Te Araroa 15/10/25

Day 21, Govan Wilson Road to Dome Cafe (519)

A cold wind today with sunny intervals and better still it didn't rain. Tried to dry the tent before leaving but there wasn't much wind at that stage so it was fairly soggy when packed.

Morning at the camp

Straight onto the trail then and another steep and muddy climb to Conical Peak and it's continuing ridge.

Climbing up in the morning 

Conditions underfoot were difficult and I found the bright sunlight contrasting with deep shade made walking over the roots and mud quite difficult.

An occasional view

The route today was graded 'hard' but was actually easier than yesterday's 'moderate' despite some tricky bits of steep mud and rocks.

Double rooted tree

There was a river to cross, that didn't cause any problems, before a short climb to a road which was followed for a short distance before turning off onto the trail again.

River crossing 

Up through more steep and muddy forest to the Dome Ridge. A lot of up and down with limited views but a great walk.

More views from the ridge

A large wooden pyramid structure marks the top of the Dome, the NZ version of of a trig point. 

Top of The Dome

There was a viewpoint a bit further on and a good gravel path from there down to the Dome Café which is unfortunately no longer a cafe but they do allow camping.

Viewpoint 

We are now a group of five as two others who started with me, Di and SJ have joined us here.

Playing Yahtzee at the campsite 

The main road to be crossed in the morning 

Te Araroa 14/10/25

Day 20, Pakiri beach to Govan Wilson Road (507)

The weather forecast was very wet for today but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting, the sun even appeared when I put my tent up.

A wet morning 

I had to stay at Pakiri until the shop opened because I only had one lighter and that died in the river yesterday, so after buying a couple of replacements I set off after the other two.

Cows on the road

A walk down the road where I was held up for a while by someone moving some cows and calves was follwed by a steep climb up a grassy slope towards the Omaha Ridge.

Climbing up the ridge

The ridge was in the cloud and it was extremely wet with the wind shaking down large quantities of water from above as well as the rain and wet undergrowth to push through.

Entering the muddy forest

I did get a few views when the cloud and undergrowth permitted and was surprised by a wooden helicopter landing pad and a radar weather station.

A gap in the forest and the cloud 

The way was similar to the other ridge tracks with steep slippery ascents and descents, mud to slip in and roots to trip over.

A bit of boardwalk before another muddy ascent 

After a final very steep struggle I emerged into a road. And another few kilometers took me to the little campsite where Charlie and Ruby had already set up.

Campsite after and before the rain

Te Araroa 13/10/25

Day 18, Mangawhai to Pakiri beach (493km)

A dry start to the day but it got increasingly damp around mid-day, nice walking temperature though.

Dusty gravel road 

It was a pity it wasn't a bit damper earlier as the first section of gravel road had a lot of traffic which made it very dusty.

Along the beach

Onto the beach then for more sand and surf. At the next headland I met a chap and his girlfriend who were living in an old Toyota van and surfing their way around the country, he offered me a cup of freshly made coffee and we had an interesting chat about vans, surfing and their impending move to Denmark, where she was from.

A welcome cup of coffee 

After the headland another lovely beach but I was here at the wrong time as the tide was high and river crossings difficult or impossible so a certain amount waiting and chatting with other walkers passed the time.

The headland

I had a bit of a wetting on the first river crossing when I put my pole in some soft sand and tipped over face first into the water, luckily recovering with just my front getting wet because it was over two feet deep at that point.

I didn't get a picture of the river I fell in so more beach will have to do

The 'main' river crossing at Pakiri was actually the easiest of all and after being told that it was only possible to cross ninety minutes either side of low water it was easily crossed at half tide.

Pakiri river

Another good campsite, although the sites are becoming more like chalet sites nearer to Auckland.

Pakiri Campsite

Te Araroa 12/10/25

Day 18, Waipu Cove to Mangawhai (472k)

Another bright day, at times a little too hot in the sun but there were a few clouds about which helped.

View from the hills

I left before anyone else and walked on my own all day, firstly back down the road a bit to rejoin the trail then up a winding road towards the hills.

More views

The road became gravel up to some exclusive sites for sale overlooking Bream Bay, very expensive I'm sure and probably rather windy at times.

Becoming a nice steep path 

The trail then changes to a gravel road followed by a hill path as it climbs up to a beautiful little campsite at Waorahi.

A nice little campsite 

Onwards via tracks, paths and bits of road until the Mangawhai cliff path around the headland with more spectacular views.

View from the Mangawhai cliff path

Into Mangawhai Heads which has the same holiday home feel to it as a lot of the places along the coast here.

Looking back to Mangawhai Head

There is a good campsite here but it was a bit too early to stop so I decided to walk on to the Riverside campsite south of Mangawhai.

Beautiful tree on the cliff path

Te Araroa 11/10/25

Day 17, Ruakaka to Waipu Cove (442k).

A leisurely start to the morning which gave the tent a chance to nearly dry before packing.

Campsite in the morning 

Out to the beach for 5k of walking on the beautiful shell sand of Bream Bay. This is Aucklands holiday area with a lot of holiday homes with some associated infrastructure which makes me wonder why Im carrying so much food.

Along the beach 

Off the beach then for a road walk to Waipu with shops, cafe's and a Scottish museum. The museum displays details of the Scots that settled in Waipu from Nova Scotia, the migrations all organized by a preacher, Norman McLeod.

Looking north on Bream Bay

Waipu is another bustling holiday town and being Saturday it was fairly busy. A typical town at a cross roads with properties alongside the roads in .all directions.

How the Scots got to Waipu 

More road walking, although in this case it was on a good path beside the road, to Waipu Cove and the campsite.

Waipu 

I was surprised to see the campsite was busy until I realized that it was Saturday. I'll still be carrying too much food tomorrow because there was a restaurant just down the road and I succumbed to the lure of non-dried food.

Footpath near the road

Te Araroa 10/10/25

Day 16, Ocean bay to Ruakaka (426k)

A beautiful morning as I set off to retrace yesterday's walk back to the saddle, half an hour to get down yesterday and an hour to get back this morning!

Morning view back to Ocean Beach 

The rest of the ridge involved some more very steep ups and downs but a lot of the steep parts had steps.

Up we go

Views were limited by the vegetation but there were a few gaps here and there with spectacular vistas.

Some views from the ridge

A very steep descent of about 200meters on steps and I emerged from the bush onto farmland and a beautiful view of Urquharts Bay.

Urquharts Bay

A walk round the bay and over a bit of hill to get to The Deck cafe which was a very useful place to recharge an sit for a while before walking down to the ferry. There had been no need to to the first section of the ridge last night, I had plenty of time.

Some beautiful trees by the seashore 

Down to the beach then to meet with the others and sit in the shade waiting for the boat.

Waiting for the boat

The crossing was very quick and we arrived at Marsden point which is an oil storage depot and container port.

The ferry boat

We decided to walk down the road to reach the shops at Ruakaka for essential supplies and pizza. The road was busy with 18 wheelers and other trucks but there were very wide margins to safely walk on.

Pizza stop

Stuffed with pizza we carried on down the road to the large, nearly empty campsite.

Wide road verges