The Journey North

I have said my farewells to the warm, comfortable living space Brooke and I have in Wellington, and we have journeyed north to Cape Reinga where I will start my walk across New Zealand.

Since Brooke managed to get a week off work at Weta we decided it would be a good idea to drive up slowly with a rental, which Brooke can drop off in Auckland at the end of the week and fly back down to Wellington. Not only is it my birthday, but also Canada say and our one year anniversary of being together.

On the way up to Taupo I got to get a glimpse of one of the most beautiful parts of my walk, but also one I am slightly concerned about. The Tongariro crossing. A 4-5 day tramp that will take me across the volcano Mt Ngauruhoe  (mount doom). Usually this walk is completed in the summer, but since I'll be crossing in winter the volcano will turn into an alpine climb, which may require me to bring crampons.

Our journey north took us to Taupo, Hamilton, Raglan (for some surfing), Coromandal Peninsula, Auckland, many waterfalls, and Pukenui.

I'm rushing to finish this blog post before my WiFi time runs out but lastly I would like to mention my pack and what I'll be carrying. My pack will weigh between 15-20kg depending on how long I have to walk before reaching a town to resupply. Sometimes up to 10 days.

I will be using a tent, down sleeping mat, and a down sleeping bag up to -9 degrees Celsius. I will carry a inReach SE personal locator beacon, which will allow me to text through 2 way satellite. I will have a Garmin GPS, phone GPS (with downloaded topographic maps) and good old fashioned map and compass for navigation. Couple shirts, couple pairs of socks, rain gear, sleeping gear, 1 pair of pants, 1 pair of shorts, and a pair of runners for river crossings. 1 power monkey solar panel for charging my gear such as my phone, iPod, kobo, and the rest is just toiletries and other few small nick nacks.

Tomorrow's the day.

For cast says cloudy. Let's hope it's not rain.