Day 4 | Dalys Clearing Hut, Kaimais

A day of mixed success.

After a rest day in Tauranga to dry out and wait for the hills to drain, I worked out where to go. From near Katikati, I could get to a couple of huts in a day.

Despite Highway 2 requiring a detour, I made it to the carpark just after 9 am. It took a while to shuffle my gear around and get ready to change into my damp hiking shoes, etc. Then a hunter and his dog rolled back down the track. He had been thwarted by three slips over the track, each bigger in size. He showed me photos on his phone, and it was clear they were just from the first half hour. The third slip was more than 60 m across and quite gnarly, although the other two would have just slowed me down.

He didn’t recommend bush-bashing around the steep hills and advised following another track, then trap lines along the ridge to connect with the north/south track. That was only about 1 km of seat-of-the-pants style hiking.

I could cope with that, but once I’d gone round to the two huts, I probably had to return the same way rather than heading through Slipsville.

Then, a DOC vehicle with five young workers turned up. The track was closed. They were going to survey it for any required repairs.

I had to find something else to do.

Maybe the south of the park.

As I drove back down the hill, I stopped and re-looked at the map. It was only 30 minutes north to a car park for Daly Clearing Hut. That area didn’t look like it would have slipped, given the low terrain. At least it would be worth a look.

I scooted up there and found only one car in the car park, and I was just about ready to set out when another DOC vehicle drove past without stopping.

This was a loop track, but maybe I could hightail it across the farmland to avoid confrontation. As it turned out, they walked up the track in the gorge and didn’t bother me.

Going up the Dean Track got me into the forest, and I enjoyed the gradual climb and occasional undulation through the forest. So different from the South Island, except for the nikau palms, which were familiar.

Overall, the trees had much bigger leaves, and I didn’t see any beech trees. I sat around often enough in the forest to hear some birdlife, but despite a large number of traps to be seen, there wasn’t much ornithological interest. Maybe a kaka, and at the clearing, a tui shot across.

In the end, it took three hours, because I used up the last of my Internet connectivity. I discovered it was a holiday in the region on Monday, so I expected a few people out and about, but the road from Paeroa to Waihi and the Coromandel roads were all closed due to the heavy rain, meaning it was a long drive from Auckland and then north around from Tauranga.

The other State Highway 2 diversion probably deterred people too, given the recent downpour.

No one was at the hut. There were two bedrooms with a living room in between, so if others turned up, I could cope okay.

And then, the rain came down heavily.

Who would have thought?