As I mentioned in my last dispatch, circumstances and weather conspired against me at Wellington earlier in the month, and I didn’t quite get the job finished. So I went back to Wellington on Friday 23rd and completed the final 12km of the North Island trail from Oriental Parade to Island Bay on Saturday.
The walk essentially follows Wellington’s Southern Walkway along the tops of the hills from Oriental Bay to Houghton Bay then around the shoreline to Island Bay. A plaque mounted on a rock marks the end of the North Island trail. We had a fine day with great views.
The TA walk has reaffirmed to me that we live in a ridiculously beautiful country and that we should take great care of it, so that future generations can enjoy it just as I have done and will continue to do.
I plan to complete the Te Araroa South Island trip next summer. Meantime, I fly to Dunedin this coming Saturday morning to spend a week on the Great NZ Trek hiking 190km through the high country in central Otago. And I am planning another exciting adventure for later this year – watch this space!