Waioeka Gorge Mission

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I was getting antsy with 2 weekends in a row in Gizzy and needed to hit the backcountry big time. Good thing for me, there's always others keen on the same. Charl, Mags, Julie (a couch surfer who had been staying with me since Thursday) and I loaded up the truck with probably more than one night's gear and headed out to the gorge. A treacherous drive, but beautiful scenery, between Gisborne and Opotiki.

We hiked the 2.5 hours to the Koranga hut, met some Zimbabwean and young kiwi hunters packing dead pigs on shoulders and deer in their backpacks. A bit too hard core for the tinned-salmon likes of us... You definitely couldn't be mistaken that you were in New Zealand, with the carcasses everywhere, sheep paddocks, massive Remu trees, immaculate hut (inhabited by full time possum trapper). I love it. In fact, I loved it so much. I ditched my bag in the hut and decided to mission on a 3 hour bush run back along the same trail we had just walked. I don't know why, but the others didn't want to join me...

I had a freezing cold dip in the river, we dined on pasta and salmon, had some good chats with a couple hunters from Whakatane, drank some overly sweet boxed wine that Charl volunteered to pack in, and called it a night by 9pm. We were up with the sun (and the noisy possum trapper), had our coffee and hit the dirt for the walk back. Another good weekend exploring the East coast of the North Island.

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Photos

Looking at the Map
Just for reference of course. I don't need maps, I never get lost...

A well earned dinner
Food always tastes so much better when you're hiking. Its a good thing, because its usually pretty bad food!