Days 11 & 12

Day 11. Orongo to Shelter in Russel Forest (~27km)

Had a great sleep in a small cabin and up early to get the road walk to Waikare over before it got too hot.

View back over Pomare Inlet soon after leaving Russell

The walk to Waikare was about 18km, initially on the Russell to Whakapara scenic road. Quite busy and very little verge so needed to keep my wits about me.  One of the issues I have with only half an operating ear is I can’t tell the direction of sound at all so when I hear a car I’m not sure whether it’s ahead or behind? It’s actually a bloody pain as I’m constantly looking over my shoulder and notice on the road sections my neck getting sore.

Anyway, enough complaining! The route eventually turned into the Waikare Road which is a narrow gravel road running around the top of the Russell inlet to Waikare. The road was undulating, up into the manuka and down to the mangroves and very hot and dusty. I was glad when it was time to turn off and enter the Russell forest.

Mangroves as far as you can see

Initially this as a 4wd track then became a narrow trail then just sort of petered out as it followed the Papakauri Stream.  I attempted to forge a track along the bank but the going was really tough and became pretty hairy with quite big drops back to the stream.  So, another day of wet feet and I waded up stream for about 2.5km.  The going was slow and difficult with some quite deep pools and slippery rocks, took over two hours to do the 2.5km.

This is my next few hours!

Interestingly, looking at the banks and debri beside the stream the level is currently quite low.  After heavy rain it would, I think, become almost impassable in places. 

Eventually arrived at the shelter at about 3.00pm so despite my heading to Russell last night to make today a bit shorter it was still long.

Shelter with my tent close by

The shelter is just that, a shelter, pretty heavily graffitied, in a clearing.  It’s badly dug up by wild pigs and there’s little or no flat ground for tents.  Fortunately i have it to myself so have pitched my tent hard up against the shelter.

The trail notes suggested the last water was at the stream about 500m before the shelter so I conscientiously stopped and filtered enough to fill my water bladder and bottle then decided i may as well take a filter bottle full as well so I total had 5l of water.  Imagine my disgust when I got the shelter area, after carrying all of this extra weight up a steep slope, only to find the river ran past about 50m away. 

Pretty much taken over the shelter!

I’d pretty much taken over the shelter and was just getting ready to cool an early dinner when I heard a bit of noise from the bush and who emerged but Ding, followed by Robin and Tahlia. so my striking out on my own lasted all of one day! They’d decided a zero day in Paihia was not attractive so had done the complete long walk, ferry, walk, wade, walk malarky. Great to have the old team back together again.

And then there were four again

Day 12

Papakauri Stream Shelter to Helena Ridge Track (26km)

A nice dry morning but unfortunately due to yesterdays stream walking wet socks and shoes. Never the best way to start the day!

Slept under wet socks only to wake to them still wet (and smelly)

Up early but decided since the shelter had a table to have a leisurely breakfast and cup of tea before packing up.

From the shelter the track became wider (looked like quad bikes had used it) with fabulous views in places over the bush to the ocean.

After meandering down through the bush the track emerges on the main Russell Road.  “Main” is probably an overstatement, there was a car, perhaps, every ten or fifteen minutes so not at all busy.    

The road walk took us all the way to Helena Bay, beautiful sheltered little bay with a picnic table overlooking it. Our little group of TA hikers took over the spot, not that there was much competition, and shoes and socks off airing while we had lunch.

The afternoon took us onto the Helena Ridge track, back into the bush. the bush here is pretty coastal with large stands of nikau and young/regenerating kauri and rimu. 

Beautiful place for lunch

View back to Helena Bay from the Ridge Track

The trail notes were a bit vague but suggested there was a spot suitable for camping at km297.8 but no water so looked like it was a night of cow trough water.  

After leaving the bush I crossed a farm, all the while eyeing up the troughs to find the least green one. Then in a surprising turn the track re-entered he bush about 1.5km before the promised camping site.  This bit of bush was thick and rather steep and followed the side of a ridge so I wasn’t holding out much hope for the camp site.

Like an oasis it emerged into a small grassy clearing with, best of all, a small water tank.  The local farmer must periodically put water in the tank as there was about 20l in there. 

Tahlia was there before me and talking to a young foreign girl (perhaps English?) who was camped there in the biggest tent I’ve seen on the TA. It was seriously the sort of thing three or four mates throw in the back of the Kingswood for a road trip. She’d apparently started the TA, decided it was too difficult (as it would be with that tent) and was now hiking back north to get work. All a bit sus as if you wanted to get back north surely you’d hitchhike? Nevertheless once we arrived she proceeded to pack up and left wearing really big gumboots. A bit of a mystery that one. 

Tonight’s camp

Tonight for dinner I had rice with some of the cured sausage from the Kerikeri butcher added. While probably not particularly nutritionally balanced it was probably the best meal of the trek so far. 

Dinner prep 1

Dinner prep 2 ( noting the adjacent cow pat)

Final product, thanks Axsel for the recommendation of butcher !

Going to bed time seems to be getting earlier, tonight we’d all eaten before 6.00 and everyone was in their tent by 6.30! 

Another good day, albeit long again. I can feel my body getting weary and am going to have careful over the coming days. My current plan is to have a zero day in Waipu which is about five days away.