Haruru Falls

Day 160 – Paihia, New Zealand

Today I stayed near the town where I lodge, Paihia. There is a 5-km walk to Haruru Falls that is reputed to be pleasant, and it is!

Of course, what they don’t tell you is that you have to walk almost as long just to get to the start of the trail, but it’s alright, it’s by the beach.

Paihia – The Bay of Islands

So I dressed with cloths that would fade easily in the forest, turquoise, royal blue and indigo pants, lime and bottle green shirt, red and yellow headscarf, bright blue backpack, and went on my merry way.

I came across a lady who was in my bus yesterday on the Cap Reinga day tour, we walked together a while as we were going in the same direction. She stopped at the Treaty Ground, a museum built on the place the treaty (I’m not sure which, shush) was signed. (It’s a treaty signed between the Maori people and the European settlers, but I didn’t want to pay the 50-dollar entrance fee to find out more.)

The start of the walk is just a bit further, and I found it easily. It starts under a forest canopy, with a lot of tree ferns, just as I like. (The rainforests I walked in in Australia where a lot better, greener, but a lot damper, so I won’t sneer too much at New Zealand’s forests.)

Haruru Falls Walk

There are markers at each kilometre to help tired walker know where they are at. There was not place to take a break sadly, except at the very end just before the falls, which themselves have nice, shaded resting spots.

Half-way through, the forest gives way to a mangrove, and the track becomes a boardwalk. I really enjoy mangroves, that was part of the appeal.

Haruru Falls Walk – The mangrove

Back in the forest, I stopped for a chat with a man cutting a tree stump too close to the trail. He admired my outfit and asked for a cuddle (we had a strange talk, but he was nice. And three times my age, a third of my body weight, so…)

I finally arrived at the falls. Of course there is a carpark for people driving straight there instead of walking!

Haruru Falls Walk – The falls

I felt a bit too tired to go back the long, but pleasant way I came in (I didn’t take my trekking poles, and I think that made a significant difference!), so I took the shorter way, along the highway. There is a wide sidewalk for pedestrians, but it is not as pleasant as the forest!

And finally, I stopped at the beach before going back to the lodge, and attracted seagulls eager to see if I had a snack to share.

Paihia – Seagull

I’m back, and so exhausted tonight! Tomorrow I leave for Auckland, where I’ll stay a couple of days before starting my loop to the South.

I don’t think that I’ve talked about my bus passes yet. New Zealand offers quite a range of hop-on, hop-off bus loops, operated either bus tourings/dedicated backpacker companies, or by the national bus service. Both have their pros and cons, cost, flexibility, autonomy, accessibility, frequency… and it depends on a lot of criterium.

I chose to go with the national bus company, mostly because of the frequency, the autonomy/flexibility, and the fact that I won’t be travelling with a bunch of foreign backpackers going to the same place as me (day tours are one thing, complete loops another).

I have bought a first pass based on a number of hours bought: each travel costs me the equivalent number of hours. I can ride this way on the entire network. In addition, through third-party tour companies, I can use set numbers of hours to buy day tours affiliated with my pass. That’s how I saw dolphins and went on the Cap Reinga day tour. These tours combined “cost” me around 15 hours, but if I do a rough prorata of the equivalent cost in New Zealand dollars, I fall far below the package price advertised by the tour company.

I use this pass to go around these days, and I can use it for any side trip later on. These hours are valid for 12 months (and I can resell them if needed).

I have bought a second pass, this one is for a set circuit, starting in Auckland, going down the North Island, crossing to the South Island, and making a wide loop ending in Christchurch. I can travel at the speed I want (for 12 months) on this circuit, as long as I go in the same direction and stay on it. (Hence the possibility to make side trips with the other pass, and I will also need it to go back to the North Island!)

In addition, this second pass includes a few day tours (no need to convert anything to go on them): Hobbiton, the Waitomo caves (caves with glow-worms), Milford Sound. As an example, Hobbiton costs $84 and the Waitomo caves entrance is $52. (Take a third off to get the price in euro.)

So that’s my plans for the next few weeks!