◮ The Coromandel ◭
Starting at the top of the country, I made my way south down towards Auckland. Since I would be hiking out of Cape Reinga around mid-afternoon, I needed to find a free campsite that was decently close. Luckily, Raetea Forest DOC Campsite was not far off. The road out of the track was pretty empty, with only tourists who were visiting the sandboarding bluffs passing through. After walking out for 30 minutes towards the main highway, a sweet Australian couple picked me up and brought me straight to my campground. So dope. They even waited at the Pak N’ Save (the grocery store) as I bought some groceries.
Raetea campground was okay. It was a bit eerie, with moody weather and no one else around but was quick to fall asleep after several days of hiking. The next morning, I got a hitch with two Israeli travelers who stopped on the middle of the highway to pick me up. The highways here are only one lane so I hustled into their van to avoid an accident. They took me an hour south and after getting dropped off, I immediately got picked up by another driver. I didn’t even have time to call my mom. And he was heading to Auckland!! Boom, had the rest of the afternoon to chill at Connor’s and figure out my plans.
Not having a clue what to do next, I talked with some of Connor’s flatmates and they told me about the Coromandel and how they frequently go here on weekend trips. Did some research and decided to head to the Pinnacles.
The hitch to get there was long. I first took a train out of the city to Papakura. From there, I walked to the highway on-ramp when it started pouring rain. I waited here for 45 minutes #unimpressed. An Australian women who works with organizing concerts picked me up after finishing with Taylor Swift’s recent concert in Auckland. I next got a ride with Tom Francis, who I came to discover was a Kiwi Rapper, wearing Gucci sunglasses, fresh off the plane from L.A. and has famously worked with Snoop Dog. Never heard of him. A baker, an oldish French men, a forest worker, a father/son duo and four 60-year old hiking ladies dropped me off at the trailhead.
Stayed in the area for two nights, camping in my tent close to the Pinnacles Hut for $5 a night. The area was beautiful, especially the look out. Check out the photos below. Rained for a good chunk of time but I hung out at the peak for a couple hours and waited until the blue skies arrived.
Finally, I met a guy from Tennessee up there, who I got on well with and he ended up driving me all the way to Taupo with a quick stop in Mount Maunganui.
↟↟↟ Never Stop Exploring ↟↟↟ Stefan Carlberg
