🗓️ December 03, 2025 (day off trail)

The weather forecast for the day was dreadful, so it was somewhat against my will that I decided to take an extra day off. It turns out, the weather remained mild, and it wasn't necessary to stay indoors all day, except for the night which was stormy. The four of us spend the day in the motel, chatting, writing the blog, and reading.

🗓️ December 04, 2025

🏁 Kilometers : 926

It rained all night, but by early morning the sky is only slightly overcast—the green light to set off again. I start at 7:00 a.m., quickly leaving Te Kuiti and following the Mangaokewa River, which will accompany me for the next two days of hiking. The river, swollen by the previous day's rain, has a worrying brownish hue… I hope I don’t have to cross it on foot. The trail meander along the left bank of the river for the first three kilometers, passing by old limestone quarries. To my great relief, a brand-new wooden bridge allows me to cross to the right bank. The trail then becomes a sort of track through the forest, and recent damage from previous storms make it difficult to follow. Some sections of the riverbanks have collapsed, forcing detours, and several uprooted trees on steep slopes block the path, making it even more challenging to cross. Sometimes the trail markers disappear for a few hundred meters, and I navigate by instinct, even though I have to stay more or less close to the river anyway. The path that winds along the slope isn't very well maintained and puts a lot of strain on the ankles.

Apart from these few difficulties, the route is very pretty, meandering through forests, meadows, and marshes, and staying mostly along the water's edge. I come across a few cows and sheep, as well as pheasants and even a whole family of turkeys. I don't take many breaks, but I feel good after these two rest days. For the last two kilometers, I cross an enclosure where many oxen are grazing. I cross with clenched teeth, praying they don't charge me.

And here I am, already at the evening's campsite after covering 20 kilometers. It's only 12:30 PM, but since the next campsite is 38 kilometers away, I stop here for the day. The place is absolutely charming, bordered by the Mangaokewa River and hills covered in meadows where the grasses sway in the breeze.

There's no cell service, and that's just fine. It makes it so much more special !

🗓️ December 05, 2025

🏁 Kilometers : 964

I wake up this morning with aching shoulders. They've been hurting for a few days now, after sleeping in an awkward position at the motel. I rummage through my first-aid kit, put together by my sweetheart Tiago. What a saint! He included tablets and patches to ease my muscle pain; I can feel they are working pretty quickly. The day's hike isn’t going to be easy, 38km of gravel paths and asphalt roads… I walk at a brisk pace, and it takes me 7.5 hours to complete. I listen to music the whole way to keep myself motivated. When I arrive at the campsite that evening, I meet up with my friends who have partially hitchhiked and have therefore arrived earlier than me. We meet a new group of hikers who introduced us to a game I'd never played before.

I'd missed playing games!