26. Pipiriki – Whanganui (Mail run)

Wednesday, March 6: Cloudy the whole day with a little sun shining though occasionally and a sprinkle or two of rain

Brennagh’s/Dave’s

Sleep was unusually fragmented – I managed to fall asleep fairly quickly (what a difference a bed makes) but awoke from about 12:30 for an hour and a half before sleeping through to 7:00.

Pipiriki Cabins
Pipiriki Cabins
The one guy with the very compact tent had it packed away in next to no time and was a Tasmanian on the Te Araroa (south to north) and was going via the road (in lieu of a jetboat) to National Park. Also spoke to a British couple with daughter at breakfast, who were also going kayaking together with the older American woman (jetboat up, kayak/canoe back). As for my breakfast the egg was the last thing over that I wanted to eat (muesli bars excluded for the time being) and there was enough coffee for one cup. The last remaining yoghurt in the fridge had been opened and had started to sprout a fungus so that had to be thrown away. Read more…

25. Ngapurua – Puketotara – Tieke Kainga (TMM 5) – Pipiriki (Jetboat)

Tuesday, March 5: Cloud and fog to begin with becoming hot & sunny

Tramping: 11.8 km

Whanganui River Adventures, Pipiriki Campground 2522 Pipiriki Raetihi Road, Pipiriki 4576 (shared cabin, $25)

Sleep was very interrupted last night; the camera switched itself off when the battery was low and I hauled it inside; even so it took a while to get to sleep.

But I was up pretty much on the dot of 7:00, and everything packed away quickly so that I could get on the go by 8:40. Tried capturing the kilometre posts and I knew I was doing about 4 km/h. The crash site of a Vampire jet plane which remained lost for many a year was passed. The Caves were well signed and I thought that a detour would be admissible, and saw and photographed one cave with stalactites. Track condition was variable, but there were a few more markers today. One big new slip even had danger signs on it and was taped off, but by this time no more kilometre posts could be found. Read more…


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