly, and we have coffee and a great chat with Anna and then with her roommates. What a wonderful start to the day! Miche has agreed to give us a ride to the ferry, which allows us to linger …
1/10 One Island Down, One To Go
Te Ahumairangi to The End of The North Island 18 K Our tent spot worked perfectly, and we arise this morning to the 5:30 alarm to ensure we aren’t noticed or disturbing anyone. We can see out over the ocean and port; we are so close to both and never realized it yesterday. We plan …
1/9 Into Wellington
Amethyst Lodge to Te Ahumairangi Park 27 k It’s both a drag and a relief to be leaving the room today. It has been the perfect room to recharge in, and there is plenty I could still do with some down time. However, each day in a row off the trail will exponentially compound the …
1/8 Postal Relay, Ostrich Answers.
Layover at Amethyst Motor Lodge I tossed and turned for awhile last night, unable to fall asleep initially, and wake up full of awareness for what all needs completed today. I make coffee and type until I can’t ignore our pile of resupply components any longer. I count and divide and figure and heft until …
1/7 South Island Food Packing: Commence!
Layover at Amethyst Motor Lodge, Part I We sleep until 8:00! It’s glorious. We drink green smoothies and French pressed coffee for breakfast. I call my parents and talk to them for quite a while, but it’s never long enough. Then it’s time to make our first grocery run. We are packing boxes for 26 …
1/6 And Then There Were Two
Dandelion Depot to Amethyst Lodge 11 k The morning dawns dry again, and we start on our way early, looking forward to our hotel room. 1 kilometer past the Depot, we see a sign for Secret Valley. Well. What is it? A 60 second walk drops is into a protected drainage where some schoolchildren have …
1/5 Wishes in the Wind
El Rancho Holiday Park to The Dandelion Depot 27 k Peach, Mario, and Bro are hiking a short day to the next holiday park. We pack and start hiking to a sunny morning. The first section is a boardwalk over the estuary, threading through grasses and rushes and brambles loaded with blackberries. They are still …
1/4 The Park That Was No Holiday
Parawai Hut to El Rancho Holiday Park 30 k We wake up to see Mario and Peach off this morning, who are starting very early in spite of intense nay-saying for by a random German guy last night. I overdosed on couscous yesterday and advocate for breakfast on the trail, so we are not far …
1/3 The Beginning of the End of the North Island
Waitewaewae Hut to Parawai Hut 10k I feel refreshed this morning, although the mattresses in the huts are thin enough I can’t sleep on my side without my hips aching and legs tingling. We walk along the Waitewaewae River a short bit- very short. It’s a wonderful river! Then, true TA-style, we start toiling uphill …
Continue reading 1/3 The Beginning of the End of the North Island
1/2 A Premium Dip
Nichols Hut to Waitewaewae Hut 8 k We wake up nice and late on the Nichols Hut and make lots of coffee. The clouds have rolled back in, obscuring everything except what’s directly around us. I still am incredulous at our luck with the weather and views yesterday. We leave very late, after 8:00, but …
muddy shoe memoirs 