Monday, December 4, 2023 For Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit fans I don’t think any explanation is required. For all others – Hobbiton is a fictional town created by JRR Tolkien in his books as named above. It is a village where hobbits live and the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins begin. The Movie set located […]

Sunday, December 3, 2023 Today is the first of my vacation days based out of Hamilton. It’s a combination rest / vacation period where I’ll be enjoying some of the tourist attractions in the area, but at a fairly leisurely pace. Hamilton Gardens was on my list for today and I caught a 9:35 bus from Hamilton transit center out […]

Saturday, December 2, 2023Distance/ Total: 21.4 km / 13.3 mi There were some very loud frogs croaking through the night and I eventually broke out my earplugs so I could get some sleep. I woke this morning to the sound of a sprinkling rain on the tent. I hurried and packed up just in case it started to really rain, […]

Friday, December 1, 2023Distance/ Total: 34.0 km / 21.1 mi I didn’t rush around this morning. It was going to be a long day – 34 km – but the first 21 km was going to be all roadwalk. I didn’t get started down the trail until about 8:00am. The first 21 km went pretty fast and I reached the […]

Thursday, November 30, 2023Distance/ Total: 25.5 km / 15.8 mi It was definitely a loud night at the Mercer Motel. It was situated by a highway and it seemed that big trucks kept driving by all night. There was even some heavy trucks that shook the ground as they drove by. I got around slowly this morning and headed to […]

Wednesday, November 29, 2023Distance/ Total: 35.8 km / 22.2 mi The BnB had a Continental breakfast this morning and I took advantage of the food before taking off. The trail continued as a road walk from Drury and headed up toward the Drury Hills and then across to an industrial park that was pretty busy with new construction. Shortly after […]

Tuesday, November 28, 2023Distance/ Total: 29.3 km / 18.2 mi I was up early and at the coffee shop when they opened at 7:00. I’ve had hot coffee for 5 days in a row now and I think I’m getting spoiled to it. I was on the trail by 7:30 heading towards the Auckland Airport. The trail turns before reaching […]

Monday, November 27, 2023Distance/ Total: 31.0 km / 19.3 mi I got up fairly early this morning to shower before heading out on the trail. I then headed down the street to a coffee shop and got some coffee and a pastry for my morning “quick start”. Returning to the hostel I packed up all my gear and got ready […]

Friday, November 24, 2023Distance/ Total: 34.7 km / 21.6 mi I woke up to the sound of a light sprinkle pattering against the roof of my tent. It was barely after 5:00 am and due to the tides I really didn’t need to leave camp before 9:00 am. I rolled over and fell back to sleep. I woke up again […]