Waiting for better weather

The unsettled rainy weather keeps us from walking the trail as it is intended. Rain keeps us from crossing rivers and paddling down, and strong winds from crossing higher passages in the mountains. Given the circumstances, I tried to make the best of the situation and walk sections that weren’t problematic, rather than just letting time pass by waiting. So far, alternating with a few rest days, that went pretty well. Ultimately, we are all just waiting for the Whanganui River to be navigable by canoes again. However, the water level was too high for that. It would have been a shame to blow this plan to the wind.

The plan to hike the trail backwards for a while from further south, towards the north, only partly worked out. Over the last few weeks, Josefien and I have been stitching our own trail together like a patchwork quilt. Each day had to be taken as it presented itself to us. The weather report is as much to be trusted as a word out of Trump’s mouth. So we took a rest day at the hostel in National Park and spent our boredom on the climbing wall next to the dorms. It was kind of nice to use some muscles other than just the legs. I generally try to get in a little upper body workout after a day of hiking so I don’t get completely out of shape. I don’t manage to do that 100% consistently, though.

The fellowship

On another day, we felt like Frodo as we followed his footsteps up Mount Doom. Storms and hail made our climb difficult and almost completely blocked our view. The shorts I was wearing gave the hail a clear path for peeling. Somehow, though, there was still something magical about it, even if it was a jittery ordeal. That’s just the way it is when you’re trying to conquer evil. If we’d come for the sugar rush, we probably should have waited for nicer weather. Frodo probably didn’t seem to have thought of it either.

If we had been only about half an hour slower, the sky would have opened up for us in time long enough to have a few enchanting views of the neighboring volcano. But fast as we were, we were left with only the view of the valley, on the way down. Now we have to be content with pictures of friends.

What we were left with were a few enchanting views of the Emerald Lakes, in their turquoise green. Water surrounded by an unreal pampa that seemed hostile to life, which made the lakes almost seem like an oasis on Mars.

The following day we received the news that the 42 traverse had been made completely impassable by a landslide. To change plans is meanwhile one of our specialties. So we discarded the plan to hike around Mount Doom and instead followed the snake-like Fisher Trail along a mountain range. With the best weather and a good view, our spirits were rewarded to the highest.

Emotions

The stormy days have been tumultuous for my emotional well-being as well. There have been a few ups and downs, intimate conversations that have made me ponder and most importantly grow emotionally. It’s good to have found someone on the trail with whom the topics don’t just revolve around the next sections of the trail, but also delve deeper into the interpersonal. I’ve worked up the courage to express feelings that I thought might be hurtful. Feelings I usually hide for fear of harm. More aware and stronger I come out of it all. Funnily enough, all of this was apparent to me even before I expressed it.

Emotions often seem to me like reading a poetic text in a foreign language that you don’t know like your native tongue. I can roughly grasp what it is about, but do not experience the narrated in all its facets. Details that provide the necessary depth for comprehensive understanding. I can perceive being angry or feeling like wanting to flee from a person, but cannot quite grasp where these feelings come from.

Just as with a foreign language, I struggle to come to terms with the feelings, to teach myself the vocabulary, syntax, and grammar. While I have my own homework to do, alone in a quiet closet, it is just as important for me to go out and actively use the language with others. Emotions and feelings are just like a language, the expression of which I share with the people around me after all. The better you know the language, the better you can communicate with others and understand them. The analogy is so beautiful that it somehow makes me smile.

Stop in paradise for a day

Josie and I just went too far. We could barely get our bearings before the baby was in the well. We literally shot past our intended camp for the night in the rip current. We had planned a trip that was supposed to take 9 hours, but due to the persistent high water we made much faster progress than we would have under normal conditions.

Aware of our little mistake and with the prospect of another stop in the near distance in sight, Josie unpacked a bottle of red, which adds to the good mood with music. In a good mood we just let ourselves drift through the current the last kilometers to the next camp. After only an hour, we arrived buzzed at our first overnight stop on our canoe trip.

In the last rays, before the sun hides behind the mountains, we dry and pitch our tents. We prepare a delicious feast consisting of pasta, eggplant, canned tomatoes, onion, tuna and peppers. For dessert we had Toblerone.

At the pace we set, we can manage the five-day trip down along the Whanganui River to the town of the same name, in just three days. Enough time, then, to leave the tents up and our boat unloaded for another day. We spend the extra day eating extended meals, reading our books, writing, and enjoying togetherness that is only marginally interrupted by visitors.

I am reading “The Shadow of the Wind” in parallel in German and Spanish. Spanish alone was a bit too complicated for me, alternating with German, I learn a lot and can dive much deeper into the world around a mystery in Barcelona.

We are stranded here in our own little paradise from which we can watch canoes and motorboats without having to interact directly with them. They drift from A to B and we let our minds drift. What a beautiful day.

The flop

We were just trying to list all the capitals of the EU states when suddenly a tree trunk got in our way, which we spontaneously used to wrap our canoe around. It got stuck completely wedged. I was just able to hold onto it to avoid being swept away by the rip current. After climbing onto our log, I found Josefien unharmed on the other side of the boat. It was she who, with a cool head, suggested that we first make a plan and not go straight into actionism to get the boat off the log. I put my cell phone in a safe pocket. We remind ourselves what the most important rules are in such a situation, keep oars in hand as soon as the boat is afloat again, and cling to the boat, feet first, to protect ourselves from driftwood. Holding on to the boat, however, only Josie succeeded.

Initially, we failed to move the boat even a millimeter to the left or right. It was fixed full broadside to the tree stump by the water masses. After a while of pulling and tearing, we finally managed to push the canoe in one direction and eventually loosen it. I had lost my grip in the process. With all my strength I tried to swim back to the boat, but with the last of my strength I could only save myself downstream on another branch and watch Josie working on the canoe that had once again become stuck. It was extremely cold. I was shivering.

I had no choice but to hold out and watch brave Josie try to free the boat, this time stuck on the rope. I could watch from a distance as she pulled herself with all her might upstream on the side of the boat to investigate what it might be hanging on. The knife she had carried in her pocket until recently was nowhere to be found. Prudently, she made the decision to remove the rope from the bow, thus releasing the rope from the gallows. Josie floated towards me together with the watercraft. With a few strong strokes, I swam over to our buoy and held on. That was all the upside down boat was.

Our first attempt to reach the shore lying in the sun failed. The second was successful as we slowly drifted upstream in the sweeping water on the other side, allowing us to slowly drift to the other shore. Once there, it was a simple matter to turn the canoe to its intended side and scoop it free of the remaining water. All the barrels with our things were still there, despite the fact that a handle had come off one of the barrels. The only things that were lost were Josie’s mug, my cap and my glasses. But more importantly, we are both unharmed and an otherwise boring day has turned into an adventure, unintentional but very bonding.

Josefien, my hero! Thank you for your efforts! Without you, we wouldn’t have gotten off so lightly.

This time run day 37 to 44

Tag	Ziel	km	h	gkm
1	Cape Reinga – Twilight Camp	12	3	12
2	The Bluff	27	7	39
3	Hukatera Lodge	29	8	68
4	Ahipara	34	8	102
5	Broadwood	32	8	134
6	Apple Tree Campground	34	8	168
7	Puketi Campsite	27	7	195
8	Kerikeri	30	8	225
9	Paihia	24	6	249
10	The Farm	25	5	274
11	Makeshift campground Helena Bay	25	7	299
12	Sandy Bay Whananaki	18	4	317
13	Pataua Treasure island	27	6	344
14	Whangarei heads	34	11	378
15	Ruakaka River Camp Site	20	5	398
16	Mangawhai	42	10	440
17	Pakiri	27	8	467
18	Dome Walkway	27	10	494
19	Puhoi	30	7	524
20	Silverdale	25	8	549
21	Lake Pupuke	32	10	581
22	Auckland	15	4	596
23	Auckland Airport	30	9	626
24	Mt. Williams	38	10	664
25	Hampton Downs Bush	36	10	700
26	Huntly	34	7	734
27	Hamilton	30	8	764
28	Kapamahunga Range	34	9	798
29	Pahautea Hut	18	6	816
30	Pete’s Haus	33	10	849
31	Waitomo	21	4	870
32	Te Kuiti	20	5	890
33	Mangaokewa	24	6	914
34	leeres Haus	26	5	940
35	Timber trail (40 km Rad)	48	6	988
36	Taumarunui (45 km Rad)	70	9	1058
37	Ohango	26	5	1084
38	Tongariro Crossing	22	5	1106
39	Fisher Trail	23	6,5	1129
40	Kerry Hills	29	8	1158
41	The Bridge to nowhere (55 km Kanu)	63	–	1221
42	Ranana (Kanu)	40	–	1261
43	Marae (Kanu)	45	–	1306
44	Whanganui (Kanu)	27	–	1333
45	Whangaehu River	38	9	1371
46	Bulls	39	8	1410
47	Feilding	20	4	1430
48	Palmerston North	20	5	1450
49	Arapuke Forest	26	5	1476
50	Damm	27	8	1503
51	Levin	27	7	1530
52	Paekākāriki	22	6	1552
53	Porirua	28	8	1580
54	Wellington	33	9	1613
55	Bay Island	13	3	1626
56	Waiopehu Hut	12	4	1638
57	Dracophyllum Hut	18	8	1656
58	Waitewaewae Hut	20	9	1676
59	Otaki Forks	15	4	1691
60	Waikanae	28	8	1717
61	Black Rock camp	47	10	1764
62	Linkwater	37	10	1801
63	Pelorus Bridge	32	10	1833
64	Middy Creek Hut	30	8	1863
65	Hacket Hut	21	9	1884
66	Slaty Hut	13	4,5	1897
67	Tarn Hut	26	8,5	1923
68	Hunters Hut	29	10	1952
69	St Arnaud	31	9	1983
70	Angelus Lake	21	8	2004
71	John Tate Hut	19	5,5	2023
72	Blue Lake	26	8	2049
73	Waiau River	24	8	2073
74	Boyle River	34	10	2107
75	Boyle Village	20	4,5	2127
76	Hope Halfway Hut	20	4,5	2147
77	Hurunui Hut	26	7	2173
78	Locke Stream Hut	25	6	2198
79	Goat Pass	26	8	2224
80	Hamilton Hut	18		2242
81	Lake Coleridge	23		2265
82	Methven	30		2295
83	Comyns Hut	17		2312
84	Manuka Hut	22		2334
85	Lake Clearwater	26		2360
86	Crooked Spur Hut	25		2385
87	Royal Hut	17		2402
88	Lake Tekapo Makeshift Camp	23		2425
89	Tekapo	23		2448
90	Twizel (bike)	55		2503
91	Ohau	32		2535
92	Ahiriri	26		2561
93	Top Timaru Hut	28		2589
94	Pakituhi	26		2615
95	Wanaka	38		2653
96	Highland Creek Hut	34		2687
97	Roses Hut	14		2701
98	Arrowtown	30		2731
99	Queenstown	34		2765
100	Route Burn	12		2777
101	Mid Caples Hut	30		2807
102	Taipo Hut	28		2835
103	Mararoa River	38		2873
104	Te Anau	15		2888
105	Lower Wairaki Hut	39		2927
106	Birchwood	38		2965
107	Marrivale Hut	23		2988
108	Colac Bay	41		3029
109	Invercargill	40		3069
110	Bluff	42		3111