Te Araroa Trail, New Zealand - 2: Auckland to Whanganui

 20 November I took the ferry across the harbour to Auckland CBD and headed towards the airport. I crossed the Domain, walked a flank of Mt Eden (nice harbour views) and arrived at Cornwall Park where I decided coffee was more urgent than seeing the park. I wasn’t in a good head space (annoyed about the huge additional kms I’ve had to do and I feel pressure to keep moving) and I needed a reset.

Feeling better I went to One Tree Hill

and continued to Onehunga and crossed the Manukau harbour on a flashy pedestrian bridge. I walked a little around the foreshore (mangroves) then crossed Mangere passing Ambury Park (sheep) and Mangere Mountain. I had seen rain coming and suddenly it poured; I sat in a bus shelter. I made a change to the official route to bypass sewage works and a quarry, and instead passed the most flower filled cemetery I’ve ever seen. I stopped at a little set of shops to eat a pie. Very soon there was a deluge which wasn’t going to finish for a while. When it finished and the sun came out I went on, trying some back roads, and several times I had to seek refuge from sudden fierce showers in office doorways. I did some shopping at the airport shops, walked on sketchy roads to the terminal and got a shuttle bus to my motel. 26 kms

21 November Awful roads leaving the airport until I got onto a bike path. It was right beside the busy road but took me all the way to Puhinoi where I had a good coffee at a Mobil while it rained. I walked through Puhinoi station. Suburban streets to Manukau where I was able to walk along Puhinoi Stream away from traffic. It was pleasant urban parkland and got even better when I reached the botanic gardens and Totara Park. There was expansive grass and beautiful old trees and a palm forest by the stream. More suburban streets but I feel like I’m leaving the city now. I stopped at another Mobil for coffee and this gave me the strength to power along 5 kms of dead straight road to Papakura. I went to a bakery and again ate a pie while it rained; I’m not sure which direction the causality is going here. Then a boring road to Drury but with a footpath, and a main road towards Ramarama. There was a huge development happening there and when I saw the site office I thought I could shelter from the rain under an overhang; a woman working there invited me inside and made me a cup of coffee. When the rain eased I walked through the development and then towards Bombay on a not very busy road, but the few cars were fast. I’m quite over the sound of cars speeding past. It was raining steadily again and just outside Bombay I saw a nicely mown lawn at the top of a hill so I went to its house and asked if I could tent on it. 38 kms

22 November I walked to Bombay early and made breakfast in a little park. It was sunny and hot. I took back roads to Mt William walkway which was a nice change: grassy hills with lots of sheep, extensive views of farmland east and west from the summit, then descending in rainforest to a stream. I walked to Pokeno for ice cream and a sandwich then went on to Mercer, ending up on a little trail next to a tributary of the Waikato River. Mercer was just a motorway service centre.

Now I’m in the Waikato region. I walked along SH1 behind the crash barrier; it was tolerable because I had a good view of the Waikato River. Then I had a trail between the motorway and the river where I could see neither, and then I walked right beside the river next to cow paddocks. The water level was really high and there was much flooding. It was incredibly windy and heavy rain was forecast so I decided to stop at the Meremere speedway where I sheltered in the announcer’s booth. The cows grazing there were interested in me but ran off as soon as I moved at all. A trail angel, Cathy, came to pick me up and took me to her place in Rangiriri to camp. I went straight to the pub. It was a wet night and a brief thunderstorm with extremely bright lightning. 28 kms 

23 November Cathy took me back to the speedway and I set off along the river. I walked on the stopbank and then down right beside the river trying to keep my feet dry but the whole area was soaked. At one point I had to walk actually in the river and eventually I opted to walk across paddocks rather than on the trail, where it was sandwiched between an electric fence and the swollen river. This meant constantly climbing gates and fences. There were plenty of cows and I looked out for bulls.

I waded shin deep once. It poured several times and in between it was sunny. After a while I climbed for a nice view over the river, which looked tranquil, but later when the wind picked up it had white caps.

Finally an area of wetland. The second half was on a road, still close to the river. I had a good break at the cafe in Rangiriri and Cathy said I could easily make it to Huntly; I believed her.

Crossing the Waikato it appeared amazingly wide with loads of flooding on each side. I followed advice and walked along the road - maize fields and leafy crops and flat but with hills on the horizon. I had a savage shower then sunshine and strong tailwind. I could see the Huntly power station chimneys from the start but it was a long time before I reached there; I had very late lunch by the river across the road. Then I continued into Huntly, crossed the river and headed for the caravan park. I was so tired I couldn’t detour to Countdown to buy dinner and instead went to a superette which had bare shelves but the owner was interested in my walk. 38 kms

24 November Bad weather was forecast. I packed up just in time and walked through Huntly in the rain then continued along the river on a road with constant trucks from a quarry on my route. I turned onto the Hakarimata trail, a good walkway at first. At the first lookout I could just discern the river and everywhere else was in cloud so I didn’t bother with the other lookouts. There was a group of huge kauris. The trail became a tramping track full of tree roots and very muddy/slippery in places. The rainforest protected me from some showers and the strong wind. It was a beautiful forest but the trail went on and on, climbing, descending, climbing, descending, mud, pools of water, crowded roots without end. I even ate my summit treat early. When I reached a small clearing I was surprised to see some blue sky. It took me 4 1/2 hours to do the 9 kms to the top and at the summit I still had to climb a tower for a great view over the Waikato valley. At least I had a view. The descent was quicker, 1500 wooden steps heading straight down (I didn’t count them) and then a waterfall and gushing stream. In Ngaruawahia I went immediately to a cafe and got a bucket sized coffee. From there the range I walked looked most impressive. I read that tenting outside the motel was the thing here so I did that. In the evening I went to a dumpling place with two TA walkers and while we were there a huge hailstorm came from nowhere. Sauce bottles on an outside table immediately blew off the table and shattered. I didn’t think my tent could possibly withstand the ferocity of the wind and hail; when we got back one peg had come out and some water had got inside but that was the extent of the damage. The dumplings were fantastic. It poured as I lay there and there were brief thunderstorms. 21 kms

Day 30: 25 November I walked along the river on a bike/pedestrian path all the way to Hamilton with few breaks. Sunshine, shower, sunshine, so coat on, coat off continuously. It was nice to be away from traffic but a slightly monotonous path. Sometimes flax and cabbage trees, sometimes grass. At Horotiu I had a view of yesterday’s hills.

The river seemed very high, fast flowing with flooding in several places closer to Hamilton. The city was unexciting.

Leaving Hamilton wasn’t special either, light industry and rain. Suddenly I was in farmland again, on hills overlooking the city and then I walked through an arboretum. After this I had boggy paddocks as I followed fences with little chance to avoid the mud. The sun - rain pattern continued all day. My final kilometres were on a highway with very fast traffic. I treated myself to an ice cream on reaching Whatawhata and went to tent in the pub garden, which is the TA thing, except that I was alone. The pub had a singer and was lively. 37 kms

26 November First dry night in ages. My watch wasn’t charging so I thought I should go back to Hamilton and try to get a new charger (reluctantly, as the weather was good). I hitched and bussed into town, waited for the shops to open and got my charger. I was standing at the bus station waiting for the bus to Whatawhata when someone called my name and it was Cathy with a walker (Bjorn), enquiring about a bus for him! Since we both needed to go initially in the same direction she very kindly took us to Whatawhata, while Bjorn updated me on the Swiss conspiracy theorist. 

I walked out of Whatawhata on roads as there was so much flooding the riverside path could not have been passable. It was odd to see so many big trees growing in a river (Waipa River). Then I turned onto the Karamu Walkway over grassy hills with masses of sheep. The sheep were curious but always ran away. There were granite bluffs and hollows with tree ferns. Than a long grassy descent with views over rolling hills. It was intermittently hot. Some roads then the trail followed a fast flowing stream in a forest of punga; I have never seen such tall tree ferns. The DOC campsite was a huge open grassed area almost surrounded by trees, masses of space for all 6 of us, and I wish there were more such campsites on the trail. 23 kms

27 November I set off early to climb Mt Pirongia because I didn’t know what time the rain was coming. This was a steady climb in tree fern forest with muddy patches that were mostly avoidable. Higher up the path was more tricky with some steep downhills. After a while I realised I was in a cloud. No views at the lookout or at the summit (959 m) but beyond the cloud began swirling around and I could see parts of the range where I’d climbed and also the summit. I stopped at Pahautea Hut to make coffee. There was substantial boardwalk from the hut to a slightly lower peak, Hihikiwi, where I had a good view back to Pirongia and to Kawhia Harbour.

Very soon it started raining lightly and I met the famed mud. I had been worried about the mud on the descent and there was a lot of it. Mostly I got around it but I sloshed through plenty. The trail climbed again to a lookout where I saw nothing and then descended steeply with some short bits of boardwalk; sometimes the boardwalk ended suddenly in front of a muddy pool like it was a diving board, because the ground has washed away since the boardwalk was built. The descent finished with a lot of steps.

My last hours were on gravel roads. It continued raining and became heavier. I sheltered in a tin shed but the roof leaked so I was better off staying outside. I finished up at a trail angel’s garage with 6 hikers. It rained hard all evening. 25 kms

28 November It looked a nice day when I set out. I had a walk on a gravel road to a farm trail which undulated over grassy hills.

Some goats. Then I went into forest and soon it was raining. The track was a little muddy. At one point I realised I hadn’t seen any orange markers for a while (I’d just followed the obvious track) and I suddenly felt completely lost among dense ferns even though my gps had me right on the trail. It was scary and I was standing in a swamp, but by pure luck I was soon on the trail again. I had another gravel road stretch; my back was really aching. Then a fence line walk the Heysen folk would have been proud of: straight up, straight down, with detours through ferns and to avoid a big land slip. I moved back into forest and did some serious descending. This forest was much less muddy. I crossed a stream and was about to reach another stream (Moakurarua) I had been worried about all day as the TA notes said it can be impassable after persistent rain. Well, it has rained a lot recently. The stream looked daunting and I bagged everything and waded in, but the crossing was easy: a rocky base and I only got wet up to the bottom of my shorts. The far bank was a lovely spot for lunch. The rest of the forest walk was along a ridge, lots of manuka, with some views. I’ve been surrounded by forested hills all day. Then a long and welcome descent to Waitomo in sunshine. The campground looked inviting to a weary walker. At the pub I bumped into Harvey from my starting cohort. I had garlic bread and wedges with cider, followed up with Squiggles in my tent. 36 kms

29 November A nice bit of walking today. Mostly I crossed paddocks which were largely empty; this meant a lot of stiles and some stepping over electric fences. I began with a sketchy climb in forest on a narrow trail that seemed like it could easily collapse and a really slippery descent followed by a similar climb with an easier descent. At the top I had a great view over King Country farmland and higher stuff on the horizon.

The paddocks were often hilly or boggy and slow going. In the middle I had a patch of rainforest where I managed to get lost and I bashed my way out but that’s hard in rainforest because of the vines. I saw a group of noisy turkeys. I finished on roads and stopped at a cafe on the edge of Te Kuiti. Then I continued to my motel, where the owner assured me that all eating options in town were accessible on foot. Phew. 16 kms

30 November I watched through the window as the rain bucketed down and then watched the cloud lift off the hillside. Then it bucketed down again and then I set off. I didn’t fancy sloshing through the swollen Mangaokewa Stream on the official route so I settled in for a long haul on SH30. Traffic was heavy near Te Kuiti but became less and less. It was muggy at first and I was in my personal sauna with rain gear on. The rain soon came, drizzly, then a bad downpour where I had a useless tree for shelter. This cleared and it was good walking weather. I saw lots of things: a living hedgehog, a kereru, granite cliffs and boulders, pukekos, geese, lots of cows and sheep, flooded streams. It was a typical NZ scene. Several people offered me a ride. Just as I got to the turning off the highway it poured and I found a huge rimu for shelter. I didn’t stay there long enough and the rain got worse. I turned onto a gravel road, now back on the official route, and waited for the rain to stop so I could have lunch. When it finally cleared I noticed that the scenery had become impressive: the stream was raging past boulders in a gorge and the sides of the gorge had several impromptu waterfalls. The sun came out. A farmer who had offered me a lift earlier came back to see if I was ok. I was climbing all this while and wanting to find somewhere to get my tent set up before the rain returned; I saw nothing remotely suitable. I knew there were houses at the top but it took forever to reach them. I went to the first house and a guy told me that walkers use the shearing shed next door, and I just got there before the rain and wind picked up. I was so relieved even though the place was really smelly with birds flying around inside. 35 kms

1 December Bit of drizzle and a rainbow. I set off through the next valley with conical hills in the distance and some cloud hovering over the peaks.

I had a chat with a farmer. The road was hilly with farmhouses dotted about. I returned to SH30 and I got a nasty surprise when one logging truck going my direction overtook another one and came far too close to me. Luckily the shoulder wasn’t flooded like yesterday so I could easily get right off the road.

I turned onto the road into Pureora Forest Park, a blaze of yellow flowering broom, and had a view of Mt Pureora. I had lunch at the car park and a guy in a camper van offered me coffee.

Then I embarked on the 84 km Timber Trail. I was immediately plunged into old growth rainforest and the path wound around past punga, tall kahikatea, rimu and lots of birdsong. I visited a 1928 logging tractor. There were little timber bridges over tiny streams. Sometimes the trail left the forest to cross open areas and it began to climb towards the mountain. I came to a tiny shelter with space outside to tent, very handy as it was drizzling again. 32 kms

2 December It was really lovely walking in the forest on a well made trail. There was almost nobody about. The sun was shining between periods of cloud. As I approached the highest point on the trail, on the flank of Mt Pureora, the tree trunks were increasingly covered with moss.

I got a small view of Lake Taupo and a mountain range beyond. Lower down was more ferny, and I came to the first of many long suspension bridges.

It wasn’t especially pleasant crossing these high bridges that swayed as I walked.

In the afternoon I was walking through a young forest which was less fun. There was a flurry of bikes. At some point I passed the 1000 kms mark according to my watch, which was great, except that the watch became unable to find my location and stopped recording my distance not long after that milestone! The trail went through some ankle deep flooding (annoyingly late in the day), a gorge, crossed a bigger stream and I finished at Piropiro camping area, a huge grassy break in the forest. No rain today. 28 kms

3 December Perfect blue sky and cold when I got up. I crossed the 141 metre long Maramataha suspension bridge. The trail went through a sliver of old growth forest and then followed the route of the old logging tramway, going through cuttings and across open terrain (lots of cabbage trees). Many kereru. At one stage there were lots of bikes but without them the trail was peaceful. There were bridges over creeks thundering past boulders. I went through some cuttings with granite cliffs (sometimes dripping, often cold), and big mossy blocks of granite. 

I stopped for lunch near the official 1000 kms marker: spelled in stones on the ground. More cuttings, huge totara trees, more suspension bridges including long Mangakahukahu Bridge.

The highlight towards the end was the Ongarue Spiral where the tramway spiralled downwards to pass under its own bridge and through a tunnel. The final kilometres were alongside paddocks until I reached a camping area. There were a couple of bulls on the other side of the fence making a lot of noise. It had been sunny for most of the day. 43 kms

4 December Hot and sunny. I walked to Taumaranui as quickly as possible, which didn’t feel fast at all. The gravel then sealed road followed the Ongarue River and the railway line and the first half was deserted. I’m back to the typical rural landscape and plenty of birdsong. I would have liked to stop for coffee but it was always impossible to access the river to get water. I was still a bit sore from yesterday’s effort and took frequent short breaks. A train came by. I read there was a dairy with good ice cream on the edge of town and I raced towards it; almost outside a driver pulled up to speak to me and I didn’t want to be held up, but she was offering me a ride into town and I was able to say I was just going into the dairy. The ice cream was great.

From Owhango (tomorrow) I can’t follow the TA as the next section is closed due to a land slip so I spent a long time researching an alternative. Santa gave me some lollies. 26 kms

Day 40: 5 December I had breakfast in town. The road out was sealed for 10 kms then gravel and I had it all to myself apart from 3 walkers, 3 cars and a road inspection vehicle (there were some slips). Near Hikumutu an ostrich was pacing along the roadside fence and appeared keen to be photographed.

Further on I had my first view of the Whanganui River, quite narrow and flowing fast. After my break I had an extended climb with wonderful views over green hills dotted with trees and sheep. I didn’t want to stop until the top but the road went into bush and there was no view from the top. I descended a little and ate lunch. Two minutes after I started again I rounded a bend and what I saw stopped me dead in my tracks: a view of Mt Ruapehu covered in snow.

It was unbelievable. I could also see Mt Ngaruhoe. I continued down to Owhango; sadly the cafe was already closed and the place I planned to camp looked awful, so I put up my tent (with permission) at the derelict Owhango Hotel. I wasn’t too happy staying there because people kept calling in to buy slabs. 26 kms 

6 December Now in the Manawatu-Whanganui region. I’m doing my own route from now until Pipiriki. I walked to Kaitieke in intermittent light rain and there was low cloud hanging around so not much to see. The hills that were bright green yesterday were more of a dull olive colour. There was a bit of traffic. For a while the road was high above a little stream in a ferny gorge. I was planning a long break at the Kaitieke monument, a war memorial and cast iron statue of a horse, but there was no water for coffee. Just then some maintenance workers pulled up and one had a flask of boiling water he didn’t need. Then the rain returned so I sheltered in the doorway of the public toilet - until someone wanted to use it - the rain continued, so I stayed there until it stopped. 

I turned onto a gravel road towards National Park which was quieter. It went through a long valley with views over the gravelly Retaruke River which it also crossed several times, and then went into bush. The maintenance people came past twice more and stopped to chat. The weather remained overcast. After a couple of hours the gravel road ended and I was on a tramping track for the first time in many days. I climbed a little and came to a lovely place to camp, on a ridge overlooking grazing cows with punga/manuka covered hillsides opposite; the cows were mesmerised by my presence. 35 kms 

7 December The scene was exactly the same in the morning: staring cows, light cloud cover.

I continued gradually uphill along the ridge going into forest with occasional glimpses of Mt Ruapehu. This part of my re-route is on the TA but I’m temporarily going nobo; this meant I was seeing lots of sobo walkers who skipped around the closed section by vehicle, and then I bumped into Kevin whom I last saw in Kerikeri. We had a long chat and I was energised to walk fast into National Park. What a sleepy place. Luckily I could see all the notable peaks: Ruapehu, Ngaruhoe, Tongariro. 

I walked 6 kms down the dead straight highway (towards Mt Ngaruhoe) into Tongariro National Park to reach the Mangahuia track. While I had lunch I watched the cloud descend over Ruapehu.

I took the Mangahuia Track to Whakapapaiti Hut. It started among manuka and flax, moved into beech forest with some pretty umbrella ferns - I waded a stream by a little waterfall - and came out onto a tussocky plateau. I could see all of Hauhangatahi but little of Ruapehu. The track was muddy but it was possible to get around the mud and there were useful boardwalks. The trail went up the Whakapapaiti valley following the rocky river and I came to a crossing which was daunting: the river was flowing fast with rapids every few metres and appeared to get deep between the rocks. I managed ok but I didn’t enjoy the experience. I was pleased to reach Whakapapaiti Hut nestled under Ruapehu. In the evening the cloud moved around and I got some good views. 29 kms

8 December I had a wonderful view of the mountain in the morning and the weather looked ok. I set out on the Round The Mountain Track. It was slow going, constantly descending to cross streams and ascending again, with climbs on loose rocks or eroded trail, but I had constant good views of the western side of the mountain.

I walked through ankle high scrub and traversed huge rock flows. I was passing close to Hauhungatahi, a perfect low wide cone. Lovely alpine daisies. High waterfalls cascading off Ruapehu. Impressive dark bluffs.

A highlight was seeing entire Mt Taranaki way off in the west, with its signature snow cap. After several hours I had coffee beside a stream in the sunshine. The sun disappeared and some cloud came down. Meanwhile the snow on Mt Taranaki glowed. I had a long climb and met 2 walkers, we had a chat and they were the only people I saw all day. I crossed a stream below a waterfall with a little pool and went out along a spur towards Lake Surprise with a long descent on steps; the surprise was that it wasn’t very attractive, just dull green. After some forest and a long boardwalk over bog the trail crossed Mangaturuturu River where I slipped and got wet shoes. Mangaturuturu Hut was on the far bank with a great view of the southern peaks of Ruapehu and soon the sky turned blue. I was happy with my day as the weather forecast had been really bad. 12 kms

9 December The wind picked up in the night and I was pleased to be sheltered in forest as I left the hut on the Horopito track. The track was quite sketchy at first, climbing above the river until I reached a plateau, by which time it was raining. It was boggy with some boardwalk. I descended into beech forest and later a fern/manuka forest which was a lot more muddy and wet so rather slow going. Then suddenly I was on a gravel track alongside the Makotuku River. Once I was out in the open the wind was horrendous; it was mostly behind me or coming sideways. I went through grazing land to Horopito, a singularly unattractive settlement that comprised a giant field of smashed cars and a building with a pretend coffee cart on display. That hurt.

I was undecided how to continue but opted for the Old Coach Road bike path to Ohakune. Good decision, it was mostly in old growth forest so sheltered from the wind and it was really nice. Beautiful totara and rimu and masses of ferns. Some chaffinches. (The road was built in 1906 to make the construction of this section of the railway line possible and then abandoned.) There were 2 massive viaducts. When I got to Ohakune I accepted I couldn’t camp in this wind so I got a room at a backpackers. I met Bjorn, who told me excitedly how he had been shooting possums. 30 kms 

10 December I went out for breakfast and dodged a heavy shower afterwards. I had a dull walk to Raetihi on a road that was busy, seeing sheep and cows but no mountains. I got to Raetihi in time for the Christmas parade; it started pouring just as the parade began but that didn’t matter as it was mostly big trucks. It was the most enjoyable parade I’ve been to: big trucks in a safe environment and then some Māori dances. It rained a lot all afternoon. I went to the Cosmopolitan Club in the evening and it was their Christmas function; they invited me to join their buffet. 12 kms 

11 December I left Raetihi early and started on the road to Pipiriki. At first it was sheep grazing and hills and very quiet with low cloud. After a while the road became much busier than I expected, all going towards Pipiriki. The road climbed and followed a stream flowing through a deep narrow gorge; when the road crossed the stream the water was way way below and I couldn’t see it. The hillsides were ferny and I saw a kingfisher, yellowhammers and tuis. There were sheer sandstone cliffs above the road with precarious looking vegetation. It did not rain. All the vehicles that I’d seen were parked at Pipiriki marae. Down in Pipiriki I had a chat with a bike rider who has walked most of the TA and as he left it started raining. Then 2 Austrian walkers - I met one of them at Waipu Cove - arrived. 

Now I am back on the TA. I embarked on the Whanganui River Road, soon getting my first view of the river. The road remained high above the river for a while, crossing more steep sided streams and with high forested hills on the far bank and into the distance.

I passed a couple of waterfalls and had several views of the river as it widened and narrowed.

When I reached the settlement of Jerusalem I went for a look around the convent and chapel built in 1885 and continued to what I thought was a nearby campsite. Unfortunately the campsite was further away and I was tired but the road here was right by the river so pleasant walking. There was occasionally a building on the far bank. When I got to the access road to the campsite in Ranana a sign said it was closed but I went down there anyway and camped with the Austrian walkers outside the locked gate, right above the river. It was a sunny evening and very starry night. 44 kms

12 December Cloud was hanging low over the river and leaving some of the conical peaks exposed in a mystical way. The road was quiet. Some nice river views and cattle grazing, but mostly the hillsides are covered with trees and ferns.

Once, a cow a car and I met on a bridge; I continued calmly but the cow didn’t. I called in at the historic flour mill and had a second breakfast outside a closed cafe. The road undulated along, always well above the river, the river gorge narrowing and widening, and the river still flowing fast.

For a stretch the road was very narrow between high sandstone cliffs and a sheer drop to the water; I didn’t like it when cars came past as I was on the drop off side of the road. Most of the lovely riverside grassy places without cows had beehives; I’ve never seen so many. I saw a boat floating down the river with nobody in it. The road came lower and I stopped to camp at a riverside lodge with a mix of walkers and canoeists. It was sunny all day. 29 kms

13 December The river valley widened for a while with crop fields and then the road went back into bush. I had a nice view of the river heading towards high cliffs with a little notch in the middle; little did I realise that I had to walk up to and through that notch. There was a fantastic view up there of a long section of river and Mt Ruapehu on the horizon. I could see exactly where I had walked along the side of the valley.

Then the road wound down away from the river and joined SH4 to Upokongaru, where I had a treat: a cheese scone. I had expected these to be everywhere but this was the first cafe I found some.

I went on a bike path next to quiet roads and then alongside the river to Whanganui. The tide was coming in so the river was flowing in the opposite direction to how it had been for the past few days; that appeared odd. By then it was hot. Coming into towns always seems a slow process, and I had to rest under one of the river bank plane trees, but I made it. This is my first big town since Hamilton and feels like a milestone: I’ve reached the south of the North Island. Whanganui was quiet and I felt like going to Maccas; while I was inside there was a deluge. 29 kms

Total to date: 1327 kms