The last day.

29 May

Maunganui Bluff Campsite to Te Rerenga Wairua

KM 0

Distance: 40km

Elevation: ascent 654m; descent 515m

Steps: 59,000

Time: 7:35am - 4:20pm

And we're finished! 149 days after we took our first step from Bluff at the bottom of Te Wai Pounamu/South Island we were standing at Te Rerenga Wairua/Cape Reinga at the northern tip of Te Ika a Maui/North Island. But it was an unforgettable day for many other reasons apart from finishing* our adventure.

Weather conditions overnight had been windy with a couple of short rain showers but thanks to the wind our tent was dry inside and out. A rare joy! For the first time since we have known them Aud and Pol left camp before us because they had decided to do the final 40km in a single day, whereas we planned to camp at Twilight Beach. Stopping at Twilight would give us a short and relaxing 12km walk in which we could take more time to appreciate what's around us, reflect on what lay behind us and prepare for the end. Oh, and time to eat all the extra food (aka weight in our packs).

We stepped onto the beach with this deceptively calm view to start the day.

Soon after rounding the corner we were assaulted by the easterly wind which yesterday was nudging our right shoulders, but now was trying to force us into the Tasman Sea. Even the resting birds were reluctant to fly out of our way lest they be swept to Australia. Again it made for mesmerising swirling patterns of sand across the beach, but Vaughan's bare legs got a thorough exfoliation. Eliza was smart enough (not for the first time) to put rain trousers on at the start of the day.

We also saw one of the local wild horses walking on the beach, clearly not bothered by the weather.

For the first two hours the wind was all we had to deal with, but with an expansive view of the sky, and prior knowledge of the forecast, we knew that rain would soon arrive. It started lightly but built steadily until it was constant and occassionally heavy. It doesn't matter how good your rain gear is, rain like this eventually finds a way through; our right sides got wet first but our left sides stayed dry for quite a while. All our gear got properly tested for the first time.

  

And so it was for the rest of the walk up Ninety Mile Beach. Due to the conditions we decided not to stop for a morning tea or lunch break, but fetched the handily placed food from our bags and ate as we walked. This was probably the first day that we didn't have a 'packs down' stop to eat.

(Looking back on Ninety Mile Beach, our footprints the only disturbance.)

At the end of the beach is a headland which we had to climb over to get to Paengarehia/Twilight Beach where our campsite was. After 3 days of hill-less walking it was a bit of a shock to the system to be going uphill. At this point we passed Aud and Pol who had taken shelter in a cave, presumably to have lunch without being pelted with rain. We pushed on so we could get to the camp and get into some shelter and maybe get the tent up. Hills mean views though, and we got a few despite the rain, but because of the rain there are no photos.

On arriving at Twighlight Beach Micro Camp (yes, it's called a micro camp and I have no idea why) we met Niall, another TA walker who we knew by reputation and hut books alone. We chatted with him and he informed us of the updated weather forecast. He had stayed the previous night and explained that low lying parts of the camp had flooded and a lot more rain was expected that night, and stronger wind. With uncanny foresight he asked if our tent was strong enough for this weather. The camp shelter was a gazebo style, a roof with walls that only came half way up so there wasn't going to be anywhere out of the wind or rain. 

We decided to set up the tent anyway and found what we thought would be a good location. It was challenging setting the tent up in the strong wind and as we were trying to attach the fly one of the poles snapped and shattered! We both stood there staring silently in shock trying to process what that meant. We had a way to make a temporary fix for the pole, but what if it broke again at any point? Was this ultralight tent even capable of withstanding what was coming?

At that point we had walked 28km and it was only 1pm. Remembering that Aud had offered us a ride from the Cape if we needed, we decided that the wisest, and safest, thing to do was to continue on to Cape Reinga - a further 12km: 5 hours according to a signpost. Aud and Pol waked past just then and confirmed the offer so we packed up, added a warm, dry layer and set off into the wind and rain again.

(Our decision was later validated when we checked the forecast and found that a heavy rain warning, severe thunderstorm watch and strong wind watch were in place.)

We dropped down to Twilight Beach with this view, almost a carbon copy of the last few days, but a shorter beach.

At the end was another climb over Cape Maria van Diemen, the last headland before Cape Reinga. By this point the rain had stopped, leaving the wind to continue its assault alone. As a result we got to enjoy the best views of the day beneath a moody sky.

In that last photo the Cape Reinga headland is visible just beneath the cloud. The realisation that our adventure was nearing an end started setting in at this point. The end of the beach meant the start of our last climb on Te Araroa. 

 

Let me tell you, after 5 months, 3000km, and the appeal of the end, it did NOT take us 45 min to walk the final 2km. It took about 25 min despite the wind. In fact, the entire 12 km section took us 2h50m instead of the posted 5h. Even the wind gusts threatening to push us over the side of knife-edge ridge trail didn't slow us down!

At the top of the track we abandoned the packs to walk the final 300m to the signpost and lighthouse, and complete our adventure. You may be able to tell from our hair that the wind did not let up for our Moment.

Our elation was mostly unaffected by being wind blown and saturated from a full day in unsavoury weather. The celebration was shorter than we had envisioned because we had to head back to shelter and put warm clothes on. The foul weather meant there were no tourists there to boast of our accomplishment to, and bask in their adulation. The only other people there were Aud and Pol who finished at the same time (well, 10 seconds ahead of us because they ran to the finish line!), and Aud's father Geoff who was picking us all up and sauntered down the path after us.

Despite this, we took enough time to note the moment, knowing that we will be replaying times on the trail for months and probably years to come. 

One final thing - yes, we are still married after all of this! Eliza is looking forward to actually wearing her wedding ring again - her fingers swell too much on long days of hiking to wear her ring comfortably, so she has worn it instead on a bracelet for the entire journey - trail hacks! 

This isn't the last post for this blog:

We will do a gear review at some point,  for those interested in that sort of thing.

We will also do a post to answer some of the questions or comments that we didn't answer while on the trail. This is your chance to get in with any other questions - AUA! (Ask Us Anything)

And of course once Eliza is ensconced back at work, this will resume its regularly scheduled weekly dose of interesting-strange-cute-whatever!

*Of course, we still have to do the Whanganui River section to be happy to say we have finished Te Araroa. We'll do that in summer though.