Day 12: Tetanus? Nah

October 22, 2019

Kilometers: 221.3-246.8

Kerikeri Holiday Park to Paihia Hostel 

We woke up and although not totally back to 100% were itching to get back on the trail. We packed up and our group of about 10 headed off. A few of us had to stop at the post office on the way out of town to send our bounce boxes to Auckland. I triple checked that the address in Auckland was correct. 

After about a kilometer of walking we arrived at the Kemp House, the oldest building in New Zealand. It was built in 1920, so it’s not that old at all by other countries’ standards. 

After another kilometer or so of hiking we got to a road. We have mentioned road walking in previous posts but I’ll expand on it for a second. The TA, especially on the North Island, has a significant amount of road walking that connects the hiking tracks. Some choose to only hike the South Island because of this. Others attempt to hitchhike as much of the road walking as possible. 

The TA starts in Cape Reinga and ends in Bluff but other then that there are no “rules” on how one should thru hike it. For me, I plan to walk every step of the trail. I’m not totally sure if or when I’ll have an opportunity like this again and I don’t want to take a single step of it for granted. Of course, if down the line I get injured or am trying to prevent further injury, I may have to hitchhike. The people in New Zealand are so nice as I’ve already turned down multiple offers to take me further down the road. When you turn them down they think you’re super crazy, especially if it’s raining. 

After the road walking section we arrived at a gravel road track. It was 15km of very easy walking. I felt great after the last two off days. After awhile on the track we got our first views of the Pacific Ocean. 

Yesterday, both Ethan and I’s parents suggested that we get a tetanus shot as ours are a tad out of date. We didn’t quite have time while we were in town but I figured we wouldn’t be in many high-risk tetanus situations until we get to Auckland. Obviously, I was wrong and the moms were right. Here’s the whole squad gettin tetanus.

As we emerged from the forest track we got our first good view of the Bay of Islands. The water color was amazing. The blues and greens in the bay were gorgeous. Our pictures don’t do it justice. You should seriously google image search “bay of islands New Zealand” to understand what i’m saying. 

Once we arrived at the Bay we had officially walked from the west side of the island all the way to the east side. A little less impressive than from the north to the south, but we’ll get there. We walked alongside the bay for a few kilometers into the town of Paihia. After searching for the best priced hostel in town we checked in and had a two bedroom room to ourselves. 

The group met up at the bar right next to the hostel for dinner and drinks. With a big day tomorrow most turned in early. Originally we had planned to kayak a section of the trail tomorrow. However, there are severe storm warnings for our area, with high winds, rain and ocean swells up to 9 meters (almost 30 feet). So, we will have to forego the kayaking and replace it with a day of over 30km road walking in the wind and rain. 

-Alex