Rowan is still feeling under the weather so we really didn’t do much. Read our books and went swimming. There are heaps of people out here, we have seen at least 30 hikers coming through. All are on a mission to go somewhere or do a short hike before the storm hits.

We were going to start walking Sunday out towards Waikanae but I started feeling this cold so we decided to just explore around us and do some short walks. We will walk out to the road tomorrow. This river is super clear and beautiful. I have enjoyed swimming in it. The water is pretty cold but you get used to it. Rowan even got to poke a trout that was 60cm!

Rowan woke feeling a bit better but still a bit blah. We worked out that Geoff could drop us into Otaki as far up as he could get and we would walk south for a couple of days prior to the cyclone. I cleaned the bathroom and changed the sheets and general cleaning until Geoff could take us in. It is roughly 4km walk to the original carpark that you used to be able to drive to. Years ago there was a major slip and they haven’t fixed it yet and I am not sure they will. As there are houses on the otherside the locals have made it really easy to get pass the slip. Lovely Shane & Lisa called us to check we knew about the incoming cyclone and that we will be somewhere safe.

We made it into Otaki Forks by 4.30pm. Our plan was to walk another 2km to the campsite but it is closed. Over the swing bridge there is a hut but there are people in it and I am sure you will get eaten by sandflies. So we pitched our tent on the otherside. After some spaghetti we had a swim. The water was really nice we eneded up playing in there a long time.

I am getting really into my book (currently reading Rothfuss, again) so I can’t help but read as much as possible but this means I lose time pretty fast. Rowan went to pay for our stay $20 which is super cheap. I got him to check that they were okay with us leaving late, they told us we could stay all day. We had a late breakfast and read some more. Finally getting motivated to put our thumbs out we left. Jordan came along about 2 hours after we started hitching. She had a long journey heading to Levin but all the way from Taumarunui and back. We had a good long chat she is really cool and has spent a lot of years in the South Island. We helped her pick up some ladders and then she dropped us at Geoff’s house.

Geoff was happy to see us. We went out food shopping for dinner and talked about heading into the ranges tomorrow. One problem our new mats are already having the same issue. So I call bivouac and ask them what to do. We end up deciding on heading into Wellington tomorrow for the day. We have Christian here tonight who has come back to go into the ranges before heading to the South Island. He walks way too fast for us so I doubt we will come across him again.

An early start as the commuter train leaves at 6.53am. Rowan is feeling quite dodgy and his tummy is not happy. I also don’t feel great but not as bad as he does. We arrive in Wellington and head to Macpac first. The manager there helps with our silk liner and we get it repaired. Rowan also needs his bag fixed as the straps keep loosening. Unfortunately this takes weeks so we will just work out a short term fix and do it after the ranges. We head into bivouac and get refunds for our mats. Of course they don’t want to keep replacing them. I just think we are too heavy and although they don’t have a weight limit maybe they should. We go into Kiwibank to sort out the card we are using. Then we jump on a bus to Newtown to pick up Rowan’s cheap mat from Michaela & Gareth’s place. Back on a bus into the CBD to catch another bus to Petone. In Petone we headed to Torpedo7 to chat about my boots. The glue is coming away, I have followed their care instructions but the leather is also cracking badly. I am hoping to replace them under warranty as I expected they would last at least halfway and it has been less than 500km! I have at least started the process but they may hold us up in Wellington. Off to Macpac as this one stocks the new mat I want (hopefully it lasts). We also pick up some waterproofing spray to use on my poncho. Then off to the supermarket for supplies. On the train back to Wellington now to wait for the 5.15pm commuter train, we should arrive in Levin about 7pm.

We have walked 10km today just running around getting jobs done. My feet are pretty sore, just wearing sandals today so not much support. I feel a lot better but Rowan is not feeling good. At Geoff’s we organise the food and pack for an early start.

Rowan is not feeling better and Geoff is nice enough to let us stay another night. It’s my mums birthday but she isn’t answering her phone so I send a text. I get relaxing and reading my book, I think to check the weather. Well damn there is a cyclone coming. All I can think is what do we do now, I don’t want to impose on Geoff longer than we already have. Rowan and I discuss throughout the day. We take a walk to the supermarket to get food for dinner tonight. I don’t want to be one of those stupid hikers you read about who go out knowing there is a storm on the horizon. Although it is not directly hitting us in the ranges it is predicted for extreme wind and rain. On the top of high peaks in severe winds is not a good idea. The weather is not making this stretch easy on us. Finally at 9.30pm we have a new plan. Geoff will drop us at Otaki Forks and we will walk south to Waikanae and be well ahead of the storm but there is no way for us to be able to walk in the middle. We considered many options including getting to a hut and waiting it out. But with no signal and a way to get updates on the weather it really is a silly idea. I am glad Rowan was sick as we wouldn’t have known until it hit us.

Public Holidays are just another day to us. I barely know what day of the week it is let alone the date. We got ready to go (as we had each day previously). We had a fairly chill morning with two grandkids and two extras. They all entertained each other which is always helpful. Just before lunch Ash & Robert came to pick up the kids and Lisa insisted we all had lunch. We ate all the leftovers from the night before, along with some carrot cake. Once they all left Lisa wanted to take the kids back to their parents and Shane had a few jobs to do so he went too. Rowan and I got some washing done and we helped clean out the spa pool and refill it. Rowan even took Lisa’s car down the road to get the tires pumped up. We were just relaxing and before I realised it the time was 5pm. I said to Rowan do you think we will be here another night? Lol

Lisa & Shane got back and we headed out to Bulls. We got to the campground quickly pitched our tent and all went out to get some kai. We got some Thai food and headed back to the campground to eat it. Lisa said karakia and we had a pleasant meal. When we said goodbye it felt like we were saying goodbye to family. I look forward to seeing them again soon.

The following day Rowan and I are prepared to keep walking. We tell them about the river and Lisa offers to take us to Bulls. We are extremely tempted as the road walking is removing all of our motivation and spirit. We decide to take her up on her offer. Next thing we know one of the kids needs a babysitter and Lisa’s mum is feeling unwell and she takes her to the ER. We end up with little Leo (3) cute as a button and quite bilingual. I have fun playing with him and he takes to me easily and even comes for a cuddle when he gets hurt. Shane says he normally isn’t like that, I guess all those Aunty skills are coming out. From then on I am aunty Kate! The day disappears and we head into town for dinner and to hope that Lisa is done at the hospital. The restaurant we head to is closed so we end up at Kowhai Park and get Mexican takeaways from Shane’s brothers place. Rowan and I insist on paying. We add two more moko (grandkids) Aria and Wizey.

Kowhai Park is famous and I can see why! I get playing straight away. The place was built in the 60s by some locals who just wanted to make a playground. It is super cool and I am glad the local council keeps it well maintained. Wizey and Leo stay the night.

The following day we decide to head in to town for lunch at the place we missed out on for dinner. Lisa is back at the hospital and Shane gives us the keys to their van and says it hasn’t had a good drive in a while and for us to head in before him. Talk about trusting, it is a really nice fancy van. Bula Bure is open, yay. This is run by a Fijian and a kiwi. The day is hot and the music is authentic. We sit down and I feel like we really are at a restaurant in the Pacific Islands. We order food with Shane’s fish and chips but tell the kitchen not to cook them yet. The food is delicious and huge, we can’t eat it all.

Shane calls to say he is coming after all and we can wait for him or we can head back to their place. We happily wait and read our books. A bus load of people come in a full family of Fijians which add to the whole feel. One of the lovely ladies comes over and introduces herself, she gives me a big hug and says we must be the hikers staying with Lisa & Shane. Not long after Shane arrives and we get his food ordered. The owners come out and chat to us too. Before we know it we have become part of a big group and Lisa also arrives. There is 2 grandkids in tow today and there is a huge playground outside so we barely see them. Before we know it the time is 5pm. Owners Ashleigh and Robert come back with 4 of their kids for dinner. Rowan cooks up a huge curry and we end up with Aria and two of Robert & Ashlieghs kids.

Not a breath of wind came all night it was oppressive. Rain finally came at 4.20am and cooled the temperature down. When we woke in the morning the rain was still pounding on the tent but there was promise of it clearing soon so I sat and read my book. Once the weather cleared we packed up, said our goodbyes and headed towards the ocean. We could see two hikers just ahead of us and one coming up behind. The two in front were walking pretty fast and there is no way we would catch them. The one behind us caught up after a couple of kilometres when I needed to attend to a blister. We had a quick chat and for a while we kept pace with each other. When we got onto state highway 3 we stopped at a rest stop and she kept going. The couple who were ahead of us were there. We had done about 7km before we stopped which is great for us. The weather kept raining off and on and we got walking again. We knew we wouldn’t make it 20km to get the tide for the river crossing and planned to stop before the beach.

Relieved to be off the main highway we started walking down the long road past farms towards the beach. The rain started to really bucket down, we got absolutely soaked! A couple stopped to tell us we wouldn’t be able to cross the river and that is was really flooded. Unsure what to do we kept heading in the direction of the beach. I said to Rowan the hikers ahead of us will head back if they can’t cross and we can always hitch out if that is the case. Continuing on and Rowan asks if my feet are wet yet? Not yet but also not long after I had a good squelch happening. A lovely lady pulled over to tell us we look like drowned rats and that we should come to her place, dry off and have a shower. We said we were okay and she said well I am just over in those trees please come in of you want. We said we may just do that. A kilometre later we struck her house, we both felt like we could go further but a quick cuppa and some relief from the rain will be nice. The house is surrounded by native plants making it a little oasis. The driveway was really flooded. We must have looked sad she gave us towels and told us to come in. We introduce ourselves Lisa and Shane quickly make us feel at home. Lisa makes me a coffee and we relax at the dining table and get chatting. I no sooner finished my coffee and Lisa insisted I get in the shower and we put our clothes in the wash. Rowan and I do as we are told and I feel great after a shower. Then Lisa says “you should just stay the night, we have a spare bed.” We take her up on her offer and relax. Lisa and Shane are incredibly warm and welcoming. Proper Māori welcoming with food and all. Shane insists on getting us all Thai food for dinner as he has to head into to town. We have some great kai and I feel like we are part of the whanau.

With a bus to catch at 7.25am we got up and organised early. The bus took us into the city centre and we walked from there to a local cafe called Orange. The food and coffee was really good and the owner gave us some kids biscuits for our walk. I greatly appreciated those later in the day. When we arrived we got chatting to a couple Peter & Lee who insisted we take their details and if we have an SOS they will come rescue us and to get back in touch after we have rated the Whanganui river.

As we headed out of town a local stopped us letting us know the Durie Elevator is currently broken down and a different way to get up if we didn’t want to do the stairs. Well that is disappointing, not because I don’t want to walk it because I really wanted to experience the elevator. When we got to the stairs we did them, it took a few puffed breaks but we got to the top in no time.

When we got up to the top very hot and very sweaty. I went up the spiral staircase to see the view, which was so good I could see Mt Ruapehu. Rowan got the energy and came up too!

In the shade of a tower we attempted to cool down. Eventually I thought I better take a look. It is made out of fossils essentially and dedicated to those lost in world war 1. I think it was erected to help give old veterans a job post war. I wouldn’t bother going up it again the views are not as good as the other platform as you are in a cage to stop jumpers.

We hit the street and get about 3km put before we find a nice berm and shade outside a farmers place. The heat of the day is insane we are at 30°c. However it is after 1.30pm when we get walking again so in theory it should cool down. Nope nope nope our theory is wrong. We get another 2km down the road and find an uncomfortable spot next to a power station. Not much to choose from and we eat some late lunch here. The day gets warmer 32°c we are baking, the tar on the road is melting and radiating the heat. After a while I realise Rowan is badly burnt. It must have been sitting at the cafe for 30min pre 9am. At 4pm we have forecast for rain which we hope turns up sooner. It doesn’t arrive, by 4pm it has cooled down a few degrees and we begin to walk again. We are only halfway there. We get to an old church and take cover under a tree. By this time it is 6pm and we have 4km to go. A bit of rain shows up and we talk about pitching on their berm. I hear the neighbours lawn mower start up and I head over to say hello. I tell her we just can’t make it to Fordell can we pitch on her lawn. She insists on giving us a ride into Fordell. Thankful but we also have no where to stay in the area. We get dropped off and Rowan says the Germans (we met in Levin) stayed on a lady called Karen’s lawn. Rowan rocks up to a lady on her mower and asks her if there is somewhere we can camp tonight. “Right here,” she said. “Are you Karen?” “Yes, I am.” That is lucky. Karen and Tony are very kind and show us where we can sleep and use a toilet in their garage. Karen makes me a cuppa which I greatly appreciate. Tony brings over a table and chair set so we have somewhere to sleep. Today was hell, this is what we didn’t want to do, walk in the North Island in summer. Even worse road walking. This is such a crappy part we need to do. Rowan is completely unmotivated and I can’t say I blame him.

It is still really hot and the rain is not coming until the morning now. At least we can’t complain about being hot tomorrow we can complain about being wet.

Sunday, we crawled out from under the bridge and thumbed a ride into Waikanae. Rowan was really hungry so we got Subway for breakfast. We put our thumbs out and 30min later a bus went past to Otaki, oh man I wished we knee that. Well the next one comes in an hour. Waikanae isn’t on the main trunk road so we will bus if needs be. After an hour of attempting to hitch the rain comes. We decide to stay dry and go to the bus stop. In the time we were waiting for a ride we saw 4 groups of hikers. I don’t think we will be alone in the ranges. We get to Otaki and from there it doesn’t take long for a car to pick us up. These two ladies take us right to Geoff the trail angel in Levin. Geoff isn’t home but we make ourselves at home it is 30°c not a civilised temperature at all! We will stay at least two nights here. Geoff made us fish and vege for dinner it was really good.

Monday, we aimed to get a few jobs done and ended up in town. We went to mitre10 for some plastic tubing for Rowans water bladder. We walked to all the op shops and then off for lunch at Subway. Then on to New World and then walked back to Geoff’s. Rowan said he would make dinner and we ended up with a German walker Rene for dinner. He booked at the campground but ended up staying the night with us. Sounds like he has been walking with the wrong style of hikers. They don’t match what he likes. I thought my blisters were bad but he takes the cake and the icing. Basically his whole foot at the base is blistered and when he compensated for the pain he ended up with blisters on his toes. I know what that is like you walk funny to make it hurt less and end up with blisters in a new spot.

Tuesday, today is the day we are supposed to head into the Tararua ranges, the weather doesn’t look great so we will head north and fill in Whanganui to Bulls a 65km section we haven’t done. We already decided one more night then we will hitch north to either Bulls or Whanganui. Rene’s hiking friends are due to come out of the ranges where we aimed for but couldn’t make it because of my ankle. They got in late, around 6pm so Rowan’s dinner was late about 9pm by the time they shopped and showered. We decided not to drink because walking the next day but the Germans got into beer and rum haha. After a late night the night before I headed to bed about 11pm. I got a rude awakening from Rowan at 3am. He headed to bed with his tail between his legs. Geoff had come out and told them off for being noisy and keeping them up. Which is fair enough! Luckily I am in the good graces as being a Nana and loving my sleep. Because we ate so late Rowan didn’t realise how late at night it was.

Wednesday, the lovely Geoff hasn’t held a grudge against the boys keeping him up. He drops us off to the end of town to make getting a ride easier. We thank him for having us again. It takes us a long time to get a ride, my arm grows tired. A local lady walks past and has a nice chat to us and a ute comes along and picks us up. Peter is a local Tarankian (I made that up) and is happy to take us to Whanganui. He has traveled extensively and hiked a lot of NZ. We chat all the way and he takes us right to the seaside campground. By this time it is 1pm we were hoping to start walking around 10am and we need to do 15km so we are staying here tonight and making a headstart in the morning.

Ahead of schedule! The rain made us unmotivated, nice and dry in out little home. However there is promise of a bird sanctuary and cafe just 2km down the road. Off we trot or should I saw dawdle to Staglands. It is a cool log cabin place and the coffee is great. I enjoy the warmth inside and decide to eat lunch here.

We made a hard deadline to leave by but only have 6km to go for the day. Just as we are about to leave Graeme and his family arrive, great grandkids too! We get chatting for a bit then decide it is definitely time to go. As we stand up to leave we say goodbye and Graeme says don’t be silly I will drop you at the top of the hill. We sit back down and wait for him to finish his lunch. Graeme drops us off at the top of the hill and we are thankful. Now there is no where special or easy to errect our tent so we walk on a bit further down the hill. Well next thing we know we have walked a kilometre down the hill and another and another. No where nice or easy to pitch. Before we know it we have no choice private properties are now coming up. I message all the trail angels in the area and all are full! There is a eco farm another 3km down the road and we attempt to walk there but my toe is killing me. It hurts so much I can’t help but cry. I am also feeling rather hormonal so that doesn’t help. Also it is 5.30pm now I am done for the day. We get over a bridge and see angler access. Sliding under the bridge we find a spot to pitch. Haven’t slept under a bridge yet, now I feel proper homeless. Exhausted with sandflies galore we have a quick wash and I have more of a cry. This time because I can’t get the sand off my clean feet easily before getting in the tent lol. So all in all we did 10.1km today. We planned this walk would take us 3 days and because we had some help from Graeme it took 2.

We got up early but took a bit to get moving. A terrible sleep with a noisy neighbour talking all night. Heading north we follow the road and the river until we hit Akatarawa River then follow. We get 2km in and have a rest mentally Rowan is finding it hard. I am okay but I wish I could amputate my little toe. Off we go again and it is not long before the rain hits. We stop at Karapoti Park for some lunch and find a spot under a tree. Then we carry on as the rain gets heavier and heavier. Both of us are on high alert as it is a narrow road and very windy. Cars are used to seeing cyclists but we make sure we are visible and swap sides constantly. Our next stop is Jock Atkins Waterfall, we don’t quite make it. A local man Graeme pulls over and offers a ride. We are 8km in with 7km to go with the rain expecting to get worse. We gladly take the ride, not cheating because we didn’t hitch. The next 7km of road is a lot more narrow, in some parts just 1 car going past. He shows us where there was an accident 2 days ago where the car flipped. A couple of boys testing out their skills by the sounds of it. We tell him not to worry about taking us all the way but he insists that he only lives a kilometre away from Clouston Park. Very thankful we head off into the park to find a spot to set up. Once set up we head into the river for a wash. It is really cold, much colder than yesterday. I can’t get in properly and I just stay in up to my knees. In our little palace we get dry and comfortable. The rest of the afternoon and evening I am very thankful for my cozy tent.