So Much Help Along the Way

Thru hiking might seem like a solitary adventure but it actually takes a lot of help along the way. Especially hiking Te Araroa. For me, it’s not just about the trail angels but also at home. Bryan is holding down the fort, working hard and taking great care of Chuck and LD. Mom and my friends are all cheering me on through the blog and I can’t tell you how much that helps. I have many hours alone on these long days and it’s great to get a boost stateside.

After we left Tutukaka, the next few sections really took a lot of help and the trail angels were out in force. We had a few river crossings to navigate and the first one had to be done by boat. James is the go-to for this crossing and we found out quickly why he is a legend on the trail. He runs an amazing hostel and boat service across the channel and really makes you feel welcome. We piled into his small boat for a quick ride across the river and then he gave us a really detailed and helpful guide to the next part of the trail through Māori land and how and when to make two more river crossings in deep mud before we got to the Tidesong camping grounds. There was a shot list of rules: (1) No pooing on this section, (2) stay on trail and (3) don’t use any of the dinghies that are resting along the shore. He treated us to some fresh oranges and filled up our water bottles before we headed out.

This hike across to Tidesong was remote and beautiful. We had some long walks in deep mud but were happy to have a hot shower and sweet campsite when we got there. Tidesong is a fancy bed and breakfast but the sweet couple that own the property built a great campsite for TA hikers. Our hostess Rose greeted us in the morning with snack bags and then donned scuba booties to escort us across the tidal flats and showed us how to connect through the farmland on the other side to the next hard trail section to Whangerai Heads. This portion of the trail was magnificent but very very steep with hours of climbing up to the summit with some daunting overlooks across the Pacific. We had a five mile beach walk and found a baby penguin that was worn out from the storm. I called a local bird rescue for advice on what to do and they told me to move him up to the rocks so he could rest. We found him a great secluded spot and fed him a can of tuna. He looked relieved to be out of the surf and I think he is going to make it just fine.

We made it across the Heads and then coordinated with another boat captain for a short ride over a bay for the final six mile hike across the beach and into our campsite for the night. It was a big day – almost twelve hours of hiking with a ton of elevation gain but we had a blast and found an Indian restaurant that delivered some great food to our campsite. All of these angels were so gracious and helpful and genuinely seemed happy to help us along the way. This is what really makes thru thinking so special to me and I love meeting these kind souls. Thank you Bryan and my new trail angel friends.