I woke to the sound of kaka. Unsurprisingly, their call is “ka-kaaa”.
My blisters didn’t seem quite so bad this morning, but I was still concerned. I slathered on Gurney Goo (an anti-chafing gel) and more hiker’s wool, and hoped for the best.
Starting today, I’ll be following an 84 km mountain biking trail called the Timber Trail. Hopefully it will be well-defined paths (for the mountain bikers) and easier walking than my last two days - though on this first day the TA route does take a detour off the trail to take in the views from the top of Mt Pureora. We’ll see how that goes!
I headed off at about 6:30am. Only to be hit 5 minutes later by a nasty dose of diarrhoea. Luckily there was just before the start of the Timber Trail, and there was a loo nearby! Hopefully it won’t be a continuing problem 🤞.
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| The start of the Timber Trail |
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| Waving goodbye to fellow TA tramper Peter - he’s heading further than me today |
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| The official map of the Timber Trail. Could be handy! |
Unlike the last 2 days, the Timber Trail has wide, well-maintained paths, mostly under forest cover. A pleasant change to walk on. There are even markers every 1km telling you how far you have come!
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| Nice trail! |
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| 10am pic: Salami time! |
After a few hours however the TA branches off, and detours over the peak of Mt Pureora. The trail becomes steep for an hour, with roots and steps to climb up - a good cardio workout.
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| Getting harder… |
But, worth it for the views at the top!
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| Top of Mt Pureora |
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| Looking east to Lake Taupo |
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| … and views of Mt Ruapehu and Tongariro. That’s where I’m heading! |
The path on the way down however was very rough. The first few hundred metres were massively overgrown and I needed to fight through bush. The rest was boggy, eroded, steep and very slow progress. I was glad when it finally emerged back on the Timber Trail.
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| Do DOC maintain this? |
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| Um… no. |
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| Back on the Timber Trail. This is better… |
Back on the Timber Trail it was easier going. I was passed by a flurry of mountain bikers - they tend to do the trail in 2 days, stopping at the Timber Lodge in the middle. The trail was mostly under bush and protected from the sun, but I started longing for a coke, and kept taunting the coke ad (“Yes! Yes! Yes! No! I think I’ll try it first”). I don’t normally drink the stuff - but hopefully when I reach the Timber Lodge tomorrow I’ll be able to get one.
Eventually a sign marked the turn-off to Bog Inn Hut, where I was planning to spend the night. It was a 45-minute detour off the main trail, a narrow and occasionally boggy track. I was quite pleased when I got to the hut at about 2pm.
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| Bog Inn Hut |
Bog Inn Hut is a tiny rustic hut - only 4 bunk beds, holes in the walls and floors, very basic. Two other trampers were resting there when I arrived, but they left soon after - so I had the place entirely to myself for the night. The first thing I did was crash on a bed for a 2- hour power nap - I was pretty tired after the efforts of the last 3 days.
Then, time to dry my socks, inspect my feet (holding up well!), and have dinner.
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| Mmm, cottage pie! |
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| My bed for the night. Beats a tent! |
I’d heard reports of rats at this hut, and the various holes in the walls meant mosquitos may be a problem. But it was great to not have to sleep in a tent, so I was prepared to put up with the wildlife (though I hung my food off the ground just in case). I slept like a baby.
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| Today’s route |
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