Parawai Lodge - Rekorangi Hall

(Christmas Day) 

We treated ourselves to a lie in (until 7.30am) and had a dehydrated cooked breakfast - it looked like mush but tasted delicious. We opened our little presents from family - a Christmas shirt each, a Christmas hair tie for me and a bow tie for Luke which made for a brilliant photo, and then we opened secret santas from above the fire place. 

Luke got a model stunt plane and some tea bags, Renee got a battery operated iFart Shuffle (fart noise machine), and I got the 'who am I' game. 

It wasn't quite like being at home but it was so lovey being in our own little hut, laughing and treating ourselves to a nice breakfast with a few small gifts - it was a shame we didn't get to spend it with the others we'd hiked with too but spending the day with Renee was lovely since she's been such a big part of our trip up to now. 

We didn't end up leaving the hut until about 9.30 which was optimistic since the 'easy walk' we'd planned for Christmas Day actually turned out to start with a 700m climb; almost 400m of which were within the first 1km. 

Our Christmas tops didn't smell like New for long... it was cloudy but so so humid that we were sweating so much by the top that we were soaked through. It was a touch start but listening to the A Spaceman Came Travelling and the Band Aid Christmas songs on our way to the trig point made it slightly easier! 

Despite being stinky and sweaty and ready for lunch, when we got to the top, the first thing we did was check our phones...we had signal!!!! We had a really quick lunch and then hung around to text home and watch the video of Rosanna wishing me happy Christmas in her angel outfit about 10,000 times (best thing ever!!!) 

Hearing from home when we didn't think we would on Christmas Day was so good - while it did make us miss the usual chaos of Christmas at home even more, it also made both mine and Luke's day. 

Spirits high, we made our way back down from the trig point via the surprisingly nice path and followed it for some time until we hit the swing bridge that took us into the car park. 

We had originally planned to stop somewhere near the car park but when we arrived, not only did we have loads of time, there wasn't the greatest selection of places to pitch a tent either. 

We contemplated a sand fly ridden field off the side of the road but soon decided to push on to the village hall a further 6km away. 

It was all road from the car park to the hall and we walked past house after house listening to people playing games in the garden and children running around playing - I think we all started to miss home at Christmas at that point. 

Despite deliberately slowing down each time we passed a driveway, nobody had invited us in for Christmas Day tea by the time we reached the hall so the hall was as good as it got! There was no water taps or anything so we cheekily crossed the road and disturbed the opposite families game of Christmas frisby and asked to fill our bottles. They were more than happy for us to fill the bottles but again, to our disappointment, no invitations for Christmas cake and tea! 

We finally gave up on our hopes for a magical Christmas Day invitation and settled for the hall. We pitched our tent... or almost pitched our tent before realising there were three big holes in the bottle of it!!! With literally no idea of how they got there, Luke and I had lost all Christmas spirit and grumpily debated about how best to fix the tent with glue that takes 12hours to dry. 

We patched it up (we found another hole in the process so there were four holes in total) and used Renee's rain skirt to go underneath us over night to hopefully keep any rain out- thank you AGAIN, Renee! 

A much needed Twinings tea, and a big dinner later, we were a little less grumpy and decided to get the secret Santa gifts out. 

Luke put together his stunt plane and launched it around on the grass outside the hall. It came with a little elastic band that you could use to catapult it. On his third or fourth go he managed a loop-de-loop and got a bit cocky. He had one more go and all three of us watched the plane fly onto the village hall roof- one secret Santa down! 

Oh- Renee's iFart Shuffle, that we'd put batteries in that very morning, ran out of battery before we'd even hit camp so that was actually two secret santas down! 

The 'who am I' game was the only one left - basically, you used a dry wipe marker to write something or someone on the top of a pair of glasses and then the person wearing them had to ask questions to find out who they were. I was by far the best player at a record guess time of only 35seconds! 

We played a few rounds and cheered each other up a bit before deciding it was probably time for bed... so we squeezed into our teeny non-waterproof tent and hoped for the best- Happy Christmas! 

Nichols Hut - Parawai Lodge (18km)

(Christmas Eve) 

There were hail stones on the roof and the windows were shaking in their frames when we woke up. It had rained all night and just for a moment we thought the weather might be turning ready for our white Christmas after all. 

As usual, id woken up desperate for the toilet, so I put my coat on, pulled my hood up, and braved the walk to the long drop outside. (That's the worst thing about the huts- the toilet is always outside and a good few meters from the actual hut itself... actually, it's good most of the time for every other reason - just not when your desperate to go and it's hailing outside!!) 

I walked out the hut door; wrapped up as I said, and I just couldn't believe the view! Hail or no hail, I could see right down into the valley and the forest in every direction from it. I rushed back in to the tiny hut and told Luke he had to come see it. Think I woke everyone else up too as one by one heads emerged from sleeping bags and appeared at the window. 

Eager to see more, we wished the Austrians a happy Christmas (remembering the 24th was their Christmas Day) and headed up towards Mount Crawford. We were wrapped in waterproof trousers, gloves, waterproof coats and buffs over our faces to keep the wind chill off - it was almost enough to push you off the track at times. 

We walked for an hour (the notes said two) to the peak of Mount Crawford. We had gone the whole way with nothing but white cloud on either side of the ridge and had lost all hope on any more views for the day but just as we dropped down from the peak, we literally watched the clouds blow over our heads and reveal an even more incredible view than the one I saw in the morning - I don't quite know how to describe how vast the forest is.. it goes for miles and it feels like if you walked ten minutes in any direction off track you'd never find your way back out. 

We hung around for a while but then started the (very) steep descent down to Waiteewaiwai hut (pronounced YTYY). We knew the Austrians were stopping here for their Christmas evening celebrations so we left a game of 'shit head' set up for them on the table, a sign wishing them happy Christmas, and a piece of chocolate orange each. Hopefully they got there before anyone else did! 

We carried on from this hut through forest for another 4 hours. Unfortunately, having had such an incredible start to the day, the forest walk wasn't quite as interesting and seemed to drag for the most part. There was a climb to start with and then it was fairly steady as the track opened up over fields and river. 

We popped up into the Otaki Fourks clearing where our hut should have been according to our notes but it took us several wrong turns before we realised the maps had marked a track that didn't actually exist. We wondered for a while before finally finding a sign post for Parawai Lodge so we made our way in the blistering sun (even though we had hail on the mountain that same morning!!) to our hut for the night. 

We had a quick wash in the sink, hung our clothes to dry outside, and then prepared for our Christmas celebrations! 

Luke chopped down an old, dead tree (he's very proud) and made a fire, we hung secret santa gifts above the fireplace in our dry bags and got our presents out from family at home ready for the morning, and we ate fancy dehydrated meals to Christmas music ... have absolutely nailed the 12 days of Christmas!! 

Te Matawhai Hut - Nichols Hut (13km)

Tararuas are bloody mind blowing. 

A lot of ascending today! Reached just over 1400m and had some amazing views (which is apparently quite lucky) of the Tararuas and all the way down to the river below. 

For most of the day we were walking along the ridges so for the first time since hiking on the trail, we were completely exposed but thankfully we had quite good weather. It was a bit rainy to start with and a really cold wind carried on throughout the day but we dropped into mossy fairytale forest for some of the time too so we had chances to dry off a little. We stopped in a two man hut called 'Dracophyllum Hut' for lunch - it's a bright orange little tin with just two beds and a hand crafted wooden ladder up to the top bunk... we'd have probably stayed there if we didn't want to make it to the last hut in time for Christmas. 

We carried on for another two hours beating the predicted timings overall by over an hour and arrived at the hut just in time to miss the heavy rain that came in in the afternoon. 

Even though the three of us plus Christina, Marvin and Paul were all in the tiny hut together, it was so cold! We had hung all of our wet clothes up from the nails in the ceiling and there was hardly any space to move so I had a little nap until the men had lit the fire and warmed the room up a bit. We played a few games of cards and listened to a few Christmas songs (I've been trying to learnt the Twelve Days of Christmas lyrics and I think I've cracked it! 

I learned today that Father Christmas doesn't even exist for the Austrians! They celebrate Christmas on the evening of the 24th only and they call it 'Holy Night' instead of Christmas.. the children do get presents but apparently from the 'Christ child' instead of Santa! How nuts is that! 

Anyway- it means it's their Christmas Day tomorrow so maybe we'll feel like we're celebrating twice. Very excited for our Christmas meal tomorrow evening... we're eating our dehydrated meals on Boxing Day evening and having our special breakfast on Christmas Day... we figured that was probably the easiest way to celebrate. 

(At least it feels like Christmas up here though- it's bloody freezing! 

Camp A - Te Matawhai Hut (15km)

Today was one of the best days in forest yet! Firstly, I'm sure I saw a glow worm last night. Luke and I both got up to go to the toilet and when we were coming back to the tent, there was a small light just slowly flashing on and off. We watched it for a while to try and work out what it was but I eventually got a bit creeped out and jumped back in the tent with all the zips done up... sure it was a glow worm though! 

Secondly, the track from the camp site up to the hut we're in tonight was the most wild and rugged track we've tackled yet- it was incredible! 

There were probably eight or nine river crossings all together- the first few I took my boots off and waded through in my Tevas but he last few, Luke would jump in the water before I could argue and lay rocks out so I could pass without getting my boots wet. Think he's after my extra muesli bars! 

On the last crossing, we walked along the bank and over a huge rock slide - the boulders were probably 4 meters high and wide. We climbed up the bank and followed a ridge for some time. When we reached the top of the ridge, we looked back at the path we'd just climbed. It was probably only 3 meters wide with huge overhangs on both sides down to huge rock slides. If I had seen the path from this angle, I'd never have walked it! As we carried on, there were big clearings where trees had been ripped up by the roots. The path took us right where the trees would have stood so that either side of us there were walls of fallen trees and clumps of mud tangled with their roots. It was actually really scary walking past it all and seeing what could happen should the weather turn bad or something ...but also fascinating to actually see it as well! 

There were a few sections that were really tough climbing and for the last climb where we rejoined the official TA track, we were as high as 940m. We had some incredible views of the Tararua range and of the Matawhai hut where we were staying- we could see smoke coming from the chimney which we were very excited about! 

We arrived at the hut and were welcomed by two Austrians, Christina and Marvin, and Paul from Iceland. They taught us how to play the card game 'shit head' and we played several games before finally calling it a night at 8.30! (It was quite a nice hut besides the mouldy mattresses! I made sure my entire body stayed in the sleeping bag all night. 

Burttons Track, 1510km - Camp A (28km)

Found out today that Burrtons Track was named after a Mr Burrton who used to live on his own somewhere on the track (in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing but trees and river). He lived on one side of the river and farmed on the other so had built a suspension bridge to help him across the water. When the bridge eventually broke while he was crossing it, he landed on the rocks below and broke his leg. He spent 12 hours walking along the track he had made in order to find help. He did end up in hospital but later died of his injuries. We walked across the same streams and along the river bank in three hours as opposed to Burrtons 12 - not sure we could have complained about the track at all having been told about its history! 

After three river crossings, we eventually passed back out of the forest and onto a gravel road that seemed to last forever but it was fairly flat at least! 

We had lunch at a reservoir and agreed to take an alternate route that we'd been told about in the Bivouac Outdoor store in Palmerston North. Instead of turning off onto the Te Araroa Track, we continued on the gravel road until we hit a third reservoir- since we were off of he official trail, we had no real guide of how far we were walking and were going by 'as the crow flies' km marks from our GPS which was very frustrating since we spent so much time weaving and turning and going up and down. 

When we finally reached the turn off to our alternate track, I was extremely relieved since I'd started to get grumpy on the roads again. 

We were apprehensive about the track to start with since we had nothing to go by besides the random man in Bivouac's word but an hour in, we were so glad we took it! 

The forest itself was amazing anyway- trees covered in moss, roots weaving all over the path, and the river running beside the track the whole way. But the actual route was even better with climbs up and over huge fallen trees and scrambles along washed out pathway. We crossed three wire bridges which, given the story about Mr Burrton we'd heard earlier on in the day, was both interesting and extremely scary!! They do not look like they should hold your weight and when they have a big sign on them saying 'one person only', you start to question how heavy you might be with your bag on your back. 

We were hoping to make it to the Mangahoe Flat Hut for the evening but having taken 3 hours and 15 minutes to complete just 8.5km, we decided we'd better take our pick of the first clear site we could pitch a tent on. 

Luke was starving hungry and in his 'I need to be there NOW' mood so we were starting to panic about where we might camp since the ground was either completely saturated in muddy water or covered in huge mossy trees. 

I gave up my spare muesli bar to keep him going for a little while when from up ahead the track we heard Renee call 'there's a picnic bench!' I thought for a minute how cruel it was to joke about such a thing when I actually saw the bench! And a spot for two tents by the river with a fire pit already made up! 

Thank god we found somewhere to camp - I got tea on straight away while Luke put the tent up. We'd walked 28km on some of the hardest track we'd tackled yet - I think it was worthy of an early night   so we left our shoes over the fire to dry and went to bed. 

1486km - Burttons Track, 1510km

By the time we actually got to sleep last night it was almost 10... apparently our bodies don't want to work on less than 12 hours sleep so waking up this morning was almost impossible! Since we were camped pretty much on the track walkway though, we thought we'd better up and move before any early morning dog walkers tripped over the guy lines. We had breakfast and made a coffee before starting towards the bike tracks. 

It was a fair stretch on road up to the start of the 'Back Track' which was a steady climb on good path all the way up to the 1500km mark! Half way! We are actually officially over half way of the entire walk!! We had lunch at the stream that crossed the path exactly on 1500km and took a picture or two to mark the moment ... I'm not sure either of us fully believed we'd get this far before we started. 

We carried on along the bike track until more road led to more forestry track which was up and down hills like much of the Te Araroa trail...my Fitbit had recorded a climb of 234 sets of stairs before we'd even started the next part of the track, which thankfully was forest and NOT road! 

We spent two hours in the forest before pitching up for the night... it's funny how everything I thought I'd hate about this walk is actually what I love the most; the mud, the stream crossings, the huge rocks you have to scramble up and down... after the few rubbishy days of road we'd had, coming back into the forest was just what I needed! 

We hadn't planned to stop anywhere in particular so when we found a nice flat spot right beside the river, we decided to call it a day. It was still hot so we washed in the river and spent a few hours relaxing before we were joined by a French couple, Rafael and Malerie. They put our pasta and tuna to shame with their fresh mushroom risotto- who carries fresh mushrooms on a hike through the Tararuas!? 

Palmerston Nth - Bridge at 1486km (10km)

We slept right the way through to 7am when I woke to a call from Mum, Dad, Will and Zoe! Was so lush to speak to them all- it's good to text home but there's something about hearing real voices that's quite comforting! We wished each other Merry Christmas since I'm not going to have signal in the Tararuas on Christmas Day but eventually had to stop chatting since the costs to call abroad from home are probably ridiculous! 

We spent the morning at the cinema! Dad had let us know that Rogue One, the new Star Wars film was out and we decided we might as well treat ourselves. 

Afterwards, we did the little bit of shopping we needed to do- finally got myself some Teva sandals and some new socks (very happy) and Luke got himself some new pants since his other ones had disintegrated at the legs. We got food shopping for the next 7 days and headed back to Brian and Paula's where we packed our bags and left a note in their Te Araroa book with a Koha. They are holding onto our camera so we don't have to carry it and we're going to pick it back up on the way back in the car - people are so helpful!! 

It was 5.30pm before we left so we just walked 10km beside the stream and past Massey University where we found a little patch of green beside the water to camp up.  

Bulls - Palmerston North, Brian/Paula (42km)

Luke bought croissants and orange juice at the shops yesterday so we had our usual breakfast plus the extras as a bonus. 

Olli's back was playing him up so he decided to hitch straight to Palmerston North while the rest of us thought we'd brave the road... again. 

There is not much to say about the route since it was entirely road - we stopped for a cold drink in a town called Fielding which was about 20km in. Renee was limping with dodgy feet due to new shoes and a bit of a sore knee, and I had blisters all over; one on the bottom of each heel, two on my little toe, and one in between my big and second toe. Luke was feeling fine and dandy of course! 

We lingered in the cafe until I made my decision - I don't want to walk on highway for another 20km, so why should I? 

Renee looked at me and agreed there was no point in suffering for the matter of 20km when the detours we've done here and there so far amount to far more than that anyway! 

We gathered our bags and hobbled to the side of the road where we hitched with a nice lady into the centre of Palmerston North. We did a bit of shopping and then walked to meet Olli who had Already arrived with our trail angels for the night- Brian and Paula. They had water on the table for us and showed us to our bedrooms.. yes, bedrooms! 

We had showers and Luke, who decided to brave the walk from Fielding to Palmerston North alone, eventually caught us up. The four of us went back into town and ate in a place called 'Turkish Delight.' I had a mixed meat Eskender with salad and rice which was delicious! 

We arrived back to Brian and Paula's about 9ish and got straight into our bed - no tents required! 

Koitiata - Bulls Motel (28km)

Thankfully the wind died down in time for our morning walk along the beach so we didn't have to contend with sand blasting at our legs along the way. 

We took a slight wrong turning on the way down and wound up following 'Daisy's Track' that took us backward a km and a half before we found the trail on the beach again. 

We weaved between pieces of driftwood along the beach for about 5km before climbing over the dunes and through pine forest. There was a perfect camp spot under the shade of the pine trees but we decided 5km probably wasn't far enough for the day. Though eventually I did wish we had stopped there and never carried on along the road we had to come! 

It was such a hot day and once we'd passed out of the long corridor of pine trees, we had to contend with the heat as we walked along the tarmac roads: my poles sticking into the melted tarmac every other step, and our feet on angles with the road camber for another day.

I was already having a hard time facing the road but my blisters were hurting with every step - I had a little cry and Luke carried my bag on his front until I'd composed myself and then we continued on until Bulls. 

The owners of the homestay just outside of the town had spotted us along the road and pulled over to offer us some water.. 'we just wanted to check in on you' they said. Again with the New Zealand acts of kindness! They offered us tea but we declined and continued on while our feet were still in walking mode. 

When we reached the town, we stopped for a pie and a coffee. After twenty minutes of sitting, our legs were stiff and we decided we'd had enough for the day. 

We walked to the motel with Renee and Olli (I had 2 macdonalds chicken nugget meals on the way) and pitched our tents before planning our Christmas for the week to come with a beer. (Easy days have been scheduled!!) 

Wanganui - Koitiata Free Camp (31km)

Not my best day so far. While it started out well with a lift into town from the holiday park, a cranberry and chicken pie in a cafe, and a surprise gift of chocolate oranges, mini Bombay gins and a Christmas card from Luke's parents, my day soon plummeted into something not so great. 

First of all, our camera, which still won't charge despite buying a new battery for $80 and having a new charger sent all the way from England, was all packaged up to send home before we were told it would cost $85 to post home. We decided against it of course and are still carrying the extra 500g of inoperable electronics. 

Then, just as we started our 30km for the day, I realised I'd forgotten my walking poles. I called the holiday park who thankfully had someone on the way in to town so had to wait 20minutes for those to be delivered. 

We finally started off on the highway out of Wanganui when an old lady beeped at us and shouted out the window 'have a safe trip!' She pulled over a few meters down the road and offered us 5 big oranges- we took two but had to decline the rest for not wanting to carry them. She cheered me up and gave me a little more will for the road walk we had ahead of us.

BUT the will did not last...the road just went on and on and on. We had to keep jumping up on the bank when cars came, and our ankles were turning on the road camber - my boots, which I'd traded back instead of my shoes in Wanganui, were rubbing my feet again, and on top of it all, I felt VERY homesick. 

We had walked for about 24km when Luke stopped and turned to me to ask if I was ok. I looked at him honestly, and decided I couldn't stifle my cry any longer. I burst out crying and I think I said something along the lines of 'I am happy, I'm fine, I'm just feeling like I need to cry, and I don't know what's even wrong because I'm fine and I just need you to keep cuddling me...' and on it went. He laughed at me a bit, and thankfully I laughed at me a bit too.

I managed to compose myself just in time to catch Olli and Renee at the Antiques shop and cafe for a cold drink.

The cafe, while nice to put our feet up, would be best described as my sister Zoe's worst nightmare. There clowns with missing eyes, weird mannequins dressed in old veils, and old baby dolls with their heads facing in all weird directions- even after 24km of walking Zoe probably wouldn't stop- if I hadn't have had to have carried it, I'd have bought her a souvenir.

The next 8km to the canoe site were straight forward enough on a smaller road but I was struggling nonetheless with sore feet and a tired head. Luke kindly let me know it was only 2km to go until the camp site but I didn't feel like 2km was close enough so I had another cry and told Luke to go on ahead (which he never does... he creeps around a corner so I can't see him anymore and then waits for me there.) I took my bag off, had a ten minute strop to myself and sent a text home to let them know I missed them and I then sulked until the camp site where I threw my boots angrily on the floor and recovered with a hot shower and the chocolate orange from Mark and Donna - thank you Mark and Donna!!

We ate tea before going down to the black sand beach to watch the sun set- it was amazing.

I've never seen a beach like it. The sand, obviously, was jet black with little sparkles glistening all through it, the waves were crashing in hard, and the whole beach was scattered with huge pieces of driftwood. The wind was blowing so hard that there was a constant spray of sand across the surface of the beach. We got sand stuck in all of our clothes but it looked amazing nonetheless. We left a message in the 'leave a thought' box as you leave the beach and snuggled up in our tent which has actually started to feel like our little home now, stinky and smothered in mud as it is. 

Jerusalem - Wanganui Holiday Park (78km)

One problem with the New Zealander's way of life is that sometimes things are a little too loosely organised. 

We had tried cycling with our bags on our backs and it wasn't happening so the canoeing company told us the local post woman would collect them from Jerusalem in the morning and take them to the holiday park in Wanganuii ready for our arrival in the evening. BUT, when we woke up in the morning, no one in the village could tell us what time the post woman would be arriving. We had no details for the post woman, no way of asking the canoeing company if they'd told her she was to collect the bags, and no idea where to wait for the post woman. My usual skills of organisation and preplanning had failed us. 

We waited by the post boxes at the end of the road from 8am until 10.30- still no sign of said post woman. So Luke and I, since I was the slowest in the group on a bike, decided we'd better leave the bags with Renee and Olli and get moving or else never make it Wanganuii. 

We cycled for just under an hour to a small cafe in a place called Matahiwi. It's funny- you could be in the middle of nowhere but suddenly a 'great coffee' sign pokes up from behind the bushes and your day is made! 

We went inside in the hope for a 'great coffee' but then realised we had no cash and of course the tiny cafe in the middle of nowhere didn't take card! We turned to leave  when the owner chased us and offered to give us the coffee if we paid the canoe company when they collected our bikes who would then give the cash to the post woman who would then give the money to the cafe! 

It was all very complicated but we got coffee and they eventually got their money (unless the canoe company did a runner with it) so it's all good! We're constantly amazed by how trusting everyone is and how willing people are to go out of their way for you. 

Olli and Renee eventually arrived (post lady collected bags at 11) and they too had an on-loan-coffee before we headed off towards Wangareii on the bikes once again.

It was so much fun- the road was just slightly hilly. Every up had a nice steady down hill and the road wasn't busy enough to put me off of actually riding the bike. It was chucking it down with rain pretty much all day but it didn't matter- just spent the day thinking how proud dad would be that I'd not only cycled, but cycled in the rain just like in England! 

We had one really steep hill which when I first saw it, I insisted I'd have to get off the bike and push. I stuck with it thanks to a little enforcement from Luke and managed the whole way without stopping or getting off- was very proud of myself! 

The rest of the way from there was downhill until we reached the town. We did our shopping for the next few days and then rode to the holiday park where we were staying for the night. We decided on veggies and pasta for tea with garlic bread- Luke had to carry a French stick on his back all the way from town to the holiday park which was very amusing to watch and well worth it. 

We had marshmallows on the fire and stayed in a cabin for the night in reward for cycling 78km and therefore having very, very sore bottoms! 

Long, tiring, but amazing day. 

Tieke Kainga - Jerusalem (33km)

We woke up at 5.30 as usual but the rain was so loud on the tent that we decided we'd aim for a later start. We dozed in and out of sleep until about 8 when we decided the rain probably wasn't going to give. 

We got up to make breakfast under the campers shelter- everyone else had already left so we could spread our stuff out without getting too wet, and then packed the barrels and loaded the canoes.

Fully waterproofed up, we made it almost two hours reasonably dry besides for the last rapid before lunch that filled the boats with water and soaked through to my socks. 

I was glad to stop for lunch because my arms were aching slightly from the day before and I think both Luke and I had had enough of canoeing! While the river and the cliffs either side were beautiful, the water was very still and took a lot of paddling to move through. 

HOWEVER, about half an hour or so after lunch, we'd passed a few caves, seen three of the New Zealand falcon (huuuge birds that we've been looking for - they're on all the 'rare birds' notice boards),  and the water started to speed up again. We had been told about the '50/50' rapid just before the Papriki landing where we were getting off the boats so had been looking forward, apprehensively, to going down them all day. 

Before we got on the boats, Luke's mum had text saying she was scared about Luke going on the water and I had assured her we were with Olli who had been canoeing before - this same Olli was the guy who just before the rapid shouted to us 'head right into the big waves!' 

We watched Olli and Renee go through first- they jumped around a bit in the boat but they did it nonetheless so we followed behind... we were the other 50% who nose dived the first wave, capsized and then got stuck in the 'Eddie' (think that's how you spell it). We hadn't stopped to think that Olli was probably slightly better at going over 'big waves' than us and maybe we should have taken the easier route! We swam (Luke swam, I shivered and held onto the boat) the boat to the edge where we emptied it of water and rescued our last wraps from the water (still dry!!!) 

While capsizing wasn't on my agenda for the day, it did make my day in the end! Just as we pulled the boats in at Papriki, the sun came out and dried us out as best it could before our bikes arrived. We went up to the cafe and had a quick ice cream before setting off for the final 12km on our second mode of transport for the day. 

It took me a while to get used to the bike and figure out the gears again but a little help and patience from Luke got me there in the end. 

We cycled a few short up hills which almost broke me but most of the route was downhill so I just about survived (will have to start practicing riding a bike when home!) 

We arrived in a place called Jerusalem where there is an old church and a convent that has supposedly been turned into a Backpackers, but there was no one around so we camped on someone's lawn instead... oh to the kindness of New Zealander's!

Next door to her garden was a small corrugated metal shed with two big black pigs in that wouldn't stop grunting and banging against the metal all night. One kept jumping with his two front legs on the fence so he could see us- I'm still trying to work out a way of smuggling him home. 

Sometimes people here ask for a 'koha' which is a bit like a donation for them doing you a favour which is a bit awkward when you literally have nothing besides a credit card and some left over wine from the night before... so we left the left over bottle of wine and hoped it would do. 

All in all, we had a brilliant day with surprisingly good weather that I was very thankful for considering the day's events!

We had a huge tea and did handstands and cartwheels before bed - it's an easy life ey! 

John Coull - Tieke Kainga (27km)

Another day of good weather despite the forecast! 

We had a four hour canoe ride to the Bridge to Nowhere and then another two hours to our next camp. 

Having managed okay with the boats the day before, we decided to take the day a bit more slowly. We pulled our boat together with Olli and Renee's and we let the river pull us down instead of rowing - felt a bit lazy but didn't care! 

Somehow we still beat the four hour estimated time and arrived at the bridge in three hours. 

As we were pulling the boats in, a guided tour rammed their five boys in front of ours so we had to wait 15 minutes for the doughnut leader to get everyone off before we could tie our own boats up. To avoid the rabble, we had lunch on the landing before walking up to the bridge. 

Luke felt unwell after lunch. We think it was probably sun stroke because he had his coat on after the walk up to the bridge in 20 degree heat!  

He made it up to the bridge nonetheless but, despite the history, it was crap. 

It's supposed to be 'a bridge to nowhere' because the land, which had been gifted to families after the war, was unfit for farming and had to be abandoned. The big concrete bridge that had been built to provide the people who lived and farmed there access to the land had therefore become a bridge to nowhere because there was nothing there. 

Now, however, there is a track on the other side with a picnic bench and a big information board. The bridge has all been cleaned up of any weeds etc so it is actually quite a well maintained bridge to somewhere. Disappointing! 

Anyway- despite the detour, the rest of the day was spent making sure Luke was ok. He started falling asleep on the back of the boat so Renee and Olli stayed near and I tried to paddle straight as best I could. 

When we got to the campsite, we carried the barrels up and set up the tent, and Luke had a little nap on the grass. I took his gross shoes off (or what was left of them) and put a pillow under his head because I am girlfriend of the year. 

I then got the dinner stuff ready and fed him chocolate when he woke up until he felt better! Chocolate fixes everything! 

Even though I thought I had had an easier day, by the time it got to 8pm I couldn't keep my eyes open! We had a nice early night and slept very well indeed. 

Whakahoro - John Coull Hut (36km)

We spent the morning eating any and all of the food we had left. So for breakfast we had porridge, muesli and triple chocolate cookies. 

Once our bags were packed, all we had to do was wait for the canoe company to arrive. We spent the next hour and a half in the cafe having tea and (more) homemade cookies and then had our canoeing 'induction' on the river before packing our bags into barrels and setting off at 11.30. 

The part of the Whanganuii river we were canoeing can only be accessed by boat so there were no roads either side or houses to disrupt us and having left much later than everyone else, we were the only people on the river (me, luke, Renee and olli). We pulled the boats over onto a small pebble beach for lunch in the sun which was by far the most beautiful lunch spot we've had so far - views all the way down the river and the huge gorge-like cliffs either side covered in moss and fern trees with little waterfalls trickling down through the cracks. 

We probably stopped for a good 45 minutes before getting back in the boats and paddling until 5pm. 

My arms were aching by 3.30 so the last bit was hard anyway but when Luke tried steering us into a cave I almost had a breakdown and wondered whether the man called them 'divorce boats' for a reason! Despite not wanting to go IN, the cave was pretty cool - just a big crack between two cliff faces with a little waterfall right in the middle of it. I had a bit of a tantrum but got over it once I saw the sign for the campsite and apologised for being eggy.

We couldn't believe we'd got all the way to camp without any rain! When we were at Tongariro we were forecasted 10 days of rain and instead we had beautiful sunshine all day! 

Not wanting to push our luck, we cooked straight away and opened a bottle of wine (the boys had beer). Considering we gave the man $40 (£20) and still wound up with 12 beers and three bottles of wine, it was a very nice wine! And paired perfectly with our mashed potatoes, peas and spam! 

We sat around for a while chatting  until the bottle was finished, and then jumped in our tents for a very good nights sleep just as the rain came in. 

V. Good day!! 

Retaruke Hall - Whakahoro Bunkhouse (10km)

Having got carried away the day before, we only had 10km to go until we reached the Bunkhouse in Whakahoro. 

We started early so as to avoid any abrupt confrontation in the local hall should there be any Sunday morning meetings or such things- we swept the floors before leaving and made sure all was spick and span and how we found it. At least if we left it reasonably tidy it would make us feel slightly less guilty for having climbed through the window in the first place. (Slight guilty conscience but was best nights sleep I've had in a while so have made special allowance for ones misbehaviour). 

We put on wet shoes, although that has become the normal thing now they have such big holes in the front, and walked for just under two hours into the small village of Whakahoro. Luke walked in Olli's sandals because his shoes have literally fallen into pieces now. 

Whakahoro is a tiny little village mostly consisting of a few lodges and a cafe on the Blue Duck Station (station meaning basically 'big farm.' The Whanganuii river runs right beside it so we can see where we jump on the boats in the morning. 

When we got here, we located the cafe and flagged down the canoe guy. We managed to bargain with him and arrange for a beer/wine drop off when he brings our boats tomorrow so it was good we arrived when we did.

The hut itself is a ten bed bunkhouse with outside toilets - nothing flashy but fits our needs just so. We headed up to the cafe for a nice pot of tea and a chat before coming back to the bunks, listening to music, catching up on our diary entries, and having an hours kip. When I woke up, Olli was sleeping off the ten left over muesli bars he'd eaten, Luke was wondering around talking to everyone he could to ail his boredom and Renee was checking maps like the rest of us probably should have been! It was a good afternoons rest that's for sure.

We went back up to the cafe at five for another cup of tea and waited around until dinner - the yummiest sheppards pie with salad and apple crumble for dessert. We must have looked hungry because the owner invited us up for seconds to finish what was left in the pan so we had another plate just as big as the first to finish us off. 

Once we'd managed to pluck our heavier selves from our chairs, we went for a little walk over Lacey's bridge and to the landing on the river - I think probably to burn off some of the food we ate since we'd done so little during the day! 

We came back to the bunkhouse and had hot chocolate and played charades outside. (The charades you get on your phone when you have to hold the phone on your forehead and nod when you get the answer right). It was hilarious - first Olli rugby tackled me to the floor, then I did some ridiculous face as a Hippo impression that didn't look like a hippo at all. Luke couldn't help but shout the answers when they came up on the screen and Renee just went nuts every time a new word came up. All in all, we had another good night at camp - am quite enjoying Olli and Renee's company.

Tomorrow we get on the canoes and if Luke and I survive that, we can survive anything so here goes! 

River at 1183km - Retaruke Hall (25km)

Today, we did 25km by accident. We had worked out we needed to do 18km a day to get to Whakahoro for the canoeing on Monday but we just kept going. We were walking a gravel road which meant we were walking quicker than usual and we had over an hours tea break only 2 hours in that gave us a bit of extra power too.

We stopped in on a farmhouse that had a sign outside for water, filled our water bottles up and continued on. The rain had started up again so we put waterproof coats on and just kept walking until we arrived at the Retaruke Hall.

We went through the gate into the field where we found a long drop toilet and looked for somewhere to pitch a tent. We spotted a shelter in the farthest corner of the field so waded through the long grass until our shoes and socks were saturated only to find the shelter floor was covered in old wood and bones from dead animals. We took shelter for a moment anyway and decided to sit it out until the rain stopped so we could pitch the tents on the long grass instead.

Luke went to use the toilet but before he left, Renee suggested he should check the doors to the hall.

From there, this is what happened:

*Luke returns to the shelter.*
Luke: oh a sandwich!
*he sits down and starts to eat*
Luke: when we pitch our tents on that long grass, our tents are going to get soaking wet.
*Everyone looks sad but continue to eat and sort bags etc... a few minutes pass.*
Luke: oh, by the way, the hall is open over there and there are flushable toilets and soap, and probably enough space to sleep 6 people.
Everyone: what!? Then why are we all sitting here in the rain!?
Luke: well there are lots of dead flies.
Daisy: There's a f***ing spine here!!
*points to part of dead animal under shelter*

So once we'd all established there was shelter without dead animals and cow shit everywhere, we threw our bags on our backs and waxed back through the wet grass to the hall.

The door that was open was the side door to the toilets- the door from there into the hall was locked. There was just enough space for us to fit in with our bags so we took shelter from the rain, planned to cook inside, but looked out of the window for somewhere to pitch the tents outside.

We stayed inside for a few minutes until Renee said what we were all thinking - 'I wonder if the window would open?'

Luke and Renee went around to the window while Olli and I waited in anticipation - there was a scuffle from inside and then we heard the bolt go on the door- we were in!!

Though technically we weren't supposed to be there, we all agreed that if a New Zealander found us, they would probably be happy for us to stay... so we did!

We spread our bags out and hung our clothes up to dry, set up our roll mats and sleeping bags on the floor and did some yoga after dinner.

Another lush day!

National Park - River at 1183km (18km)

Think we're getting used to these easy days - we started at the cafe (again) where we had coffee, pies, and wifi. We booked our New Year's Day ferry to the start of the Queen Charlotte track and our New Years Eve BYO Indian! Very excited for an Indian courtesy of Bumps.

The weather, despite being forecasted pouring rain, was absolutely luush! You could see the snow on the top of the mountains from the cafe windows which showed what the little ski village would probably be like in peak season... makes me want to go skiing!

Luke had a second pie and I had an once cream just before leaving and starting another short day.

Probably distracted by food, we spent the first ten minutes heading down the wrong road and had to back track to start again. We found the Fishers track that took us down a gravel path past the railway station. We reached a turn off where we could take a detour to see some waterfalls and considering how far we had to walk, we thought we may as well take it. We followed the steep path up and carried buckets of stone clippings (walkers carry them between 'depots' to help the guys who are making the pathways transport the stones to the end of the track). We walked and walked for over half an hour before we decided to check maps ... what we had thought was a 20 minute detour to the falls was actually a 20 minute one way detour to the lookout that we'd already passed and the falls were actually a two hour round trip! So for the second time that day, we turned around and backtracked to the actual trail.

Despite the extra hour it took overall to get back on track, we had another great day walking along a grassy path skirting rolling hills where we spotted deer amongst the usual hundreds of sheep.

When the path turned back into road, we started looking for potential camp spots. We passed a few farms but the idea of camping beside the river was too tempting. We kept walking until we could see he perfect spot... but, the problem was, it was on the other side of the river.

We scrambled down the bank from the road and decided to wade the river waist deep to get to the nice flat grass on the other side - our shoes would dry in the sun anyway!

We stripped off to our underwear once we'd crossed and went for a swim. Of course, it took me twenty minutes to find the courage to get in properly because it was so cold that I got bitten all over. Nonetheless though, it was amazing to cool down and have a quick wash before drying off in the sunshine.

Whakapapa - National Park (19km)

A cup of coffee, a chicken, Brie and cranberry panini, and a Crunchie bar later we started off for an easy day of only 19km ... walking two long days in a row left us with four days left before our canoes would be delivered so we could have some slow days.

The first part of the walk was good track along boardwalk and over bridges until the TA turnoff where the whole path was flooded. The rain had stopped and was holding off so thankfully spirits were high and wet shoes didn't dampen the mood entirely.

We ploughed through the water and the mud and chatted the whole way to the hostel at National Park (staying in a hostel did contribute slightly to not minding the wet feet ... especially since they had a drying room!)

We went to the local shop and stocked up on snacks before showering and cooking, and then headed for the bar opposite.

The whole bar was filled with Christmas lights with Christmas music playing and stocking by the fire place which was lush and got my once again in the Christmas spirit and made having three glasses of wine slightly more acceptable!

We were with Olli and Renee and we almost had a stand off with the bar owner when Renee was asked for ID and then denied a drink because she didn't have a passport or New Zealand driving licence.. if I haven't said before, Renee is 40! The owner came out and decided she'd better serve the angry hiker her gin and tonic quickly or face assassination, so we drank away, had a game of pool (Luke and I lost) and sang along to the Christmas music before being kicked out at closing time (10pm).

Lush day!