Clevedon Scouts Camp - Hamilton (140km)

- Clevedon Scouts Camp - Upper Mangatawhiri

There were 7km of road to walk before reaching the Hanua Ranges which gave us chance to make up a bit of distance in the morning but already my right ankle was paying the price for having compensated for the other ones pain coming down the steps into Clevedon the day before.

So now, we were heading into the ranges and I had two kankles; one semi on the mend and the other slowly giving up on me. Thankfully though, the track through the ranges wasn't too tough aside for a few short climbs and some difficulty with orange arrows pointing to each and every direction (have since discovered that orange markers are for ALL DOC paths and not just the TA - I'm sure a few hikers will benefit from knowing that!)

Upper Mangatawhiri camp site was lovely...the area is huge with picnic benches and views of forest all around you and the dam wall to one side is covered in green grass and grazing sheep. We were the first people there so used the opportune moment to wash the mud off of our legs in the toilet and I did my best to wash and dry any dirty clothes while Luke started a camp fire in the stone pit.

We cooked and ate dinner in the little heat we managed to get out of the damp wood and, as is now an evening ritual, guzzled a whole bar of dairy milk chocolate before four or five other cars pulled up for the evening.

- Upper Mangatawhiri - Podges Places, Mercer

I wonder why so many people talk about the Northland Forests and yet nobody thinks to warn you of the beast that comes after the Hanua ranges?

From the Upper Mangatawhiri camp, you follow the 4WD track for some 7km and then continue through similar forest track to the day before. When you leave the ranges however, you enter a track that is wonderfully savage. The mud is just as bad as you've seen before but the vines are tangled in every which way possible and tree roots literally scatter across the entire forest floor. It was as though this wasn't part of the track at all but rather a section that they expect you to just bushwack through to the other side.

At one point, and please excuse the language, Luke turned around with his walking pole in the air and shouted 'F**k you, you stupid piece of sh*t!!' before he literally beat the vine with his pole. (we both fell about laughing shortly after).

While it was frustrating and tough at times, the distance actually in the forest means it only has you for a few hours unlike the Northland's and so we just did our best to enjoy it. As this particular forest doesn't have an official name that we are aware of, we did decide to name it ourself but for the respect of those reading this, I won't share - just know it was as insulting as we could possibly make it.

We crossed the wire bridge from forest to pasture and headed for Mercer service station via the Stopbank after a quick lunch break. It's safe to say that almost two weeks without a rest day was starting to catch up with me and walking through the wet grass and flooded swamps in the wind and rain just tipped me over the edge.

I paused about 5km from Mercer service station and had a little cry on Luke's shoulder - despite really really trying not to seem wimpy!! But when he conveniently let me know that there was a MacDonalds next to our camp for the night, I found it in me to quit winging and walk the remaining 5km for a McMocha and a chicken nugget meal!

The camp itself was in the beer garden of 'Podge's Place' - a small bar that served cold beer and big pizzas - just like every hiker wants at the end of a long day! (We had a pizza each kntop of our MacDonalds!)

- Podges Place, Mercer - Rangiriri, Heritage Centre



- Rangiriri, Heritage Centre - The Smith's, Hamilton

- The Smith's, Hamilton - MicroTel Backpackers, Hamilton

We just had a short day along the cycle path to the centre today - we enjoyed honey on toast at the Smith's house before leaving and then headed for the PAC and SAVE about 8km away.

A quick resupply sent Anna and Robert on for another day while Luke and I decided to stop for two days to (hopefully) recover my ankles!

We did also secretly want to use the opportunity of being in a town to watch the new Harry Potter spin off, 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' which was just fabulous and felt so good to do something normal for he first time in over a month!