Papakauri Stream, Russell Forest, Northland

It had been raining in the days before we arrived at Russell Forest for the next stage of our Te Araroa Trail adventure.

At the forefront of our minds was whether Papakauri Stream would be low enough to wade – this section of the the trail includes long stretches walking in the streambed. Even without the rain, the prospect of walking for four hours through cold water wasn’t appealing.

But part of the charm of Te Araroa is not knowing where you’re going to end up at the end of each day, so we put aside our doubts and, with fingers crossed, started out along the track leading to the stream.

The rain stopped soon after we started and the stream was running clean and clear – we needn’t have worried about the water level.

We walked slowly through the water, which was mostly ankle deep and occasionally knee deep, surrounded by the lush green forest. The fact that we were actually walking in the water didn’t bother us at all. In fact, by the end of the day, Papakauri Stream had become one of our favourite sections of the Te Araroa Trail.

– Maria Tischleder