Te Araroa Trail Ngunguru to Tidesong BnB
Today Anouck and I woke up to fresh eggs, gifted to us by James our host at the Nikau Eco camp.
Bruce and Anja and Markus joined us for morning coffee, then James offered us a lift to the start of the Mackerel Forest track, today’s first stretch on Te Araroa trail, which we gratefuly accepted.
Mackerel Forest Track
We started with a little river crossing – which we took our shoes off for, and walked the grassy path barefoot to the next river 2kms along. The rest of today’s route was road walking. We made a note of our favourite Te Araroa trail conversations topics:
- Food – where is nearest dairy? Will they do takeaways? Toasties vs burger? Anything about ginger beer. Dehydrated meals vs soups & couscous etc. Chocolate.
- Injuries – how are yesterday’s ailments? Any new ones today? Tips? We’re all now an expert in anatomy: Me: Heels & hamstrings, Bruce: Little toes and sweat glands, Anouck: Mossie/sandfly bites (anywhere) and knees, Anja: Back and feet, Markus: Knees and ankles.
- Things Bruce has lost – another favourite topic… Mostly because there’s always a hilarious story to go with it & also because we know it’ll come back to him when we next see Amber and Mark 🙂
Trail Angels Anne and Derek
At 11.30 we passed by Anne and Derek’s house, Te Araroa trail angels on Pataua North road. Derek also turned out to be friends of Bruce’s from school !!
They were certainly trail angels extraordinaire! We started with homemade lemonade, beers and a spread of delicious homemade delights. This turned into lunch with goodies collected from the garden. We heard about some of the the other lucky TA’ers who had been fortunate enough to pop in & get refreshments, a night’s stay, or Christmas treats.
The TA trail angels/supporters have really made the past week a humbling and unforgettable experience. It restores your faith in humanity to share time with these beautiful people who want nothing more than the simple pleasure of meeting others & offering them a little something.
Tidesong BnB and Camping
Eventually we had to get back on the road. We walked for another 10kms or so until Pataua where we called Te Araroa alumni Hugh and Ros at Tidesong b&b / camping.
Hugh picked us up as the tide was too high to walk the estuary route, and Ros brought us in for tea and cakes before showing us to our sites.
I chose a little cabin. This was my 3rd day in a row with a bed… I could get used to this! We cooked dinner, and we went to bed early. We have a big day coming up tomorrow.