Dermot O'Brien
Day 106 Onwards
I've started to just post on Instagram at https://instagram.com/dermotobriennz for now and will backfill after the trail. Thanks for...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Feb 17
- 1 min
Day 105. Feb 17. Ship Cove to Camp Bay campsite. 28km / 6.8hr.
A beautiful still morning, catching the 8am water taxi from Picton to Ship Cove and the start of the Queen Charlotte Track (QCT). The...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Feb 16
- 1 min
Day 104. Feb 16. Wellington to Picton (ferry)
A 4.30am start to train from Waikanae to Wellington and make last checkin for the morning ferry to Picton at the top of the South Island....
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Dermot O'Brien
- Feb 16
- 1 min
Day 102-103. Feb 14-15. Waikanae.
The final two days at home in Waikanae were spent gathering food and supplies and posting supply boxes for me to use later at Pelorus...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Feb 14
- 1 min
Day 101. Feb 13. Wellington CBD to Island Bay. 14km.
Been off the trail for two weeks after Fielding resting a lower leg injury and spend the last week filling in the bits I skipped. But...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Jan 14
- 1 min
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Dermot O'Brien
- Jan 13
- 1 min
Day 70. Jan 13. Whakahoro to Ōhauora Campsite. 25km.
The morning was cool and enveloped in mist rising from the river. That soon burned off as the sun came up. Had breakfast with the...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Jan 11
- 1 min
Day 68. Jan 11. National Park to Kaitieke. 29km.
The track out of National Park followed the mountain-to-sea cycle route under a broody morning sky. But the day turned fine through...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Jan 10
- 1 min
Day 66 / 67. Jan 9 / 10. Whakapapa to National Park. 24km.
The sky had finally cleared to blue after too many days of grey. The walk out of Whakapapa was special with beautiful views of Ruapehu...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Jan 8
- 1 min
Day 65. Jan 8. Mangatepopo Hut to Whakapapa. 10km.
Mangatepopo hut was cozy overnight. Most of the hut occupants were up at 5am and away by 6.30. I had the luxury of a late start as I had...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Jan 7
- 1 min
Day 64. Jan 7. Tongariro Holiday Park to Mangatepopo Hut. 27km.
Beginning to sound like a stuck record, but low cloud and drizzle all day. No visibility for the classic Tongariro crossing. The blue...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Jan 7
- 1 min
Day 63. Jan 6. Freedom Camp to Tongariro Holiday Park. 17km.
Not a gleam of sun either today, just grey sky’s and drizzle. The going was also harder than yesterday. Lots of ascent and slippery muddy...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Jan 6
- 1 min
Day 62. Jan 5. Ōwhango to 42 Traverse. 22km.
The day was overcast again with light rain at times. Was crossing the 42 Traverse today, officially closed because of a large slip in the...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Jan 5
- 1 min
Day 59 - 61. Jan 2 - 4. Taumarunui to Ōwhango. 25km.
On Monday, I said goodbye to Katie, Nick and Tyde at Manukau bus station in Auckland and caught a very full bus to Taumarunui, arriving...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Dec 24, 2022
- 1 min
Day 49 - 58. Dec 23 - Jan 1. Christmas and New Year in Auckland.
Had a lovely chill time in Auckland with my extended family. Did the remaining Pakakura to Bombay section on a very hot day through rural...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Dec 23, 2022
- 1 min
Day 48. Dec 22. Mercer to Bombay. 26km.
The trail today was a mixture of busy narrow shoulder state highway walking, wetlands, flood bank, forest and farmland walking. A kind of...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Dec 22, 2022
- 1 min
Day 47. Dec 21. Rangiriri to Mercer. 30km.
Early morning at Rangiriri was enveloped in river fog as I started along the flood bank, enjoying the river experience. Only one small...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Dec 21, 2022
- 1 min
Day 46. Dec 20. Taumarunui via Huntly to Rangiriri. 18km.
Caught the early morning "hospital bus" linking Taumarunui to Hamilton hospital and then a bus to Huntly through a thunderstorm and hail....
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Dermot O'Brien
- Dec 20, 2022
- 1 min
Day 45. Dec 19. Ōngarue to Taumarunui. 26km.
My resolve to walk every section possible was immediately tested when I was offered a lift after going only 100m down the road. Of course...
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Dermot O'Brien
- Dec 19, 2022
- 2 min
Day 44. Dec 18. Piropiro Flats to Ōngarue. 45km (bike).
It was a slow start to the morning, grey skies and still raining. I cooked in my tent. Porridge, baby food fruit purée and coffee. We...
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