🗓️ November 25, 2025

🏁 Kilometers: 770

Today's plan includes a 6-kilometer walk along roads and a 12-kilometer hike on forest trails. I notice an audio message on the what’s app group from Steffie, which I listen to immediately as I start walking. Her voice is broken, she tells us that she had spent the evening at a campsite with Steve and that she found him dead the next morning, likely from a heart attack. He was 66 years old. The police had been notified by the campsite manager. I call Steffie right away; the comfort of being able to talk about it would probably do her good. Having both started Te Araroa with Steve, we had gotten to know him and knew that he had suffered from Lyme disease for years. He often told us that he was feeling better but still needed treatment. He had mentioned several times that if he were ever to die, he would be ready to join his Lord and his wife in peace. We are both saddened by the loss of a companion and comforted by the certainty that he was truly happy to be on the Te Araroa path. He described his last day of hiking as the best since the beginning, a 10/10! I remember him as a positive and kind man. Hiking is an excellent way to grieve; I recall good memories and smile at his words.

The trail climbs into high, forested hills, and although the path is littered with mud and roots, we're so used to it that it becomes a formality. A few steps help with the steeper sections, and the canopy of trees protects us from the heat. After a few hours of hiking, I catch up with my companions, tell them the bad news, and we continue on as a group, united by our shared sorrow, but all aware that Steve would have wanted us to experience the adventure to the fullest. We decide that we'll raise a glass to him the next day at a bar.

We arrive at the evening's campsite, a couple who allow hikers to pitch their tents on their land and use shower in their self-built house. The place is rather rustic but undeniably charming, half furnished like a house and the other half like a lush greenhouse. We fall asleep to the sound of trains passing a little further down in the village; carried by the wind, we feel as if we're sleeping right next to the tracks!

🗓️ November 26, 2025

🏁 Kilometers : 807

Today we're leaving Ngāruawāhia, a small town of 8,000 inhabitants that holds great significance in Māori culture. The mountain where Māori royals are buried isn't far away. Last year, as the king was dying, his youngest daughter was elected Māori Queen and floated down the river with her father's coffin in four war canoes, each propelled by twelve paddlers.

Today we have the opportunity to cycle 22 kilometers along a bike path, so we rent a bike and set off for a bit of pedaling with Hal, Greg, and Ashley. The path initially follows the Waikato River and then ends in Hamilton, the fourth largest city in the country. We're going to have a Mexican lunch (I'm ordering a huge Margarita for an aperitif!) and then we have some shopping to do for the next six days of hiking, as well as a bit of laundry at a laundromat. Afterwards, I hike 14 kilometers in pouring rain (I've just passed the 800-kilometer mark!) to reach a famous English pub where about fifteen of us gather to raise a glass in Steve's memory. We reminisce about good times and celebrate our friendship. He would have loved it!