March 26, 2015

Lost in my own backyard

By

Theta

It all looked very simple on the map! Run down the road to the bridge, traverse the Karekare stream for a couple of k and up the Arthur Mead Track to Piha road. Then run a few trails back to home. The Karekare stream was great with lots of boulder hopping in open sections interspersed with cool little narrow gorges to wade up.

Then there are the waterfalls, the first two easily sidled past but the third involved a huge off-track bush crash climb and descent. At the top of the climb we discussed continuing up to Piha Rd but decided it best to descend again & so we could have the easy option of climbing out on the track. After this we were sure we’d come across the track soon a kept scanning the left hillside for a track; when we passed each of the 2 kauri dams we were certain the track would there but no sign of one, “Surely it’s just round the next corner”. And so, we eventually came to a stream junction with both tributaries looking tiny and overgrown; we must be right in the headwaters and so we’d missed the track. Time to bush crash again up a near-vertical slope covered in cutty grass and kiekie. Eventually we made it out to Piha Rd, after 3hrs for less than 3km – great training for an adventure race!