It has been rather uneventful, I have been reading lots, watching TV and resting as much as possible. It has been nice hearing lots of stories from Bette. I have had a chance to use the pool a few times. Just for some light exercise my ankle is not really improving hugely.

It just needs time I guess. I have been feeling a bit stir crazy and restless. There is an amazing painting from a Fijian artist that I get to stare at all day. It is rather interesting and I have fallen in love with it.

I will just take it easy and hope it heals soon.

The lovely Geoff greets me in the kitchen making me jump, “ready for coffee?”  He sure knows how to keep me happy, I am sure most hikers appreciate a good coffee when stopped.  Geoff is taking us to the train station, the commuter train goes in once a day, and comes back.  It starts in Palmerston North and it is not till Waikanae that you have several trains. 

The commuter train is really good, you get to see the countryside for a mere $12, it arrives in Wellington at 8.20am.  There are people busy working or a lot of them sleeping and relaxing before a long day at work. 

It is really nice being in a warm, safe, dry environment without having to endure the elements.  The train drops us off and we head to McDonald’s for breakfast.  Michaela, Rowan’s friend is busy till 10am.  We chill and catch a taxi to Newtown.  we catch up with Michaela, haven’t seen her since she was in Christchurch and we have never met her partner Gareth. Our package with our passports hasn’t arrived yet.  With an early flight the following morning I am feeling a bit anxious.  We decided to fly to Sydney for my recovery as Bette (Rowan’s grandma) is alone for Christmas for the first time. We can recover there where a pool is which will be great for exercising my ankle. By 1.30pm I am calling NZ Post asking where it our passports are.  They have to search two locations as they are currently changing their sorting depot and packages have a couple day delay.  Eeek, my dad sent it on overnight courier I reply.  I get put through to Pace who tell me I can get it tonight but it will cost me $240, no problem it will cost me closer to $1k to change the flights. Then they realise it needs to be located first before the Pace team can help me. A lovely lady Tracy at NZ Post digs high and low for the package.  Finally by 3.45pm she has found it, now it’s on her desk, come now the depot closes at 5pm.  We arrive at 4.30pm and pick it up, phew that was lucky. It also didn’t cost me more money to collect it earlier. My ankle is in agony and when we get back to Michaela & Gareth’s house I am popping a codeine. We need to be at the airport early so I book a cab for 4am, I have already checked us in so I don’t need to be there at 3am.

My alarm goes off and I have a message on my phone, your flight is delayed. I check okay it is now at 8.45am. I call the taxi to cancel it and tell Rowan to keep sleeping. I can’t fall back asleep so I just stay awake. I check the flight times again before waking Rowan, just in case. In the taxi by 6am heading to the airport. I have never gone internationally from Wellington before, it is a really quiet international airport and is quite good. Once through security our flight gets delayed a further hour, Rowan is grumpy about losing an hour sleep. As time goes it gets worse, we are told there are further delays, looks like in total we will be 5.5hrs late. The airline gives us two vouchers so we can at least get some food.

We were in a holding pattern for 30min because of severe winds and eventually land 6 hours later than we should have. I get out and hobble along, I have a few staff members suggest I use a wheelchair. I politely decline. Rowan gets frustrated by my slow walk and puts me in a chair. I am quite thankful as the distance and waiting for bags is quite a lot. Finally in a taxi on our way to Kensington. We spend the rest of the day chatting to Bette and Rowan sorts out food. I am grateful to not walk anywhere else. We will be out of touch mostly while we are in Australia as I won’t have much in the way to blog about.

Lazy Sunday. Geoff let us wash our clothes which was great, I tried to keep my foot up most of the day. It got really sore later in the day. Rowan cooked us a great fish curry and we had plenty of leftovers. Geoff really makes you feel at ease and is a really great person.

Monday morning and my ankle is feeling really good (go figure). Geoff takes me to the physio, because of where it hurts she wanted to make sure I haven’t fractured my tibia. I get a referral to the medical centre for an x-ray, I didn’t make an appointment I just showed up hoping they could see me. The radiologist couldn’t see anything, put the slides go to Palmerston North for a full report. We go off op shopping and I get a call from Ingrid to come back and at least get it strapped. If I have fractured the bone I will need a moon boot. I am getting all strapped up and just before I leave she checks to see if the results are in, hooray no fracture. I am to rest and keep it elevated as much as possible for 1 to 3 weeks. After it is better I am to take further 1 to 2 weeks before hiking again. We are in for at least 2 weeks! We get back to Geoff’s and I rest up. He has a meeting at 3pm then we will go food shopping so Rowan can cook dinner. While he is out I have a shower and pack my bags as much as I can.

Hiker Dave arrives with Geoff, we were expecting him tonight or tomorrow. He is from Melbourne and is heading SOBO (South bound). Dave is going back home for holidays and birthdays then coming back in February. The weather is naff in the Tararua Ranges for the next 10 days, I convince him he should head to Queen Charlotte do that and hopefully come back to better weather to carry on. Everyone sure gets to know each other on the track, and we all look out for one another. It is a really nice community. We have a vege pasta for dinner and Rowan stays up late chatting to Dave. I last till 11pm.

Today is the day, we have 3 days worth of food. 4 if we count all the extra snacks, soups etc. The aim is 8km, if we can get that far we may be able to get to the Makahika Outdoor Pursuit Centre in two days rather than 3. Either way we are not worried there are lots of walkers about now and all are more than happy to help in anyway that they can.

We set off and I get 500m down the road and it really starts to hurt. I walk a bit longer before deciding it would be dumb to not tell Rowan. I talk him into walking a bit further and seeing if we can see anyone at the carpark, the weather isn’t great but it is Saturday. We may need to turn around and go back to the hut. 2km from the hut we get to a road that leads up to the reservoirs and back down to Shannon. We can see there are some tracks and make the choice to go to the reservoir. 1, there could be cars parked. 2, there may be some shelter from the weather. 10min later a ute is coming in. I stay on the road and make them stop. There are 3 guys coming in checking something to do with biodiversity. They say it will take them 45min or so but are happy to squeeze us in on the way back. We thank them and tell them if we are not at the carpark we have been lucky enough to find someone else to pick us up. Not even 5 minutes later a car is coming down the hill towards us. We stop them and they say the ute stopped and told them about us. Very kindly they said they would take us in.

Gram and Lynn have 40 hectares here overlooking the ranges, reservoir. They take us up to the top of their property to have a look. Unfortunately the day isn’t clear enough, but on a good day you can see out to Mt Taranaki, Ruapehu, Levin and even the South Island. At the top Lynn gets a phone call, I think great I will turn my phone on there is signal. All of a sudden I have text messages and WhatsApp messages wondering if we are okay. I didn’t realise it but my family had started worrying this morning about us. They had started to contact people who could help, DOC, police, tramping societies and such. It was a bit of a shock and felt like an overkill but of course they don’t have any hiking experience or know what to expect. Rowan’s family weren’t the least bit worried being hikers themselves. A very important point for me, and I will need to have a good think about what steps they should take if it happens again (which I am sure it will).

Gram & Lynn had gone down to the lower part of their property near the reservoir and were on their way back when they picked us up. They took us all the way to the Levin Holiday Park. Extremely thankful for their kindness I tried to pay them but they wouldn’t accept it. At the Levin Holiday Park we get a site and pitch the tent. Now to work out what on earth we do next. I contact all the physios in the area to get an appointment. Luckily I get a reply from one and an appointment for Monday morning. Next, do we stay here or try a trail angel? Angel Geoff replies to my message pretty fast and is happy to take us the following day. Showered and sitting down in the TV room, I have my foot elevated, we are debating dinner. Rowan will need to walk somewhere as I really can’t handle it. Then a message comes through from Geoff, he has two NOBO (North bound) hikers cooking dinner tonight would we like to come? Why not! It feels strange to be going on a dinner date, it has been so long since we had one. Geoff, Marine & Antione pick us up and we go to the supermarket. Vege tacos are on the menu. Rowan and I pick up a bunch of the ingredients to make sure we are helping. We get back to Geoff’s home and have a wonderful meal. Marine & Antione are completely gorgeous, they met here 10 years ago. They are French and are currently residents in Quebec. We all get along like a house on fire, past my bedtime Geoff drops us off at 10pm. Marine and Antione are hiking tomorrow, hopefully we haven’t kept them up too late.

I am motivated to walk. We watch the others pack to carry on their hikes. Rowan and I plan only 5km so can leave a bit later. My foot is sore but I think I can make it. We discuss in full and come to the decision that it is unwise to walk today. Instead we get our wet shoes and clothes out to dry.

At lunchtime a couple of Australians swing by and stop to eat. They are doing a big day and have another 15km to go. Tom & Lily work as hiking guides in Australia. We end up chatting for over an hour. They are going down a different track through the ranges. One Rowan and I were really tempted by when we looked at this section. We wished them all the best.

The rain arrived in the afternoon, luckily we got everything dry. I am getting used to putting on wet clothes and shoes but it sure ain’t pleasant!

After a lot of discussion we decided to take the new route even though we were sorely tempted to go across the private land. My ankle is not 100% but we decide to see where we can get too. On the detour there are some great big Rimu and Tawa trees. We get over taken by a couple of Czech guys about 2km in. The James Burton whare site takes us 1.5hr to get to. My ankle was doing surprisingly well so we carried on. I am slow but it isn’t a race. I don’t know how many streams we crossed but it must be at least 15. At a fallen tree we meet a older couple who are not sure where they will stop tonight.

Rowan is such a champion, he has taken on all of the gear minus some small light stuff that won’t fit. The Aarn is now only 7kg for me to carry which feels as light as a feather. The notes say the road is pretty wide and easy. Well it is in parts, but there are plenty of hairy parts, actually more than wide parts. Clashes of thunder above, I wish we could see the lightning to work out how far away it is. For lunch we set up the outer of the tent and hide in there, hoping the rain goes before we start walking again. Another 4.5km to go before we reach hut. My ankle is still going good. The last 1km is a killer! Rowans knees are not handling all the weight and my ankle is getting pretty sore. We also are not eating as many calories as we normally would as we need to ration our food. I am quickly getting more sluggish. Then we come across a huge slip. I cry at this point, my body is not up for this! Rowan helps me up and over. We finally reach the road. 500m or so of hobbling and we arrive at the hut. Yay, what a horrid day. The Czech guys are there, they cheer me on the last 50m. Wendy and Jerome are also inside all cosy. 5.30pm is a late time for us to stop but as I was so slow it took 8 hours. By the time we get the tent up, clothes off and washed in the river it is 7pm. A late dinner, and straight into bed. The hut sleeps 6 which is rather cosy, we are much happier in our wee palace. I miss the tent when I am not in it.

My ankle is not happy with me, there is no way I can walk today. In agony I get up to pee. The rest of the day I get around when I need to by crawling. Rowan gets the pillows so I can elevate it and I get the first aid kit out and put a compression bandage on. I basically lie down all day and only shuffle around when one sitting position gets too sore. I am annoyed at myself, stupid, arrogant, stubborn bitch. In hindsight we should have gotten a lift back to Palmerston North and I could have rested up until it was better.

At least we are in a really nice location by the river. The sun is shinning and there are plenty of trees to keep the area shady. We end up resting my foot for another day here with the hope we can keep on moving the next day.

3km down the road and I am regretting leaving the whare.

Woke to rain, more and more rain. It was a pleasant start with only 8km to our destination, possibly 11km if I can handle it. My ankle is sore but I think I will be fine it feels better than yesterday. We set off on the forest road Rowan shows me a sleeping possum in a tree

The track is mostly uphill and the last 50m is steep but you can see a picnic table to motivate you to the top. By now my ankle is pretty sore. We head into Burtons Track a bush walk which is mostly downhill (my ankle is in pain). We stop for a rest and two hikers in their 60s catch up to us. They’re heading to the further spot we were hoping for and they started back at the carpark. We chatted for a while then we carried on, there was no way we would keep up with them.

Further along again we stop and a French hiker passes us. We have a stream crossing which gets our boots wet. A bit further and we are at Tokomaru Stream it is 1pm. Now there is a detour ahead which takes you 2km off the original track but it is steep and much like what we have been doing. Rowan leaves me sitting to see if we could make it the 1km along the river on the original track. Turns out it is private land so definitely need to do the detour. I can’t bring myself to puff and struggle 1.5hr up the hill and struggle back down. I want to stay right here! Rowan is fine with that only 6km done but now we are days to get out, there is no way I am going back so the only way if forward. We relax in the shade right on the river. It is really beautiful and relaxing. Down stream is a deep swimming spot, Rowan helps me across the river and we have a wash, it feels good to shampoo my hair. We relax the rest of the afternoon, pull the solar panel out and read our books.

Rain rain go away! Today was a fairly easy walk, 8km. But man my ankle is sore, I minced along slowly for the day. The rain was relentless, we got over it pretty fast but we sure got wet! At the top of the park was a shelter so we relaxed in there and dried off a bit before setting off again. I can handle ups a lot better than flat or going down hill. There was about equal of both. The rain finally stopped about 30min before we hit the hut, so we dried out a little.

Once we arrived it just rained and rained some more. Originally we had planned to stay here, but yesterday we thought about walking a further 3km today to get a bit further and make the following day easier. Well I really couldn’t walk anymore so we are staying here tonight. Looks like we will have the place to ourselves which will be fantastic. This hut has been erected by the Te Araroa Trust, it is well designed and thought out. This is on council land so they must have gotten permission to put it here. I am hoping I can be moving faster tomorrow, I don’t want to take time off for this silly ankle. There are a few books left in the hut and I have taken one to read, Wild Journeys by Bruce Ansley. I will pass it on when I have finished with it. The sandflies and mosquitos seem to be okay here. We went down to the stream, got naked and washed. I didn’t get in as I was worried about balance so Rowan handed me up bottles full of water to splash on myself. It has taken a few hours to warm back up again. Tonight we have teriyaki spam for dinner, it is surprisingly good.

22.5km! However 4km of this we did with the scooter. It seemed silly not to take advantage and get out of the boring suburbia via scooter.

It has been mostly of roads the whole day. My ankle really started playing up for the last 5km, I hope it feels better tomorrow. We took a good hour out for lunch on a berm. After lunch was the hardest part of the day for Rowan, for me it was the last 5km. We ran into some North bound hikers who were trying to walk as far as possible before Christmas. There was an aim to get to the reserve today but we ended up pushing another 4km to get to the next spot. We arrived at Kahuterawa outdoor recreation hub just before 4pm. We have had a chat to a few people since arriving. Mike a family man with 4 kids is just heading in now (6.30pm) and expects to be put around 9.30pm. We told him we will probably be asleep by then haha. There is full bike tracks and walking tracks through here and about 15 cars when we arrived. It is a busy place.