Onwards and upwards the metal road took us. We passed ‘Krishna Sanctuary’ which was a property graced with many fruit trees. We paused to admire a lovely bunch of green bananas dangling like thick fingers from under tropical glossy leaves.
This place was a paradise in nature!
Tiny homes with an off grid appearance came next. What appeared to be abandoned boats, cars and tractors all trail side and tucked in the bush.
Around another corner and a festival of oriental flags were on display.
We caught up with Yumi, another trail walker. She couldn’t believe we’d walked the road from Ahipara the previous day, which equated to a 35km distance.
Breakfast was a cook up perched on a small campsite in the bush overlooking the valley. Yumi continued.
By 10.30 we were fed and rested, ready to cross the Mangamuka Range.
The trail turned off its 4WD width and narrowed upwards over exposed tree roots and patches of thick mud. Some spots took some negotiating to get across or around. We had to make like Tarzan and swing by tree branches or vines to cross the trickiest parts.
On reaching the summit at 740 metres ( one of the highest points in Northland ) we were disappointed that cloud masked all views. Light rain fell constantly and the wind came in gusts.
Eventually, after hours of toil, we reached farmland on the other side of the range. A blare came from the bush edge and it was clearly a bull making its presence known. Karl gave his own groaning reply to which I said “it’s in the paddock we’re in, so how fast can you run?”
Nothing more came of it and soon we were passing by the farmers house following the orange triangle markers. Dogs barked continuously until we were well down Makene Rd. There we were so grateful to have a patch to pitch our tent.
Light rain continued to fall as darkness came.
We were so drained of energy we skipped dinner and went straight to bed.
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