Te Araroa 06/10/25

Day 12, Helena Bay to Whananaki 

A bright morning but drizzly showers blew past regularly during the day on the strong north west wind.

Morning tree

An interesting climb up to the Helena ridge, the path was well made to start with then alternated between original bush paths and upgraded walkways including some steep steps.

DOC steps going up and up

Along the top there were several steep up and down sections along the undulating ridge but with few views as it was all original bush.

Forest trail

The ridge section ended too quickly and I was deposited onto the road for the rest of the walk, at least the first 8k was on gravel.

View from the top

Arrived at Whananaki in time to get fish and chips at the shop/cafe before booking into the campsite where I met Charlie and Ruby, two other trail walkers.

Campsite 

A good mix of ages Ruby 19 Charlie 40 and me. We were the only ones on the campsite so it was a peaceful night with bright sunshine and lots of birds singing as it went down.

Evening view from the campsite