We got up early this morning to take the bus North to Kerikeri. We are now at the hikers hostel: a single story building with a series of rooms that open onto an open area, motel-style, but with trees and flowers. Tomorrow we set off on another three hour shuttle ride, and then we start walking.

We should be back in Kerikeri in 9-10 days, as the trail passes right through here. This means that the hostel has quite a few people who are in the middle of the trail.

So what kinds of people hike this trail? So far I’ve met Germans, Dutch, and Canadians. I’ve overheard other hikers speaking French, and know that some of the people we are driving up with tomorrow are Kiwis. So some local, many international. I’m not good at guessing age, but I think everyone I’ve met is between the ages of 20 and 70. Profession-wise I’ve met a software engineer, a government worker and a river skipper from a family of river skippers.

Overall, no pattern has emerged.

This evening we cooked our own meal in the hostel kitchen. After several days of eating out, and with several days of eating backpackers food to look forward to, it was nice to get a meal with an overwhelming quantity of vegetables. Just like home.