Where the Wild Things Were

By Tyler Socash
IG: @tylerhikes

"Hello everyone, I need your help!" I announced with grandeur to the assembling crowd.  "My good friends Kate and Reyne are going to need some encouragement..."

The Cute Boys Club made it to kilometer marker 1688 of Te Araroa.  We had a reunion in downtown Wellington on the waterfront just outside of Te Papa Museum.  At this site a large diving platform at the harbor gives tourists, locals, and thru-hikers another reason to celebrate the city.  The accolades of Wellington extend far beyond the city limits.  We've been hearing about this magnificent place since meeting Marcus, Sue, Louis, and Ella north of Auckland. 

Rewinding one week, the luxuries and amenities of the capital seemed ages away from Wanganui.  Our group splintered once the river adventure concluded.  Couples Retreat + Reyne went ahead, while Dan, Kate, Seb, Bekah, and I slowly made our way through the towns of Bulls, Feilding, and Palmerston North.

The trail magic in this road-heavy section was extraordinary.  After swimming on the driftwood beaches of Turakina, we were welcomed into Mike & Jo's homestead.  Their hiker haven, "Mayhem Roost," is open to wary travelers walking Te Araroa.

Mike shared that by opening their doors to trampers, an educational opportunity arose for their children.  Mike & Jo's four kids were eager to interact with us, learn where we were from, and to introduce us to their favorite games.  Mike even rode his unicycle around the property, inspiring Kate to purchase a unicycle of her own someday.  (Commit to this, Kate!)  Our conversations were wonderful, and "Mayhem Roost" will never be forgotten...  Nor will that incredible venison dinner!

While strolling through Palmerston North two days later, another unexpected act of kindness morphed into a spectacular evening.  We were approached by a friendly man on the street inquiring if we were walking Te Araroa.  His name was Anthony, and he thru-hiked the South Island with his wife Fiona last year.

"I'd invite you all to stay at our house, but we are renovating right now.  I'll happily take you all to the grocery store though!"

Anthony, who has a legendary beard that he started on his last thru-hike, obviously wanted to assist us in anyway he could.   It wasn't so shocking to see him back in the Countdown supermarket minutes later with an update, "Nevermind!  You all are welcome to stay at our house."  Apparently Fiona was very keen on hosting us despite their home repair projects.

We consumed Scrumpy's all night, learned of Anthony & Fiona's plans to hike the North Island in an atypical way by linking remote mountain ranges (a way that I wished the TA could emulate - fewer road walks), talked about conservation efforts, ate an amazing pesto pasta dinner, and saw our best New Zealand sunset from their rooftop.  Fiona encouraged us to get a better view of the red sky from a higher vantage point.  Dan, Kate, Bekah, Seb, and I had a night to remember.

One of our discussions continues to permeate my thoughts...  Anthony & Fiona, along with the Department of Conservation and other wonderful volunteers, do a lot to remove invasive species from the Tararua Ranges.  Before the arrival of the British, New Zealand only had 2 native mammals: the long-tailed bat and the short-tailed bat.  Every other mammal seen on New Zealand today is invasive.  Sheep, cattle, red deer, dogs, possums, boars, rabbits, weasels, ferrets, stotes, rats...  This a big problem for New Zealand's native bird populations.  For millions of years, New Zealand's birds evolved without the threat of predators.  Some of these birds are flightless.  The whio, kākā, kokako, kākāpo, kākāriki and the kiwi, once teeming around New Zealand, are all disappearing...  The eggs and chicks are being eaten by mammalian predators. 

The British vision of changing New Zealand into a pastoral paradise was only the beginning...  Possums were introduced to spur a fur trade.  Rabbits and red deer were introduced for people to hunt.  More native bird habitat was destroyed for sheep and cattle to graze.  Once these animals arrived, they had no natural predators to worry about!  Brilliantly, we introduced more predators (including falcons and hawks) to help cull the booming rabbit population.  It turns out that slow, flightless birds make easier prey.

Small victores need to be celebrated.  The whio is an endangered New Zealand duck.  Stotes, described by Fiona as "effective killing machines," eat the duck eggs.  Along with Anthony, Fiona carries 10+ kilograms of eggs to reset stote traps throughout the rugged Tararua Ranges.  It's a thankless job, but vital as an endangered species hangs in the balance.  Due to Anthony and Fiona's trap setting efforts, the remaining ducks in the region are being protected.  You can read more about the adventures of my heroes here: http://whiowhio.weebly.com/blog

As we entered the Tararuas, our friend James from Christchurch rejoined us for a long weekend!  James hiked from Pakiri to Huntly with us earlier in the North Island.  It was nice of him to return to see us reach the halfway-point of our journey.  One of the highlights of this section was meeting an ultralight hiker named Mike, sporting 7 kg's of gear (I carry 15 total) with a dash of fear mongering.  He was a hoot.  We enjoyed a long river swim, a beautiful campsite near a reservoir, and some arduous ascents with James along the way.

Before our 800-meter ascent into the High Tararuas, we said goodbye to James, jumped off a bridge into the Ohau River, and said hello to Kate's friend Scotty.  Scotty surprised us with a 12-pack of Speight's beer at the beautiful Waiopehu Hut.  Clouds billowed over the Main Tararua Ridge like a soft blanket.  Sebastien and I ran up to the see the sunset.  It was magic!

Describing the Tararuas is difficult.  I'll mainly leave it to the pictures below.  It's like hiking in the Great Range of the Adirondack High Peaks, but with Fangorn Forest trees in every col.  It's also like hiking above treeline in the Mountain West, but with the Cook Straight and the South Island visible in the distance.  The vegetation is lush, the wind unforgiving, and the tramping is well-earned.

Our three days in the Tararuas were as difficult as Ultralight Mike warned.  Every ascent seemed to by followed by an equal descent.  The undulating ridge involved strenuous climbs, but the views made it all worthwhile!  We were in the clouds!  When the clouds cleared, we were in a slice of heaven!  Among all the hiking trips in my life, the Tararuas rank in the top 10.  Messages from Reyne and Couples Retreat in the hut books kept us laughing.  We were eager to catch up to them.

Reyne surprised us outside of Wellington's Botanical Gardens.  We almost couldn't recognize our friend with his sun-kissed hair!  Reyne rejoined the Cute Boys Club on our walk to kilometer marker 1700 at the end of the North Island.

The pathway guided us towards the waterfront where a towering platform enticed us to swim.  Seb, Dan, Bekah, and I were quick to take the leap.  Reyne and Kate balked. 

Every passerby is drawn to the platform.  Wellington's waterfront is beautiful, and a public diving area only accentuates the uniqueness of the city.  A crowd assembling, I seized the opportunity to be a show pony.

"Let's put our hands together for Reyne and Kate everyone!" I encouraged the masses.  "They are terrified of heights so they are really going to need your support," I added only to draw intrigue.

To the dismay of Reyne and Kate, the proverbial slow clap began.  Strangers shouted their names.  Simultaneously, they approached their respective platforms and quickly retreated.

Without warning, Reyne sent himself over the edge, leaving Kate in the unwanted spotlight.  It took another excruciating 30 seconds of coaxing for Kate to follow Reyne's lead.  Everyone cheered with delight.

It concerns me to announce how the six of us completed the North Island.  With 12 kilometers to go, I announced that we would attempt the "12 in 12."  Some of you may remember my blog post about the 24-24-24 on the PCT.  This was like that.

12 beers in hand, we marched south!  It didn't take long for us to fall into bushes, ask random people to join us on our quest, and to lose the trail.  We even walked past the end point of the North Island's Te Araroa and had to double back.  Much unlike the 24-24-24 Challenge, I completed the 12 in 12. 

A plaque commemorates the end at Island Bay.  It was amazing to think how far we tramped together as a group.  I finished the North Island just under two months, and just across the Cook Straight lied our next objective.  Sebastien, Bekah, Dan, Kate, Reyne, and I returned to Wellington.  We readied our food mail drops (with the help of Scotty who graciously hosted and chauffeured hikertrash around Wellington for 4 days) and purchased our Interislander Ferry tickets.

Welcome to the greatest head fake of all-time.  Te Araroa lulls you into an elevated state of self-confidence, and suddenly you're dropped off by boat at Ship Cove.  At the tip of the Marlborough Sounds you are about to embark on a starkly different thru-hike.  Welcome to the South Island.