Thirteenth week on Te Araroa: km 1,805-1,922

Day 86: Pipiriki to Mosley’s Campsite: 29 km

Welcome back to our 3,000 km hike from end to end of New Zealand on Te Araroa (the long pathway). We have arrived at the famous Whanganui River! There is a short 30 km section of the TA here that can only be completed by boat. Since we are headed upstream, we opted for the jet boat shuttle option.

We booked a motor boat drop off through Whanganui River Adventures. We left at 9:30 am and piled onto a full boat. There was one other NOBO with us and then a tour group doing a day hike to the Bridge to No Where. 

Brian and I on our shuttle boat

Our view from the back of the boat

I was shocked when the boat operator took off up the river when we started! It was so fast and fun!! Weooo! We are taking the boat to get up the small strip of river we couldn’t walk along to connect back into the regular route. The boat ride is 32 km long. Catching this boat is how I think most NOBOs navigate this stretch. 

The river banks are beautiful and interesting with all the visible layers

We were dropped off at Mangapurua Landing where we could start hiking again! The trail was through lush native forests. It was an old road back when World War One veterans were given parcels of land here. Or at least something resembling a road. Now hikers, bikers, and some ATVers use the track. It made for easy hiking and the kilometres went by quickly. 

Always so appreciative of boardwalk

We ended up at camp with the 3 bikers we stayed at the last camp site with. It was fun to have some friendly faces here!

Day 87: Mosley’s Campsite to Upper Retaruke Road: 35 km

Such a great sleep! Got going by 8 am and hiked a very cruisy trail all the way to the road. Here there was a cafe called Blue Duck Cafe. Coffee, breakfast, and fries. Our biker friends arrived and we had some nice chats with them. With 25 km of road walking ahead of us, it was time to get going again. 

Road walking

So happy to eat at the Blue Duck Cafe

I’ve been finding the road walking challenging lately. It’s started to feel monotonous. Even my favourite podcasts aren’t keeping my brain occupied enough. I felt unmotivated for most of the road walking. I enjoyed the views of the rolling hills and the adorable sheepsies along the way. Otherwise, I found it a bit boring. We hiked all the way to a trail angel’s house. They live partway along the trail from the cafe to the next town. It’s the perfect in between spot to stop. 

Really neat layered earth alongside the road

Sheep pastures always bring a smile to my face

Sunset at the trail angel house

They have a very hiker friendly set up. A big table for eating at, a bathroom with a hot shower, cold drinks for purchase in the fridge, and breakfast included in the morning. Their cat had just had kittens and they were so adorable! We ate two portions of our ramen noodles each, since we were able to cook them using the kettle. Then we got our chores done and headed to bed.

Adorable kittens

Day 88: Upper Retaruke Road to National Park: 28 km

We had a long morning chat over breakfast with our Trail Angel hosts. At 10:30 am we headed out. The trail was 75% road walking today. The first 10 km were classic gravel road walking. Thankfully there wasn’t much traffic. 

Leaving the trail angel house

The next 5 km were a bike path. Highlight of the day with beautiful views of where we came from. Rolling lush hills. The final 10 km of the day was classic road walking. But it went by very quickly since we were busy looking at our phones to figure out what our itinerary for the upcoming days should look like. 

The day started with gravel road

Beautiful views from the bike path

Really lovely rolling hills

Brian hiking uphill on the bike path

After some deliberation about pace and plan, we decided to book a room in National Park (that’s the name of the small town). We booked online 10 minutes before we arrived. We checked in, dropped our packs in our room, and headed straight to the grocery store. We bought food for dinner and I got postcards to send out to loved ones. 

Back at the hotel I did the laundry and Brian cooked. We tried to rest and reset as best we could.

Day 89 & 90: National Park rest days

Due to a temporary trail closure ahead of us on trail, we took two days off in the small village of National Park. We went to the gas station / mini grocery store and got food to cook at the hostel. We went out for lunch twice at the only pub that was open. We played mini golf and had a ton of fun. We caught up on some video editing and blog posts. It was an enjoyable and productive couple days off from hiking. 

Day 91: National Park to Mangatepopo Hut: 30 km

We were very excited to be hiking again! We set off at 8 am in the pouring rain. Our first 10 km were on road, getting pelted with the rain. It was unpleasant. 

Then we were on trail! It was a lovely track and my brain was happy to have more to pay attention to. It continued bucketing down rain on this stretch. At one point we stopped and looked at each other and just sighed. These moments are tough. 

Road walking away from National Park

LOVED being on trail again!

We made it to Whakapapa Village where we had a resupply box waiting for us. I took a little detour down to the coffee truck where I got us both coffees and some treats. We sheltered in the visitor centre and dried out a little bit. We opened up our resupply package and stuffed our Ursacks full of food. We sipped our coffees. We ate more snacks. 

Weather starting to clear as we approached Tongariro

As the sun peeked out we hit the trail again. Another 8 km to camp and the trail was beautiful yet eroded. We were grateful we could take off the ponchos as it warmed up. We booked one of the tent sites at the hut. Our routine at camp is now very focussed. We set everything up quickly while filtering water. Then we eat as much food as we can. Then we brush our teeth. Then we get cozy in bed and I complete my video editing and my writing of these posts. 

Day 92: Mangatepopo Hut to Tongariro Holiday Park: 25 km

We got going early to try to beat some of the crowds. We were unsuccessful. 

Sunrise from the hut

The Tongariro Crossing is the trail we started with today. It is a stunning trail through active volcanoes. With beautiful picturesque lakes and dramatic peaks! It’s popular for a reason. We had to keep asking people if we could pass them. It was strange after so many essentially solo days on trail. 

Partway along the Tongariro Crossing

We ran into our friend who is a NOBO as well and our schedule has now synced up with her. It’s so great! 

Hiking through an active volcano area

We had about 10 km of road walking once the crossing was done. It was easy and straightforward. We were at camp by 2:30 pm. We hung out here, dried out gear in the sun, and had dinner with our friend. I must admit, I am officially over cold soaking. I’m glad I tried it and it’s not for me. Missing my hot meals so badly!!

Tomorrow we walk away from the volcanoes and into a section of trail we’ve heard nothing about. I’ll tell you that story in next week’s blog post!

Much love,

Krys