Te Araroa 02/10/25

Day 8, Pukatea to Kerikeri 

A lovely morning and I started off with a nearly dry tent. There were a couple of light showers during the day but nothing to wear waterproofs for.

Tramping the gravel road 

Easy walking today on gravel roads, farmland paths and a walking track by the river to Kerikeri.

Waterfall near the head of the Kerikeri River 

It was good fertile farming country now with excellent grass and a lot of young bulls in the fields. There was a 20ha plot of what looked to be perfect farmland for sale and I spent a while dreaming about what I would do with it, impractical but it kept me amused along the way.

Good grassland

It almost looked like English countryside until some of the paths cut through un-farmable land and the native bush was waiting, very un-English.

Into a bit of original bush country

The path follows the infant Kerikeri River, with a few diversions, joining with others until it becomes a big river after an interesting bridge crossing at Waipapa.

The bridge at Waipapa

There are some very expensive looking houses near the river with its stands of Totara trees and and a very good path that goes right to the sea.

Totara trees on the path by the river 

After a lunch stop at an excellent Thai restaurant where I had only intended to get a coffee I continued past the impressive Rainbow Falls where the river drops 27 meters over a basalt ledge.

Rainbow falls

On then to the footbridge over the river to the Stone Store and a short distance to Wharepuke where I had decided to stay for two nights in a delightful cabin in the subtropical gardens.

Cabin at Wharepuke

I still haven't got used to the sun being in the north at midday and have to think carefully about which direction I'm going in, and still get it wrong!