Te Araroa – Day 6

by

Puketi Campground to Paihia

29.4 miles

Mile 156.8

I woke up to thunder and rain, but by the time I’d finished packing I had beautiful blue skies. At 7:00 AM I began the day with a short dirt road walk.

Before long the trail left the road for a cross country trek through private farmland. The route makes use of mostly stiles (wooden steps over a fence) rather than gates.

While making my way through some high grass in a marshy section, I suddenly found myself up to my nipples in water and muck. Great.

Having escaped the swampy sinkhole of death, I continued through pastures of I sheep, cattle and turkeys.

In all my experience of walking past cattle they’ve run from me as I approached, but New Zealand cows are different….they run towards me! I can’t tell if they’re being aggressive or simply curious, but either way it’s damn intimidating! I had to hop a fence real quick when these guys cornered me!

Having escaped the sink hole and the crazy cows, I promptly put my foot into a steaming pile of cow shit…get me off this farm!!!

Finally the cross country tramp through the pastures ended as a trail appeared again along side an overgrown creek.

Then I had to cross this cool swing bridge…

By noon I’d reached the Kerikeri River Picnic Area, where I stopped to bath in the water and relax for a bit in the shade on a picnic table.

Feeling refreshed from my swim, I continued towards the Kerikeri River track.

The track began at Rainbow Falls, following the Kerikeri River through dense vegetation for a few miles. I really enjoyed this section.

When the trail finally left the Kerikeri River, I had a short road walk to the Waitangi Forest, where I followed a pine needle carpeted dirt road through the forest.

About ten miles later I left the forest and joined a paved road that brought me down to the Bay of Islands.

After a short costal walk I reached the town of Paihia. I swung by Countdown to grab some salad fixings for dinner before heading to the Pickled Parrot Hostel.

For $15 I got a place to pitch my tent in the grass, and access to the laundry, kitchen and showers, but it was loud as hell and the “free WiFi” didn’t work, so I wouldn’t recommend this place. My salad was really good though…

Cheers!

8 thoughts on “Te Araroa – Day 6”

  1. Beautiful scenery, Austin, loved the countryside, and waterfalls. You picked a scenic part of the world to hike 🙂

  2. It looks like the ranch setup there is more like the midwest US rather than the West. There they are probably in 500 acre pastures, and probably get fed a grain supplement through the summer. Whenever they see people, they think “Cheeseburgers!!!!”. Just walk right through them, wave your hands and say git or shooo. They won’t mess with you. Not true for small packs of small bulls…..<500lbs. These guys behave like street thugs. You will know them when you see them.

    • Thanks for the advice! I’m just not used to the cows running up to and following me…it’s sorta unnerving.

  3. Oh my what gorgeous country. Like the stiles. We traversed over many on our UK trips.
    Sorry about yuck stuff. Know that new shoes are on the way wherever way is🤔
    Lv u G

  4. Looks amazing, can’t believe the diversity in such a short stretch. Appreciating your efforts in sharing!

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