A Dangerous Business

Date: 3rd January 2024

Start: Parawai Lodge (km 1596.8)

End: Waikanae (km 1621.4)

Distance Travelled: 15.4 km walked + 9.2 km hitched (24.6 km total)

Total Distance Completed: 1461.4 km

Song Currently Stuck in Head: Dancing Queen by ABBA

Energy Levels: replenished through the power of pizza

Remember how everyone yesterday was feeling a bit lethargic and took a while to pack up and get going? Well today was worse. So much worse. My 6am alarm went off just fine and I could hear noise from other hikers below me. But in our fellowship, no one was stirring. No one stirred for quite a while in fact, so much so that by the time we all eventually got out of bed everyone else had left already. The time pressure we were under yesterday wasn’t a thing today despite the distance being the longest one so far. Bags were hoisted just before 9am, crossing over to the other side of the river ready to begin the final climb of the Tararuas.

A little bit of road walking took us up to the start of the track. A 14 km traverse awaited us and I wasn’t exactly sure what conditions we would be facing. Several comments on Far Out point to a 4-5 hour walk to the other side, whilst the ever reliable DOC sign told us we could expect 6-7 hours. Is this one of their rare accurate signs or their typical conservative estimate? The answer to that question would only be found through experience.

Starting off, I questioned who was getting the track done in 4 hours. Steep climbing up and over tree roots, navigating through/around mud puddles made for a slow start. At this rate it would take 7 hours and that’s assuming we took no breaks. Thankfully this part was only momentary with the track levelling off and keeping a gentle steady climb to the summit of Pukeatua. On our way we ran into Darren, a Waikanae local who had come out for an overnight trip to Otaki Forks and was now on his way back. Remember that name, it’ll become important later on.

Everyone was loving the track today. Nice and wide, easy gradients, although still with a few muddy bits. A far cry from what we’ve endured over the last 3 days, it was nice being able to walk faster than 1.5 km/h. Granted we were still doing a decent bit of climbing.

The metres kept racking up, our feet kept moving, and before we knew it the trees cleared and we could see the Kapiti Coast in front of us.

This really was the capstone to four days of spectacular tramping. In a way it’s been a reminder of why I love hiking but also how much effort it takes to get these sorts of views. Very few people will ever dare enter the bowels of the Tararuas, which makes seeing all those mountains a bit more special than it already was.

A long lunch was had on the summit, morale at an all time high but also eager to be back in town with all the luxuries that come along with it. Descending the mountain was equally as hard as the climb up it. That is to say, it was pretty easy.

Towards the bottom we left the Forest Park and entered forestry land. The hills were bearer, power lines stretched over every ravine, and there were plenty of signs of logging being done here recently.

This was probably the hardest bit of the trail. Now on an old forestry road, the descent were down steep rocky paths that didn’t have the same tree roots steps that we’d grown accustomed to. Grip was hard to come by, although annoyingly this didn’t effect Melly or Snacks in the slightest. Nevertheless, I got down in one piece, making a final river crossing and popping out into a carpark supervised by a horse.

At the carpark was our good friend Darren, which gave Vicky a small lightbulb moment: could Darren give us a lift to tonight’s accommodation? Yes he could, so Vicky, Snacks and I all piled in plus Matt and Melly’s packs.

Tonight was be staying in an old church just before Waikanae proper. I must admit, I don’t k is who actually runs the place or if the church is still acting as a, well, church. What I do know is that when the three of us arrived we had a bit of a dilemma. 3 people with 3 backs, but carrying 5 packs. This didn’t phase the girls, however.

The church was covered in mattresses that we could use for our sleepy time. Sharing this space with us would be Julien (last seen on the ridge above Pakiri Beach) and Leo from Israel. Melly and Matt arrived surprisingly quickly much to our delight because that meant we could order dinner. Namely, pizza. A lot of pizza. Plus garlic bread and ice cream, of course.

The thought of this pizza has kept me motivated through some really tough spots over the last few days, and now my hard work is paying off. Once we’d had our fill, thoughts then turned to the following day. I wanted to get to Porirua but that’s 50 km away and my feet are looking worse for wear. But, I kinda need to get there to ensure I get to Wellington on time for my ferry. My plan therefore is to walk as far as Pukerua Bay and get train the rest of the way. Slight problem, the trains aren’t running thanks to maintenance work so it’ll be a bus instead. Otherwise, I reckon it’s a good plan: I still do 30+ km of walking over spot he interesting bits and I get more time to rest my feet.

Sometimes my genius is almost frightening.