• Te Araroa Day 9
• Kaitaia to Takahue Saddle Campsite – 22km in 6 hours
• Tsunami concern levels: high!

Waking up there were lots of messages about the earthquakes. Luckily, I didn’t feel a thing! On my way out of Kaitaia, a lovely lady pulled over her car just to check I knew there was a tsunami warning out. I thanked her, reassured her I wasn’t heading for the coastline, and wondered how long it would take me to get there on foot if I had been!

State Highway 1 wasn’t as bad as the road walk the other day, and there was indeed more of a verge/ditch. Something I’ve never thought about before, but kudos to the people who mow roadsides!

The quiet gravel road was still an instant relief though, and I made quite good time to the 10 km mark. My heel blisters felt a bit tender starting out, and they hurt a bit more as the day wore on but not to the point of the beach days.

Today was a max pack weight day with 5 days worth of food, along with the olive oil that’s supposed to go with some of the meals for the first time. Hopefully the double bagging will protect my bag from an oil slick!

There weren’t really any great rest spots today. I sat in shade on the roadside a few times, and had lunch etc. It was beginning to feel like a bit of a slog and the gravel road had become an asphalt one, which is hard on the feet. A nice electrician stopped to check if I wanted a ride to the trail head, and studiously gave me directions when I politely declined. He lived just round the corner.

The very small township of Takahue featured a dilapidated school that presumably closed a while ago, and a community centre with nice hibiscus out the front. I was sitting having some water on the steps, when I noticed two not so friendly dogs had wandered halfway up the driveway opposite… Time to move on… !

Eventually another gravel road led to a DOC signposted 4WD track that climbed up towards the forest – apparently the old Takahue Saddle Road. A few people lived along the way, and just when I was losing hope the campsite made by locals finally appeared.

After Hukatere Camp was a disappointment on the beach, I really didn’t have high expectations for this – it was supposed to have a toilet in the form of a spade with ‘toilet’ written on it… But it is awesome! They’ve added an enclosed shelter with a hose for a cold shower, a picnic table with a big sun shade, a sink with tap, and there’s a kind of long drop now. Legend!

The chocolate banana shake I’d been hanging out for all afternoon was first on the to do list, then washing since there was still a lot of heat in the sun. After refreshing my memory by watching macpac’s helpful video on how to pitch my tent, I’ve finally got it looking better I think. Then I had a couple of hours to read and put my feet up.

The blue tape and blister plaster seemed to have moved a bit so I redressed them and checked on them too. The left one is more noticeable again, but the itchy little toes seem better after a day under some tape. I also tripped over my foot and stubbed my big toe last week, taking off part of the toenail but that seems to be doing better. Not at my most agile when tired!

In the course of dinner prep, I realised I’ve left my dish cloth behind somewhere 😒 there certainly are worse things to lose, but it was really handy to dry all the cooking/eating stuff before packing it up. I also realised that a big downside with the olive oil is that it makes the bowl and container very oily, which is hard to clean with cold water.

There is really loud surround sound insect chirping here, along with occasional mooing from the cows, and earlier farming sounds from down the valley.

After dinner there seemed to be some odd noises from the other direction – more like the road up to the forest. Was it a horse? Wild pig? Person? I really couldn’t tell. After breaking out in a sweat a few times having a look seemed the best choice. It was a big Hereford cow below the road, just visible through the trees. If only I’d realised there were paddocks on that side too 😅 phew..

I think I just heard a kiwi maybe?

It’s 8:30pm now and getting darker. I’m tucked up in my sleeping bag and tent, ready for bed already. Hopefully I can get some sleep before tomorrow’s big day, which I’m feeling anxious about. Seeing a Monarch butterfly about five times today did make me feel like someone was keeping an eye on me though 😊