Te Araroa Trail – Day 107

Thursday February 22, 2024
Distance/ Total: 0 km / 0 mi

The Te Araroa Trail has 2 interruptions caused by braided rivers. A braided river is a very wide river created by loose shale that has washed down from the mountains to form it’s base. The river then “finds” it’s way through the rocks in multiple channels and is constantly being rerouted and changing anytime the river rises and falls. These channels can be very wide and shallow or deep and fast moving. The TA Trail administration recognizes the dangers in crossing these areas, which can be several kilometers wide, and recommends a bypass around the crossing point. These bypasses are 62km and 137km long.

Due to the length of these bypasses on roadways most hikers hitch around them. This also creates a good resupply opportunity which I am taking advantage of. The first bypass passes near the town of Methven which is where I’m headed to today.

Shaun and I were up and on the roadway about 8:00am and started our walk out of Lake Coleridge Village. Three hitches and an hour later we had made it to Methven.

We started our town day off with a real breakfast at a local cafe’ then headed to the visitor center to get some info about a bus company that offered rides back to the trail on the south side of the river. We got our bus tickets and then started our resupply shopping.

I stopped in at another local cafe’ and ordered and IPA (yes before noon) and enjoyed that on their patio. We ate lunch then headed to our AirBnB for the night.

At the AirBnB we spent the afternoon packing our resupply food, eating snacks, posting my blogs, and cutting my hair. It was a very productive afternoon. We went to town for dinner and had kebabs at a food truck. They were very good.

Back at our room we both scrolled around on our phones until it was bedtime.