Pt2 Day 29. Herekino Forest end to Raetea Forest km142 - 15/3/16

We got underway from Opua around 0700 in our "whanau taxi" (thanks again Ria!) for the two hour drive out to Diggers Valley Road. This is the spot we got to when my knee gave out on our first TA attempt.  So we got underway about 0915 planning to head some way into the (notorious) Raetea Forest.  Ended up doing about 21km - gps track here.

About to kick off. Deja vu for Ria who picked us up at this very spot late Oct 2015!!

About 3 or 4 weeks ago, the Takahue Forest link section of TA was closed for logging operations. This meant we had to divert north-ish on Diggers Valley Rd and then south-ish on asphalt roads to get to the Takahue settlement and back on the TA "proper", on Takahue Rd. That added about 5km to the original, but no sweat!!

It was actually quite a nice walk, especially on DV Rd, which was gravel, and through some nice countryside. We did meet a few trucks however, but they were generally going slowly and were good when they saw us.

Just confirming the "trail status" notes from teararoa.org.nz website!

Some quite pleasant walking on Diggers Valley Rd ........

.... and some nice outlooks ....

.... but also logging trucks to avoid ......

.... as well as dust baths to minimise!!

As you might expect (??!!) there were also empty ones going in the other direction

Just about to go onto one lane bridge where that empty truck passed us. At least they were generally going slowly, and you can usually hear them coming.

Someone skinned the pig and left it hanging by the bridge. The head was also just by it on the ground! This is the far north.

A very flash newish hall at Takahue - one of very few buildings in the settlement!!

This property just before Takahue was awash with dogs. This little puppy followed B down the road for a while before being convinced to head back home! Quinn and Little Bear would not have been impressed if we arrived home with a new puppy!!

From Takahue we headed east on Takahue Saddle Rd.  At the 16km mark for the day we were still on gravel roads and only about 100m asl.  We stopped here for lunch and to refill our water, as the Raetea Forest itself has no reliable water sources, and we needed enough for overnight and next day as well.  To our chagrin, we passed several other water sources in the next few kms on Takahe Saddle Road before getting into the Raetea Forest.  We should have read other blogs more closely!!  The part to the lunch break had been relatively easy, but we knew it wasn't to last. The next 5 km or so eventually took us up over the 580m mark so it was pretty steady climbing to say the least!

Takahue Saddle Rd, after about 2km out so, became a rough four wheel drive track - but even up here someone seems to have put in a retreat of some kind!! Not so easy to get to and certainly no passing traffic to generate custom!!

"Rustic" yards walking out of Takahue.

Lunch spot beside the Takahue River before starting some more serious uphill - as Takahue Saddle Rd turned into more of a 4WD track.

Biggish mob in the yards with the vet doing something (we didn't stop!).

Close up of one of the more impressive set of horns in evidence - not the only one. I wouldn't get in the yards with that one!

Small stream crossing as we headed up hill. We have found a lot of these very out of the way dead-end roads are a dumping ground for old vehicles (and road cones occasionally)!!

And miles from anywhere, someone has a retreat of some sort operating!!

The track carried on past the retreat through a little more bush now - not far from actual Raetea track start.

Eventually we turned off into the Raetea Forest track itself.  The first bit didn't disappoint - a fairly rugged climb from around 280m up to 580m.  We had originally thought of pushing on to Raetea Peak (the highest point at 744m), which was another 2.5 km of tough tramping track, as we had read there was a possible campsite there.

However, after reaching the 580m peak we were pretty tired and decided to start looking for a spot to pitch the tent - Raetea is notorious for not having places to put a tent.  It was described by one overseas hiker as a "jungle" rather than a "forest"! We were fortunate to find a spot not too far past the 580m Peak which we managed to squeeze the tent into.  It was a good decision to stop, not only as we were fairly tired, but the next day showed us that there wasn't really any place else suitable before (or even after) Raetea Peak!

It's fair to say that we are fortunate to have relatively fine weather, as mud had been a real problem for other TAers this season.  Not that there was no mud - just much less than others have experienced - it would certainly have been much more challenging in wetter weather.  :-) 

We were pretty hot and sticky by the time we got to the start of the Raetea Forest Track - time for a break. That's the track heading off in the background.

Still mud around - this hole caused by a pig wallowing. We saw lots of evidence on pigs in the mud!

B took a pic of a piggy trotter print in the mud to confirm.

The occasional "peek-a-boo" view!

Still get some view of farmland before getting deeper into the forest.

There's Raetea Peak (744m) - where we are heading.

Looking back west towards 90 Mile Beach.

The fantails/piwakawaka are lovely the way they follow you around for ages.

The bush is gorgeous.

The "seat of the pants" approach to overcoming obstacles!

Same log, same approach, different practitioner!

Not steep this bit, but underfoot conditions are pretty standard for this track. Care required in placing feet.

Orange markers and obstacles are also in relative abundance - although the former get harder to spot in places tomorrow!

B standing on the track with tent squeezed in just off the track. Proved to be a great decision in hindsight.

Having blown up the beds, its time for some book reading for me before dinner!

It is a beautiful forest to walk through and, even when completely knackered, and slogging away on gnarly uphill stretches, its hard not to appreciate the amazing landscape we have here in NZ - and how little of it most of us have really seen. Photos never really do it justice, but we hope it gives you a taste at least.