Seventeenth week on Te Araroa: km 2,441-2,590

Day 115: Auckland to Brown’s Bay: 20 km

Welcome back to the long pathway, Te Araroa, spanning 3,000 km from end to end of New Zealand! Over the first 16 weeks we hiked all the way to Auckland from the southernmost point. Now we are leaving Auckland to complete our final 600 km to the northernmost point.

We started our morning with a coffee then packed up and went out for breakfast. We had a delicious meal and then walked the final km through the city to the ferry terminal. The route takes the ferry across the harbour.

Auckland Ferry

Devonport neighbourhood has a wonderful coastal pathway

When we disembarked the ferry it instantly felt like we were in a tropical climate. The sun was out and the air was thick with humidity. We popped into the local grocery store to buy some snacks for the day and then hit the route.

The TA mostly followed the oceanside route. Sometimes we had to go inland because a couple rocky sections of beach were impassable due to high tide. My body was weirdly really struggling to get used to walking again after two days off in Auckland. My IT band felt really tight and was getting more and more painful by the end of the day. I had to stop twice to do a physio treatment on myself. This helped marginally, but I am overall feeling a bit concerned about it.

North Head Battery pathways

The trails were on the bluff overlooking the ocean

The coastline was very pretty and the trail weaved through nice neighbourhoods. We had to end our day early in Brown’s Bay. We are picking up mail here and the pick up location isn’t open until tomorrow. We had an early dinner at the Black Antler, which was delicious, and then caught an Uber to our hotel room for the night.

Day 116: Brown’s Bay to side of the road: 10 km

We caught an Uber back to Brown’s Bay from our hotel. We picked up some mail and then grabbed a few groceries. We hit the trail around 10:30 am.

My IT band immediately started hurting. It was manageable for the first 2 km. Then it was moderately bad for another few km. I kept trying to modify my gait and push through. But after really giving it a try over 10 km, I told Brian I needed to bail. We were road walking, so we ordered an Uber to the park we were standing at.

Uncertain and upset about my leg pain

IT band issues halted our progress today

As we waited for the Uber I searched for a physiotherapy clinic near our hotel. I found one that was open and booked an afternoon appointment.

Back at the same hotel we stayed at last night we checked back in. They let us check in early which was great. I was able to shower and rest a bit before my physiotherapy appointment.

At physiotherapy, the physio agreed with my deduction that my IT band was the source of the discomfort. But it hadn’t yet become inflamed, which is great. We got to the root of the issue and found some VERY tight and sore spots in my quadriceps and tensor fascia lata (TFL) muscles. The physio worked on those and I had to really breathe through it. He gave me some self muscle release exercises to do with a ball and some glute activation exercises. I stopped at the local sports store to buy a massage ball on my way back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel we completely relaxed. We watched the show Severance. So good. I did my exercises twice. Then went to bed.

Day 117: zero day

Woke up with my IT band calmed down. But the tight muscles persisted!! I worked hard today on my physio exercises, doing them three times. I really had to push myself to do the self release exercises, since they are so painful. I was feeling quite a bit of anxiety. Worrying about not being able to finish the final 600 km of this hike. I don’t want my body to be slowing me down at this point. But I also don’t want to push too hard and create more of a problem. I flipped between these thoughts throughout the day.

Day 118: Side of road to Schischka Campground: 28 km

Time to get back to the trail!! I was feeling a mixture of excitement and nerves this morning. I had a FaceTime with my brother while having my coffee. His matter of fact attitude and encouragement really helped me get out of my head.

We took an Uber back to the spot I had quit at two days ago. We made a plan to aim for a campground in ~25 km and take breaks for me to do my physio exercises. The first 5 km were promising. No pain, just tightness. Then as we neared 10 km my little bit of pain in the IT band started to flare up. We took a break at a cafe and I did a full round of exercises. It helped!

Back to the road walking

We did two more ~7 km sessions with a break in between for me to do my exercises. The pain would flare up if I did really big strides, but I could mostly avoid that. It never got as bad as two days ago. So that is very promising!!

The second half of the day was very enjoyable. We walked along a popular surfing beach and saw hundreds of people out enjoying it. We even walked a few kilometres on a hiking trail at the end of the day. Being on the trail felt much better on my body and my soul :). We got an overlook view of the bay below. Just stunning.

The lovely beaches of Orewa

Lunch break with this winged friend

View from Wenderholm Regional Park

We arrived at camp around 5 pm. This is our first time pitching our tent in ages. It feels so good! We are cozy and the campground is busy but relatively calm. Hoping for a good sleep tonight!

Day 119: Schischka Campground to Dome Cafe: 35 km

I had such a difficult time falling asleep last night. I lied awake for 1.5 hrs before I finallly gave up and played my game and listened to a podcast. That got me sleepy. Anyways, I woke up pretty tired this morning.

It’s hard to explain how amazing it was to hear Brian light up our new stove and make me a hot coffee this morning. It was glorious. I am glad we tried cold soaking, but I am glad to not be doing it anymore.

The trail was a little mixture of tracks today. We started off with some road walking to get to the next small town. Here, we stopped at the general store. We ordered coffees and then made a plan. We decided we needed two days worth of food and bought a small resupply. We even bought a small sack of potatoes!

The Twin Coast Discovery Road meeting Highway 1

Early lunch, great coffee and a re-supply from the lovely Puhoi General Store

As we sat under the awning on the porch of the general store it started pouring rain. We waited it out a bit. Then, it was back to road walking to leave town. With our ponchos on we were ready for the rain. We then entered a typically gruelling farm section. Our pace felt ridiculously slow. Our feet got soaked from the tall wet grass. During a break in the rain we pitched our tent to dry out a bit and ate our lunch. I do not want trench foot again. Aired out the feet.

The rest of the day was on and off gravel road with very short stretches of hiking track. We were both feeling pretty good. We decided to do an extra 10 km at the end of the day. We were hiking through the rain with headlamps on along a gravel road. I’m starting to get used to this.

Farm walking in the rain

Leaving a sheep pasture

Our camp is at a currently closed cafe. They have a toilet, water spigot, and relatively flat grassy patch for pitching a tent. It was really nice to be able to hangout under the cafe awning out of the rain to have our dinner and complete a bunch of camp tasks.

Feels good to be tenting again, even with the fact that we are right beside a busy road. Ear plugs!! Hoping I can sleep better tonight. Will be more tired for sure after 35 kms!

Day 120: Dome Cafe to Pakiri Beach Holiday Park: 26 km

As we were packing up this morning another NOBO couple passed us. It was so nice to meet more fellow TA hikers! We had a big day of forest walking.

There is a disease called Kauri dieback that we have to clean our shoes to prevent spreading it. There was a station at the trailhead with brushes and disinfectant spray. It is very well set up.

The forest walking was beautiful and technical. Lots of slippery roots and some clay-mud to negotiate. Our pace was slower than usual. With some sprinkled in gravel road stretches our pace was able to even out over the day.

When I work on my tight muscles in my right leg now they seem less and less painful. The tension in my IT band was noticeable at times today, but never got worse and never progressed to pain. I think that is a great sign! I felt confident I could keep hiking.

Sunset hiking towards Pakiri

The end of the day we were hiking through a farm as the sun set. We were gazing down at the long beach below as the sky turned red and pink. It was magical. We are started to get through our slump and are moving into the stage of soaking in as many moments as possible now that we can sense the end is nearing. Thru hiking is bittersweet.

Day 121: Pakiri Beach Holiday Park to Mangawhai Heads Holiday Park: 29 km

The day started with a ford of the river mouth where it meets the ocean. We crossed an hour before low tide and it was very chill. Ankle deep. The next 15 km were along a firm beautiful sandy beach. Easy and rewarding walking!! It was better on our legs than road walking too.

We crossed this river in the early morning with the low tide

Firm sand makes for fast walking

We loved the light here on the final beach for the day

We reached a headlands where we needed to take a trail up and over. And there was a sign saying they were spraying pesticides for an invasive weed. This meant we had to walk around an extra few kilometres on the road to avoid both the beach and the Headlands. It was an unexpected detour. But it worked out easy enough.

When we finished the beach walk, we transitioned into road walking into town. Once there we hit up the local pub for a much needed meal before heading to the grocery store to get a small resupply. At this point, we only had 6 km to get to camp. We found a gas cannister at the hardware store And we ate ice cream as we walked.

The final road walking is when I felt my right leg the most. It’s just feeling tight and maybe a little bit irritated, but I wouldn’t call it painful at this point. So I think I’m managing it. The campsite is a holiday park with lots of other campers. We cooked ourselves a nice meal and then headed to bed.

Thank you so much for reading this week’s blog post! I am so glad you are here! Next week I will pick the story right back up where we left off. See you then!

-Krys