The Tararua Ranges

Mile 995 / KM 1600
Wanganui to Wellington

Audiobook of the week: 'The Testaments' by Margaret Atwood

Song stuck in my head: ‘Headwreck' by Press Club

I miss: Wearing heavy sweat pants. The kind you'd never bring on a trip. The super cozy warm ones.

It was late in the afternoon, too late in the afternoon, when we started climbing out of Levin (dumb decision nr. 1). The trail notes did say that the track would be slow but I always brush those notes off as if they were written by some lazy ass old person who doesn't know how to hike. Turns out, the notes were spot on. I was huffin and puffin pretty much right from the get go and it was 8pm when I reached the hut after 5 brutal hours of up hill. It had started to rain and I was squinting trying to find the orange triangles in the dark that lead to the hut. A bunch of other hikers were already there and they had started a fire and were sitting around the table when I entered the warm and cozy room. One of the guys told me he was carrying a bow and arrow and was hiking barefoot. I had seen his tracks on my way up and had wondered who would do such a thing. Imagine... I'd still be at the cape if I'd try that, hunting for god knows what.

Martin who we had met on a campsite a couple of days before got the weather report and said it was supposed to clear up at around lunch time the next day. 'Sweet!' I thought, 'that means I get to sleep in'. In hiking terms 'sleeping in' means you're wide awake at 7:30am instead of 6:30am.

We had a chill morning and decided to head out after lunch, because we thought the sun would come out (dumb decision nr. 2). Everyone else who had stayed at the hut decided to take a zero to wait out the bad weather. In hindsight it’s what we should have done too but of course we didn’t. (dumb decision nr. 3). The four of us waved our goodbyes and we took about 20 steps when I asked Fred: "Is this a good idea?". "I don't think so" she replied with her feet already stuck in mud. "Are we going anyways?" I asked."I think so" she answered. So we did.

The Tararuas are supposed to be the highlight of the North Island but all we saw that day was a grey thick cloud, rain and a lots of mud. We hiked 7km in 4 hours and were soaked when we reached Dracophyllum hut which isn't much bigger than a broom closet. Initially we had planned to continue another 4 hours to the next hut, but we were miserable and no one wanted to keep going, so we decided to stay the night (first and only smart decision that day). We made a 2 person hut work for 4 and it ended up being one of my favourite nights on trail so far.

Making plans on trail never works out and I love it because I am the worst at planning things. Most days we have no idea where we’ll spend the night and I wouldn't want it any other way. There's room for spontaneity and going with the flow. Right now for example, the Canadians and I are staying at Ullis house. We met him on new years eve at a hut on trail in the Tararuas and he offered us to stay at his place in Wellington. The nicest guy ever! His house is located on top of a hill overlooking the city. If we had gone ahead and booked a place this would have never happened. He was kind enough to let us stay for two night before we head to the South Island tomorrow with the ferry. I cought a cold yesterday and I'm currently dying in Ullis livingroom spreading my germs everywhere. I feel so bad but can't really do anything about it other than drink buckets full of tea.

But back to the Tararuas. Luckily no one else showed up to the broom closet. The clouds had finally passed in the morning and we were able to continue the track. I was listening to Taylor Swift all day and was dancing around on the peaks because I was in a great mood, loving everything and I was all by myself up there. I knew the Canadians were far enough behind me to not witness my shitty dance moves. This section was amazing, even if it was a tough one to get through. The views were gorgeous and I appreciated the more technical hiking the terrain required. 5 stars for the Tararuas.

After two months of cold soaking my ramen and cous cous I felt like it was time for some hot food. We're getting into colder areas soon and there's nothing better than a hot meal at the end of a long day of hiking. So I went out and got myself a good ol' pocket rocket and I l o v e it. Adding something to the pack means loosing something else though so I got rid of my long sleeve sleeping shirt and I'll just wear my fleece at night instead. I also finally invested in an ultra light sleeping bag. The 'Feathered Friends Flicker UL 40' to be exact #nerdtalk. When the temperatures are hot it can be unzipped and uncinched to form a large quilt which is all I want most nights because I sleep on my tummy and tight mummy bags don't work well for me. It weights 519 grams which is pretty sweet. Not the lightest bag on the market but I feel like it's the right one for me. I was looking at the 'Spark 40' too because it packs up to an insanely small size but felt like it would probably be too cold for me and I wouldn’t want to carry a liner because that just defeats the purpose of a UL bag. Aaaalso, ÜLA sent me a brand new pack after mine had ripped in some places a couple of weeks ago <3 New gear all around! Love it!

Christmas sushi in Wanganui.

This made me so happy. We camped in the backyard of a family home and the mom brught out a bottle of wine and ‘real’ glasses. Omg.

Haka Fred.

Before…

after.

Such a sad sight. So wet.

The broom closet.

Morning shot of Tequila.

The new year’s eve crew <3

Birthday brunch in Waikenae.

Best date.