Te Araroa – Day 13

Puhoi to Takapuna

31 miles

Mile 255.3

Today wasn’t my favorite…it was all road walking. From where I camped last night, the Te Araroa follows the Puhoi River for a time. I had the option of renting a canoe to float down the river, but opted to walk the roads instead. Having now spent all day walking along busy roads, I’m thinking I should have gone with the canoe instead. Oh well.

I don’t have too much to say about today. I made good time since it was all easy road walking, but it was dreadfully boring. Thank god for audiobooks…

I passed through the towns of Waiwera, Orewa, Silverdale, Okura and a few others.

At the end of the day I got myself a room at a motel in Takapuna for the night, and resupplied at the Countdown across the street.

The most exciting part of my day was cleaning my ears with the cotton swabs I picked up at the grocery. It was really gross, but incredibly satisfying!

Tomorrow I’ll take a ferry across the bay to hike through Auckland, so maybe I’ll treat myself to a bit of a food tour!

Cheers!

6 thoughts on “Te Araroa – Day 13”

  1. Oh man, I really don’t envy you that road walk!
    I kayaked the Puhoi river and inlet a couple of years ago, and it would’ve definitely made a super relaxed start to your day.
    Hopefully the trek through Auckland is a bit more varied with the sights, even tho it’s still more road walking!

  2. Hey, they drive on the wrong side of the road!

    You made some good mileage today, you’ve still got your hiker legs, and you’re about a week faster than other seasoned thru hikers who’ve done this trail before 🙂

    I thought of suggesting a book for you while you were near the Andes, but forgot to mention it. But if you haven’t heard/read Touching the Void by Joe Simpson, it’s a great story of survival in harsh conditions at altitude climbing-good read. Love the snacks pics, so great you can resupply so easily. Enjoy Auckland!

    • Driving on the left side of the road has got to be the number one danger for thru hikers! I nearly got smushed yesterday while crossing an intersection.

      I don’t really have a choice when it comes to my pace. I only have three months, so I’ve got to average at least 30miles/day to finish in time! Shouldn’t be a problem though.

      And thanks for the suggestion! I’ll check it out!

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