• Te Araroa Day 25
• Waipu Cove to Mangawhai – 30.8 km in 8 hours 45 minutes
• Elevation gain: 847m

I headed back to where I left off the trail yesterday, and seemed to be there in no time at all. The road climbed steadily but not steeply, and it was mostly just me and some mountain bikers on a sleepy Sunday morning. It became a gravel road leading mainly to a huge subdivision, but the views in the distance were stunning. Te Whara / Bream Head where I’d been walking two days ago was clearly visible, as was Ruakaka Beach.

I ran into a half Norwegian woman who was curious about my poles, and had lots of questions. She was local, and was hoping to get into hiking more but had done lots of cross country skiing including above the Arctic circle.

As I wondered how many millions a section of the subdivision would cost, the road left that section and carried on past the odd other house. It was much like the 4WD track before Raetea Forest – wondering what life is like at the top of a very long gravel road, how often they need supplies etc.

After that a DOC track called Langsview Track started. It had some birds, and was a nice forest trail at first. Just after passing a high point, views of the coast ahead appeared! It was a good place to stop for lunch, while realising I still had some distance to go looking down at Mangawhai.

Soon after the track changed into a road again with shitty sharp shingle and steep descents. My feet didn’t love it.

Then came a brief road walk, and up another gravel road to the farm section. Of course I was dreading this part, especially after some big steers all ran across their paddock to the fence and water trough, and pawed the ground as I passed up the road. Then I got to the DOC sign listing hazards, and sent a satellite location message to Mum so they could find my trampled body easily if the worst happened!

Luckily there were no stock in that paddock, and I popped out on a sealed road that’s on the map. There was another farm section, or walking around on this road. Hopefully it wasn’t a private road, but I took asphalt, and its short distance (1km) as worth the risk. It went past a building site for a new mansion, and two existing expensive looking houses, then the Mangawhai Heads track led off to the start. The amazing views recharged my tired legs, and it was exciting to see where I’m heading.

By the time I got to Mangawhai Heads surf club my feet and legs were really tired. “Think of the ice cream soon” I told them, as I sought out any kind of softer surface than asphalt to walk on. A salted caramel ice cream and short rest gave me a bit of a boost, but I was still about 5 km from today’s destination. There was a footpath of sorts though, so I listened to music and battled on.

Around 6 pm I finally got to tonight’s accommodation. It’s a wee cottage in an orchard next to Mark & Kerry’s house. They did Te Araroa a few years ago, and have been hosting walkers for a couple of years now. It’s such a perfect set up – comfy bed, solar shower, flush toilet, electricity & kettle in the cabin, and two cute rabbits. Inside the cottage reminded me of our family holiday house, it had a wooden smell. Mark even gave me a cold beer, which I was careful to drink slowly, and not end up on the floor in my dehydrated state! It was nice to chat to them though.

I think today was quite a typical Te Araroa type rollercoaster day. Epic views, nice surfaces, native forest, changing into a weird track that no locals would ever want to walk for good reason, farm connections (love them or hate them), more epic views and nice track, then slogging on roads. I’m really glad there was a great place to stay and nice people at the end of it!