Taumarunui to Ohinepane

We were up bright and early to be kitted out with canoes, paddles, life jackets and barrels to keep stuff dry.

Then at Cherry Grove Reserve we launched and were under way.  We quickly encountered some fairly challenging rapids. An American woman in our party became rather nervous and told us she hadn’t signed up for a white water rafting trip.  We decided to stick together and make sure everyone made it safely down each rapid.

We had a great day as we gradually became more confident and arrived at our first campsite,  Ohinepane early afternoon. 

The Wanganui River

The following day we visited the Taumarunui I-site.  The forecast for Tongariro National Park was not good and the huts were full.

So, as we were on the banks of the Wanganui River, we hit on the idea of paddling all the way to Wanganui instead. 

We were told that there was an independent trip leaving the following day with nine other Te Araroa hikers.  If we could be ready by 4.00 p.m. to be picked up to meet the rest of the group and camp overnight at the canoe hire base, we were in. 

So another mad scramble began to wash our clothes, buy more food and repack.  As in Hamilton, our rest day turned into one of the more exhausting days of the whole trip.

Ongarue Spiral

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One of the bridges, puriri moth, hollow tree trunk camp, pumice cutting, evening light, Piropiro camp, tram history.

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More days on the Timber Trail

We walked on for another three days.  On the way from Bog Inn Hut to Piropiro campsite, the half way point, we passed the 1,000 km point of Te Araroa.  This means that starting from Cape Reinga, we are now one third of the way to Bluff.

We crossed over some most amazing bridges built specially for the cycling trail. 

We met a young Korean woman hiking the TA by herself, very intrepid.

Every so often we passed a shelter. As well as cyclists and trampers, these were often used by welcome swallows to build nests. 

At Piropiro campsite Alan thought it was a good idea to camp in one of the shelters on a concrete floor without the fly sheet, to save it getting wet from condensation. However I found it to be a very bad idea, as it was a very cold night.

Continuing on from Piropiro our journey followed an old tram line.  We crossed more huge bridges and spent the night in one of the historic camps. It was most interesting finding out about how the line was built and the hard isolated lives of the people living there when timber was being extracted.  This went on into the ’50s and ’60s.  On one occasion we found a makeshift shelter formed out of a hollow tree stump.

It was also very interesting to learn about how the land was formed. The last major eruption of Taupo was the dominant effect with layers of ash and pumice. 

Our final day on the trail saw us walking through the Ongarue Spiral, a smaller version of the Raurimu Spiral, but most impressive. 

At the end of the trail we were given a ride into Taumarunui by a chap who runs a cycle hire business for the trail and was returning home.

Edward and Alan, summit of Pureora with the ladies from Morrinsville, Bog Inn Hut and the bog.

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Pureora Forest Park and the Timber Trail

It turned out that Uncle Edward is the local chief around here.  On the way to Pureora and the start of our four day hike along the Timber Trail, Edward took us to see his family’s land and a short cut to the trail. We went to a viewpoint overlooking our route.  It looked grand country.

We began our hike with a side trip to climb Mt Pureora.  I had been there before on a Tararua Tramping Club trip and wanted to show Alan the amazing views from the summit.  There was quite a strong southerly wind blowing, but the cool conditions sharpened the view and we could clearly see the mountains of Tongariro National Park and Taranaki. 

We met a group of sprightly ladies from the Morrinsville Tramping Club, who wanted to know how old we were.  They told us they were in their seventies and eighties and were staying in the Pureora Village. They were planning a hoola hoop competition.  I would love to have seen it.

We continued on the Timber Trail.  It is billed as a two day grade 2  –  3 cycle trail, so it made for very easy walking.  It is a new route for Te Araroa, which used to follow the more challenging Hauhungaroa Range Ridge.

We arrived at our first night’s accommodation, tiny Bog Inn Hut. Unfortunately the water supply system was faulty and there was no water in the tank. So we took some out of the swamp and sterilized it.  It was a slightly alarming brown colour.

Fortunately we had the hut to ourselves and had a comfortable night’s sleep. 

Shearing statue, karst outcrops, an unexpected picnic spot, getting water and tent camp

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Te Kuiti to Benneydale

We walked past the famous shearing statue in Te Kuiti as we headed south away from the comfort of our motel and back into the wilds.

We were headed for the Mangaokewa Reserve and on to the Mangaokewa River Track.  At first our journey took us on to a lovely forest track. However as soon as we entered farm land, it became more of a route than a track.  We sidled perilously close to the river where there was barely a foot pad or we climbed steeply up and down when there was no footpad at all!

However the scenery was beautiful. We passed dramatic karst outcrops and travelled through a mixture of forest and lovely farmed hill country. 

Our progress was very slow and we were getting pretty tired. So it was an easy decision to stop at 3.30 p.m. when we saw a flat grassy area by the river in a totara forest. 

It was a good decision as we had some more tricky country to negotiate for the final five km before the roadend.  We arrived at a camping shelter there that some thoughtful farmers had erected for Te Araroa hikers.  We read their Visitor’s Book with interest and found that everyone else who had come through the river track had found it very challenging.

It was now a 37 km road walk to Pureora, so we considered hitching a ride. But first we needed to get to a road that had some traffic on it. This involved walking about four km. Unfortunately when we did reach the highway, no one seemed prepared to stop and by now it was raining with a stiff wind.

Fortunately after another four km, a really nice young Maori chap pulled up and gave us a ride to Benneydale.  His sister runs a Lodge and cafe here, and so we have decided to shelter from the weather and spend the night here.  An uncle has offered to take us to the start of the Timber Trail in Pureora Forest Park tomorrow. What a lovely family!

Rest day in Te Kuiti

We’ve had an admin day today, buying food for the next leg, washing our clothes and redirecting our bounce box.

Te Kuiti is very proud of its famous son, Colin Meads, with lots of photos of him in the main street, an exhibition in the I-Site and a large statue. 

We are looking forward to the 166 km of our next leg to Taumarunui.

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