Whinally some whio!

24 April

Tongariro Holiday Park to unnamed campsite

KM 1082.2

Distance: 32.4km

Elevation: ascent 822m; descent 963m

Steps: 50,100

Time: 7:00am - 4:00pm

While it rained overnight, and got quite chilly, we were happily kept warm and dry in our cabin at the Tongariro Holiday Park. At breakfast this morning we met another NoBo'er, Hamish, having breakfast, and we also met him at the end of the day as he passed up our campsite (we'd taken nearly the only good spot in what is really just a turn-out in the gravel road we are following).

After a very short road section this morning, we walked through a historical monument of Te Porere Redoubt. We had visited this site a few years ago, and were happy to come back - it is very impressive and deserves more recognition than it seems to have gotten. It was the site of a pretty major battle between British forces and Māori in what is termed the Land Wars.

This is Mahakura, one of two pa sites at this monument - fortified, entrenched hilltop defenses, that were used in one of the last battles of the Waikato Land Wars. The walls are 8-12 feet high, and taper to 4 ft wide at the top (yes, the interpretive signage in the area uses Imperial units). Both structures were built by Te Kooti and his allies over just a few days each. Te Kooti was a prophet and reluctant war leader in the 1800s. There's a great book about him called The Prophet and the Policeman or something similar, if anyone wants to learn more.

We then joined the 42 Traverse Track, which for the most part is a 4WD road. But the part we started on, Cokers Track, is... not well maintained. It has a lot of really dug-out sections, and consists mostly of slippery clay, and neither of us would be at all interested in trying this section on mountain bikes. (You can't quite tell in the photo, but this is looking down a 25 or 30 degree slope.)

So we were relieved to finish that section and get onto the 42 Traverse proper, even though it meant getting our feet wet (to match the rest of us which was wet from rain and wet vegetation that we had had to push through on the less-maintained and -used Cokers track). We soon forgot any worry about our wet feet and clothes though when we noticed the two whio just upstream of us! You may be able to zoom way in on this photo to see them... 

Or you can see them here in this photo. The downside of not carrying a super expensive, heavy camera on the trail with us - zoomed in photos are not the best. We have been hoping to see some whio for quite a while now, despite the fact that these birds are still very rare. This was a real treat and highlight for both of us.

We kept on through intermittent showers and sunshine - thoroughly enjoying both - and getting views like this one. It is an absolutely spectacular forest, dominated by kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides), whekī (tree fern / Disksonia squarrosa) and tī kouka (cabbage trees / Cordyline australis).

We were both more than ready to set down for the night when we found a place that is "good enough" for us to rest. A water source just a few minutes down an abandoned track, and we are fully off the road. As the sun set, we were passed by quite a few 4WD vehicles on their way out of the park - some hunters, some just out enjoying their 4WDs in their true habitat.

Finally, here are a couple of the plants that caught our eyes today - although we haven't been able to identify them! The one on the left is a tree; on the right is a fern.