Te Araroa – Day 3

by

Utea Park to Kaitaia

28.3 miles

Mile 71.8

By 7:00 AM I’d packed up my gear, topped off my water and had made my way from my cabin back to the trail on the beach.

About 20 miles later my walk along the 90 Mile Beach came to an end as the trail headed inland through the small town of Ahipara. It had been neat walking along the beach, but I was ready for a change in scenery.

I swung by Bidz Takeaway for a cold drink before beginning the road walk to Kaitaia.

The road didn’t have much of a shoulder, forcing me to walk a bit closer to the cars than I liked, but the farmland I walked past was interesting enough to keep me entertained.

Two cars stopped and offered me rides, which was tempting, but my goal is to walk the entire length of New Zealand, so I turned them down.

By 6:00 PM I’d arrived at the town of Kaitaia. First I swung by Pak’n Save to buy a resupply before beginning my search for a place to stay for the night. This turned out to be more difficult than I’d anticipated. The first four places I tried were completely full, but ultimately I found a neat hostel called Backpacker that had room.

I spent the night organizing my food and taking care of phone chores on their shoddy WiFi available before crashing hard. Here’s a picture of my food for the next few days…I think I may have overdone it on the nuts…

P.s. I’m really enjoying this trail! New Zealand is an incredible place that I’m looking forward to exploring from north to south by foot.

Cheers!

12 thoughts on “Te Araroa – Day 3”

    • Just a few days. There’s loads of towns and places to grab takeaway along the trail on the north island, so I don’t really need to carry much food.

  2. That looks beautiful, they also (kinda) speak English there which is helpful!

    Grab some Whitakers chocolate if you get the opportunity!

  3. So much green everywhere, and such the bucolic landscape! Good on you to walk the entirety of both north & south sections, in true thru hiker style. On the trail, you always seem to find what you need in resupplies, It’s always interesting to see what you come up with to get the right ratio of protein/fats/carbs, even if it’s mainly nuts, haha. Hope you have clear skies this week and can avoid the foot sucking mud 🙁 Thanks for all the great photos and journal!

    • Thanks Dee! The last four days were incredible. I’m enjoying the north island much more than I’d anticipated. It’s nice being able to eat real food almost every day!

  4. New Zealand… looks fabulous and interesting. Look forward to your pics and journaling! Enjoy and stay well! Love and 😘

  5. Looks like you started around the equivalent of heading NOBO July 1 on the PCT? The TA FAQ website mentions you don’t want to be finishing later than early April, which would be the equivalent of Oct 1 @ the Canadian border?

    So, 3 months/90 days for 1,800 miles or 20 mpd. Easy breezy, right? Especially if you’re able to crank out some 30/40s to catch the laggards at the rear.

    PS I like the language differences as well: “January would be possible if you’re a swift traveller …” I guess you fit the very definition of “swift traveller”. LOL

    • I plan on rocking 30s the whole way. Should be able to knock out the trail in three months easily at that pace!…but we’ll see!

  6. Hey Austin! Still following your journey and enjoying every post! Your journey prompted me to update my backpacking gear (zPacks rocks! The Altras are awesome as well). 12 lbs. of gear sure sounded a lot more enjoyable than my old set up of 35+ lbs. Perfect for camping from my motorcycle as well. Now I just need to get your dad to buy a motorcycle that can go on the dirt and maybe he will go camping with me.

    Travel Safe!
    Paul

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