Day one of Corona 19 LOCK DOWN!

Seems like a good time to kick off #3 of my 3RY challenges.

2 down – 1 to go.

Challenge 1:

Bluff to Cape Reinga (Every Metre – Including Water Obstacles) – CHECK

Challenge 2:

100 KM Walking in One Day – CHECK

Challenge 3:

+ 1 push up everyday until I can’t do any more (increasing by one each day).
The less outdoorsy type challenge seems appropriate given the C19-LD situation!

Some generous supporters of the 3RY project have already offered sponsorship for the final number of push ups achieved.

Get in touch, PM, or comment below if you’d like to get involved.

Times are tough for many at the mo’ so no worries @ all if monetary support is a no-go!

If you’re not keen to donate, join in with the challenge and see how many push ups you can build up to.

All donations go to the 3 Charities.

@NZ Spinal Trust
@Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand
@Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand

I’m thinking I’ll max out at around 80! 😬

For those of you as terrible at maths as I am:

$0.20 per push up = $16.00
$1.00 per push up = $80.00

Get amongst!

– NZ Spinal Trust
– Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand
– Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand

Hope everyone is happy, comfy and staying safe out there in these craaaazy times! 🤙🏼

Thanks to the Breeze for being so supportive along the way.

Always great to chat with these two Legends!

the-breezeauckland-mike-duncan-aug-2019.mp3

3RY Update Part:

16

Date:

10th August ‘19

Day:

200

Title:

NZ – AOTEAROA – ✅

KM Mark Start:

12

Start Location:

Twilight Micro Camp

KM Mark Finish:

0 – 😁😢😬🍻🥴😴🤔

Finish Location:

Cape Reinga – Lighthouse

Actual KM Today:

14

Weather:

Sun with a few showers

General:

Knocked the Bastard off 🤙🏼.

Surprised:

Was surprised at the end by Mum, Dad, Jenna, Jan-Maree & Longhurst. All waiting to welcome me to Cape Reinga Lighthouse with a beer, bubbly and some picnic snacks! Great to see you all there. Thank you for making the trip from down south. Really appreciate it!

Body:

Great

Outlook:

Very mixed emotions. Super stoked to have made it to the end. Sad that the journey is over.

Tune of the Day:

200. Albatross – Fleetwood Mac (That one’s for you Ma) & theme tune to ‘Bridge on the River Kwai’ – “Colonel Bogey March” is a British march that was composed in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts (1881–1945) (pen name Kenneth J. Alford) (That’s for you Dad).

Day 200 Images:

3RY Update Part:

17

Date:

4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th August ‘19

Day:

194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199

Title:

⁃ Kaitaia Rest Day #2

⁃ Ahipara – 90 Mile Beach 🏝

⁃ Avocado’s and baby seals – 90 Mile Beach 🏝

⁃ No rain! – 90 Mile Beach 🏝

⁃ Sandy AF – 90 Mile Beach 🏝

⁃ Giant Sand Dunes and Snapper – 90 Mile Beach 🏝

KM Mark Start:

116

116

101

87

70

44

Start Location:

Kaitaia

Kaitaia

Ahipara – 90 Mile Beach

Waipapakauri Beach

Hukatere Road

Waimaharu Stream

KM Mark Finish:

116

101

87

70

44

12

Finish Location:

Kaitaia

Ahipara

Waipapakauri Beach

Hukatere Road

Waimaharu Stream

Twilight Micro Camp

Actual KM Today:

0

20

15

18

26

35

Weather:

⁃ Sun, Rain, Hail on loop x 3

⁃ Overcast x 2

⁃ Rain

General:

194. Rest Day & Updates

195. Road walk to Ahipara at the Southern end of 90 mile beach. Friendly locals, loads of dogs just cruising around. Ma n Pa have driven up from Dunedin to meet me at the finish line so I met them at Ahipara which was awesome.

196. Started the day walking north on 90 mile beach. Lots of interesting wildlife washing up along the coast line. Variety of shells, jellyfish & kauri gum. Crossed paths with a baby fur seal. Highlight of the day was catching up with a great mate from school who is running an avocado farm North of Kaitaia 🥑😍🤤. Ant & Kat, thanks for having us! Great to see the amazing setup you have going on up here and we really loved meeting wee James.

197. Sand, Toheroa, baby seals and seemingly never ending beaches and sand dunes

198. Same as yesterday: Sand, Toheroa, baby seals and seemingly never ending beaches and sand dunes

199. Yeah…sand & baby seals…but today I reached the end of 90 Mile beach. Passed enormous sand dunes at the Northern end. There is a tourism company that offers toboggan rides down these. Passed one fisherman with a huge haul of 9 large snapper. Made it to twilight micro campsite where I a discovered a message had been written on a rock and left for me! Coooool. Thanks Charlotte.

Body:

Great x 6

Outlook:

Feeling the journey coming to an end. Mixed emotions about this (x6)

Tune of the Day:

194. Uptown Top Ranking – Althea & Donna

195. The Distance – Cake

196. Heroe’s – Motorheads cover of Bowie.

197. Sunshine of your love – Cream

198. Don’t let me be Misunderstood – The Animals

199. Sober – Tool

Day 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199 Images:

194:

195:

196:

197:

198:

199:

3RY Update Part:

16

Date:

1st, 2nd, 3rd August ‘19

Day:

191, 192, 193

Title:

⁃ Notorious Raetea Forest

⁃ Kaitaia “where the journey begins/ends”

⁃ Kaitaia rest day

KM Mark Start:

160

137

116

Start Location:

⁃ Mangamuka Dairy Shack

⁃ Campsite North of Raetea Forest

⁃ Beachcomber Lodge Kaitaia

KM Mark Finish:

137

116

116

Finish Location:

⁃ Campsite North of Raetea Forest

⁃ Beachcomber Lodge Kaitaia

⁃ Beachcomber Lodge Kaitaia

Actual KM Today:

25

22

0

Weather:

Rain, hail, sunshine on loop (x3)

General:

191. Apprehensively started the walk toward the muddy Raetea Forest. Before I’d even left it was bucketing down. Passed through the “Dog Lands” (property with a load of angry barking dogs on chains). The trail is muddy, with steep ups and downs. There is a lot of talk about how drinkable water is scarce on this section. Not after the rains we have had, it was flowing down the trail. Spotted the odd wild pig. Spent half the day picking myself up from slipping down the mud slopes. Nice section, great bush and that is the last bush section I’ll do before Cape Reinga. Whoop whoop!

192. Nice easy road walk down SH1 to Kaitaia. Checked into Beachcomber Lodge and went for a beer and to watch the Warriors game 😬.

193. Rest Day & Updates. A girl started crying today when I was telling her about what I’d been doing. Really nice to know it has a feel good factor for some peeps.

Body:

⁃ Pretty good considering the amount of falls I had today.

⁃ All good (x2)

Outlook:

Looking forward to the beach! Wish the weather would stick to a few sunny days. Would make the coastal walk a lot nicer. (X3)

Tune of the Day:

191. Always on My Mind – Tiki Taane

192. Changes – 2Pac

193. Diamonds on the Inside – Ben Harper

Day 191, 192 & 193 Images:

191.

192.

193.

3RY Update Part:

16

Date:

29th, 30th, 31st July ‘19

Day:

188, 189 & 190

Title:

Wrong Turn and a Burger Oasis (x2)

KM Mark Start:

206

172

160

Start Location:

Puketi Forest Camp

Apple Dam Camp

Mangamuka Dairy Shack

KM Mark Finish:

172

160

160

Finish Location:

Apple Dam Camp

Mangamuka Dairy Shack

Mangamuka Dairy Shack

Actual KM Today:

47

14

0

Weather:

⁃ Overcast with periods of light rain (x2)

⁃ Heavy rain

General:

188. Enjoyed brekky in the “luxury” hut that Puketi Forest Campsite provides. Fridge and microwave…That’s a first for any hut I’ve stayed in. I missed a turn off after around 6km of walking and didn’t notice we were heading in the wrong direction until we were 5km down the incorrect route. A little disheartening when you still have 30 km to go. As a result we did a 46+km day. Rained heavily off and on all day.

189. After a rainy night in the tent it was an early exit and off to complete a short 14km day. Destination, Mangamuka Dairy (Primo Burgers 🍔!), where I’ll set up camp in the shack next door. Four walls and a roof, perfect. Way better than a tent in the rain.

190. Bad weather day. Heavy rain, hail and thunderstorms.

Body:

⁃ Knackered (x2)

⁃ Good

Outlook:

⁃ Looking forward to small day tomorrow.

⁃ not really too amped about the notorious reputation of the muddy Raetea Forest. Especially after the amount of rain we have had and are expecting.

⁃ Raetea Forest is going to be a nightmare after this rain

Tune of the Day:

188. Mama’s Got a Girlfriend Now – Ben Harper

189. Baby Please – Jurassic 5

190. Gone Till November – Wyclef Jean

Day 188, 189 & 190 Images:

188.

189.

190.

3RY Update Part:

Date:

28th July ‘19

Day:

187

Title:

Kiwi Hunt

KM Mark Start:

229

Start Location:

Keri Keri Police Station

KM Mark Finish:

206

Finish Location:

Puketi Forest Camp

Actual KM Today:

25

Weather:

Overcast with patches of rain

General:

Brekky at a café, always a good start. Kick started the walking on the Kerikeri River Track, past the Rainbow Waterfalls. Pretty spectacular falls. Then road walked most of the route to Puketi Forest Camp. Found some Kawakawa and Banana Passionfruit to chomp on along the way.

Body:

Neck still niggly

Outlook:

All good!

Tune of the Day:

187. Renegade Fighter – Zed

Day 187 Images:

3RY Update Part:

16

Date:

27th July ‘19

Day:

186

Title:

Waitangi Treaty Grounds

KM Mark Start:

253

Start Location:

Paihia

KM Mark Finish:

229

Finish Location:

Keri Keri Police Station

Actual KM Today:

25

Weather:

Patches of Rain

General:

Walked to Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Loved having a look through the museum, watching the presentations and seeing the large kauri Wakas carved from a single Kauri Tree. The cultural presentation was awesome. Really happy I did this and would recommend to all. Met a great fella named Gary Hayes who will do the walk for the Blue Light Charity Group this coming season. He will walk the next 3 days with me to recky the section before attempting it with any kids. Stayed the night on the floor in Kerikeri police station! Watched the AllBlacks draw with SA.

Body:

Pretty good. Neck a bit niggly.

Outlook:

Feeling at home on the trail now. Don’t really want it to end.

Tune of the Day:

186. Bursting Through – Bic Runga

Day 186 Images:

3RY Update Part:

16

Date:

25th, 26th July ‘19

Day:

184, 185

Title:

Last Kayak! & Day in Paihia

KM Mark Start:

273, 253

Start Location:

⁃ Sheryl’s Place – Waikare

⁃ Paihia

KM Mark Finish:

253, 253

Finish Location:

Paihia (x2)

Actual KM Today:

⁃ 22

⁃ 0

Weather:

⁃ Sunny

⁃ Rain

General:

184. Walked to Waikare Inlet where I picked up a Kayak I had prearranged (Thanks AGAIN Carol & Co!). Wicked kayak through the mangroves out past Opua to Paihia via Veronica Channel…I’m in real danger of setting up camp and never moving on up here. People have created their own little place of paradise in some of the small bays up this way.

185. Day off in Paihia planning the next 7 days

Shout out to Paihia’s:

– Alfresco‘s Restaurant & Bar.

– Tipsy Oyster Tapas and Bar.

These guys sorted me out big time! So generous and welcoming.

Body:

Great

Outlook:

I am in two minds about this journey coming to an end.

Tune of the Day:

184. In the Neighbourhood – Sisters Underground

185. Pacifier – Shihad

Day 184 & 185 Images:

184.

Day 185.

3RY Update Part:

16

Date:

24th July ‘19

Day:

183

Title:

Russel Forest River Walk

KM Mark Start:

285

Start Location:

Punaruku

KM Mark Finish:

273

Finish Location:

Sheryl’s Place – Waikare

Actual KM Today:

14

Weather:

Sunny

General:

After a few KM’s it was straight up into the Russel Forest. The regular access to this trail has been closed due to Kauri Die Back spreading. The initial climb is a relatively gradual one and then I dropped down into Papakauri Stream. Followed the river bed the rest of the way to Waikare. Wild horses and off the grid living setups were some off the highlights today.

Body:

Good Thanks

Outlook:

Fingers crossed the Waikare to Paihia kayak is ok. Will be a long way from anything if something doesn’t go to plan.

Tune of the Day:

183. Glorafilia – Zed

Day 183 Images: