Te Araroa Trail Blog Day 30: Huntly to Hamilton

I was a little worried that the failure to hike with a full pack after the last couple of days would jeopardise my enjoyment of the hike into Hamilton.

After making do with just a day pack the day before last, and slack packing with my pack yesterday, it felt a little strange to pull on a full pack this morning. But to my surprise, it felt no heavier than usual, and my body settled into the rhythm of feet hitting pavement as we hiked to the Huntly bus stop.

Waiting for the bus back to Ngāruawāhia from Huntly bus station first thing in the morning, ready to start our final day of hiking together!  

It was easy enough to catch the bus from the town centre, and in no time at all we found ourselves back in Ngāruawāhia ready to pick up the trail where we had left off yesterday.

The trail today involved hiking largely along the Te Awa Cycleway into Hamilton. As a result, the route was easy grade paved pathways, and being mid-week it wasn’t too crowded with mountain bikes.

A quick glimpse across the river from the Ngāruawāhia bank at the beginning of the Te Awa River Trail.  

It was nice to be walking alongside the Waikato River finally. Due to the section that we’d skipped south of Drury, we’d missed a large section of trail that skirted the river, and I felt cheated. The Waikato River is sourced from Lake Taupō, my home, and as such I felt a special bond and connection with it. It felt fitting to be walking along its banks for the first time on my way towards home later today.

Reaching the Upper Waikato Esplanade section of the trail as we leave Ngāruawāhia.  

The weather was also in our favour. There was ample cloud cover but no threatening rain, and the sun (for the moment) was staying hidden. The slightly cooler temperature meant that we were consistently hitting our target 5 kilometre per hour pace, and we raced along the cycleway in record time.

Along the way we crossed the large Perry Cycle Bridge over the Waikato River. I was surprised to see that despite what we’d faced so far, Julia was still nervous of being on the bridge over water.

The Perry Cyle Bridge on the Te Away Cycleway between Ngāruawāhia and Hamilton.  

Opened at the end of 2017, the bridge is 130 metres long, 3 metres wide and 18 metres high, and is the first cycleway bridge to be installed over a river in New Zealand (at least that’s what the news tells me)! Regardless, it offers some nice views up and down the Waikato river, and makes Te Awa Cycleway a great option for carbon neutral travel between Ngāruawāhia and Hamilton (just 25 kilometres in length).

The colourful Perry Cycle Bridge spans the Waikato River just south of Ngāruawāhia. Taking a look back downstream towards Huntly from a spot on the Perry Cycle Bridge over the Waikato River.  

I was enjoying myself immensely with the lack of strong sunshine and heat playing into my hands. I couldn’t help plucking a daisy from a paddock we passed along the way to adorn my hair.

Feeling the summer vibes with a daisy hair decoration, happy to be heading home for a couple of days.  

The cycleway itself is relatively uneventful, and is a hard walk being a paved surface the entire way which is cured in a bright white concrete.

Part of the Te Awa River Trail, a bright white pathway which meanders alongside the Waikato River between Ngāruawāhia and Hamilton.  

Although not shaded for its entire length, in some sections it does pass through substantial shaded areas, especially as it nears Hamilton city.

Taking refuge from the heat of the emerging sun, somewhere close to Hamilton city.  

As we got closer to the outer suburbs of Hamilton, we noticed that the buildings and houses on either side of the river began to become larger and more modern, and eventually were more often than not million-dollar plus properties.

Expensive houses start to appear on the banks of the Waikato River opposite as we get closer to Hamilton.  

But then we would duck off away from the river back into rural farmland and be reminded of the heart of New Zealand, including one paddock with a very cute resident donkey who I just couldn’t pull myself away from.

My heart was capitvated by the big brown eyes of this beautiful donkey on a short rural section of the trail between Ngāruawāhia and Hamilton city.  

In no time at all we found ourselves on the Waikato River Walk which meanders along the river into Hamilton, and it was only a few short kilometres from there to Hamilton central city.

Hiking down Pukete Road on the Te Awa Cycleway into Hamilton. One of the main routes through Hamilton, I was surprised to find myself driving down this road a few months after returning from the trail.  

We’d left camp at around 8AM this morning again, and by 12PM we had hiked 20 of our 25 kilometres for the day. I’d booked my bus from Hamilton to Taupō last night, but the only viable option I’d had at the time was a 9PM bus being unsure that I would make the 2.45PM earlier option. I’d already made plans to explore Hamilton for the afternoon with Julia, but the earlier bus now looked like a real possibility, so I hastily rebooked and told Julia I would instead be leaving slightly earlier.

A cobbled pathway marks the start of the Waikato River Walk which skirts the river on its way through the outer suburbs of Hamilton city, keeping hikers happily away from the hustle and bustle. One of the more affluent properties along the river trail, this one caught my eye with its array of flowers blooming in the garden.  

I felt like I was leaving her high and dry, and I was more than happy to catch the 9PM bus. I asked if she preferred me to do that, but she was (as usual) very gallant about it, and said that she’d probably get to her hostel, shower and eat before rolling promptly into bed.

We pause for a moment to watch two waka and their crew paddling and chanting down the mighty Waikato, a common sight in these parts. A substantial looking jetty on the river is adorned with ‘Danger’ signs, begging the question why it was constructed in the first place.  

On my advice she’d planned a big day for herself tomorrow, taking a tour to the Hobbiton movie set in Matamata. I’d told her that there were really only two big tourist-y things to do along the entirety of the trail. The first was Hobbiton, and the second was the Waitomo Caves. She took my advice on both and thanked me for it later.

Taking our first steps off the river pathway into the business of the main central business district of Hamilton city, our first city environment since Auckland almost a week ago.  

When we arrived in Hamilton my first stop was popular Te Araroa outfitters Trek N Travel to pick up some more tent stakes. To my utter disappointment, half of the lightweight titanium V stakes I’d purchased with the Duplex had bent in half over the course of the last few weeks, and this morning I’d bent the last of my ‘spares’. I was disappointed by the lack of robustness of the stakes, and opted instead for six more MSR Groundhog stakes to add to the two ‘spares’ which had been my saviour.

Feeling happier with my new purchase, Julia and I agreed to grab a coffee before saying our final farewells. Julia was once again planning on only one zero day in Hamilton, whereas my double zero would put us a day apart when we both hit the trail again.

The large Christmas tree is already erected in Centre Place square in the middle of Hamilton city, and I realise my homesickness may be due to the now imminent onset of the festive season.  

We ended up at the Theobroma chocolate cafe in Centre Place mall, close to the bus station. The weather was threatening, and by the time we finished our coffee and cake it was starting to drizzle. Poor Julia still had a few kilometres to walk back to her hostel, so we decided to cut it short and leave each other. We had a big hug and wished each other well, and I silently hoped I’d meet up with her somewhere again along the trail further on.

With big smiles we waved each other off… and I walked straight into one of the worst rainstorms I’ve ever experienced in New Zealand!

The rain hammered down for almost ten minutes, and I narrowly avoided getting soaked through before I was forced to cross the road to the bus station. I only had less than 100 metres of road to cross, and yet I walked into the bus station absolutely saturated… and laughing hysterically in the process (thus attracting some strange looks)!

I was around 20 minutes early for my bus, and there was nowhere to sit inside, so I hovered for a little while as I waited for the rain to stop. When it did, I opted to wait by the platform outside. The bus was due in five minutes, so I was confident I wouldn’t be waiting long. The wind had picked up and there was a chill in the air from the recent rain.

Eventually the bus arrived. The Hamilton passengers disembarked the bus and the driver opened up the compartment to release their bags. Myself and the other passengers lined up patiently, but were surprised when the driver shut the compartment after the last bag was claimed and then wandered off.

My bus arrives at the Hamilton Bus Station ready to take me to Taupō. But it would be nearly two hours before I am allowed to board.  

I won’t go into detail about what happened next, but the upshot is that there was a problem with the driver transfer. The driver who was supposed to be taking us to Taupō hadn’t turned up, and instead of allowing us to board the bus so that we could wait inside in the warm, the outgoing driver left us standing in the cold and wet and wind for almost an hour until he received more instructions.

Eventually I snapped. I’d developed a body-wide shiver and my legs and feet were starting to turn blue. I approached the driver and abruptly stated (after he’d been approached multiple times by other passengers) that perhaps he should consider letting us on board before one of us ended up with hypothermia. He saw sense and (thankfully) let us onto the bus.

Four hours later we pulled up at the bus station in Taupō and I ran to give Dad a hug with a huge smile on my face. After five weeks of not seeing Mum or Tilly, it was a tearful reunion but a happy one.

I felt accomplished. I knew there was still a long way to go, but I was ready to tackle it now. A couple of days rest would see me right, and ready to hit the trail fresh faced in a few days time.

prefer to watch?

Watch the full video from this section of Te Araroa below.

https://youtu.be/NvtSjuEE0a8