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!