A Dangerous Business

Date: 13th December 2023

Start: Taumarunui Canoe Hire (km 1046.6)

End: Whakapapa River, Owhango (km 1071.2)

Distance Travelled: 19.7 km walked + 5 km hitch (24.7 km total)

Total Distance Completed: 998.2 km

Song Currently Stuck in Head: Higher Ground by Rasmussen

Hiking Pole Tip: missing in action

By this point I’m getting both used to and fed up waking up to a soaked tent fly and floor. I’m starting to see a bit of mould growing on my mattress because I never have the time to properly dry it in the morning, this one being no different. The early wake up wasn’t because of any arduous hiking ahead of us – it was just a lengthy road walk to Owhango – but due to a safety briefing at 8am. A large crowd headed back up to the office where Jono (no, I’m not speaking in the third person) talked through the route we’d be taking, how to navigate through rapids, and how to use the canoes we’d be given (read: how to avoid tipping over). I fear I’ll forget most of it when I get to Whakahoro in 6 days time, but I have a little experience canoeing with by grandfather in Australia so I’m a bit more confident than most of the people in the room.

The briefing lasted for about an hour, after which we went back to the shed, finished packing and set off… only to backtrack after 400 m because I’d left my rain pants behind. Righto, take 2, leaving camp at 9:45 onto a sealed road heading south away from Taumarunui. I hope you know the drill by this point: headphones in, Fellowship of the Ring on, start walking.

Still in the midst of King Country, the road passed by hilly fields filled with all sorts of animals. Horses, cows, sheep, and… an ostrich?

I don’t know what his origin story is, but I kept seeing him in photos and videos of the TA when I was planning my hike. He came over to say hi, following me down the road a little ways. Seemed friendly but didn’t feel like getting too close. Back to the road, I kept plodding on, hoping to catch a glimpse of a recognisable pack that would signify a nearby friend. All I got instead was a glimpse down into the Whanganui River.

This was another day where the weather couldn’t make up its mind. One minute you’re in the middle of a shower, the next you’re being scorched by the sun. The latter parts weren’t all the fun with my rainjacket on, but I opted to keep it on knowing how frequent the showers were coming.

Soon enough, I did see a pack cover I recognised, the bright yellow cover of Maud’s pack. Alongside her was Anne, setting their packs down underneath a large tree for lunch. I joined them, to my dismay finding out that I was lower on Nutella than I thought I was. No chance of it lasting till Whakahoro, hopefully I can find another jar before then otherwise I’ll be back to plain wraps for lunch.

Eating lunch also seemed to have the effect of driving off the rain and bringing the sun out. Now it felt safe to remove my rainjacket. Good thing too as the road we were on started to climb. It was fairly gradual, but did go on for a long time.

Despite the slow onset of fatigue I could feel coming on, my feet kept moving, soon reaching a logging site on the side of the road, briefly chatting to one of the workers there. Not much further on I had to stop and take a break. Lo and behold, the same worker pulls up and asks if I want a lift into town. I mean, is the Pope Catholic? As we arrived in Owhango I saw Snacks, Vicky, and Sonja also arriving on foot. I got dropped off and headed back to meet up with them, only to discover that I had lost the tip of my hiking pole. It was nowhere to be seen. I retraced my steps back to where I got dropped off, I checked all the pockets of my bag and clothes, but no tip was to be found. My running theory is that it popped off in the back of the ute and I failed to notice it. Bit of a shame, but thankfully pole tips are easily replaceable.

Because Owhango is a bit limited for accommodation and we wanted to get a head start on tomorrow’s huge day, we decided to press in for 2 more kilometres to a free camping spot at the start of the 42 Traverse on the banks of the Whakapapa River.

Across from us was the bridge leading to the start of tomorrow’s track. I’m not really sure what to expect, the comments on Far Out aren’t the clearest. Some say the trail is a breeze, some are saying it’s slip city. Because of these unknowns, the consensus of the group seems to be to start very early so we’re not pressed for time. Great. I mean, I could start on my own time but it’s always nice being with others when attempting a potentially tough piece of track. We’ll see how I go getting ready in the morning, even when highly motivated to get up before the sun I still seem to be much slower than everyone else. Guess I’ll have to make up the time on the track.