Scenes from our final day

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Tokomaru No 3 Reservoir to the Makahika Outdoor Pursuit Centre (the Mangahao-Makahika Track)

We were up at 5.30 a.m. for the final leg of this part of our Te Araroa journey, which was scheduled to take us up to seven hours.  We were to travel along a new track made for Te Araroa which was opened by Helen Clark in 2008, and partly made use of old logging tracks.

We walked the length of the reservoir and then after 800 metres, turned sharply right on to the track.  We began climbing steadily, passing several bumps of varying heights.  A couple of viewpoints added interest, the first looked over Shannon,

the Horowhenua and Manawatu  and the second looked towards the Kapiti Coast.   The downhill stretch was initially pretty steep, but then became a very pleasant gentle track, following a stream.  The weather was hot and it was good to paddle through the numerous stream crossings.

We finally came out into farmland and then it was a short road walk to the Makahika Outdoor Pursuits Centre, who gave us a great welcome with a cold drink, before we went and sat in the shade to await our pickup from Bruce.

 

Te Araroa’s halfway point, a long and winding road, Burtton’s Track, Tokomaru River and No. 3 reservoir

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Kahuterawa to Tokomaru No 3 Reservoir in the Mangahao Valley

Our friend Bruce had volunteered to pick us up from the roadend near Levin on the following day and so we decided to try and cover as much territory as possible on this day, so as not to risk keeping him waiting on the morrow.

After a short walk through the forest we came upon a sign that declared we had reached the half way point of the trail from Cape Reinga to Bluff.  1,500 kilometres was behind us and 1,500 kilometres was in front.  We think that timewise, this might not be quite correct as the South Island mountains must make for slower travel, but it was quite a fillip to see the sign.

Some open forestry country followed, which had either been clear felled or newly planted.  So, unlike the bush, where you can’t see beyond the next corner, we could now see the forestry road stretching ahead into the horizon.  Fortunately at the top of the final hill, the trail made a sharp right turn and we were back into bush.  I can’t say in total blissful ignorance, because our notes said it would take us another 6 hours to travel through this native forest and we had already walked for 3 hours.

However we were now in the Tararua Forest Park, the trail was good and the bush was attractive, even though it was secondary growth.  It also had a very interesting history.  More than a hundred years ago, a chap called James Burtton had built a track, a whare and a bridge across the Tokomaru River and had farmed the area, living a solitary existence for 33 years until tragedy struck.  His bridge collapsed as he crossed it and he fell 8 metres on to the rocks below, sustaining a broken leg and other injuries.  He managed to reach his nearest neighbour 12 hours away, but sadly died in hospital.

We came across delightful riverside clearings in the bush, which made for tempting campsites, but we stuck to our plan and continued on along Burtton’s track.  We were most impressed with his track building skills.  Even after so many years, most of the track was well benched and easy to follow.

We finally came out at a roadend and then it was only a few kilometres to walk before we would reach the banks of the reservoir, our planned campsite for the night.  Somehow the end of the day kilometres always seem a lot longer than those of the early morning though.

However, the spot was worth the wait.  The lake was beautiful in the evening light and the water was warm enough for a dip.  Even a couple of young four wheel drivers, careering up unimaginably steep slopes, didn’t disturb the tranquility, at least not for long.

Open country beyond Palmerston and a messy campsite

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The New Railway Hotel in Palmerston North, over 100 years old and nowhere near the railway

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Palmerston North to the Kahuterawa Recreation Area

We had a pleasant walk through Palmerston’s riverside gardens before crossing the Fitzherbert Bridge and on to the Massey Campus.

We turned left into Bledisloe Park and the Turitea Stream path – another pleasnt trail.  In spite of all this pleasantness, we were feeling pretty tired shouldering our heavy packs after seven days sitting in a canoe.  It seemed even harder than beginning afresh from Auckland and was perhaps more reminiscent of starting out from Cape Reinga last year, after 10 days lying sick in a motel bed. 

There was quite a bit of road walking to do, but finally the Kahuterawa Mountain Bike reserve was reached, after a family stopped to give us a ride for the last three of the 25 kilometres we were walking. 

We found a spot by a stream to camp, as the last of the cyclists headed for home. 

Wanganui to Levin

We said goodbye to our new rafting friends, which felt a little strange after living so closely for a week.  However they will probably all come to stay with us when they arrive in Wellington. 

There is a lot of road walking between Wanganui and Palmerston North, so we caught a bus today and are staying in an old historic railway hotel near the centre. 

Journey’s End

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Hipango Park to Wanganui

At Hipango Park the river is tidal.  Alan tried to impress on the young folk the need to make the canoes safe from the rising tide and was mostly successful in this.  However one boat became caught under another and in the morning we found it  completely full of water. 

Once this had been attended to, we set off feeling a little anxious that this would be another day’s hard paddling.  It was.   However we were starting on an outgoing tide and even though there were no rapids to speed progress, we made good time and arrived at the Wanganui Holiday Park at lunchtime. 

We were greeted with a warm welcome and decided to stay the night. In town we caught up with Cate and Paul, our earlier TA companions, and had a celebration meal with our canoe group.