Sunday 25th February 2024
Orewa to Moirs Ridge Road (Stu’s place)
24km walked today
514km to Cape Reinga
I don’t sleep well, probably because of the late afternoon large flat white at Bobs cafe in the campground! At 5:30am, I decide to get going. There’s rain coming soon, but only a very brief shower overnight. It’s an hours walk into Orewa. Dog walkers and early morning joggers are out already. There’s a man sleeping under the bridge. The only cafe I can find that’s open has staff positioned outside ready to grab you and sit you down before you can change your mind. I have the big breakfast, shop in Countdown for the next four days then head for the bus stop to catch a bus 4km over the hill to Wairewa. I walked most of this section last year except for a beach/cliff walk at the north end of Hatfield Beach. It’s high tide now so I’ll need to skip it again. The alternative 4km highway walk is noted as dangerous and it’s recommended to avoid it. The bus has pre-recorded announcements for every stop, and the Maori language takes priority. I love this about NZ. I hope the new (more right wing) government will allow this to continue? They’re making noises about winding it back.
Waiwera feels a bit depressing. This used to be a thriving thermal springs beachside resort and a big destination when I was young, but now the place now looks shabby and rundown. I wonder what happened? I’d heard the public baths are now closed.
Now it’s now a boring 6km road walk to Puhoi, where I abandoned the track last year because of track closures ahead. This road used to be the main highway north, but most traffic is now diverted to a nearby motorway. There’s still plenty of cars and I’m constantly switching sides of the road to make sure I’m walking on the widest verge. The Puhoi River is below me, and so is the motorway. New Zealand’s first toll road is nearby, a tunnel that cuts off about 10 minutes travel time on the highway. It costs $2.50 to go through and when it first opened, online payments and eTags were unfamiliar to most people. It was amusing to see motorists go through the tunnel then queue up for 10 mins at a service station to pay the fee! It may still be NZ’s only toll road? (Edit: My friend Alex, a transport nerd, tells me there are now two other tolled roads in NZ). Drizzle starts, then some heavy showers. I try out the umbrella, which works brilliantly. I don’t have to stop to put on a coat and it works well even in wind gusts. There’s a Sunday market at Puhoi but I don’t stay long and walk up the road to a cafe where Steve also hosts TA walkers who can camp in their garden. I’m tempted to do this but can see in the notes that 11km ahead there’s a converted woolshed available for TA walkers. It’s going to rain heavily tonight so a roof will be good. I ring the owner, Stu and although he’s not there tonight it’s fine for me to stay.
The 11km is harder than expected. I hadn’t checked the contour map and there’s 700m of ascent to Stu’s place. There are also a few kms of walking through paddocks with long grass, although it’s good not having to worry about snakes, ticks and leeches. Parts of the track go through regenerating forest where many traps for possums and rats have been laid. I come across one “catch” of a possum hanging out of a trap.
On the road to Stu’s woolshed a guy on a quad bike stops to check me out. He turns out to be Brendan, a mate of Stu’s. Once I’ve passed his inspection I head on and get there just before heavy rain starts, which continues all night. This is a great place to shelter. Stu has said on the phone to stay another night if I want, which I’ll probably do. I’ve now walked over 100km in the first 5 days which is faster than expected… the plan was to start with 15km days but it’s hard to go slow!
SAUNTER101 
Hi Ross, I’m enjoying your posts. In answer to your question there are actually three toll roads in NZ, the other two being near Tauranga (but not connected to each other). The toll roads are short and the chargers derisory by comparison to Australia, but probably less so on a per-km basis.
I remember coming across one of the Tauranga ones a few years ago when I travelled around the north island with John visiting rellies. We were driving along this nice section of road when suddenly 90% of the traffic (such as it was) peeled off at an exit. Next thing we were in the tolled section and then five minutes later we were out of it. I had to go online later to pay the toll which was all of NZ$2.30.
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Yes I thought there must be more toll roads by now. NZ isn’t really into private partnership arrangements to pay for infrastructure? Still accept slightly higher taxes to pay for stuff perhaps?
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