Start – Auckland
Finish – TA km 735 (nr Hampton Downs)
Daily Distance – 22km + Auckland-Pokeno bus
TA Distance – 735km
After much deliberation, this morning saw me boarding a bus to leave Auckland. In the end I really
couldn’t see the point in spending 2 days pounding pavements just to escape the sprawl of Auckland.
There are a multitude of far more challenging and beautiful trails that aren’t on the TA route, so I plan to
stop off and do some of these on the way to Bluff instead. This brings me to the other reason I’ve decided
to skip ahead. I found out when planning this next section that the Hunua Ranges, which are immediately
after the escape from Auckland, are closed because of storm damage incurred over the winter. As such,
I’ll need to add in some additional walking to make my 3000km target. Anyway, that is how I came to
start my walking day from the small town of Mercer.
In previous forest sections I’ve noticed a condition, which I have come to refer to as “the bambies”. The
symptoms are that despite usual competence, the sufferer will temporarily become totally unable to walk
with any more grace or coordination than a young deer on ice. This condition has claimed many a mud
stained derriere in these early weeks. Fortunately, the condition usually lasts less than an hour, after
which competence returns. Less fortunately, I discovered today that the same condition can occur where
navigation is concerned. All day I seemed to find myself losing the trail. This led to all manner of
merriment, such as bushwhacking up a steep hill I should have gone around, losing feet in muddy bogs
and scrambling over more rusty barbed wire and electric fences than I care to mention.
Dubious navigation aside, the walking was generally lovely. Much of the day has been spent on easy
trails following the scenic Waikato river and nearby stop banks. A quiet field next to the river was my
home for the night. After a few hours, German Chris arrived having caught a later bus from Auckland, so
the evening was spent recounting the day’s events and discussing options for the upcoming Whanganui
river and Tongariro national park sections. As always, it feels good to be back on the trail.
