Monthly Archives: February 2018

Day 27: Christmas Day. 75 degrees and sunny on the beach in Whitianga, New Zealand. I made jalapeno cornbread and a ton of salad as my American dishes to share with everyone tonight, then spend some time catching up with friends and family who were still on the 24th. I hung out with the other Swedish couple that is in the same bunkroom I’m staying in, then started an early Christmas dinner with everyone there and we all talked about our different Christmas traditions. I realized that although I had cleaned all my clothes, I had forgotten to wash the dirty socks that I had left drying out on the outside of my pack, still caked in mud and funk, so I spent some time hand washing them.… Read more

Day 20: Woke up around 6:30 to a great breakfast spread at Dennis’ and made arrangements with him about picking up my packraft. We all went out to the Te Araroa Trailhead in Hunua Ranges and started hiking along the Wairoa River, feeling a bit slow to start, tempted by chilly swimming pools all along the river, but quickly gaining speed and we were flying down the trail the rest of the day. There were many people on the well groomed and graded gravel Massey Track, with an excellent view of Hunua Falls along the way.

There were many birds to be seen, including a morepork that flew out of the canopy, a silvereye that posed just right for a photo, and the complex songs of tuis and the loud wing flaps of the NZ pigeons could be heard.… Read more