New Year's Eve in Whanganui

Hello world, it is almost 2013 here in New Zealand!

I spent my Christmas with five other TA hikers and one friend of a hiker. We hitch hiked into Ohakune, bought food and alcohol and then got a ride up part of Mt Ruapehu's southern slope and then walked into Blyth Hut for a couple nights of relaxing and fun.
Guests included:
Alex from NZ
Arne and Bjorn from Belgium
Philipp from Germany
Robert and Holly from Santa Barbara
Nick from Exeter

The group minus Robert and Holly began the Whanganui canoe trip section of Te Araroa (hell yah there's a canoe section!) on the 27th. The trip is from Whakahoro to Whanganui - about 150 km - and is pretty awesome. We paddled imported Old Town "Discovery" canoes and one "Nantucket" kayak. No portages and plenty of rapids, though none are particularly extended which makes it safe for just about anyone to paddle. I recommend this trip highly!

Weather was super random with sunscreen and a ready-to-wear rain coat being in consistent use.

No luck fishing with this scrappy branch, fishing line, salami bait combination...
Only made one proper attempt though, for one reason or another.

Now back to the trail/road tomorrow!
I'm starting to smell the end of the north island/ see the light at the end if the tunnel.
Activities for tonight include an obscure Holiday Park (basically these cool campsites which exist across New Zealand) party with fireworks and music.

Shout out to some of my friends and family from back home also missing the Holiday season:
Liam's in Mokpo/Seoul, South Korea
Becker's in northern South Africa
Mark's in Dubai
Charlie's in Shenzhen, China


Pictures include
-Christmas brunch (with leftover ham)
-My first warm weather Christmas- but we did a small day hike and reached the first of Ruapehu's snow fields
- Beautiful Whanganui River
- Cool waterfall

Live from Ohakune

Sorry for the delay in posts, I actually updated this and failed to publish it a week ago in Taumaranui at McDonald's!

It's been lots of walking since Te Kuiti, with such momentous places as the Hauhungaroa Range in the Pureora Forest where Alex and I saw no other walkers for three days. The forest reminded me of LOTRs.
There was also the 42nd Traverse from a bit beyond Owhango and taking us on our biggest day yet, 45km, because we'd booked two campsites on the epic Tongariro National Park and had gotten held up in Taumaranui with a temporarily lost piece of mail.

Tongariro was extremely rainy/extreme and then super gorgeous blue skies. It was too rainy and windy for am attempt at Ngarahoe/Mt.Doom. This National Park is awesome and you have to go if you go to NZ.
I just reported most of my Taumaranui post! The Hobbit was seen at the local theater originally opened in 1935. $10, a fine deal and an intermission to boot! Movie was lacking a bit of plot I'd say given the 3-6 legitimate cliff hanging near deaths and the 3+ Gandalf saves the-group-just-in-time scenes. Otherwise it was a pleasant break!
I'll now try to imagine and answer questions from my readers, kind of like Bill Simmons, but without any real questions.

Q: how many miles have you walked, and what is a hard part of the Te Araroa Rrail?
- Max , Lewiston ME

A: well I think in kilometers whenever possible now and I think I've walked at least 1150 km. the next 150km is a river trip from Whakahoro to Whanganui. This is an exciting combination with a couple days off for x-mas when Alex and I will meet up with other TA hikers at a hut on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu, the highest mountain on the north island at 2700+meters. It has seven glaciers. Check the pics!

Q: what is it like walking with this girl, Alex from Blenheim, NZ? Isn't it slower walking with a girl?
- Wilson, Los Angeles CA
A: first off, Wilson, Alex was a borderline champion rower in high school / I'm pretty convinced she'd be a lightweight Olympic rower if she'd not gotten tendenitis. This is a long winded way of saying that she's often faster than me on big climbs and basically every type of terrain except wicked steep downhills. So I'm not going slower at all really and stop your anti-feminist questions!
Having someone to walk with and talk to day in and day out has been invaluable to my mental state. She's a super cool girl and I'm lucky to have chanced into walking with her! We've come across a total of 6 other TA walkers since November 1.

Q: Are you eating enough and drinking enough and what are you eating and drinking?
- W and I , North Hampton NH

A: I am trying on both accounts (water that is for drink!) and doing pretty well. Oatmeal ('muesli') and dried fruit in the morning, peanut butter and Nutella equivalent/honey for lunch and rice or pasta for dinner with my protein sources being: cheese, salami sticks, tuna, sardines. I have granola bars, chocolate and apples with peanut butter for snacks.
This diet combined with snacks and meals like milkshakes and meat pies in the towns has kept me somewhere close to the weight ( though in convinced my upper body is smaller) that I left NH with. Ok, more to come later. Best to everyone!

Nick


Pics include random Te Kuiti cement factory, mt Ngarahoe and Ruapehu (less volcano looking), the Pureora Forest, the sweet Waihaha hut (900 backcountry huts in NZ) and a few others!

Live From Taumaranui

Quick update: 1000km in!
-My shoe broke and it is somewhat self-repaired. Alex sewed it with my fishing line and needle and when that broke 2 days later I used a piece of rope.
-seeing the Hobbit tomorrow hopefully
- didn't see other walkers for 3 straight days in the beautiful Pureora Forest on the Haugungaroa Range- where is everyone?
- climbed highest peak yet- mt Pureoea at 1165meters- the summit pic is from there
-I'm sold on the metric system as making way more sense than miles
More details to come.

Live from Te Kuiti

Arrived in Te Kuiti an hour ago. The four days since Hamilton have been good. Alex and I did a pretty substantial road walk out of Hamilton and had to wait out a pretty monster thunderstorm during lunch.
That evening we did some of the Kamahunga Range as the weather cleared and camped at the base of mount Pirongia, the tallest mountain we've come across at around 3000 ft; didn't get to the picnic ground where we camped until after 9.
Big rain that night but it was relatively clear in the morning and we made the summit by noon- 10km or so- and then onto the first hut of the trip- sleeps six with mattresses- and ran into fellow TA hiker, Philip from Germany, as the weather turned.
Heavy rain and even some hail/sleet over the next 15 hours and I got through a lot of my book- "Tai Pan"- and the dawn arrived clear and beautiful!
There were then two days of bush/farm track walking and last night we camped on the south side of Waitomo.
This morning was a 11km strenuous farm/bush track and near the end I got kind of charged by a bull and had to make a run for the fence we were going over and Alex was ahead and in the process of getting over the fence. I was a bit spooked and I've since eaten a cheeseburger to feel better about it.
Next stop is Taumaranui after 5 days' walking through the Pureora Forest Park and even higher mountains! I think the terrain is starting to be more like the mountains I'm used to.

Pictures show me and Alex chasing the American dream, snow on Ruapehu in the far south from the hut on Pirongia, fellow hiker Philip, and the view from my tent two evenings ago at sundown.

Live from Hamilton

Currently on a rest day in Hamilton writing from an internet cafe that is for gamers. 
Some big days on the trail/road since Auckland.
Cruised down into 'King Country' which is the area I'm currently walking in and is so named because the Maori King lives in it.  We passed by the Marae, Maori religious/spiritual building, in Ngaruawahia which is only open once a year on Waitangi Day in March. 
Waitangi Day is in celebration of the Waitangi Treaty which was signed in the mid 1800s at some point by the ruling British guy, Lord Hobson I believe, so perhaps I'm related.  The relationship between the white colonists and the native Maori seems to be one of the most symbiotic in the post-colonial world, though I've heard that the Treaty of Waitangi, which set the basis for co-living among the whites and Maoris, was based on misunderstandings from botched translations on both sides.

I'm over 25% of the way through the trek, at about 780km walked or so.  Feet are feeling pretty good and morale too. 

My internet time is about to run out and I've got to get some flight/visa stuff sorted, but I'll post more stuff soon! 

Live from State Highway 1 McDonalds

Just a quick update that I've made it through Auckland and the Hunua Ranges.
The pictures show a cool simultaneous sunset / moonrise from Ambury Park - a farm/campground in south Auckland.

Pro bono ad for Narragansett Meth Spirits Stoves

Live From the City of Sails

Arrived in Auckland two evenings ago. Stayed two nights at Alex's great uncle and aunt's place just north of the city. Walk into the metropolis has been cool as it is just in the last 20 miles or so that there is any significant coastal development, then bam, multiple-million dollar modern/post modern coastal house after house. Rolling green hills similar to Beverly Hills in LA.
Did our biggest day, a bit over 40km from the edge of the Dome Forest to Orewa beach a few days ago.
Saw the city on a rest day yesterday and it was in fact a city- 1.2 million out of NZ's population of a bit over four million! Picked up my parcel at the post office of my extra shoes, soap, batteries etc and walked the city a bit.

I hope all's well with everyone!
Nick

Thanksgiving in Matakana

Not sure what day to celebrate Thanksgiving in NZ, but its Friday here and Thanksgiving at home! I'm into. Matakana about 475km into the trail and still hiking with Alex. We stayed a night with a 'healer' two nights ago who lives on a mountain in Waipu- a 41 year old Harley riding lady who believes in the power of love to slay evil- which spelled backwards is 'live' which you can do as long as you want if you eliminate 'dis- ease' from your life. Oh boy. Anyways that was a cool half day off from walking in the rain. We also hitched a boat across a channel to Marsden Point- an industrial export center of Northland- mainly pines on giant ships bound for places like Singapore. Te Araroa is kind of like a scavenger hunt sometimes and it's nice to have Alex's Kiwi accent getting us random things like boat hitches. There have been beach walks on deserted beaches and road walks and mountain/forest tracks since my last post, and I think I've left 'northland' and am approaching Auckland within a few days.
Happy Thanksgiving !
Nick

Picture is of me atop mount Tamahunga yesterday.

iPhone post!

Alex and I re: dinner at the mousetrap hostel and a picture of sore feet in Kerikeri, ha!

Live from Ngunguru

Hello all,
Apologies for the lack of pictures, but hopefully I'll soon be able to get my iPhone sorted out so that I can update straight from that to the blog. 

Updates:
- Did a five night trip after Ahipara through Herekino, Raetea, Omahuta, Puketi and Waitangi forests.  The first couple forests were the densest jungle walking I've ever been a part of and Alex and I didn't see anyone else on the trail until we reached Kerikeri, a town where there is a pleasant river walk with a waterfall and powerplant on which there were quite a few people.  Raetea forest is probably the most 'feared' forest in the North Island on the Te Araroa track, but it was marked well enough I'd say.  I fell five times in that forest because of crazy steep mud tracks, which I guess NZ is famous for.
- A notable night during the forest stretches was in front of Jon and Erin Collins' house on the outskirts of Takahue township, and we had breakfast with them - fresh snapper fillets and toast!
- Between the Omahuta and Puketi forests, there were 5km of upstream river walking on the Mangamukahukahe Stream and Waipapa River.  We chose to walk on the 'wet weather' trail of the Waipapa in lieu of the river walk, which was a bad idea because it was 2.5km of walking on a vertical slope, but sideways. 
- Did a pretty monster day to try to reach Mangamuka township where there was allegedly a pub, and thus beer, but we got there and the pub was closed and for sale and it was raining and we were on a road and there was a fat Maori guy with a fish branded into his left temple/forehead who was washing his clothes on the ball-hitch of his sedan and smoking a cigarette. 
- Upon arrival in Kerikeri we bee-lined for a cafe/eatery called the "Bake House" which was recommended by a guy we met on the Kerikeri river trail.  I ate 6/8 of a large $13 bacon and mushroom quiche and a selection of Alex's food.  We then began walking to Paihia, where a rest day was planned, but stopped 5km short of town and camped out on Bledisloe mountain which overlooks the Bay of Islands, a 'majestic' area of Northland's east coast. 

-  Took a rest day the following day in Paihia at a cool hostel called the Mousetrap and cooked up some delicious dinner + good cheap wine.  *Note- cheap in NZ is different than cheap in Spain and the best bang for your buck booze is definitely wine as a 12 pack of not good beer is $20 and this is wine country!

- A few more days of walking south has brought us to Ngunguru where last night on the way into town I called up a lady, Linda, who'd left her number and the offer of a free stay on a facebook post I'd made to the Te Araroa group.  So Alex and I spent the night here last night and had cheese + crackers + wine + homemade nachos + salad + fresh fruit and Jim, the husband, has even offered to let us use his kayak today, which we probably are going to do before getting going again on the road. 

Practical Stuff:
-Ngunguru is 315km or so into the Te Araroa track, which is 1700km for the North Island and 1300km for the South Island, and is on the east coast, to which we have traversed from the west coast, where I made my last post from Ahipara.
-My feet are doing pretty well!  A couple of blisters on the balls of my feet mostly due to walking on road after walking up a river a few days ago.  I'm wearing a pair of sneakers, Asics.
-I might have seen a kiwi the other day in a forest, they're the pride of NZ and can't fly and are kind of fat. 
- I'm already ravenous compared to my appetite prior to the non-stop hiking and I've dropped a couple pounds already I'm sure.  That's likely partly to do with only having drank one beer since getting to NZ, ha! 
- Possums are a major nuisance here and the Department of Conservation (DOC) works hard to poison/trap as many possums, ferrets, and rats as possible because they are introduced species which are killing off the native flora and fauna.

Ok, until next time,
Nick

So I was in Costa Rica for two weeks.   The plan was to continue on to South America but I scratched that and came home and am looking for work as a ski instructor.

 I did not go ziplining so don't read any further if that was the first question you were going to ask.  Here's a summary of Costa Rica though

-Arenal Volcano.  Had fried chicken three consecutive nights at a local "soda", which are small little food spots.

- The volcano is almost a perfect cone.  Very pleasing to look at, I mean its basically like a giant geometric triangle and that seems to please some part of my brain.

- Second night there experienced first earthquake, once it was over and realized it wasn't that bad I thought 'that was awesome'.  Then I thought about how the last time the volcano erupted was after an earthquake hit and we were staying 5 miles from the volcano.

 -Did a guided walking tour in the primary rain forest with our guide, Oscar.  He looked like Seth Rogen.  I was most fascinated by the ants in the forest.  So get this.  The queen ant when born leaves her colony and goes off to fornicate with like 200 different colonies and retains all there little ant sperm, then settles down and makes a new colony of her own and just continuously gives birth for 12 years or so.  So I picture this little tiny queen ant being all stoked that life is just all play then all of a sudden shit gets real and she gives birth to thousands of babies.

-Pic to the left in on a bridge through the forest.  DID YOU KNOW:  Trees in Costa Rica can develop roots at any point.  So a branch 84 feet in the air can decided it wants more water up there and just start dropping a long giant root.  Crazy.



-  Our guide had two pieces of advice.  I forgot what the first one was.  The second one was don't stick your fingers in any holes.  Here's a pic of a tarantuala.

-  Had first of many 'casados' - local dish of rice and beans and salad and steak/pork and very delicious.





-  Next went to the beach.  It was remote.  Locals on bikes everywhere.  I dunno how to explain it.  But here's a pic from an afternoon at a 1/4 kilometer beach hidden in the hills.  Black sand too, from volcanos!

- Pura Vida, a Costa Rican phrase.

- Last two nites with my mom stayed at this mountain resort cos I found a ridiculous deal on tripadvisor.  Place was wicked cool.

- Did all of this without a GPS. Refused to let my mom talk me into getting one.  Only got lost once, for about five minutes.

- After saying cya later to my mum at the airport I went up to a mountain town of Monteverde for a week.  Stayed with relatives of a friend and it was awesome.  4 mile walk into town each day, two different 'cloud forest' reserves.  It kinda does this weird misting thing all the time cos the mountains catch the clouds.  Locals call it pelo de gato (hair of the cat).  That was my favorite part of the trip.  No pics.  Then decided to become a ski instructor instead of just floating around.  We'll see how that decision goes.

Mike

Live From Ahipara

Hey all,
Just going to give a quick update here.
-Got into Auckland on the 30th and had to change my return flight at the last second before leaving San Fransisco because of a confused visa issue
-Got through customs and bio-security and ended up on a bus to Kaitaia, farther north on the north island, at 7:45AM (plane got in at 5:30 or so)
- Checked into a hostel, the Mainstreet Lodge, which was full of German travelers working at a zuchini farm
- Met up with a Kiwi girl, Alex, who is also walking the Te Araroa
- Did my food shopping for the week
- Woke up the 31st and hitch-hiked up towards Cape Reinga with Alex
-Got rides with a surf bum middle aged lady and her hairy dog, a young Mauri worker coming back from a break, and a 75 year old ex-cop
-The old cop, a pretty funny Scot named Arch, took us to his place in Pukenui for tea and we saw he and his wife, Fran's, property which had peacocks, chickens, some Arabian horses, avocado trees, and macedamia trees among other things
- We ended up making friends with them to the point that they drove us all the way to Topotupotu Bay just east of Cape Reinga where we strolled up some cool coastal mountains as a little warm-up for the coming walking
-Started the trek on Nov. 1 and made it 25km to Te Paki stream which is near the beginning of the famed 90 mile beach
-Also, my stove works.  I found 'methylated spirits' and the liquid burns well in my Narragansett Lager can stove. Though slightly differently than the denatured alcohol I pretested it with. 
-Nov 2 we did another 25km or so on the beach to just past the 'Bluff'
-Nov 3 -another 25km or so to Hukatere, where we met up with a few other Te Araroa walkers, Mel and Sarah aged 24 and 31, and Stuart aged 54 who is walking the 600km to Auckland. Stayed at a small backpackers' hut and had dinner cooked for us by the owner, a German lady named Gabrielle. 
- Also, I went out scalloping in the low tide with this 77 year old Mauri guy who lives on the Hukatere Lodge property.  He's called 'Uncle' due to a tough to pronounce local name. I found one scallop which was pretty exciting (Uncle only found four or five and he had a wetsuit).
- Nov 4 - still walking with Alex, she's from Blenheim, NZ on the South Island, and we did the last 30km to Ahipara with a strong headwind and a late-ish start.
-Nov 5 - Hitch-hiked 15km to Kaitaia in order to re-supply.  Ride there was with an extremely nationalist Mauri dude who gave a confusing lecture on the legal specifics of land rights concerning the Mauri people and basically how they gotta get their rights and politics are corrupt...met up with Arch and Fran again at the pharmacy by chance and they gave us a lift to the local Pac'n Save, or Pac'n Rob as Arch refers to the giant warehouse grocery store.
-Got a ride back to Ahipara with a long haired surfer looking guy who likes to hunt and lives in the hills near the coast.
-Spent the last two nights at the local campground/holiday park which is occupied by 70% German tourists
-Heading out this afternoon towards the Northland Forests...should be a bit different than long beach trekking
- Hope all's well with everyone back home / wherever you are, I'm doing super well.
Best,
Nick

Florida

Tryin to do this from my moms phone, got some downtime.  Was in Florida for 5 days visiting my grandparents.  I enjoyed it, went to a park with manifest and crocs (not the type you put your feet in) and eagles and a rhino etc.   my grandad said I was as good as a dog to have around cos I ate a lot of people's leftovers at mealtime in the retirement center.  My mom flew in after I'd been there a couple days and I somehow convinced her to go skydiving spontaneously.  If you've ever seen Harold and kumar 2 I can tell you it was very much like ice fishing!!  If two percent of readers he that reference I will be pleased.  Anyways, I have half a mind to bail on South America and just go get certified as a skydiver solo status. But alas I'm committed to this trip, whatever he itinerary might end up being.  In Costa Rica now but will write on that later. Oh here's a pic of my mom, she loved it!! Maybe more than me even

Pre Te Araroa

Hello all,
Nick here, and I'm writing to let you know I'll be hiking the Te Araroa trail, which covers the length of New Zealand, over the next four to five months.  It 'officially' opened last December and it is roughly 1800 miles long (I think it might actually be longer based on a couple of different hikers' accounts I've read on the interwebs).
I'm potentially not as prepared at this very moment as I might like to be, but it'll all work out and I'm excited to get going.  I leave Sunday morning from Boston.

Other things I want to mention in this post:
1. I'm making my own homemade 'soda-can stove' which will burn denatured alcohol.  I made my first attempt this evening and it leaked.  Also, I'm using Narragansett cans from the six-pack I bought this afternoon.  Narragansett is the unofficial sponsor for the hike and I'll potentially do a bit of pro-bono advertising for them.  Assuming I succeed with the stove and bring it, it'll weight less than 1oz!  Check out how to make these if interested.  http://www.thesodacanstove.com/alcohol-stove/how-to-build.html

2. I'm in the process of kicking my physical caffeine addiction.

3. I'll post again soon with more exciting details like my hair/beard plans, ha!

Nick

Packing

So I left Cragged on the 9th and spent 24 hours at home then was down in CT on the 10th.  Today is my last day with cousins and grandparent on Mom's side before heading to grandparents on dad's side in Florida.  And less than a week til Costa Rica and 25 days til the unknown.

 The big event in CT was my cousin's wedding which was in Fairfield CT at this country club type place.  It was on the ocean and the waiters came around serving apps on a platter.  Crab fritters for days! 

I also went to Madison where I moved to after living in Colorado.  Reminded me of how as a kid I really hated that move because I really loved living in Colorado.  Besides that just alot of planning for CR and hanging with Poppy/ cousins. Oh yeah completely clean shaven for the first time since Oct 2011.  Thinking of making it a habit.


Me and my mom.  Same lady whos coming to Costa Rica for the first week with me!





Saying goodbye to the dogs, which is always the hardest part of leaving home because their species hasn't yet learned how to communicate via telephone nor skype.





Everything thats going into my pack.  6 shirts, 2 drifit shirts, 1 jeans, 1 cargo shorts, 1 gym shorts, lots of socks and boxers, 1 bathing suit, 1 button down, 1 polo, 1 dress pants, 1 pair of deceptively good looking shoes, 1 pair running shoes, 1 pair hiking boots, 1 sleeping bag, 1 fleece, 1 rainpants, toiletries.  looking to eliminate a few items before i head out for realsies.  Even with that I have room for probably about 50 more Clif bars.  Not bringing a phone nor a computer nor a camera nor any electronics.  Only thing worth something is the sleeping bag and pack itself.  If i get robbed I hope they like my old clothes!



Political Perspective

2012

Hey so Nick and I, though voyaging on seperate travels, might return to operating this blog again!  this is a test.

Memes

I learned how to create 'memes' today. Pretty excited about it.

Nick

14 Months Later

I miss the good times of studying abroad in Alicante. But there's plenty of good times to come. Maybe even more joint Nick and Mike blogging to come.

Until Soon,

Nick