Taumarunui to Whanganui

• Start: 10:45 @ km 1044.5 after a hitch and some walk from town. 
• End: 17:45 @ 1070
• Hiked: ~ 25.5 km

We started our morning with a briefing for the upcoming kayaking trip. For this, everyone met at 6:45am in the main building where we were able to order a tasty coffee. Then we sat down and had the lovely owner (who looked a bit like weird al yankowic’s twin brother) go through the important bits we had to know: How to canoe, the sections of the river, and the different campgrounds, etc. 

After that we waited a moment and then were lucky enough to get a lift into town to check on the packages we hoped would be waiting for us at the post office. Both arrived, which was amazing, because it seemed like our shoes might get in a few days later (and we couldn’t have waited). So we were very happy to have a new water filter and new shoes. And, the lovely Maria even threw in an extra surprise with the shoes: Lindt chocolates. ♥️

It was a rather late start and we decided to hitch a little further than just back to the kayaking place where we stopped hiking yesterday. The road was not very busy, but after a while a nice local offered us a ride and even brought us further than he actually had to go. When we saw the girls on the road, we asked him to stop and started hiking. We didn’t want to cheat too much. The road walk was pretty nice and the road not busy at all. After a while we turned into a track called “42 traverse” ... we almost made it there on day 42. Just one off. 

We camped together with Julia and Sarah, wild along the path. Good spots are rather easy to find, because there is an app called Guthook which has the trail and people leave comments with helpful information, like “possible camping for 3-5 tents 500m south of here”. So the spot was nice and to our surprise everything smelled like mint around there (as it was growing wild all around). For dinner we tried a new combination of tomato soup, dried veggies, mashed potato flakes and fried onions. Yummy. 

• Start: 7:20 @ km 1070
• End: @ km 1097
• Hiked: 27 km

The camp-spot was nice, but unfortunately the girls didn’t get good sleep because a mouse was interested in their food during the night and was rustling around during the night. The next morning they found a big hole in their food bag, but everything else was fine. Sometimes people end up with holes in their bags or tents. Let’s hope that this will not happen to us. 

The track continued along the 42 traverse and then into another small track just big enough for quads. We had nice views into valleys and overall it was easy tramping. One not so fun part was the long, sharp grass that attacked Leah's legs (she was in shorts). Imagine paper cuts; but a bit worse. For two river crossings we changed into sandals and the water was ice cold, so we had to hurry a little through the water to not loose the feeling in our feet too much. At the second crossing the additional stink of rotting animal gave us additional incentive to not take too much time. That smell is around a lot on the hikes. Partly probably because there are traps everywhere for predators that the New Zealanders try to get rid of and partly maybe because hunting is a popular hobby here and hunters might just leave parts laying around...?

The track finally popped out at some war memorial and onto the Tongariro Nationalpark back roads which we walked to the Tongariro holiday park (the last proper campground before the Tongariro crossing). There we got some bad news. The weather forecast for the next day showed cold temperatures -8 degrees windchill and strong winds over 80 km/h. They told us all the guided tours and shuttles were canceled for the next day and strongly advised us to wait a day. So we suddenly had a Zero Day to play with and hoped that the day after tomorrow would look better. Weather is pretty unpredictable in NZ and a lot can change in a day. 

We pitched the tent, had hot showers and after some dinner went to bed, knowing we would be able to sleep in. 

• Hiked: 0ish

So today was our forced Zero Day, waiting for less wind to cross the Tongariro. We slept in, had some breakfast and then wanted to hitch a ride into the next town (Turangi, 24km away) to get some food (this stretch is the first one where we didn’t bring way too much and an additional day is messing with our plans), and also to get some better internet (reception at the camp ground is horrible). We waited a while at the road opposite the campground in the cold wind, without any luck. Probably too may tourists with camper vans without additional seats....? But then a group of people who parked in front of the campground offered us a ride. It turned out they were Swiss from Davos. They had two camper vans. Leah rode up front with a geography teacher and a snow scientist in one van while Mathias rode in the back of the other van with the kids. They stopped at a nice lookout over lake Taupo and then dropped us directly in the center of the little town. 

We grabbed some breakfast (where we met them again) and then had to switch places because the cute cafe didn’t have wireless. We spent some hours at cafe number two planning and writing blog posts before grocery shopping and attempting to hitch back. This time it didn’t take too long until a lovely kiwi and her two year old son picked us up. We learned later that she was also 7 month pregnant (we didn’t notice that from the back seats) and that her partner would not have been excited knowing that she picked up hitchhikers. She dropped us directly by the campground. We’re so lucky. 

We made gnocchi with pesto for dinner. And ginger beer. Yum. There was a group of Germans (the Germans are everywhere!) at the table next to us playing Wizard. Awesome.

We had decided to stay in a cabin for the night as we wanted to have an early start the next day... It was going to be a big one.

• Start: @ km 1097
• End: @ km 1131
• Hiked: 25 km
• Hitched: 11 km

We woke up early and feeling excited about the day ahead. Packing was quick, because we chose to sleep in a little cabin last night. During breakfast Sarah and Julia were able to organize their hitch the start of the crossing. Today would be 37km and a lot of elevation, so we also considered cheating a little, but with no prospects near we headed out on the road. It took a while until the first car passed, but that one turned out to be the one with Julia and Sarah. We made it to the 1100 km mark and just after taking the traditional picture, a nice woman picked us up and even brought us up the little road to the carpark at the start. 3 km saved!

The girls were waiting for us next to a couple of signs that tried to discourage us from going today, but not with us...

The trail started uphill through a lush forest along a beautiful volcanic stream. After a while the gradual incline became more exposed between bushes on the north side or the massive. We saw steam coming out of the mountain in many places and smelled the sulfur (like rotten eggs). 

We got to the blue lake and got a view of and the red crater that would be our highest point. Up here the landscape was very Mars-like and unreal. Now we started to see more people, too. The Tongariro Crossing is a very popular walk, but usually it is done the other way, so now we were going against the tide. 

Leah's left leg had started to feel a bit tight on the way up, but she decided to ignore it. It didn't go away, but it was tolerable. We continued up the loose gravel to Red Crater. This was a one step up/forward, two steps back kind of situation. We made it up and again, had awesome views. We were all feeling pumped and decided to head to the summit. Unfortunately, as we got closer, there was a sign telling us to 'Go Back'. Apparently, in the past you were able to head up to the summit, but in more recent years this has changed. Oh well.

On the way down, Leah's tight/annoying leg turned into a bigger problem. It was seizing up and making it hard for her to use it. Bending her knee became very difficult and painful. She took a 600mg Ibuprofen (and she doesn't like to take medicine...) and hoped that the muscle would calm down. It did a bit, but not enough. The rest of the way down was slow and painful and Leah had to rely heavily on her poles. Although it hurt her ego- she decided to hitch the last 9 km to the campground. Mathias joined her. A super nice french couple gave us a ride.

We arrived to the campground and were greeted by a chilled out guy at reception. He gave us towels- real towels! After seeing Leah's reaction, he said, "That is why we do it. We did it once and saw the reaction of a TA walker and now we just do it all of the time." Amazing. We pitched our tent and took a nap- Leah rested her leg and hoped this would not turn into a long lasting problem.

Sarah and Julia, being the wonderful humans that they are, arrived a few hours later with wine. We all enjoyed dinner in the busy kitchen with lots of crackers, trail mix, and wine. Although Leah's leg issue sucked, the day was still magical!

• Start: @ km 1131
• End: @ km 1151
• Hiked: 20 km

Today was a beautiful walk through forest and bog/marshland; sometimes on boardwalks. We were so thankful that Leah's leg seemed to have calmed down for the most part, but there was still the worry that it would come back. The weather was still chilly (we were still quite high in elevation), but fresh and enjoyable.

We found a nice picnic spot at a DOC camp just before the remaining 7 km of highway walking. We knew there was a Four Square (grocery store chain) coming up in National Park and had big plans. To our surprise, the Four Square ended up being very small, expensive and attached to a gas station (more of a truck stop-ish situation). So, we had to change our food plans (Mathias and Leah do really well with last minute changes...). We managed to get out of the store, with food, and without breaking up. We'll call that a win!

When we got to the campground, we were stunned by the woman at reception. She was attempting to multitask, which did not seem to be her forte... at all. Check in took us 30+ minutes. Mathias somehow managed to keep it together (he likes it when things are efficient); gold star for him. And, we were able to book a time to use the hot tub- which was actually quite nice.

Hot tub, shower, dinner, sleep.

• Start: @ km 1151
• End: @ km 1203
• Hiked: 52 km 🏆

We planned to have a short day of 25 km. We still got up early and enjoyed breakfast in the common space. We were missing a little bit of a drive because we didn't have that far to go and the path ended up being way easier than the trail notes suggested. Still, after about 15 kms, Leah's leg began acting up again and continued to get worse. Although another blow to her ego, when a car came down the road, she decided to hitch the last 7 kms (of the planned 25). One of the two guys said, "Do you really want a ride? You TA walkers never want a ride." I then explained my situation. He then said Leah could throw her pack in the back of the truck. He jumped out of the truck to open the back. When Leah came around the back, she froze and then said, "But I'm a vegetarian." Why did she say this, you might ask? Because in the back was a full dead deer, and those were the words that flew out of her mouth. The guy laughed. She decided to keep her pack on her lap and not think about what was behind her for the remaining 7 kms. The hunters dropped her off at the War Memorial where she laid down to rest her leg.

Quick note about egos and the trail; You definitely come face to face with them. Part of doing this trail is about the challenge... and the challenge is not only physical but mental as well. Egos are funny things and it has been interesting to watch how we react to our own.

Mathias arrived about 1.5 hours later. He had really pushed himself and had made excellent time! Shortly after his arrival, another girl showed up: Nat. Nat is also doing the TA, but she is running it! She sat down to rest and eat and we started chatting a bit more. Leah talked a bit about her leg pain, and after Nat finished inhaling her food, she told us she was a physiotherapist. She then offered to massage Leah's leg; which she obviously accepted! And that was when Nat became Leah's Physio Fairy.

By this time, the girls had arrived and they, like us, had been surprised by how easy the terrain had been. Chatter of going on started to surface within the group- and Leah, now feeling somewhat 'magically healed' for the moment, was on board. Mathias, having just flew through the last 7 kms was a little less eager to keep going, but he decided to push it anyway... What's another 25 km starting at 3pm?!

We all walked on and realized that we should see if we could change our leaving date for the kayaking trip to a day earlier. It was our lucky day (again) because we just happened to get reception at the time of the call. We were able to switch our day and were all excited that we would be getting onto the river tomorrow. Also joining us, would be Nat's friend Tash.

We passed the 1200 km mark just before arriving in Whakahoro. Although we might have been a bit tired, we still managed to make our km sign. Wow, 1200 km. Go us! When we arrived at the campsite our feet hurt. Our tent was still wet from the night before. Mathias burnt the food; resulting in it tasting like plastic. But we had done our longest day yet (52kms for Mathias and 45kms...including a 25km miracle comeback for Leah). Mathias's mood would not let him celebrate. Hopefully sleep would help.

• Start: @ km 1203
• End: off trail
• Kayaked:  37.5 km

We awoke to loud speakers bumping some music from across the river. We later learned the music was coming from a sheep shearing farm. Rock out.

After packing up our tent, we headed over to the Blue Bird Cafe (a small little cafe out in the middle of nowhere... just for pre-kayakers/canoers I suppose) for some breakfast. Museli, yogurt, honey, eggs and bacon on toast, and homemade bread and jams: incredible. Oh, and flat whites. :)

Today is when we would start our little canoeing adventure. Originally the track would continue a day further to Mangapurua Landing before we would switch to paddling, but currently no company would bring canoes there, so we already started the canoeing here and went a little off trail for the next couple of days.

We watched the kayak/canoe company pass by with all the boats and knew that was our cue to head on down to the river. There was a big group of people waiting to get on the water; some just doing day trips, so it took a bit of time to get things sorted. All the barrels and dry bags were passed out and it was time for us to repack, attach the barrels to the canoe and be on our way.

Kayaking was a nice and welcomed change. Leah was glad to have the next 5 days to rest (and hopefully heal) her leg. The weather was lovely and the scenery was beautiful. After hours of canoeing, we made it to our campsite for the night: Jon Coull Hut. We pulled in and tied up our canoe and took out all the barrels to be carried up the hill to the site. Hmmm... those barrels are heavy (especially the ones with wine and beer bottles inside).

We pitched our tent, enjoyed some pasta and drank some wine. The wine was cold because Mathias had constructed a wine chiller (using the bail barrel from the canoe and the perfect-fit placement on the picnic table) and Leah had gathered the cold water from the river. Perfection. Nat and Tash came up (from their VIP campsite) and hung out for a bit before we all went off to bed. Good sleep. Except for the midnight pee (which we both tried to ignore for way too long... because you just don't want to get up, out of your sleeping bag, out of your tent and into the cold).

• Start: off trail
• End: 1250.5 @ km
• Kayaked: 28.5 km
• Hiked: 3 km

What a chill morning. We got up, leisurely ate our breakfast, packed up the barrels, secured them to our canoe and off onto the river we went. We paddled for a few hours before reaching the 'parking spot' where we would leave our canoe and hike out to The Bridge to Nowhere. It was at this stopping point that we ran into many hikers of TA past: Noah, Yoni, Callum, and Joe. They were just returning from the hike. We had a chat and a snack break and then went off to find the bridge. It was a nice walk, but the bridge... well, it was just a bridge. We returned from our hike to see that the water had gotten quite busy with other paddlers.

A few hours later we made it to our campsite for the night. To our surprise, there was actually a 'shuttle service' for the barrels. The owner threw our barrels onto his quad and drove them up the hill. Hallelujah! We found a great little spot for our tent, overlooking the river.

We made our mexican rice and beans dinner in the outdoor kitchen area and enjoyed it at the picnic table. The heat had been gradually increasing throughout the day, and even at early evening it felt quite hot. We had heard from the girls that the shower was only one temperature, and that temperature was scolding hot. So, we hiked back down to the river to take a rinse. The water was cold and refreshing and we felt so much better.

About a ten minute walk from our campsite was a lodge with a bar. We made our way there and were pleasantly surprised; it was really lovely. We ordered wine, beer and ate salt and vinegar chips while sitting at a picnic table with Jules, Sarah, Tash, Nat and Joe#2. A beautiful end to a great day.

• Start: @ km 1250.5
• End: @ km 1302
• Kayaked: 51.5 km 🥳

Today was the day. The day we would come face to face with the rapid in the river called 'The 50:50'. Why is it called The 50:50, you might ask? Well, as we were told by our kayak/canoe rental company - only 50 percent of boats make it through without capsizing or filling up completely with water. Leah had been feeling a bit anxious about this day since having been made aware of this rapid, but today was different. Today we were feeling pumped and ready. The last couple of days on the river had been learning days. Mathias had sat in the back as captain, and Leah had remained in the front as the power and navigator (when she was paying attention). Other teams took turns switching between captain and power, but Mathias and I want to stay together... so we chose not to rock the boat.

The 50:50 came at the beginning of the day. Sarah and Jules went first and were successful. We followed: success! Nat and Tash: success! Hmmm... maybe it didn't live up to its name after all. Except for the two canoes and one kayak that came shortly after us, all off which either tipped over or sank-ish.

The rest of the day on the river was quite long. We eventually made it to the Flying Fox, our camping spot for the night. It was a very cute place. We all hung out eating, chatting, laughing and drinking wine together. It was a really nice evening. Also joining us tonight were two TA hikers from Japan: Shiori and Hide.

Oh, and Mathias ate ravioli from a can and was stoked. Leah ate Mac&Cheese from a can and was less than impressed. ;)

• Started: @ km 1302
• Ended: @ km 1335
• Kayaked: km 33 km

Happy 8 Year Anniversary to us! When we joined up at the picnic table, we saw a beautiful '8' created out of purple flowers the girls had prepared for our 8 year anniversary. The sweetest.

We were thankful that the Flying Fox let us leave all of our glass bottles behind. It made our long walk down back to the canoe a bit easier. Although, Leah still managed to get lost along the pathway and was found later (eyes filled with tears and around a bunch of sheep) by Mathias.

This was already scheduled to be the longest day (as it was the longest distance), but a few extra incidents increased the time it took us to get to Hiponga Park.

Number 1: Leah's detour

Number 2: Surprise rapids after passing Jerusalem. We had heard so much about the 50:50 that we thought there was nothing else to look out for. Nope. There we were, just paddling along, when we noticed something going on just ahead of us: the girls were going through a rapid. What?! Oh good, they made it. And just behind them, the other girls (Nat and Tash) were now going through the rapid, and soon they were going very close to the trees that were reaching out into the river, and next they were going right into a big wave, and then they were waterlogged. They had pulled their canoe to the side, but were still kind of in the rapid, so when Mathias and I went through, there wasn't really much we could do to help them. But they are badasses, so they got it sorted out. We waited for them with the girls just down the river with coffee and snacks to brighten their day.

Number 3: The never-ending rain and wind. Just after our coffee and snack break #2 it started to drizzle. Soon the drizzle became rain and soon the rain was joined by its friend, wind. We paddled in the rain and wind for hours and eventually got quite cold. When we made it to the campground, we were drenched and shivering. We tied up the canoes, carried our things up the hill and set up under the shelter (we were so thankful for that shelter).

Once we changed out of our wet clothes and got warm; we hung out- eating, chatting, and playing various card games. Good times (minus the not good times).

• Start: @ km 1335
• End: @ km 1361
• Kayaked: 20 km
• Hiked: 6 km

We knew that today was going to be a very late start. The last section of the river was tide dependent, and looking at the tide schedule we knew we would not leave before 1pm. So, we chilled at the shit-filled campsite. Oh, did we forget to mention that there was shit from sheep, cows, goats (probably others as well) everywhere? Well, there was. And this was a day when we thought about all of our friends and how the majority of them would be miserable in this situation. But there we were, laying on the ground being led in a workout session with Nat the Physio Fairy. It was great!

Once on the water, we were faced with some very strong headwinds. We would be paddling, but not moving very far. We figured out a strategy that worked out quite well, which was to stay close to the sides/banks so that there might be less wind.

We were thrilled when we made it to our final destination, but sad to say goodbye (or see ya later) to Nat and Tash. Canoeing had been a great adventure filled with lots of fun, laughter and new friends.

It was quite late and we still had lots to do. We rushed to put up the tent so that we could walk into town (the girl at the front desk said she could give us a ride the following day so we could get an early start) and eat pizza... at Dominos... for $10nzd... for two full pizzas. At Dominos we ran into Nat and Tash. :) It was also at Dominos, on this occasion, that we realized that the $5nzd pizzas just wasn't that good anymore. Sigh.

We taxied it back to camp, showered, and passed out. Tomorrow we would be back on our feet. With our packs. :)