Fairytale Forest

I woke up to sun today!!! Real life sunshine and no rain! I haven’t been rushing out early mornings this trip and even with the sun I’m still not being overly aggressive on getting out the door. Plus this morning I needed to pack up to change AirBnBs. With the good weather I am definitely going to head down to the Whirinaki Forest for the day. Unfortunately many of the trails are closed due to damage from storms but the main 3.5-hour track I know I want to do is passable plus another 3-hour track and another 1-hour.

On the 1 hr 20 min drive from my AirBnB in Rotorua to the Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tane Conservation Park I kept seeing bright yellow signs dictating to report wallaby sightings. It was just yesterday that I learned there were even wallabies around and I was excited that this may be an area where I spot them! I maneuvered down the highway and through cones at various construction sites I realized the ease with which I was driving. I don’t want to jinx myself but I’m kind of a pro at opposite driving now! (Even I am amused at my own commentary in my driving videos).

Nearing Whirinaki and turning down the final marked road, I passed two Māori meeting houses. It was really cool to see them out in the middle of nowhere like this, in their natural and authentic state, as opposed to the ones I’ve seen previously in more commercialized areas. The homes sat across from a fanciful pasture. I would love to be a fly on the wall and know what actually goes on in there.

A sign on the side of the road warned of “wandering stock” and, sure enough, I encountered a small herd of horses lazing on the side of the road. With babies! I couldn’t help but let out a little squeal. I want a horse.

My navigation came to an end and I followed signs, turning off onto a rough dirt road. Large puddles in the pocked dirt threw water over the car as I gunned through them. Narrowing to a single lane I became both terrified of encountering another car and curious as to just how much further I had to go because it seemed like I was going forever. I had encountered a camper van when I first turned onto the dirt road and as it narrowed they had pulled over to let me pass. As my little RAV4 struggled up a couple of the steeper grades and slid on the loose gravel I watched in my rear view mirror to see how they were faring. They fell behind a bit.

After what seemed like forever, and just as I was really starting to question if I had been led astray, I arrived at the little car park. There were only two other cars and one van parked in there. That’s one thing about this trip, I feel like I’ve hardly encountered many people anywhere on trails. Everything has been quiet and secluded. The van that had been behind me pulled up as I was getting my pack together and a couple in their mid 60s hopped out. We chatted about the road for a moment but I was distracted from the conversation by my admiration of them. That is a goal right there; in 20+ years I want to be traveling the world with my partner, still pushing it on trails. I don’t know about the camper van but the adventure of it all.

My priority trail in this forest is the Whirinaki Waterfall Loop, not because of the waterfall but, to be totally honest, because it passes through a canyon that I’ve seen on many a New Zealand dream travel instagram or blog post that looks, well, dreamy. This track is also known for its “dinosaur trees” – whatever that means. I was in awe from the start. So so happy. I mean, I was already so so happy to not be wearing rain gear but the eye candy on this trail; just wow. Tall ferns and bubbling streams welcomed me immediately. Stunning green flowery groundcover covered not only the ground but fell tree trunks. I am a sucker for a tree that has its own ecosystem.

Waterfalls cascaded down the side of the forest walls along the edge of the trail and in places they had to be dodged or their base streams carefully crossed. Boulders, trees, everything was covered in moss. At times the track narrowed to less than two feet wide with sheer drops off the side to the river below. No pictures can do this justice, it was like walking through a mossy green fairly tale wonderland. Have I mentioned that I’m sooooo happy not to be wearing rain gear right now?

With the mini “slips” (aka: rock slides) I passed on the already narrow trail, narrowing it even further, it was so clear that it wouldn’t take much of a storm to make this completely impassable. A word on vocabulary here… in New Zealand they call the paths “tracks” as opposed to “trails” and use the words “walking” or “tramping” instead of “hiking.”

Parts of the track were complete muck from the previous days’ rains and I navigated my footsteps carefully to make sure I didn’t eat shit. Until I misjudged one step and, while I didn’t eat shit, buried my foot about four inches into the mud. Ugh. At exactly the time I had calculated I should reach the falls, I did. They were not impressive, like super unimpressive, but there was a picnic table nearby so it was a good place to stop for lunch and also to pull out my little tripod to get a pictures of myself in another telling tank, this one reading “My Life Story Will Be a Good One.” Hell yah it will be.

The two couples that had started the trail around the same time as I caught up with me while I was eating. I left as they took their breaks, it’s good to know that there are people behind me since I’m out here alone. Leaving the falls area I finally had my first fungus sighting of the day. Yah, I know that sounds weird but some pretty gorgeous mushrooms are supposed to sprout in this area and I hadn’t seen a single one yet.

A large tree had fallen across the track and taken some smaller trees down with it. Slick with moss I climbed over them to continue on my path. The terrain changed a bit with more tall ferns and the river closer than it had been on the opposite side. One bridge had a sign warning that the maximum load is only one person; that’s always comforting. I feel like I prefer a little bit more leeway on weight than just one person!

In a particularly muddy mess I spied a firm spot of ground just off the very edge of the trail, I crouched low to fit under a hanging tree branch and, well, it wasn’t low enough! To my unfortunate surprise I smashed the shit out of my head right into the solid limb. My hat flew off my head and I stumbled but somehow remained upright, bashing my shin along the way. I almost knocked myself out but its cool. It hurt, it hurt like hell. I spent the next half hour being a hypochondriac and thinking of people who have died from hitting their head. For real, I know two personally! Err, knew? Note to self: Google signs of a concussion.

As I walked through the fairy tale land my pain subsided and the river drew near. Checking the time I also knew that the end of this loop should be drawing near and yet I still had not seen the mystical looking mossy canyon that had drawn me to this particular track. The next set of directional trail signs were of no use. None. Directional signs to five different points but not a one pointing me towards my destination. I thought I should keep left and reviewed the rudimentary trail map I had, sticking with my original thought but really wishing the signs had been of some use.

I passed a trail marker with three red “X”s in a column. What he hell does that mean?! With my mind focused on wondering what the red “X”s meant and if I was going the right way I didn’t even realize I had entered the land of the fairy tale canyon. I tramped off the main track close to the edge; like most things it wasn’t nearly as much of a wow as the heavily edited images of it I had seen. But Te Whaiti Nui a Toi Canyon was still gorgeous; walls of mossy rocks with ferns lounging over the edge and the river narrow as it ran through.

I crossed a little bridge over the canyon and about ten steps later found myself at the first set of trail markers I had followed; if I had taken the loop this direction I would have seen the canyon within 20 minutes and would not have had nearly as steep of a track. Knowing that I was not far from the car park I relished in my last minutes in this fairy tale; still surprised no little sprites had popped out from behind the trees. I like walking through enchanted forests.

Popping back out at the car park there was just my car, the older couple’s camper van, one other car that had a club locked across it’s steering wheel, and a truck with a lone man standing beside it. The man yelled across the tiny car park, “Have you seen a pup?” I could barely hear him and he could tell so he came a little closer and asked me again, “Have you seen a puppy? One with a pink collar? A couple hikers lost him near the waterfall yesterday.” I felt both as though this sounded like the oldest kidnapping lure in the books and also wildly concerned for the puppy. Suspiciously I told him that I saw no signs of a pup. He confirmed that I had just come from the waterfall loop and with disappointment that I had no pup-sightings to report he got back in his truck and pulled away. My heart aches for this poor pup lost out there, literally, in the middle of the forest.

I looked closer at the car with the club parked next to me, on the dash facing out was a note with a name, a date, notice that they planned to be gone out on the wilderness tracks for 5-6 days, and a plea of sorts that nothing of value was in the car. A note had been slipped under the windshield wiper and my nosiness got the best of me, the note was a plea for any information on any sightings of the lost pup with the red collar.

It was already after 3pm and I sat in my car wondering what to do with myself now. The shorter trails in the area are all closed due to flood or bridge damage. There is a 3 hour track just a few more minutes down the road I had on my list as well as another 90 minute track a couple miles away. I didn’t know if I had it in me to take on another 3 hours, this one with more climbs, and my feet were threatening to blister. I did have some cell service amazingly enough so I sat in the car for a few minutes, happy to hear from C and exchange a couple messages, before deciding that my smartest course of action would be to head back towards Rotorua and find a closer trail so I’m closer to food given that there was a whole lot of nothing in the hour plus drive from Rotorua to here.

Ran drops started to fall as soon I pulled out of my parking spot; talk about timing! I drove slowly back down the roads, dodging the rain filled potholes on the gravel road and prepared for any stock to meander out onto the paved roads. The horses weren’t far from where I had seen them on the way out and I had to wait for a little colt roadblock to finish crossing before I could continue on. I considered trying to get out of my car and see if they’d let me near but my good judgement won over.

Arriving back in Rotorua I decided that my first stop should be to check into my AirBnB for the next two nights, then the trail along the lake, and then dinner. Boom, solid plan in place. Navigating closer and closer to my AirBnB, however, I had a pit in my stomach. The location is the worst I’ve seen around here; there was actually graffiti on a fence just two doors down. I haven’t felt unsafe in New Zealand since my first trip where I finally realized that it was my own bias making me suspicious but this neighborhood made me anxious. When I booked this place it was brand new with no reviews yet, in the only 3 or 4 that have come in since one reviewer mentioned that they didn’t feel comfortable walking around the area and I blew it off as someone with the same bias I once had; but I was wrong. My angst didn’t get any better as I pulled into the driveway, driving past one tired looking home to another in the back. Splintered wood and cracked paint surrounded the large picture window, with a view right into the bedroom, and front door. I got the key out of the lockbox and went to let myself in. But the key wouldn’t turn. I jimmied it and shimmied it and and jangled it and wiggled it and all the key tricks one could imagine. Over two minutes later, right as I was about to give up, the key finally turned. Oh hell no. This is a sign of a lock that’s been messed with and I do not want to be somewhere that the could leave me locked out of. I walked in trepidatiously and all I could think was “lipstick on a pig.” Sure, they had updated with modern furnishings and kitchen cabinets but the door jams, floors, glass finishings, bathroom, and so on were all old and looked of disrepair. I quickly looked up the AirBnB I’ve spent the last two nights it. Could I go back there? Nope, fully booked. I went to my list of saved places, one was showing availability and many amazing reviews. I put in a booking request and almost immediately got a message from the host. She accepted my last minute booking and I eagerly backed my car out of the driveway. Moral of the story: never take a chance on booking a brand new AirBnB; wait for reviews to have rolled on!

With tension leaving my body as I drove back towards the redwood forest part of town I was happy to find myself in a new development. Shiny new cottage homes built on large properties with lush green pasture and forest views. My Kiwi Cottage was a little quirky in design but new, clean, and felt safe. This will do.

By now I’d messed around with AirBnB drama for long enough that I was ready for a meal. New plan: find dinner and then walk the lake. Some quick googling landed me on White Tiger Dumpling House. I had walked by White Tiger Saturday evening and it had been a madhouse but at 6:30pm on a Monday the place was dead. With an “all you can eat” option on the menu I decided to go for it so I could try different things. The waitress had explained that every menu item was included in this option and I assumed that just meant tiny portions, which I was good with. I started with the karaage chicken bao, prawn and ginger dumplings, bok choy and mushroom dumplings, shiitake gyoza, chicken pad thai, and steamed vegetables. This restaurant is my idea of food heaven; the food was all delicious and the portion sizes far larger than I anticipated. I ordered more; thai green curry mussels and fresh spring rolls. The mussels are hands down the best mussels I have ever eaten; I ordered two more portions. Only three other tables had been occupied in the restaurant when I arrived and I was so lucky to have gotten there before the large groups and crowds rolled in. My food was coming out fast but as more and more people showed up the service got slower and slower. And then it got really bad. I had ordered a Snickers dumpling for desert and it was not coming. I was not getting any service anymore. It took about half an hour to get anyone’s attention to inquire about my desert dumpling and get my check. They had clearly forgotten about me because when I did inquire the dumpling came out within a couple minutes. And it was not worth the wait. I had wanted to go on an after dinner walk but the crappy service sucked the light right out of the day and I no longer had time before the sun went down.

Oh well, back to my AirBnB instead. A nice evening to rest, reset, and drink some tea is actually quite welcome right now. I am so glad I found this place and am not uncomfortable in my originally booked accommodations. Tomorrow I was supposed to go rafting but due to the water levels rafting is off and I’m zip-lining instead. Hard to believe that tomorrow is my last full day in New Zealand and I fly out the following day; this trip has dragged in some ways and flown by in others.