Comyns hut - Methven - Geraldine

Om aftenen ankom en af de mange Te Araroa-“bobler”, som består af en masse vandrere, der stort set følges ad. Vi endte derfor pludselig med at være omkring 30 personer ved Comyns Hut, hvilket var lidt af en voldsom oplevelse efter de seneste dage, hvor vi havde været isolerede og uvidende om, hvad der ventede os. Ved hjælp af vores Garmin InReach (bedste lifesaver) kontaktede vi shuttlepersonen igen for at høre, om han kunne hente os der, hvor vi startede for fire dage siden. Det kunne han heldigvis!

Ved Comyns Hut dukkede også tre personer op, som jeg startede 90 Mile Beach med, og som jeg ikke har set siden Kerikeri, hvilket er ca. tre måneder siden. Det var et godt, kort gensyn!

Vi gik derfor tilbage ad samme vej, som vi kom fra, og mødte to, vi har været undervejs med de seneste uger. Vi forklarede dem, hvorfor vi vendte om, og fik overbevist dem om, at det heller ikke var noget for dem – eftersom vi har lært dem ret godt at kende de seneste tre uger. Da vi endelig ankom til grusvejen, hvor vores shuttle ventede på os, var vi pludselig 13 personer, som gerne ville vende om og undgå denne sektion i øjeblikket.

Vi blev derfor kørt til Methven (igen), hvor vi havde en lille pause, inden de andre blev hentet med shuttle, da vi ikke alle kunne være i én van. Derefter kørte vi en time videre til Geraldine, hvor vi kort overvejede, om vi ville gå næste sektion, som også består af flodkrydsninger de første kilometer. Alternativt kan man gå en anden rute med ca. 1.400 højdemeter for at komme over Stag Saddle (1.900 hm), som er det højeste punkt, Te Araroa-ruten passerer.

Vi ville meget gerne gå den, men realistisk set efter de seneste dage – havde vi ikke lyst til en lignende oplevelse, og hvis vi valgte at tage afsted, ville vi kun gøre det sammen med andre. I øjeblikket er det simpelthen for usikkert kun at være to ved flodkrydsningerne efter al den regn, der er faldet de seneste dage. Vores shuttlechauffør fortalte, at der var faldet meget lokal regn i området, omkring 100 mm inden for få timer, hvilket forklarede, hvorfor floden var steget så meget.

Vi valgte derfor også at skippe den næste sektion, hvilket er ærgerligt, da den skulle være et af højdepunkterne på turen, men vejret gør det desværre ikke særlig sjovt for tiden.

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In the evening, one of the many Te Araroa “bubbles” arrived, consisting of a large group of hikers who more or less travel together. We suddenly found ourselves being around 30 people at Comyns Hut, which was quite overwhelming after the past few days of isolation and uncertainty about what lay ahead. Using our Garmin InReach (the ultimate lifesaver), we contacted the shuttle driver again to ask whether he could pick us up where we had started four days earlier. Fortunately, he could!

At Comyns Hut, three people also showed up whom I had started 90 Mile Beach with and whom I hadn’t seen since Kerikeri, about three months ago. It was a great, brief reunion.

We therefore walked back the same way we had come and met two people we had been hiking with over the past few weeks. We explained why we were turning around and managed to convince them that it wasn’t for them either—after all, we had gotten to know each other quite well over the past three weeks. When we finally reached the gravel road where our shuttle was waiting, we were suddenly 13 people who wanted to turn back and avoid this section for now.

We were then driven to Methven (again), where we had a short break before the others were picked up by shuttle, as we couldn’t all fit into one van. After that, we drove another hour to Geraldine, where we briefly considered whether to hike the next section, which also involves river crossings during the first kilometers. Alternatively, there is a route with about 1,400 meters of elevation gain to cross Stag Saddle (1,900), the highest point on the Te Araroa Trail.

We would have loved to hike it, but realistically after the past few days—we didn’t feel up for a similar experience. If we were to go, we would only do so with others, as it’s currently too unsafe to attempt the river crossings as just the two of us after all the recent rain. Our shuttle driver told us that there had been very heavy local rainfall in the area—around 100 mm within just a few hours—which explained why the river had risen so dramatically.

We therefore also decided to skip the next section, which is a shame, as it is supposed to be one of the highlights of the trip—but the weather simply isn’t making it very enjoyable at the moment.Læs mere