The journey from Bluff back to Auckland involved a bus from Invercargill to Christchurch, a train to Picton, a cross-strait ferry to Wellington, and finally a train to Auckland (with two stops to hike additional sections of Te Araraoa and get more "points"!)
	While in Wellington I went to visit Trust Power's Tararua wind farm near Palmerston North. This is the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere. The wind farm will soon have 103 660-kW turbines operating, for a 70 MW total power rating. Appreciation to Trust Power for allowing me to visit.
	The Tararua winds are very strong, as my first-hand experience from Section H in the Tararuas demonstrated. The wind farm has so far achieved an average 47% capacity factor, which means a wind site that is among the best in the world (annual average wind speed of 10.3 meters/second). On the day I visited, all turbines were running at full rated power and the winds were consistently above 13 meters/second (30 miles/hour).
	The Tongariro Crossing, including a linking track to Whakapapa Village, is a confirmed and available part of the Te Araroa route. I walked it in one day. Here, Mt. Ruapehu, which last erupted in 1996, slumbers in the early dawn.
	The Tongariro Crossing sees several hundred hikers each day, almost all heading in the same direction at about the same time. This made it the most crowded track I had walked, with virtually a continuous stream of people.
	The track was mostly easy walking. There was one very steep section, an ascent of 700 meters (2300 feet) to this spot overlooking Mt. Ngauruhoe, but most everyone seemed to get up with little trouble.
	Ketetahi Hut was a popular place to stop on the way down
	Blue Lake and points east in the distance
	The Waikato River Track is a recently completed piece of Te Araroa. Here, starting in fog along the stop-bank from near Meremere.
	The track travels for 30-km along the wide and lazy Waikato River
	The Te Araroa section Huntly--Rangiriri--Meremere is one of six tracks in North Island that are now signed specifically as part of the "long pathway." Thanks Te Araroa!!
	Arrival in Auckland on the train. The end!

Page updated April 21, 2004