By Ruth
Distance: 20km
This morning we were greeted with a strange sight – blue skies! Last night we had gone to bed with some uncertainty about our plan for today. The ideal option would be to continue down to the gorge and walk through the river, then back up a ridge to the hut, where we had booked a bunk for the night. However, when it has rained heavily (as it did a couple days ago), the river in the gorge can swell and be unsafe to walk in. In that case there is a bypass you can take but it would have meant a 33km day for us to get to the hut. With a mixed bag of signals (clear weather, but a higher than desirable stream that we crossed yesterday afternoon) we weren’t sure what to do. This morning, one member of our group got up before all of us and walked back a kilometre or so, to check the level of that stream. His report, delivered over breakfast and including video evidence, was that the stream had gone down significantly since yesterday afternoon, and was moving much slower as well. We thought about it, and decided to take a chance and go the gorge route. The risk was that if the river level was too high, we may have to turn around and camp back at the same site.
So it was with excitement and a bit of trepidation that we set out down to the gorge. We were walking with a fellow walker we met in Kaitaia, Stephen, who had read and heard a lot about the gorge section and was really excited to be going. His good cheer and energy even rubbed off on us a bit! We arrived at the river and it seemed reasonable. With shoal banks on alternate sides, we were able to walk down the river, crossing from side to side through knee-deep water. It was a beautiful sunny day, the water felt really nice, and the gorge was stunning. There were a few moments where the river started looking really deep, and each time I thought to myself “Now is when we’ll have to turn back”, but thankfully there was always a way through. It was slow going though – the first 4km of the day took us 3 hours!
After the river, we climbed up a muddy bank, and continued walking on a path along the side of a different river. This path was super muddy, and went up and down a million times as it followed the river’s course. It was exhausting. Finally we reached the end, and to celebrate we had a long lunch on the river bank and even went for a dip. Heaven!
Next came the uphill. We left the river behind and began climbing a forested ridge. This section is where we saw some Kauri trees, which are a special type of tree found only in NZ, and which are endangered due to a disease which can be carried on tiny amounts of soil. They take it really seriously here and have special boot-cleaning stations at the entries to the forest, to disinfect everything and avoid spreading the disease. Anyway, the trees were super big and majestic and it was cool to see them finally after hearing so much about them.
After the climb we had a few more kilometres to walk along a pleasant forest road, and we arrived at the hut where we will be spending the night. With electricity, a gas stove, bunk beds, and a cold shower, it feels like a luxury retreat.
It was a long and challenging day but also so fun and rewarding. The days that start with more unknowns are turning out to be the ones that end with the best sense of accomplishment.