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**Due to an issue with phone backups on this section, I lost many of my photos between Cape Reinga and Auckland. As a result, many photos are missing and some of the ones I managed to recover and post here are damaged.**
After yesterday’s leisurely start, today it was back to the usual early one. I was nervous about what was to come. We’d spent some time poring over maps yesterday to see what the terrain would be like, but regardless of how much time is spent doing so, it seems to always be worse than you think. In particular, I was worried by the fact that the track through the Dome Forest was 15 kilometres and the estimated time was 6 – 7 hours.
I could only assume that meant it was bad.
I was one of the first to rise just after 6AM and took care of my morning ablutions before the other hikers were up. Matt was already nearly ready to head to the market and Jasmin was up and about with the kids.
I was conscious of a slightly faster heartbeat last night and this morning. I wondered whether something was off with my Graves Disease, but having not really experienced any other symptoms, decided to push on and see what happened.
Jasmin brought out fresh pots of coffee and tea (with milk!) for us at about 7am. I had already cooked my breakfast in the tent, so I joined the others to sit on the steps in the sunshine with my hands wrapped around my steaming mug of milky tea. I could easily have stayed there all day.
First up today, a Gum Boot Fence! Riding on the back of the Bra Fence in Cardrona a Gum Boot fence on Govan Wilson Road!
Despite trying to be a bit sneaky with my tent when I’d pitched it the previous afternoon, the sun hadn’t risen enough to dry it at all this morning. It was pretty wet when I packed it away. The cuben fibre (DCF) material the outer is made from makes it really easy to shake most of the moisture off, and unlike silicon coated tents it doesn’t tend to absorb much. The strong wind last night also seemed to have kept most of the condensation from accumulating overnight.
After downing the last of my tea I washed my breakfast dishes and packed everything away. I was first ready again, but Julia wasn’t far behind. We left well ahead of John, who had woken late. Kevin had already left before us and the Latvian girls, Guna & Agita, followed not far behind us.
Another overt track marker on the Govan Wilson to Dome section of Te Araroa. Signage through this region has been easy to follow.
We had to hike up the rest of Govan Wilson Road to the start of the Dome Track. The hill was a steady incline and once again my calves burned first thing in the morning. When we got to the track junction there was a shoe cleaning station. I spent some time trying to get the mud from Mt Tamahunga off my shoes, which was still there from yesterday.
A trail sign with an estimation of distances between various landmarks, helps us to plan our day ahead, whilst Julia cleans her shoes in the background.
The first part of the track was very pleasant. It wound its way through forest on a very gentle grade with a few undulations for about an hour and a half. Before I knew it, we’d already hiked 4 or 5 kilometres.
Setting foot to trail on the start of the Dome forest section.
Enjoying a short walk through the bush on an otherwise hot summer day.
For one of the first times, I noticed I was actually enjoying myself! We wound our way down to a stream, and stopped just shy of the crossing to have a snack. It had been about two hours already and we were making good time.
Julia barely visible up ahead as we sidle a stream on the Dome Valley Track.
Julia demonstrating proper river crossing technique followed by a high scramble back up a bank on the other side.
We finally came down to the stream and had to scramble down a steep bank and some rocks to get down into it. Guna and Agita caught us up and pushed past us as we headed into the next section.
Crossing the substantial but not tricky Waiwhiu Stream, and having a splash in the process.
The map said this section would take 3 hours. Again, I worried. We walked along the road on the flat for a few hundred metres before it started to climb steeply up through the pine trees to the brow of the hill. Once at the top, there was a turnoff to the right and a short climb to the ridgeline.
A natural limbo obstacle underneath this fallen tree on the Dome Track.
To my surprise, the ridgeline was actually a ridgeline! It undulated slightly but mostly it was quite flat. We seemed to be knocking out the kilometres so quickly! I knew we would have a climb to the Dome summit eventually, but for now I was having a whale of a time.
Dome Summit, just barely visible through a break in the bush cover in the distance. I can’t help wondering how much undulating we’ll have to do before we get there.
In a better mood, Julia and I got to talking. We talked about many different things: her favourite parts of the trail so far, what other trails she wanted to do, how she finds her hikes etc. It was really nice to have something to take my mind off the small little climbs and sometimes steep descents, as well as compare notes with a fellow hiker.
A bright orange marker points the way through Dome Forest.
Eventually we came to the climb to Dome summit. It was steep, but surprisingly it didn’t last too long. When we reached the top, there was a trig point but not much else. It wasn’t a particularly great spot to stop for any kind of a break, there not being much room to sit or stand, and no real views to admire, so we kept pushing on. We still had a good wee way left to go before we’d be done hiking for the day.
The claustrophobically located trig point at the Dome Summit. Views = none.
Straight away we were into a tricky scramble down some gnarly rocks. It involved getting down on my bum on a few occasions, as the drops were too high for my short legs and quite slippery. Every now and then my mind would turn to how thankful I was that we’d had such great weather this far into our adventure.
Julia negotiates the tricky and steep rocky scramble down from the Dome Summit.
The track continued in much the same vein as it had previously, and eventually we came to a boardwalked area into a mature stand of Kauri trees.
Checking out the sweet morning views to the coastline below in Dome Valley.
These trees were relatively old in the scheme of things, but still very young when compared to other large Kauri giants. We stopped here for a spot of lunch and I read the information on the sign. It’s such a shame that so many of these Kauri groves were felled back when the early settlers arrived. Tane Mahuta, the most famous of the giant kauri, is thought to be between 1250 and 2500 years old! It certainly puts things into perspective.
The informational signpost at the Kauri grove on the Dome Valley Track.
The track was a little rough still until we reached a viewing platform where we could see all the way to Warkworth.
Looking out from the Dome valley viewpoint along the ribbon of State Highway 1 towards the larger settlement of Warkworth.
Julia and I take the opportunity for a group photo at the Dome Valley lookout.
Interestingly, at this point there was a sign (pointing back the way we had come) stating that the track past this point was classified as ‘tramping’ standard. We had a bit of a giggle about that, before continuing on.
A sign marks the beginning of the tramping track, situated helpfully at the end of the section we’d just hiked! (For day hikers’ benefit only!)
From the viewpoint down to the main road, the track was much more touristy, clearly marked, nicely gravelled and with steps for much of the way down the steep hill as opposed to the scrambling we’d had to do the other side. Once again we seemed to have spent most of the day high up the mountain only to climb down steeply at the very last minute.
Hiking back down the hill to the red-roofed Dome Cafe.
At around 1pm we reached the Dome Cafe. We cleaned our boots and gear at the cleaning station and then made our way to the verandah at the cafe where we sat down for 15 minutes or so to recuperate.
Meticulously cleaning our boots at the kauri dieback boot cleaning station at the Dome Cafe entrance/exit.
We knew that the cafe would be closed (a quick Google search in Pākiri had confirmed the cafe was now permanently closed, although appears to be re-opening soon at the time of writing) so we made do with the lunch supplies we’d already carried in.
When lunch was done we braved the State Highway 1 road crossing (quite dangerous, as it was a Saturday and there were plenty of cars on the road).
The road walk to the Nanekoti Farmstay, our destination for the evening [ 1 ], was long, exhausting and painful (as all road walks seem to be). It started out on gravel roads and carried on for a few kilometres, all the while climbing steeply back up into the hills.
Hiking a long gravel road section of trail at the end of a tiring hike through to Nanekoti.
We took this turning, and then that, and walked along the tops for a little way. There were excellent views for miles and miles around, but the walking was tough on tired legs and feet. It was also getting a lot hotter.
Eventually the gravel road started to descend back down to a main road, which we walked along for a few hundred metres until we turned off once again onto another gravel road. I was really struggling by this point, and felt I was holding the others back. John had caught up to us at the Dome Cafe, but had been surprisingly slow. I noticed Julia was walking slower too. I couldn’t help thinking how such a great morning had turned to such a crappy afternoon, and I pondered the shame of it all to be ending the day in so much pain.
Julia and John power on ahead of me as I lag on the gravel road sections towards the end of the day.
After we’d crossed the second of two wooden one lane bridges, Julia stopped. I was so glad. I crashed down into the bank on the side of the road. The last 2 kilometres had seemed to take hours to complete, and there were still 2.6 kilometres left to go. Morale was at an all-time low among the three of us, and in between fits of hysterical laughter and mouthfuls of our chocolate supply (now running perilously low) we managed to summon the energy to get up and carry on.
I’d read in the trail notes that we still needed to traverse some farmland, and was conscious that we hadn’t even reached the gate yet. Eventually, I saw John and Julia up ahead duck off the road and up a small track across some pasture. This must be the farm track!
Walking through my first sheep paddock on Te Araroa, with this cluster of skittish sheep.
We walked past a small herd of skittish sheep who stared at us rather strangely as we passed by before bolting off in the other direction. I find walking on this kind of terrain difficult as there are often lots of concealed holes that you can easily twist your ankle in. I caught some a couple of times and thanked the universe I hadn’t managed to sprain an ankle (or worse).
Eventually, as I was walking along one section of the track I looked up to see the telltale blue colour of Kevin’s Duplex tent. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was almost as if it was right on the trail!
Crossing the final stile and bringing Nanekoti Farmstay into view.
Clambering over a stile with the last of my energy, I noticed that we were now on a gravel road, and a few metres in front of me was a beautiful grassy platform obviously the front garden of the beautiful property sat behind it down the hill. Dropping my pack, I flopped down onto the soft grass for a good five minutes before moving at all. It was bliss!
Finally mustering the energy to put our tents up, we ventured down the driveway to knock on our host, Denise’s, door. After a short period of frantic knocking she answered, looking a little perturbed. It seemed she was not expecting so many hikers tonight and our appearance was a shock (even though we’d phoned ahead from Pākiri).
Nanekoti Farmstay – Trespassers prohibited.
Regardless, after a minute or so she warmed to us and showed us around. There was a small bathroom in the big barn building and a little covered seating area outside that backed onto a large paddock. She warned that the paddock contained goats that might come around for something to eat when we cooked our tea.
Denise is from Switzerland and has been living in NZ for 12 years. Having moved from her home in Waiheke Island, a resource starved paradise in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, she told us she was a little worried about the future of using her place as a homestay for Te Araroa hikers, especially because of water usage issues. It was an interesting point and something I confess I hadn’t considered until she mentioned it.
A family of hens at the Nanekoti Farmstay.
She said water restrictions were a large reason why she limits the number of hikers who stay at her place each season. One night she had 12 people on her lawn. She asks people to limit their shower time, but says that there are always those that take very long showers (or multiple showers). She conceded that she can always order more water, but the problem is that it can take up to three weeks to arrive, by which point she might have run out. So one or two hikers taking a long shower today can result in leaving her without water for weeks later.
Their dog (some kind of border collie cross) named Luna hung around us all evening. A sweet girl of 9 years old, she just wanted to play and play and play. She’d bring a stick and drop it right in front of me, then back off waiting for me to throw it. Sometimes she’d stand there for a long time just waiting until it was thrown. My heart was captured.
The gorgeous Luna, our companion for the afternoon at Nanekoti Farmstay.
Luna explores Julia’s tent at Nanekoti Farmstay.
Julia and I made dinner around the side of the barn out of the wind. As we sat and cooked, I had a nice chat to Kevin. He was complaining of a sore shin, and despite my repeated insistence that I’d been walking on two sore shins (amongst other things) for days, his seemed to be somehow worse and potentially hike-ending. Myself and the others listened intently, indulging his tall stories whilst stifling giggles. Kevin is a lovely guy, but he does have a tendency for the dramatic ‘woe is me’.
One particular topic we discussed was a facebook post the Te Araroa Trust had posted recently. It said that last year 1300 hikers registered for the trail, but only 167 paid the donation. I’d been stunned when I read it. Based on my experiences so far with some people on the trail, it seemed to me that a lot of overseas hikers see Te Araroa as a cheap way of thru hiking a long distance trail (many of the other long distance trails require hikers to pay up front for a permit). We discussed this for a little while, before examining a comment which had recently been made to me: that many hikers don’t want to pay for a permit or make a donation if they also have to pay for their accommodation every night.
I had to consider that this was a fair enough point to make. Many (if not all) of the other long distance trails do not require you to pay for nightly accommodation unless you wish to spend your evening in a trail town. I left the conversation with the distinct feeling that there is a lot of work still to be done by the Trust to educate prospective hikers (especially aspiring International thru hikers) if this trail is going to go the distance.
By the time we went to bed, the strong wind that had been plaguing the last day and a half seemed to have died down, and I found that it was a nice warm night.
[ 1 ] At the time of writing, the Nanekoti Farmstay owners are taking a hiatus. Alternative accommodation along this section can be found on the Te Araroa Trust Website Govan Wilson to Puhoi Valley page. Return to reading.
prefer to watch?
Watch the full video from this section of Te Araroa below.
https://youtu.be/pjvpf-xqZzQ