TA Day 100

TA Day 100: Friday 28 March 2025

Kaniwhaniwha Campsite - Te Kowhai

When we woke up, the campsite was all covered in mist. We had breakfast by the picnic table and enjoyed the sun peaking through. Everything was really calm and pretty.

Then we followed a nice farm track that turned into a gravel road. At one point we had a very sudden rain shower, but then the sun was back again.

We left the farm road for a little while, going up and down through some sheep pasture before being back on the gravel road again.

We talked to Kim's parents over the phone, who are supposed to meet us today, to see where they were. Apparently they were driving around and geocaching, but we decided to try to meet at the next town we would pass, where there was a pub - Whatawhata.

Actually we arrived there before them, and we had almost finished our meals before they arrived... But it was nice talking to them, catching up a bit on what they had experienced since we last saw them, now that they had been to the South Island and all!

When they drove to our AirBnB in Te Kowhai for the night, we kept walking. When you follow Te Araroa you come to Hamilton, but we decided to deviate from the trail here and go to Te Kowhai. It would save us around 20 km which was nice, especially since Hamilton didn't feel particularly appealing to us anyway.

The downside though, was the 8 km from Whatawhata to Te Kowhai along a heavy trafficked road which was probably one of the worst roads so far. But luckily the worst part was not too long.

When we entered Te Kowhai we passed a place that sold fruit and vegetables, and here we bought some, before continuing the last bit to the AirBnB.

We had a great evening together, playing cards, eating nice food and talking 🥰

Today's:

Distance: 31.41 km

Ascent: 503 m

Descent: 618 m

Tent nights: 51/100

Weather: Mostly sunny