Whata day!

5 May

Pāhautea Hut to Whatawhata

KM 791

Distance: 32.2km

Elevation: ascent 607m; descent 1482m

Steps: 47,400

Time: 7:00am - 4:30pm

The original plan for today was for a very short day, basically just down the mountain to the campsite at the base of the range. This was based on estimated track times of 4-5 hours for the descent; and then another 5-6 hours for the next section. But we were apparently feeling our oats (even though we're having muesli for breakfast these days), and our TA legs were on, and decided to try to push it a bit.

We were both awake early (apparently when you fall asleep at 7:30, you can wake up really early but still have had a good night's sleep!) and got going before the sun did. So we made it the short distance to the summit of Mount Pirongia shortly after sunrise. The hut had been fully enclosed in mist and fog, so it was a beautiful surprise to get to see the sun and some of the surrounds from the summit.

The next few hours was descending through the forest, noting as the trees and understory changed as we descended from just over 900m elevation to about 200m elevation in less than 2 hours' walk.

Eliza also picked up a hitchhiker for a short time - a weta! Not knowing what it was at first, she brushed it (definitely not panicking, why do you ask?) off her leg quickly, only to slightly regret her haste once she realised what it was.

We made it to the campsite at the base of the mountain by morning tea time, and it was a no-brainer for us to carry on with our day. This took us along some quiet country roads and then onto a farm track for several kilometers. 

This was more challenging than it might seem at first, with some good hills thrown in for good measure, as well as a paddock of young bulls that we were supposed to cross (we took a slight detour to let the bulls have their paddock undisturbed). We did also get regular reminders that we are still in karst territory, although we're seeing a lot of greywacke as well in the landscape.

Once we left the farm, after about an hour of quiet rural roads, we got to a place where we could choose to walk on busier rural roads (state highways) or take the marked track by the riverside. We chose the quiet, riverside route. And regretted our decision when shortly thereafter the trail devolved from walk around the edge of this cornfield to walk through this random swamp with no trail markers. And cross this stream with very steep banks... That was about when we climbed the steep bank back up to the road, jumped the fence, and took the roadsite route from then on. That "short" time we spent on that part of the route was long enough for Aud and Pol, who had been an hour or so behind us on the trail, to make it to our accommodation ahead of us.

Oh yes, our accommodation in Whatawhata deserves a mention. We are staying in the back yard of the Backyard Pub. It's literally just a grassy area out back, just a few meters away from, and in full view of, the back deck of the pub - so it will be a noisy night until the pub closes! It's free to pitch a tent back here, which is awesome - and also meant we felt extra good about having a few beers with Aud and Pol, as well as potato wedges and pizza for dinner!

One thing to note about this pub's music choice - it is basically an alternative rock station circa 1997. Think Gin Blossoms, Better Than Ezra, etc. So Eliza is particularly enjoing and singing along with pretty much every song.