Day 29: Matadors
November 8th, 2019
Kilometers: 660.1-703.2
Trail Angels House to Rangiriri Pie Shop
The roosters near Glenn’s house were up at 5:00am meaning we were too. We all tried to get a little bit more sleep despite the noise.
After bandaging up my blisters, I packed up the rest of my gear and we were ready to go.
We said goodbye to Glenn on our way out knowing that today would be long but flat.
The roads leading back down to the highway gave us a few great views of the farmland we would be passing through and we were prematurely ecstatic about it.
After 3.5km along the quiet road, we met up with SH2, a highway. The trail here, unfortunately, is the highway. We had to walk on the small shoulder for another 3.5km in which we would have to move as far in as possible when a truck would come by. The force of the wind of the truck driving by nearly took my hat off multiple times.
Finally, we reached the Mangatawhiri River Track. In order to get down to it, we had to wait until there was no traffic, run across the 20 meter bridge, and then climb over the stile. Once over the stile, we then had to maneuver through shoulder high brush back under the bridge.
The River Track ran all along a stopbank, which provided some much needed relief for our battered feet. The tramping was slower than road walking but significantly less painful on the feet. The stopbank also ran through some of the incredible farmland we had seen from above.
After six kilometers on the stopbank, we found ourselves just a short walk away from the town of Mercer, which was home to a McDonald’s.
The track eventually emptied us out to the side of SH1. Luckily, we had a steel barrier in between us and the cars for the two kilometer walk.
At McDonalds, we all ate like Kings with every one of us ordering at least twice.
After examining the route further, we discovered that the next section of trail was actually very difficult and required more walking along the highway. With our feet killing us, Peter, Charlie, and I opted to find a hitch. Alex set off for what would end up being an eventful eight kilometers.
We found a hitch after about an hour of trying and were able meet up with Alex just outside of the Meremere Drag Strip. We found him laying in the shade.
To start his eight kilometers, he had to walk along the highway including a bridge section with almost no shoulder. He had to essentially stick his poles out so people knew to slow down. Then once he entered farmland, was chased out of a pen by a bull. He had to barrel role under a fence to get out just in time but had dropped his phone and charger inside the pen. He had to wait for the bull to leave to retrieve them. Finally, exhausted from his bull chase, he used his poles to try to push a fence down to get over it not realizing it was an electric fence. The shock apparently knocked him back and onto the ground.
After resting for a few more minutes and letting Alex recover, we set off on another stopbank. The trek was easy going for the first four kilometers until we entered a gate. As we were walking through the field, we noticed three bulls off to the side right where we were supposed to exit. Alex, Peter, and Charlie all found an alternative way through the pen without drawing the attention of the bulls. When they got to the exit, they grabbed wood and started making a lot of noise in an attempt to distract them while I did the same maneuver.
Unfortunately, either the bulls didn’t take a liking to me or they were actually scared but they charged. I dipped into a ravine and scurried up the other side and around the fence to safety. I joined back up with the others and laughed at how terrifying that had been. It’s very strange how many active pastures the TA goes through with bulls in them.
Regardless, we carried on for a few more kilometers along the riverbank until we had a small climb. At the top, I turned to take a picture of the river below.
When I looked the other way, I saw a huge field we were about to walk through with easily 20 bulls in it. Charlie decided to grab a huge stick and lead the way and we all managed to get through without drawing much attention.
With the bulls behind us, we cruised through the rest of the River Track including a beautiful portion through yellow flowers.
We eventually met back up with the road and decided that with the sun going down, we would all walk into town shirtless to even out our tans.
We cruised through the last 8.5 kilometers and found ourselves at the amazing Rangiriri Pie Shop. The owner, Cathy, took our pie orders for the morning and let us set up tents in the back.
As soon as we were done setting up tents, we went to the pub next door to refuel. We all got drinks and steaks, which were huge. Peter and I also splurged and got dessert.
A woman named Sheryl came up to us at dinner and offered us a place to stay for tomorrow night. We had seen her and her husband along the trail and spoken with them earlier. We would have to walk a decent bit further than we are planning but with minimal free camping options between here and Hamilton, it might work out for the best.
-Ethan