Day 37: Hamilton to the Kaniwhaniwha Campsite (799-838.5)

Thursday, January 5

I'm going to start adding dates, because I know I'm behind on blog posts and there will be times when I go multiple days without good enough wifi to post. Just a fun side note if you didn't know this already (and you happen to live in America's Eastern time zone), if I do catch up on blog posts, it may seem like I'm blogging from the future. New Zealand is 18 hours ahead of EST, so I'm almost always a day ahead unless it's very late at night. Curly told me the other day that when it was New Years Eve before 2000, the most eastern area of northern New Zealand was packed with people from all over the world that wanted to see the first sunrise of the new millennium. New Zealand is the place to see the first sunrise of the day in the world if you think the time zones are what make that decision.

Now back to the day's adventures. I woke up around 7 and Kristen and I walked to the post office to mail my bounce box and we went back to the hostel to eat the FREE BREAKFAST and the yogurt we had bought yesterday. After breakfast we watched Bruno Mars Carpool karaoke on a computer at the hostel and I downloaded Spotify songs and the Te Araroa Hiker app. I had been hearing so much about the app from about half the people I've met on the trail. It was so nice that the hostel had computers - especially because the library in downtown Hamilton was closed until further notice because of safety. Now that so many people have laptops, barely any hostels have computers, but they're so nice for TA hikers who usually don't have computers. The I-SITEs are usually really helpful with making reservations, but I find it a bit easier to make them myself if possible.

I ate a total of 6 hard boiled eggs before I left the hostel at 10 am. Two before going to the post office, two with my yogurt and two just before leaving.

To avoid 15 kilometers of road walking, I left late so I could catch a bus just out of town to Whatawhata. The first bus of the day was at 10:15.

After getting to Whatawhata I wandered a bit to find a restroom (the public one was closed in April for some reason) and sat down somewhere to put on sunscreen. Road walks mean potential sunburns in New Zealand because there's usually no shade.

Around 11 I started walking to the campsite I hoped to make it to around dinner. Around 12 or 1 I stopped on a little used road in a patch of shade (shade spots were few and far between today) to eat a snack and take off my pack for a few minutes. As I was getting ready to start walking again I saw someone that had to be a TA hiker. If you're hiking a road in the middle of nowhere on the way to a forest with a big backpack, chances are you're walking the TA!

We said hi and started walking together. His name was Robin and he's from Germany. He started the trail awhile ago, but stopped for a bit to work. Now he plans to continue the trail until Bluff.

We both thought the campsite sounded like a good place to shoot for today, so we walked together the rest of the day. When we first got off the road onto a DOC trail through farmland filled with sheep, we followed the trail the wrong way. We quickly figured out we were off the trail, but it was a little confusing because there was a more obviously marked DOC trail going in the wrong direction. But once we figured that out, it was pretty easy to follow the trail to the road and then to the campsite.

All the farmland was filled with sheep today. I really prefer sheep to cows (if you have to walk through the field they are in). Cows stare at and follow you. Some people I've met on the trail have had cows start to run after them. And cow pies are much easier to step in than sheep poop. I walk around cows like I walked around horses when I worked at summer camp and so far I've been fine, but I'm definitely always aware they can start running at you if they want. Sheep on the other hand will stare at you, but will start running away as soon as you get within about 50 meters of them. The ones today were so cute! Most of the sheep I've seen on the trail looked like they had been very recently sheared, but the ones today were very fluffy and fun to watch jog away from us. They almost run like their legs are stilts. It's pretty funny.

The last couple of kilometers to the campsite were along a babbling river. And the campsite was beautiful. It even had garbage cans so I didn't need to pack out my trash! After Apple Dam Campsite in the third forest of the trip I've been a bit weary of campsites that say they're a basic DOC campsite. For some reason that one was a bit creepy and only had some mowed areas even though it was right off a road. But every other DOC campsite so far has been great. Especially this one and Repeater Campsite a few days ago.

Robin and I set up our tents, got water from the river and made dinner. When we arrived there was a couple at the campsite that had stayed here last night. They said the hike I was planning to do tomorrow took a little less time than the maps suggest, so I may try to sleep in and let my tent dry before I head out.

It was way too early to stop for me, but I really liked this sign on Old Mountain Road before the farm track

A really well marked turn on a road walking section of the trail

People picnicking by the river just before turning onto the river track to the campsite.

The nice and easy trail to the campsite.