Twentieth week on Te Araroa: km 2,938-3,039

Day 134: Ahipara to Hukatere Lodge Camp: 32 km

Welcome to our FINAL week on Te Araroa! Today we start 90 mile beach, which is the final section of this 3,000 km thru hike from end to end of New Zealand! To say we were ecstatic would be an understatement. I hope you enjoy the story of how our last 4 days on trail went.

We had a much needed slow start this morning. I charged up our battery banks and uploaded some videos while Brian walked to the cafe to get us breakfast. When he returned with a smoothie, coffee, and food for me I was thrilled!! 

Drying our tent out at the Top 10 Holiday Park in the morning sun

Starting our hiking day from the Holiday Park

We left the campground at 10:30 am and headed to 90 mile beach. We were both ecstatic to take our first steps on the beach!! We have been looking forward to this moment ever since setting off from Bluff. It feels absolutely surreal to be here!

The beach is long (~110 km) and sandy. The sand is firm and makes for easy walking. Cars drive along it as well. The actual hiking was super straightforward. Walk straight along the sand and don’t get hit by waves. 

Taking my first steps on 90 mile beach!!!

The landscape was interesting and the more we looked the more we saw. From birds soaring overhead to tiny organisms underfoot. Gazing out at the crashing surf or up at the soft and rolling sand dunes. It was a rich landscape to slowly walk through. 

Our plans for the future are starting to come into focus. We have both grown a lot on this hike. We have learned how to prioritize what really matters to us as individuals and as a team. It’s actually really amazing to be a part of. We talked both excitedly and nervously about the future once we’re off trail. 

Hiking during my favourite time of day

We watched a spectacular sunset and then hiked at twilight into camp. It’s a little oasis set amongst the dunes. Our two trail friends were here. We had a good chat with one of them while we finished up our dinner. Lying under the stars and the 2/3 moon tonight. Cannot believe it’s our third to last night on trail. 

Day 135: Hukatere Lodge Camp to Maunganui Bluff Campsite: 30 km

Today looked largely the same as yesterday. A long expansive sandy beach stretched out in front of us. We were stoked. 

Wild horses grazing in the dunes

The weather sprinkled rain a little bit today, but it was mostly just overcast. I got my period, so I was battling cramps, fatigue, and cravings all day. Not an easy day to hike 30 km. 

There is so much to see when you start looking closely around this beach. We saw an enormous sea turtle washed up on shore. The shell looked like it had a massive shark bite out of it. So incredibly interesting. 

We saw birds catching bugs out of mid air, jellyfish washed up on shore, sand dune grass waving in the wind, wild horses grazing amongst the dunes, and many fish carcasses.

We also saw way less cars today. Still a few out fishing or running their dogs. But the quiet was nice. Our two trail friends are here at camp with us. But we all kept to ourselves, preferring to lie in our tents away from the rain. 

I’m feeling all of the mixtures of feelings I always feel at the end of a thru hike. Relieved I made it here, sad it’s ending, immense gratitude it happened, excited to get home, and so much more. Getting to talk through everything with Brian is a real treat. 

Day 136: Maunganui Bluff Campsite to Twilight Campsite: 28 km

We actually waited out some rain this morning. It was bucketing down and not only did we wait, but our other fellow NOBOs also waited it out.

The trail immediately was back down onto the long sandy beach. It makes for easy walking. The bird watching is excellent as well. The waves continuously break on shore, which creates a rhythmic and relaxing ambience. 

Eating lunch and reflecting on our time on trail

Brian and I shared some of our favourite memories from trail with each other today. It feels so surreal that we are finishing tomorrow. It really hasn’t sunk in yet.

The rain started around 3 pm and we were getting absolutely drenched. The ponchos worked pretty well. We gave up trying to keep our feet wet and walked through the streams where they flowed over the sand into the sea. 

Then we went up and over the headlands a few kilometres before we reached camp. The trail up top was flooded out and we waded through mid shin depth puddles. We couldn’t help but laugh! So typical TA!

At camp we are huddled in our tent as it flaps around a bit in the wind. Our friends are nearby. We will all finish together tomorrow around the same time. So exciting!! And also somewhat sad that it’s ending. 

Day 137: Twilight Campsite to Northern Terminus: 12 km

The emotions were running high from the moment we woke up this morning. Neither of us could quite believe that today was our last day. Our lives have revolved around nothing but this trail for 5 months. To conceptualize that it was ending felt impossible. And yet, we also both felt incredibly excited that this was it, we were going to make the terminus.

Packing up for the last time at camp

It was very fitting that our final night on trail was a windy and rainy camp. We have had a lot of that on this trial. We got ready in the gazebo at camp and chatted with our trail friend Sam. Then we started our hiking day for the last time.

The trail immediately dropped down onto a sweeping sandy beach. The early morning light was spectacular. We both beamed and giggled as we started to make our way along the beach. The waves crashed against the shore and the wind battered us. We felt so alive.

After a few kilometres of beach walking we climbed up into an inland section. Through foliage and then sand dunes, we were blown away by the beauty. The rugged coastline below stretched in front of us. The sun shone and the sky was blue. Unbelievable!!

We dropped down onto another sandy beach and both realized this would be our last beach walk of the trail. We kept reminding each other of our lasts today. Last cold instant coffee, last time packing up the tent, last snack break, last beach walk. It was fun and also emotional. 

Our last beach walk

Distant Cape Reinga Lighthouse

It’s hard to describe the emotions I was feeling as we left the beach for the last time and climbed up towards the lighthouse. I felt mixed up. Happy and sad. Relief and fear of the unknown. Giddy and morose. Brian and I spoke with each other about our biggest learnings from trail and how we want to carry them with us into the next chapter of our lives. 

We gained our final climb of the trail and looked back at one of the most stunning viewpoints we’ve had. This was it. We linked into the popular walking path that takes you from the parking lot to the Cape Reinga lighthouse, which marks the northern terminus of Te Araroa. We clasped hands and walked towards the terminus. 

A crowd was gathered at the lighthouse. A bus tour group we realized later. But, we were in our own world. We walked towards the iconic signpost with yellow signs pointing in all directions and tapped it at the same time. We smiled so big and our eyes formed tears. We hugged and repeated to each other “we did it, we made it”. Our trail friend Sam’s family was there and they cheered for us. We were overcome with emotion. 

We did it!!!

It will take a while to fully process what we just did. 3,000 km through some of the most stunning and challenging hiking New Zealand has to offer. We walked every step of the way from one end of the country to the other. And we did it together. Our partnership is stronger than ever after all that we’ve overcome on this trail. 

Brian and I at the Cape Reinga Lighthouse

We took a shuttle from the terminus into the town of Kaitaia with our trail friend Ken. We had been crossing paths with each other for 4 months, so it was really special to finish on the same day as him. We stayed a night in town and then took an Intercity bus all the way to Auckland, where we rested for 5 days before our flight. We mostly spent this time eating and relaxing, but we also started working on my YouTube videos from the trail. We are both really excited to share those videos with you! 

Thank you so much for reading and following along on this journey. It was really special to get to share it with you. Hopefully I will follow up with some more blog posts soon. In the meantime, you can start following the videos over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/krystanorwick

Much love,

Story