• Te Araroa Day 57 – also Earth Day (April 22)
• Ketetahi Road to Whakapapa Village – 30.67km in 9 hours 40 minutes
• Elevation gain: 1596m! (PB)
• The longest blog?

It wasn’t the best sleep. I decided to give up and get up at 5:30. Jamie seemed to be up and about to my disappointment, and the older guy was microwaving a wrap with possibly cheese inside in the kitchen. He seemed more alive and cheerful than yesterday, and hopefully he had eaten more for breakfast ahead of a huge TA day.

At 6:15 there was a knock on my door. Jamie wanted to give me his business card and say goodbye. Great, he’s leaving and this will be the last of it I thought. I flipped the card over to see a handwritten message saying he’d love to take me out etc etc. Into the rubbish it went as I packed up. It was very chilly outside but clear and the starry sky was giving way to a beautiful sunrise. The weather seemed perfect for the Crossing!

I made my way out to the state highway to wait for the shuttle, but was annoyed to find Jamie standing by the entrance tapping on his phone. He explained he was going to head back to find the locals who’d given him the venison from yesterday, and go for a sunrise horse ride around the lake. “Cool” I said while willing the shuttle to show up. After 5 minutes he put on his hipster hat and sunglasses, said goodbye, headed off skipping and twirling down the left lane of the highway, and disappeared around the corner.

Just as my legs were turning blue, the shuttle arrived. I was relieved to find the driver was a relaxed, normal kiwi guy who agreed the conditions looked awesome for today. Unfortunately at this point he spotted Jaime with his thumb out and said we should give him a lift. “Umm he’s a bit of an interesting character” I managed to get out as we slowed down. Having got a free ride myself I didn’t feel like I could say “Noooo, don’t do it,” but at least as Jaime turned around revealing his sunglasses the shuttle driver said “oh no, jeeze, he’s one of them” so we were on the same page.

Jamie hopped on and immediately started giving me advice about the Crossing (don’t go out too hard, just pace yourself), and explaining his plans to the driver who said “the venison wasn’t the only thing the locals gave you yesterday aye mate?”. He reeked of pot… In response Jamie claimed he had bipolar (which seemed highly likely to be honest) and his cannabis use was medicinal. He then started with the “I’d really like to see you again” just as we pulled up at the shuttle pick up point, where all the day trippers were parked. I’ll just give him a minute I said to the driver, trying to stretch out getting off, and he replied “yea he’s stoned as”. The shuttle customers were eager to get on though and I ended up crossing the road with Jamie following me. I turned around so I had the shuttle driver in view, trying to communicate “don’t leave me here with this guy please” with my eyes. He did appear to be keeping an eye on me. Jamie seemed to be getting increasingly desperate, and pulled out a grubby flower pot plant tag while saying “but what if I could give you anything in the world, like these flowers?! Ok so they’re not flowers, I just found this on the road”. I really wanted to tell him to f off by this stage, and after another clear “no, I’m not interested” he did walk away around the corner. I needed to head down the road that led to Ketatahi Carpark, but with no day parking allowed there I knew there probably wouldn’t be any people around. We’d driven past the older guy a few kilometres ago, and he wasn’t going to pop up anytime soon. I backed up the tree lined road, trying to signal to the driver “has he walked away?” with walking fingers and a thumbs up. He gave me the thumbs up back, so I turned around and ran as far as I could before everything hurt from my shoelaces and pack waist belt being undone.

At least I’d put some distance between us, and there was no sign of Jamie. Being followed or accompanied for the next 30 km did not appeal at all. I tried to collect myself, and started off again at walking speed. At least I’d warmed up a bit… The carpark was empty but for three vehicles, one with the stereo cranked up and someone inside. I hurried past feeling a bit jumpy, clocking all the big DOC warning signs at the start of the track. Going over this way adds quite a bit of elevation gain to the whole trip, about 300-400m I think. Sounds appropriate for Te Araroa to go this way – the opposite of what DOC recommend!

The first part of the trail went through forest, complete with signs about entering the lahar zone, with photos of the last lahar that damaged the track. The nearby stream smelt sulphuric. I wondered how hard this big climb would be for a bit, but mostly it was hard to stop thinking about the last 24 hours. This spiralled quickly into anger, and thinking of all the various times in my life I’ve experienced unwanted attention, approaches, contact etc. from men. I felt angry that as a female solo hiker I had to be so careful with what information I gave out in casual conversation (i.e. pretty much nothing!), always trying to have my wits about me and enough energy to move on if I wasn’t feeling safe or comfortable in a particular place. Meanwhile all the guys I’d met on trail didn’t have to worry about this stuff. After an hour of stewing I knew I really needed to park this anger and let it go. I tried singing “let it go” to myself like Sumi and I did in the office when things weren’t going well at school, which at least made me laugh!

Luckily the view helped me as I popped out above the treeline. Wow.. Ok, this is an amazing place, the weather couldn’t be more perfect, the uphill doesn’t seem so bad, time to live in the moment…. As blog fatigue was setting in, I vlogged some of this day. Apologies for the mumbling, the puffing, and the wind noise, but here’s my one and only Te Araroa vlog:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Unfortunately I didn’t shoot any nice ending footage! I think I was getting tired. I had vague hopes of finishing in time to have afternoon tea at the Tongairo Chateau, since it is so iconic and I’ve never been there. The sign for the Mangatepopo track that connects the Tongariro Crossing carpark to Whakapapa Village said 3 hours / 8.5km. Maybe I could whack an hour off it if? My shoes were still looking new and clean, I felt like I could rock up to the Chateau. I hustled off full of hope.

An hour later the track had become another muddy mess with huge ruts, I’d slipped over and got my shoes and shorts muddy, and had given up hope of afternoon tea. Disconcertingly for 90% of this track Whakapapa village wasn’t visible at all. It felt and looked like I was heading into the middle of nowhere. I vaguely thought Ruapehu should be around somewhere, maybe it was the mountain behind the clouds? My geography is awful! After some audio book time, eventually the Chateau and village came into sight, illuminated in the late afternoon sun.

Just as I was wandering up to the Whakapapa Holiday Park entrance my phone rang. It was Donna from the Tongariro Holiday Park, asking if I’d had some trouble with a guy last night. Jamie had been in their office for the last two hours apparently, rabbiting on about wanting to buy their business, asking if they could order him a helicopter etc. We swapped Jamie stories like this for a while before I felt like I had to ask if he’d mentioned me. Donna explained that yes he’d been telling them about how I was his new girlfriend, and he was wanting to get to the Chateau to see me. @#$% I thought as the knot in my stomach grew bigger. I hadn’t given him any personal information, and we both felt like he wasn’t really that dangerous – just very manic and in need of some help. Still, my mind was going a million miles an hour frantically trying to figure out what I could do. He didn’t have a vehicle – nothing had changed there, so Donna said she’d let me know if he was able to hitch a ride.

The woman on the front desk at Whakapapa Holiday Park was really kind. She gave me a dorm room all to myself, went through the names booked into the lodge part, and reassured me they’d keep me safe. Helpfully, the lodge was down a driveway and off the road, but I was still feeling very jumpy and stunned by what had just happened. The first tears of Te Araroa because of an annoying guy… I felt better after talking to my friend, and then my Mum. Poor Mum had just heard about what Donna said, when my phone cut out because I’d forgotten to top up. Not reassuring considering what I’d just explained! At the same moment, Donna texted to say he had somehow managed to get a ride…

Feeling on edge and jumpy was an understatement, but I numbly tried to follow the routine, and make dinner. In the lounge there was an older couple, and the woman was doing some knitting. I’ll just hang out here I thought. In the end we got talking, and they turned out to be the nicest and funniest family from Kaiapoi. Their mid-forties son was with them, and the banter between them all was hilarious. He told the best story about a fateful family outing to Hawdon Hut, and I was thoroughly entertained as well as relieved to have my mind distracted. There was even free left over milk in the fridge for cups of tea! By bedtime, nothing had happened and I figured I could decide what to do about tomorrow’s hike in the morning.

While it was a rollercoaster of a day, the Tongariro Crossing was absolutely incredible. To be able to do it with the borders closed was really special. I don’t think I would have enjoyed it nearly as much with the hordes who are often there. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Also, if I hadn’t got the 8km-ish ride to the start of the track, I think I would have been pretty exhausted and possibly crawling in the dark by the time I got to Whakapapa!

Lastly, I’d just like to reassure anyone who doesn’t already know – I am safely home and not still out on the trail in wintery weather. The blog was usually published a few days late on purpose, but I got a bit behind. I promise I’ll keep writing it though, so you can find out how it all finishes.