• Te Araroa Day 64
• Palmerston North to Te Whare o Moturimu – 28.8km in 7 hours 30 minutes
• Tonight’s temperature guesstimate: close to zero!

According to the trail app I only have 221km to go until the official finish of the North Island section at Island Bay in Wellington – that doesn’t seem far at all! I said ‘see you soon’ to Mum and set off from the central city by bus back to where I’d started from the other day. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day and the trail began on a fenced (yay!) walkway through fields belonging to Massey University. I ran into a nice couple who stopped to chat and were really interested in the trail.

While there was still a bit of reception I told my friend who’s originally from Palmerston North that we’d really enjoyed our time there. Her hilarious reply that succinctly summarises Te Araroa had me laughing away to myself for quite some time:

I couldn’t believe my luck that the trail then went under a busy road onto another walkway, and only had short sections of quiet country road. It must be one of the only main centres without busy road walking. There were tracks through three ‘green corridors’ which were beautiful little spots alongside a river. The earliest had been planted in 2001 so the trees and shrubs had grown a lot. Another was 2006, with a third area in 2011. The project seemed similar to Te Ara Kakariki initiative that I’ve done planting for in Canterbury, and it’s always heartening to see successful areas.

I think the native plantings distracted me… I took a wrong turn up a hill road, and walked half a kilometre before realising! Still, at least it hasn’t happened too often! I met two more friendly ladies after the road changed to gravel, and a beautiful border collie who leaned against my leg while I chatted to its owner. The trail through trees was nice for a couple of kilometres but then it was back out on an open gravel road climbing. Eventually I reached Kahuterawa Reserve which had the first toilet in 17 kilometres – yay!

Onwards the trail went to Arapuke Mountain Bike Park, up the climbing track that quickly began to feel endless. It had been a long day, especially after quite a few days of lighter walking or resting. Passing the ‘halfway mark’ of Te Araroa was satisying though and even if the distance changes every year it was awesome of the council to put up the sign. In a final pocket of reception I heard from Ian – he was on the Timber Trail but had decided to leave the trail at Taumarunui for the time being, which seemed sensible in the cooling weather.

On increasingly deserted gravel roads, my feet were aching and hip flexors screaming as Moturimu Whare finally came into view. It lived up to all I’d read about it – modern, beautiful exterior, comfortable – just missing a door. I think this has something to do with consent, but it was chilling down outside and dusk was approaching. I hung up the curtain to half cover the doorway which somehow felt better alone in the middle of nowhere. Nearby there was a flash longdrop toilet courtesy of the council, and a stream for water. I got changed, collected water, unpacked, made some dinner, and settled in to listen to a women’s cricket podcast with my tired feet up.

Only a minute later I heard voices and suddenly there were feet outside the curtain. Being nearly dark I’d thought no one else could be staying here tonight, but kiwis Pieter and Stephen had made it all all the way from the city centre. They were also going south like me, and had each been walking alone until meeting each other and joining up near the Whanganui River. I learned Pieter had been a long time member of the Auckland tramping club, and Stephen had quite a bit of experience too. I couldn’t believe my luck that they were planning the same schedule as me through the Tararuas. They were exhausted, and it was so cold we all got in our sleeping bags at 7pm. I was wearing every piece of clothing I’d brought and still shivering at first. It was a clear night and must have been close to freezing I think.