{"id":81,"date":"2019-01-15T13:00:49","date_gmt":"2019-01-15T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leetraynor.com\/blog.multi\/kiwi7\/?p=81"},"modified":"2026-03-04T06:57:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T05:57:36","slug":"kia-ora","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leetraynor.com\/blog.multi\/kiwi7\/?p=81","title":{"rendered":"Kia Ora!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nau mai, haere mai, welcome to another journey to the other side of the planet.<\/p>\n

This time it\u2019s the North Island, and the dates are February 9 – April 7, 2019.<\/p>\n

\"Whanganui
Whanganui River Journey, February, 2015, just after starting<\/figcaption><\/figure>There is still unfinished business: The Whanganui River Journey still has to be filmed after the loss of the camera on the last trip (2015). And while in Ohakune, there\u2019s plenty to do, and escape the crowds at the same time. Why not the Round the Mountain Track this time, instead of the Tongariro Northern Circuit? And perhaps shoot some views of Ruapehu in the sunset or sunrise.<\/p>\n

From there, I\u2019ll be heading off the Whanganui itself to do a track that I first found in 2009, and had always wanted to do since. That\u2019s right, ten years down the line and there are still tracks I have never done. It\u2019s the Matemateaonga, which runs from the central \u201cForgotten World\u201d (although nearly everywhere there is forgotten) down to the Whanganui River, to take the jetboat back. And it wouldn\u2019t be me if I didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

And from there it\u2019ll be on to New Plymouth and the other great volcano, Mt Egmont\/Taranaki. I did try climbing this twice in 2009 and won\u2019t be so foolhardy again. I\u2019m going for the Around the Mountain Circuit in 3-4 days, the track I should have done in 2009.<\/p>\n

And from there it could be to anywhere, although I suspect that Rotorua is the next stop.<\/p>\n

Place available \u2013 as of January 24, 2019<\/h5>\n

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.<\/p>\n