A Dangerous Business

Date: 6th January 2024

Start: Wellington (km 1702.6)

End: Island Bay (km 1715.4)

Distance Travelled: 12.8 km

Total Distance Completed: 1555.4 km

Song Currently Stuck in Head: So Much (For) Stardust by Fall Out Boy

Islands Completed: 1

Ah, at long last I can have a little sleep in. Key word there being little, I still had unfinished business to attend to today. Not before breakfast of course. As is tradition when I arrive in a big city/town, I looked up some good cafes to go to, this time picking one on Lambton Quay and ordering French toast with bacon, maple syrup, and cream. A bit decadent I admit, but c’mon I’ve almost walked the length of an island, give me a break. A delicious Wellington-invented flat white was also downed lovingly (fight me, Sydney). From there I made my way to, of all places, the library. For a few days now I’ve had the urge to write a physical letter to a friend of mine back in Brisbane (who shall remain nameless in the event they read this blog post). The library had computers and printers that I could use for this purpose. Beyond that it was also nice to relax in there. If it isn’t obvious, I find writing (well, some types of writing) therapeutic, letting me unclutter my mind which can at times be a maze of thoughts that aren’t always connected.

Once that was written and printed out (and another coffee downed), I set about my next point of business: new shoes. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it already, but after suffering through many stream crossings and wet boots for much of the Tararuas, I made the call to change to trail runners for the South Island. And I don’t know the first thing about trail runners and what I should look for. At first I tried Kathmandu as I’d tried on a couple pairs back in Australia and they had a sale on. When I put the same pair of shoes on this time, they just didn’t feel right. I went around the corner to Bivouac which is a bit more of a niche outdoor store and had a much larger range of shoes available. The trouble this time was that the shoes I was looking at weren’t available in my size. I was recommended a proper shoe store across the road, but I wasn’t exactly holding out hope for them, expecting them to be more focused on regular shoes. To my surprise, they had a decent selection of trail runners in my size and the staff were very helpful in pointing me in the right direction. I walked out carrying my boots and wearing my new shoes. I don’t know why, but putting on a pair of new shoes is such a great feeling.

Now that that was all out of the way, I made a quick stop back at the hostel to grab a few things, because I had an island to complete. Filling my day bag with water and snacks, I went back into town and posted my boots, reef shoes, and the letter back to Brisbane. Cost me an arm and a leg to do so, but at least I know I’ll have them waiting for me back at home whenever I do any hiking over there that doesn’t involve seven billion stream crossings.

At last, around 2:15pm, I stepped foot on the trail, making my way through the city centre out towards the harbour.

After a rainy morning, the sun was now well and truly out, as were the people, all enjoying a lovely afternoon walking/running/cycling along the harbourfront or jumping into the harbour itself.

On the edge of Oriental Bay is this line of boathouses that reminds me of the beach shacks that line Brighton Beach (I think it’s Brighton) down in Melbourne.

In my much lighter trail runners, I could immediately sense a difference in how I was walking. I felt fast, putting in less effort with each step than I did with the boots. On the flat pathways of Oriental Bay, I almost felt like running, only stopping myself when I was reminded of the fact that I still had 10 km to go and the flat stuff wouldn’t last forever.

In fact it barely lasted 10 minutes, a pink bollard with a TA logo screwed into it guiding me up the slopes of Mt Victoria. I was now following yet another one of Wellington’s beautiful walkways, the Southern one. The path led me almost to the summit of the mountain, stopping just short whilst still offering views out to the airport and Seatoun on one side and the city centre on the other. From there the pink bollards took me up and over a few smaller hills (fun fact: Wellington is hilly), giving me even more great sights.

The final hill of the day was Mt Albert. From up top I could see out to Island Bay and over the harbour to Remutaka Forest Park.

As I descended I started to get a bit emotional. It’s been over 2 months since I embarked on this quest and I’m honestly surprised I’m still here. Before this trail the longest hike I had done was 5 days. That’s what my mind and body were accustomed to. So when I got off Ninety Mile Beach all those days ago, I was mentally and physically ready to go, “righto, hike’s done, let’s go home now.” But I didn’t, something kept me moving. When I got sick and had to rest in Kerikeri, I pondered the idea of getting a coach back to Auckland to fly home. Something kept me going. All throughout the North Island there were times where I started planning how I would get back to Australia, even in the last few days as I approached Wellington. Yet here I am, still walking, and about to begin the latter half of Te Araroa. I’m sure those thoughts will continue to come, but I also think about what I will do when I reach that signpost in Bluff. Visualising that has kept me motivated through some rough patches. Can you see now why I like writing my thoughts down?

I was now at the bottom of the hill in Houghton Bay, staring out into the strait as a ferry entered the harbour and another ship passed through on it’s way to a port on the east coast.

The pathway went past many an expensive home, some of which had been built up on the cliffs and required a cable car to reach the road below. I made quick work of the path, turning into Island Bay, walking to the park which I had visited almost a year ago, finally arriving at the plaque commemorating the finishing point of Te Araroa in the North Island.

With no other hikers to celebrate with, I kept things simple, just two raised fists and a quiet “come on”. I didn’t exactly feel like causing a scene around the families and locals having a fun day out in the park.

This isn’t where today’s story ends. I still had quite a bit to do. Firstly, getting on a bus down to the hospital. I wasn’t going to the hospital, but there is a Woolies nearby, and I needed groceries for my South Island resupply boxes. For context, the South Island is very remote and sometimes the towns we visit just aren’t big enough for a proper grocery store, hence why hikers send parcels full of food to various points along the trail. From there, I took my grocery bags back to the hostel, dropping them off and being met by a very tired looking Vicky and Snacks.

Being the last day of the North Island, it was only fitting that we celebrated our achievement, namely going to an upmarket steakhouse. The five of us were joined by Callum and Anne, who had also made it to Welly today, and Sean.

Sean’s presence was of particular importance. He was taking the night ferry and was hoping to get work down South. This is important as it’s much cheaper to send parcels to the same island you’re on rather than send it interisland. We’d give him our boxes, he’d mail them for us. It took until close to midnight to get them full, after which point I did my usual night routine, went to bed, and tried to psych myself up for the journey ahead.