Day 129 | Whakapapa River Bridge
19 February 2023 | 21°C | 37km
Vroom, vroom, vroom ..... I am not sure if it is 4am and 5am when someone opens and closes the door of their van. several times. Not only is it the noise that wakes me up but also a lot of light at at time that feels like the middle of the night to me.
I remember the lady from the campground saying that the don't let any more camper vans in after 6pm to not disturb the guests that want to leave early for the Tongariro crossing but what about the noise from exactly these people??
Though I know I need to walk at least 35km today, if I want to finish in Tamaranui tomorrow, I take my time for breakfast and clean my pack before heading out. After roughly an hour of roadwalk, I reach the trailhead of the so-called 42 Traverse that is officially partly closed. While I stand in front of the sign I hear a car and quickly jump into the bush to not be seen.
To my relief, the start is not as muddy as I though. Mainly an easy walk along a path paved by a 4WD. Piece of cake! When still hiking southbound, I thought the 42Traverse would be another mountain to climb .... far from it! Its basically walking on a gravel road crossing State Forest 42. Also the initial earth slip that everyone was talking about (and the reason why this section is partially officially closed) I supereasy compared to a lot of sketchy bits on the rest of the trail - also thanks to other hikers that have already established new trails on the actual landslide.
At the end of a rather long day I reach the bridge and an apparently popular spot with campers by the river. A lady smiles at me while I walk around trying to find the perfect camp spot. We start chatting and it turns out she is from Austria travelling around New Zealand in a van with her daughter. The start of a lovely evening exchanging travel stories while having some ice cold beers ...
