Te Araroa: Part 6 – Queens and Riches

Finishing the Queen Charlotte track

Waking up in 2023 we were anticipating a day which would be more of a “linking” day. The Te Araroa is actually the connection of a bunch of trails that already existed prior to its inception, a decade ago. This means that you have these brilliant bits, normally followed by some bits where you have to walk a road or get through a town to get the next bit of nice track.

Jenny’s baby of scrogg

We hiked the two kilometres out of the Queen Charlotte track and into a town called Anakiwa and expected a 19km road walk from there. Instead much of the track has been pulled off the road onto a lovely little mountain bike track, thanks to the great work of the trail conservation. The aim is, over time, to get the whole track off roads, onto footpaths. A long ordeal!

Linkwater community library

At 10.30 we passed the town of Linkwater, that had a book exchange which Jenny was very pleased about, and allegedly the best burger on trail at the Queen Charlotte tavern which I was more interested in. As you can imagine, for New Year’s morning the tavern wasn’t open, much to my dismay.

Stunning views of the sounds

The rest of the day was beautiful weather and track making the walk into Havelock nice and smooth. By 3pm we were in the Four Square, the local supermarket, eyeing up the fizzy drinks and Marlborough whites. We had planned to meet back up with Joal’s former music teacher and family again in town. When she suggested picking us up and taking us to the now open Queen Charlotte tavern I was maybe a bit too eager in my reply. But when someone claims to have the best burger on trail, it was all I had thought about since the morning! It didn’t disappoint, and neither did the apple pie and ice cream!

Leaving the queen Charlotte tavern – home of incredible burgers

Heaving Havelock

Havelock town was heaving and the campsite was bursting at the seams, having spilled out onto the rugby field, the war memorial field and local park for more pitches. We ended up with a tiny sliver of grass behind a campervan but we were happy not to have been turned away. Like the camping ground, the local supermarket was also running a good trade. Most hikers buy 9 days of food in Havelock to see them through the Richmond Ranges, so with a captive audience the shop had a random assortment of dehydrated food, nuts, sweets and muesli bars all geared to extracting as much money as possible from us. £250 down (450 NZD) we left the shop and went to sort out our food and gear for the carry.

The Return of the Monster Scrogg.

Jenny’s scrogg baby

This next section was going to be our longest time between towns so we were a little apprehensive about how heavy our packs would be. We had bought a mountain of food: 45 bars in different varieties from yogurt to chocolate or fruit, 18 packs of dried fruit and nuts, 20 sachets of powdered coffee, an unhealthy amount instant noodles, and the biggest bag of scrogg (the Kiwi word for trail mix) just scratches the surface of what was going into our packs. The bag of scrogg alone weighed more than 4kg!

 

Both of us nervously lifted our packs onto our backs, then, maybe a bit too cockily, said “huh, not as bad as I thought it would be”. I was worried that the first day would be especially tough, not due to the terrain which was just 200 meters up and down over a 21km distance, but more due to the new weight of our packs, giving me flashbacks to the Sierra where the snow gear and bear canisters gave me terrible shin splints that were so bad that I sat out climbing Mount Whitney. But since then our gear has gotten lighter and we’ve packed less fear with us meaning we have less with us. The light base weight and general water availability means even with about 3-4kg of food between us per day it still feels manageable. Hopefully words that don’t come back to bite me.

Even taking a break every 5km we had a great pace getting to Pelorus Bridge with enough time for a swim in the river before dinner. It was a glorious day. We chatted through most of it together with spirits high, reflecting on how we thought life had gone for us both since our last big adventure in 2018. So much has changed for us and it was great to reflect on this and the next chapter that lies ahead of us.

The bees knees.

A huge platter of sushi shared with us by some generous day hikers

The glorious weather continued for us as we turned into the Richmond Ranges. The stunning day made the cool emerald pools along the river even more tempting. Around 11 am we took our first swim and started chatting with a family who shared their snorkeling gear and some fabulous sushi with us. This platter was unreal and absolutely delicious. We were already craving some vegetables and this was unbelievably tasty!

Don’t look down! These wire bridges make for some tense crossings.

We had originally planned to hike 22km this day but had completed this by 3pm, even with the long swimming and lunch break, so as we were both feeling great we decided to go a little further to the next hut, 5km away. Being such a glorious day we, like the 5 tents already pitched, opted to spend the night under canopy rather than in the boiling hot hut. The only downside to this was being bitten alive by the sandflies which are vicious, ignoring our insect repellant. They draw blood and if left in the skin for a few seconds leave a very itchy boil. The trick is to keep moving but that is easier said than done on tired legs.

As the good weather continued so did the vibe on the trail. Even though the elevation was getting steeper we were feeling strong, keeping up with some Dutch and German Sobo hikers who already had 1,700 km under their belts. We learnt about the secrets of good apple pie, the Camino del Santiago and discussed life off trail. It was great to chat with people outside of just the two of us and get that feeling of community again. The scenery of the Richmond Ranges is also beautiful and vast, albeit the tropical canopy is very hot and humid.

 

We ended the day at Hacket Hut where rumours were swirling about the weather for the next few days and what that would mean for the river crossings and exposed climbs coming up. A check on the Garmin confirmed the rumours, 100% rain for the next three days. Luckily we had banked a few kilometres with our longer days so far.

We made the most of the nice warm evening with a hobo shower in the river washing off the sweat from a humid day. We settled down for dinner which we were both very excited about: our first Backcountry Backpacker Meal. Joal had the honey soy chicken which was underwhelming whilst Jenny’s all day breakfast hit the spot. We were in bed by 7.30 pm with the other hikers, this time in a full hut as people tried to avoid the rain which was due to start at 2 am.

 

At 2.30 am nature called and sure enough it was already drizzling. Being ahead of plan, the options were either a 10km day to Slaty Hut or an 18km day to Old Man Hut. Within a few minutes of stepping out the door of the hut we were drenched from head to toe, thanks to the rain and river crossings. After a 900m climb we reached a hut where I lit a fire to dry out clothes while we had lunch. It was a funny sight with 6 hikers with their clothes hung near the fire whilst they ate wraps, couscous and oatmeal in their bras and pants.

Stoking the fire

Here we agreed that pushing on wasn’t a good idea, especially as the trail intentions/log book indicated that there were 10 people who had stayed at this hut last night and were aiming to get to Old Man Hut, the farther location. Two hours later we arrived at Slaty’s after a dose of the Lord of the Rings. We’ve been listening to The Roads Go Ever On podcast which is fantastic as it contains all the Lord of the Rings audiobooks which are read/acted incredibly well with background sounds and music to match.

As we reached Slaty Hut it was already full with just one bed remaining. Those hikers inside expected the next hut would already have 15 hikers in it, even though it only fit 5. Even though it was just 3pm we decided to call it a day and instead had our own party in Slaty’s, with the hat game, a roaring fire and lots of laughter to be had.

The game plan

In the evening we devised a game plan for the next day: be out of the hut by 7.30, take on what was the hardest part of the trail as a group, and hopefully end up at Rintoul Hut on the other side of the mountain by the end of the day. We prepared lunches so this wouldn’t be done in the rain and got our bags ready for the morning. The hut looked like a horror movie with our hiking rags from the 9 of us hung on any beam peg or rope around the hut. It was going to be a treasure hunt to make sure everything of our was found in the morning.

 

Affiliate Disclosure

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek's ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!

To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.

What Do You Think?