Nau mai, haere mai, welcome to another journey to the other side of the planet.
This time it’s the North Island, and the dates are February 9 – April 7, 2019.
From there, I’ll be heading off the Whanganui itself to do a track that I first found in 2009, and had always wanted to do since. That’s right, ten years down the line and there are still tracks I have never done. It’s the Matemateaonga, which runs from the central “Forgotten World” (although nearly everywhere there is forgotten) down to the Whanganui River, to take the jetboat back. And it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t add a kilometre or two onto the walk, and I hope to be starting by doing the Trains Track, from the south, and adding on a couple of extra days walking.
And from there it’ll be on to New Plymouth and the other great volcano, Mt Egmont/Taranaki. I did try climbing this twice in 2009 and won’t be so foolhardy again. I’m going for the Around the Mountain Circuit in 3-4 days, the track I should have done in 2009.
And from there it could be to anywhere, although I suspect that Rotorua is the next stop.
Place available – as of January 24, 2019
For anyone interested in seeing an Aotearoa far beyond the reaches of Tiki Tours and the like, you are free to join me on for the following tours. Please note that these are not guided tours in any sense. You are responsible for booking and paying for your own transport, hut/campsite places, provisions, and equipment. A certain amount of general physical fitness is required. I will be carrying a PLB (personal locator beacon) for life/death rescues. That said, there is a minimum amount of organisation that we will have to agree on, and I am not known to be short on advice. Prices given below are for orientation only, and are per person.
- February 10: Day excursion to Tiritiri Matanga from downtown Auckland (ferry, guided tour: $88);
- February 14-19: Whanganui River Journey, 6 days, start/finish: Ohakune. Kayak hire: $210. Accommodation (two huts, three campsites): $102. You need to be able to paddle a kayak in a straight line, and have done a wet escape. Alternatively, if there are two of you, you can share a Canadian canoe;
- February 21-24: Around the Mountain Track (Ruapehu), anti-clockwise, starting in Ohakune (taxi to/from track start & finish, approx. $20 each way). One Great Walk Hut or campsite (Waihohonu) on February 22 ($36), two ordinary Doc huts for the remaining nights ($5 a night or Back Country Hut Pass);
- February 27-March 5 (approx.): Trains Track/Matemateaonga. Starting from and returning to Whanganui, transport total is around $400 to be shared among all participants. Hut accommodation is either $5 a night or Back Country Hut Pass.
- March 8-12 (approx.): Around the Mountain Circuit (Taranaki), base is in New Plymouth, transport to/from there to the North Egmont Visitor Center: $35 return. Hut accommodation is either $5 a night or Back Country Hut Pass;
- Mid March: Day hike Whitecliffs Walkway (north of New Plymouth), will require at least one participant with a vehicle.
And, of course, if you are looking for someone to accompany you, I am open to suggestions.
You can also message me via the Facebook page.
About the Blog…
One thing that will be different about the blog this time around is that I’ll spend a bit more time on the preparations. Plenty of writing has been done in the last year, and it would be a pity if it wasn’t published, together with some of the pictures. So to bide the time between taking this trip, and preparing the main part of the blog for publication, I’ll entertain you with my tales of three major expeditions that I undertook in 2018:
- Completing one East-West transverse of the country on foot: The E11, from the Harz mountains to Berlin;
- Completing a second East-West transverse on foot: The E9, or Coastal Track, from Rostock to just a few km short of the Polish border; and
- A 240 km circumnavigation by sea kayak of the islands of Tjörn and Orust in Sweden, starting from and finishing in Gothenburg.
