Pirongia traverse

On Friday I jumped off the bus from Hamilton at Te Pahu Road and simply walked towards Pirongia. My parents sharemilked at Te Pahu and I started school from there so it was a welcoming, familiar place. Our first jaunt to the beach was to Raglan, but the brakes overheated and we picnicked by the side of the road instead. For years I thought waves were the ruts sheep make on hillsides. 

A man was cutting and tying bundles of bracken on Te Pahu Road,to make traps for koura. He is doing research on their genetics, hoping to translocate them into hydro lakes to escape eel predation. 

It was a straightforward bush walk up the mountain, becoming gnarley only near the summit. 

There is a track in there somewhere. Interesting to find Dracophylum traversii on Pirongia. 

The day was cloudless and the panorama from the lookout tower was thrilling. 

Kawhia Harbour is to the left. 

It was about 6pm when I reached Pahautea Hut, 9.5 hours to walk 31km. I did mean to spread it over two days but the forecast was for cloudy weather on Sunday so I wanted to be off the top before then. 

Sure enough, Saturday morning was clear and the hut is in the photo... search along the ridge, it is more or less at the centre. From the hut to Hihikiwi (959masl) there is an amazingly engineered board walk, really good fun to be racing along high over the boggy ground. 

And then the horrid reality of a muddy slow torturous descent begins, enlivened by a loud "churrck" and the theatrical appearance of a golden pheasant! 

Yes, a golden pheasant... 

He showed no fear and no interest in me, and was perfectly feathered, sauntering around in rainforest at 800 masl. Explain that. 

About the rest of the descent I will only say, no injury occurred. But the sucking mud of Pirongia plus tree roots in Hakarimata forest have made my right foot sore. The trail shoes deform, so the foot deforms. Painfully if often enough. Had to use a painkiller today. 

I camped at a welcoming lawn on Kaimango Road overnight, new tent did the job. 

Today's mud varied from

to... 

and another lowlight was the trail slavishly following a fenceline... 

but I could see Pirongia well behind me, emerging from the clouds I'd beaten. 

and I spooked deer twice (fallow), goats three times, and one pig. 

The Moakurarua Stream meant wet feet as I navigated south. A bit more roadwalking and I was finally at Waitomo, having covered 32km since 0700hrs. 

So, my time to Waitomo was 2 days less than I had expected. Nothing like the thought of forecasted cloud to spur one on.

I will head for Te Kuiti tomorrow.