Day 7: Wheres The Beef?

October 17, 2019

Campsite After Retea Forest to Apple Dam Campsite

Kilometers: 154.1 - 172.8

I refused to wake up early today. I was sore all over. Everybody was. Retea destroyed us and everyone else who attempted it. I stayed in my tent until almost 8:15 at which point Toby told me to get out of my tent as he set off the day. About half of the campsite had cleared out at that point and the other half were moving at a snails pace.

We took our sweet time getting out of camp and set off around 9:45. Alex wore his wet shoes and socks from yesterday, I wore my gel insoles tucked into my sandals. We had a 6km walk to the one and only, Mangamuka Dairy. To say I was excited was an understatement.

I was so excited in fact that I forgot to take a picture of the actual dairy! After a day in Retea, a burger and ice cream were exactly what I needed.

Alex beat me to the dairy and was there with the English woman from last night’s camp and Toby. Nicholas joined us moments later. We went in and each ordered a bacon and egg burger with a side of chips (fries). I also got a double scoop of chocolate ice cream even though it was 11:30 in the morning.

When the burgers arrived, there were no patties... it turns out that at Mangamuka, patties are not included in the burger, you have to specifically ask for it. Regardless, Alex and I made quick work of our “burgers” which were still satisfying. We also each got a piece of candy for later in the day.

With full bellies, we set off to tackle the remaining 12km, which were all on road. Right after the dairy, we crossed the Mangamuka River.

Just after the river, we came to an intersection where we turned left onto the gravel Omahuta Forest Road. The road would wind us up through the Omahuta Forest which revealed some of the most beautiful farmland I have ever seen.

Winding road leading to the Omahuta Forest

Pastures with grazing cattle and sheep rose up the steep hills eventually giving way to the Forest.

The climb continued for multiple kilometers and eventually leveled out around 340 meters. Near the top, we came across The Giant Stump. This huge tree stump, which has to be over 7 meters wide, is the remainder of a Kauri tree which was killed by the Kauri Dieback disease. There is a large-scale operation going on in New Zealand to eradicate the disease from the forests.

300 meters beyond The Giant Stump was the junction down to the Apple Dam Campsite. The sign read 500 meters to the campsite but everyone in camp agreed it had to have been well longer than that.

Camp today is very crowded. The campsite is of average size but rocky grounds make certain spots impenetrable for take stakes.

Of the original nine we had starting at Manganui Bluff, only Toby and Nicholas have remained with Alex and I. On top of us four, there is a German couple, a family of four from Switzerland, an English woman, an Aussie couple, and three others.

After setting up camp, I realized why I had been having so much pain in my right leg. Both my right knee and right ankle were swollen well beyond normal size.

I believe I hurt something during a slip and fall in Retea yesterday, which either didn’t swell up right away or I was too exhausted to notice. Shoutout to Alex for not mentioning any of my falls during yesterday’s post.

To combat the swelling, I soaked my leg in a cold mountain stream for about 10 minutes, took Advil, and got a good stretch in. A zero day in Kerikeri will be much needed.

Alex and I made a dinner tonight of chicken rice mixed with brown rice and quinoa with a peppered salami stick. While one of our more basic meals, we have had it three times so far and we always seem to enjoy it.

Tomorrow we tackle the Puketi Forest. We will have about 25km to walk starting with a steep descent down to a river which we will walk through for about 5km. After that, we climb back up 300 meters to where we will camp for the night. The combination of length and difficulty will make for an interesting challenge with a bum knee and ankle.

-Ethan