Te Araroa Trail – Day 5

Friday, November 3, 2023
Distance/ Total: 14.5 km / 9.0 mi

It started raining shortly after I got in my tent last night and rained throughout the night. My new HMG Unbound 2 tent did fantastic in the rain except for two little spots along the centerline on each side. I’m not sure if the water was a leak or condensation dripping down the walls. I’ll have to keep an eye on it during the next rain.

With only 15km to go I didn’t want to leave too early and have to wait to check in at Beachcombers. I finally packed up everything wet and left about 8:20. The trail was all on highway 1 today and I was able to make pretty good time. Traffic wasn’t too bad and with a few exceptions the shoulder was sufficient to walk on.

I arrived in Kaitaia about 11:40 and stopped in at Peekaboo’s to get a pizza and beer. The beer was great, the pepperoni pizza was a little bland for my liking, but I did manage to eat the whole pizza by myself. Hiker hunger is already setting in.

I took my time and got to the hostel about 1:30 and was able to check in. I hung up my tent and footprint on the clothesline to dry out and headed to the local PAK’nSAVE to buy my resupply for the next 5 day section. Back at the hostel, I took a shower, started my laundry, and repacked my food.

I spent the rest of the day visiting with the other hikers who have finished the first section back to Kaitaia and those who were heading out to the Cape tomorrow. A pretty good mix of hikers from many different countries.