Ahipara YHA - Takahue old school
We had been warned of the Northland forests but nothing quite prepares you for they're ruthlessness. From the very first step into Herekino you are climbing steeply through mud, real mud! Wet, sticky, fills your boots kind of mud. Within the first few minutes I was stopping for breath and my calfs burned. The first climb was strenuous and long but the forest was like nothing I'd ever seen before and every step deeper into it was worth it.
Imagine Jurassic Park: the forest floors are a sheath of tree roots and old branches and in between that there are pools of wet, gooey mud. There are vines that hang down and wrap around your bags and you have no idea whether or not the sun is shining- the only difference between these forests and Jurassic Park is your running from the impending lack of daylight as opposed to a pack of dinosaurs.
There are giant Kauri trees that are the precious tree of New Zealand - they tower over everything around it and are bigger than any tree I've ever seen before.There are birds that sing all day from the palm trees and streams that take whatever's in its path for its own (though often that may be your shoes.)
It was the first of the three Northland forests - it took everything I had (for 11 hours) to get through it but left me absolutely thirsty for more from the next one.
When we eventually caught up with the other walkers we'd met in Ahipara (Ollie- UK and Renee- Ozzy), we pitched up in an old burnt out school in Takahue and slept very well indeed!
Takahue - Mangamuka farm/field
What an animal! I though Herekino was big and bad enough but Raetea smashed the leaderboard on every scale. Climb after climb after mud slide after mud slide... I have never laughed and giggled so much in my life.
It was hard but the only way, for me at least, to get through these forests are by taking them as they are. Getting muddy and falling over is all part of it - Luke has a real knack for delving into the falling part. Walking slightly ahead of me for most of the day, I got to witness every comedy run on the spot, every meter long 'control slide' off the side of the path and every full on tumble through forest track that he made. I had the odd small fall myself but not quite as spectacularly as Luke.
After another long 13 hours through forest, we had to make our way over pasture to find a camping spot. As have many others, we took a wrong turning out of the forest but managed to find the correct trail before having to push our backpacks under bush like some others had. We followed the orange markers down to a farm where we had to pass a team of very loud/angry sounding dogs (thankfully chained) to a gravel road. We reached a sign that read 'Trampers Camping' and caught site of another tramper's tent in the long grass (Blair- NZ). Thank god for trail angels lending land for camping at times like those!!!!
Mangamuka - Apple Dam
This walk was a pleasure after having tackled two days of forest. We followed road for 6km to Mangamuka Dairy where we stopped for an hour and ate pies, fresh fruit and cold drinks like we were never going to eat again. (Luke, Renee, Blair, Rolf -Swiss, and I) We five were the only ones of the ten that were at Ahipara camp to continue at this point. Others had injuries or blisters, one person had even lost the sole of their boot in Raetea!! (Pasquale- Germany - carries a 100lt pack but no GPS or phone- got to hand it to him!) )
Once we were full and ready to move again, we took the long, windy path to Appledam camp site. Not much was there but sometimes a patch of grass and a long drop (a non flushing toilet) is all you need!
Apple Dam - Puketi DOC camping
Puketi is a gem. I was scared shitless about this forests due to warnings of flash floods in bad weather and so on but I am so glad I found it in me to walk it. Most of the track is fairly well trodden but the first half is what I came to New Zealand to see. We walked through the river for some time. Luke was a gentleman and moved logs and bush out the way in an attempt to keep my boots dry- despite everyone's comments, I did make it until the last few meters with almost completely dry boots!! After all the effort, however, what they say is true, you will get wet feet in Puketi. We were knee deep, which I believe is actually pretty shallow in this case!
The track after that was almost not track at all- most had completely subsided or was about to and it was a matter of hoping you were quick and agile enough to walk across the 'path' before it disappeared but it was beautiful and oh so fun to be really challenged!
When we reached the proper path for the second half, we made up a bit of distance and pursued another climb before dropping back down to Puketi DOC camp in the sunshine where we dried our boots and played cards in our minuscule tent.
Puketi - Kerikeri Top Ten x2
Word on the street is 'if you make it to Kerikeri, you're gonna make it to the end' - team of 10 that had accumulated in Ahipara has become 4 but we remaining are Northland forest queens, woohoo! The walk from Puketi was another beautiful one- over pasture with views of the Bay of Islands from the hills and along side the Rainbow falls to the famous Kerikeri Stonestore.
Now I have conquered the beach, have made it through the forest (with almost dry boots) and am fully deserving of having a rest day in Kerikeri due to semi-arthritic hip and aching knee. Can neither make it up, nor down hills and there is no flat in New Zealand so I had no choice but to sit here and stuff my face with dairymilk and pastries.
Tomorrow we are walking to Pahia to meet up with the hitch hikers, then to Opua where we catch the water ferry, and then surprise, surprise- another forest!
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