Day 69: Porirua to Wellington

Distance Covered: 31 km

Wow. Here we are in Wellington, one day from finishing the north island. For so long we didn’t even imagine what this would be like because it was so far away. And now we’re on the threshold and everything seems to be rushing by. Incredible. 

We woke up in Elsden Camp, that high pitched whine still going strong. It was driving me nuts even with earplugs in. On the other hand, the camp was just meters off the trail so it was convenient and there weren’t a lot of options anyway. Such is life.

The trail climbed steeply to a peak called Colonial Knob. The hills around Wellington are tall and steep enough that they are right on the edge of being mountains. Some say they are and some say they aren’t. Whatever their designation, we found ourselves climbing staircase after staircase. Up and up until we crested a ridge and were able to walk up trail instead of stairs. We found grassy regions (that would have been perfect for camping) and a whole lot of wind. When the wind was really whipping by it was hard to say if it was the strongest wind we encountered on the whole island or not. But the thought crossed our mind.

We didn’t stay at the peak for too long. We still had a long way to go, after all, and the high winds pushed us physically and motivationally off anyways. Just before we left, though, we met a Te Araroa hiker from New Zealand. It was surprising after all this time to meet someone new. He caught us because his knees were bothering him so he skipped the Tararua Range. We chatted for a few minutes and waved goodbye as we descended the other side of the peak.

A short while later, we descended into Spicer forest. What a great little section! Pine forest, wide and well groomed trail, scenic and peaceful, and… real switchbacks! Unbelievable, really. It probably seems kind of dumb, but this trail was one of my favorites of the whole north island. It would be just a little better if it wasn’t right next to the city dump, but the smell wasn’t too bad…

Then it was 5 km of road walking. The high winds kept going and so lunch was in a little bend in the road where a fence gave us a few square meters of shelter. We still had to chase one chip bag down the road, though!

And then the paved road turned to an old dirt road and began the climb up to Mt. Kaukau, which overlooks Wellington proper. (All the other peaks we’ve climbed couldn’t see over this last ridge to the city.) It was windy business going up the road as it wound its way to the top. No hats or loose items on the backpacks! (Side Note: this trip is the first time in a decade that I’ve felt the wind go through my hair that I’ve let grow out on this adventure… the first time it happened I didn’t know what the sensation was!)

As the road neared the top, it approached a saddle with a litte bench for two just before we crossed the ridge. Emily and I sat down and held hands. This side of the mountain was rural and open. The other side was certain to be city as far as we could see. In a small subset of life, the rural was the Te Araroa trail and the city represented our future coming towards us with all the hustle that the real world asks for. So we sat and talked about our favorite things and things we didn’t like. We laughed and sighed. When we were ready, we kissed each other, helped each other up, then walked over the saddle while holding hands.

And there was the city below us with an upper middle-class subdivision directly before us with tiny lawns and big fences. Each house unique, but ultimately the same. And one window looking into another window. Bleh.

The trail went above the houses and then kept winding up higher. The local Boy Scout troop maintains the trail and they’re doing a great job. We’ve become trail experts and can pick up the subtle clues that a trail is getting the love it needs to stay healthy. Things like water run off management, straight sign posts, gravel above the dirt instead of buried in years of mud, and bushes trimmed just so.

And then we were at the top, leaning into the wind and looking down on the city. Wellington is a hilly city with a beautiful bay. It has a bad reputation with the weather, which makes sense since it’s got the Pacific on one side and the Southern Ocean nearby creating all sorts of weather havoc. On the other hand, it has a rich history and the city folks made a smart decision long ago to preserve a green belt around the city for public recreation. It’s very much like San Francisco in some ways.

We left the peak for one more ridge walk. We could feel the vortices as the wind pushed our left leg left when it was lifted and the right leg to the right. Or vice versa. We were leaning and hunched over and holding onto sunglasses and such as we zigged and zagged along the trail, trying to go straight. It was exhausting but fun.

We took another little break behind a small berm. We leaned back on our backpacks on the slope, looking at the city. More talking about all the many experience’s we’ve had. Then throwing rocks into the air to watch the wind take them. We really took our time this afternoon to enjoy things. We still had a long way to go, though.

We got up and finished the trail from the peak. It dumped us out in a neighborhood for road walking. They have the same kind of pedestrian system as San Francisco where the roads are so steep and narrow that they install stairs for people to get up and down. It was the steepest road walking we’ve done! Fortunately, we were led to some really great city parks. Each was a km or two of informative signs and careful design to create the illusion that we weren’t right next to the elevated train tracks, for instance. They did good work.

And then, as it was getting pretty late, we made it into the Botanical Gardens. Once again, they were free and once again they were spectacular. Many, many acres of sectioned trees, bushes, flowers, and so on. Even an observatory. The trail took us all over the gardens and we learned quite a bit about many of the things we’ve been walking past for the last two plus months.

And then we were in downtown Wellington. We kept saying how unbelievable it was that we were walking around in Wellington. Blows our minds. All the adventures, all the people, weather, trails (and non-trails), peaks, valleys, beaches, roads, and so on and now here we were in Wellington. Crazy, crazy, crazy.

Tonight we are staying at the YHA hostel. We have our own room and we are stocked with delicious things from the store across the street. Tomorrow we will finish the north island. Huzzah!