• Te Araroa Day 45
• Mt Pirongia to Kaimango Rd – 16.4 km in 5 hours 30 minutes
• Rainfall: many millimetres!

Tussock the dog was ready to go and was waiting for the rest of us. We all ended up getting up quite early and I left just after 8am, a little behind their group. The first part of the Hihikiwi track headed up to a lookout. No views of course today, as it was misty and drizzly but it was a very easy section of board walk. This ended and the mud began. I came across Bruce’s group and we talked about how it perhaps wasn’t so bad after all.

Hihikiwi means to shudder or shiver, which seemed appropriate. Apparently it is also home to Patupaiarehe (the fairy people or people of the mists), who travel in the dark or mist. I hope they were on our side today.

Soon after I’d said the track wasn’t so bad, the mud got a whole lot worse! It was now definitely the muddiest track I’ve ever tramped. Around this time we had a break together, and Robert insisted on giving me a whole big Cookie Time cookie he had spare 😍 I gobbled it down, but not before breaking off a bit for Tussock as she’d enjoyed the half of his Robert had given her. I think she’d earned it! Then the rain really set in and it became about staying upright as much as possible. As usual, no photos of the tricky parts sorry! I was glad to stick with Bruce’s group for the last hour or so.

At the bottom they kindly double checked I didn’t want a ride with them, or some gear taken to Waitomo. I was definitely tempted but thought I could manage the ten kilometres to Jo’s house where I was staying tonight. There was no toilet or shelter at the bottom of the track, and I really should have put on my rain pants in hindsight. I had the polyprop bottoms on but it was wet, windy and quite chilly.

Along the road there wasn’t really anything to shelter under, except one half a tree so I quickly ate lunch and ploughed on. At least there was no traffic at all. I was dreading the last few kilometres which were on a state highway, and very glad to pull on the high vis vest in the gloomy weather. Not far from her place I got a lovely text from Jo saying she was off to work soon but the place was unlocked and to come in and make myself at home. She sounded lovely!

She came out to welcome me in and set me up before she went off to afternoon milking. While I was in the shower she’d grabbed my soaked shoes and socks and put them by her fire. Best of all, she had a spare room with a bed, no tenting tonight phew! I had a lovely afternoon in the warmth with Monty & Socks, along with the best cups of tea – made with fresh milk from her own cow.

Jo also lived by herself, and we got on really well. She broke the news to me that Prince Phillip had passed away, which came out of left field for me since I haven’t been keeping up with the news at all. We had dinner, and chatted about all sorts of things. Jo had a small piece of land with all sorts of animals, and was into making her own butter and bread, growing veges, and living a ‘resilient life’. I liked this term, but discovered she had some quite different ideas about climate change, the government, world politics, Covid-19, the vaccine, etc. I don’t think I’ve actually sat and listened to someone’s take on all the issues being connected, and I could certainly see how you might buy into that. It was another fascinating trail interaction!

Tomorrow is a pretty big distance day so I need to be up and going early. The forecast looks like rain clearing, so fingers crossed it is clearing by the time I want to leave. Will the track be as bad as Bruce thought? At least Jo’s theories, and watching more women’s cricket has given me little time to stress about it! There aren’t really any alternative ways to Waitomo either. Despite the rain and lack of views, I really enjoyed Pirongia. There are so many different tracks, I hope one day I can come back and have a go at some of the others.