There's 3 routes out of Mangakirikiri hut on foot, the way i came, up the Motu to opiti road or up the Mangakirikiri/Mangamatane streams. Either way, you cant leave without a swim. After my experience with the Motu, i took the Mangakirikiri / Mangamatane option.
I brought enough food for 3 days stranded by the river, so even with my day off I've still got to much. Sadly the best option is to leave some behind at the hut.
The Mangamatane/Mangakirikiri stream is potentially one of the most difficult parts of the trip, tho on a warm day like today, its actually quite fun. It starts off deceptively easy on broad shingle, but soon enters a canyon. The walls are sheer, and the water takes up all of the space inbetween. For most of the way its knee to waist deep wading, but a couple of sections require swims. It opens up a bit untill the next forks where i turn right up the smaller Mangamatane. I almost stone an eel, but xmas dinner gets away, not that im short of food.
The Mangamatane enters another canyon, this time its steeper and narrower, several log jams make for intresting climbs. A series of pools/falls must be swam/climbed, tho the deepest has been filled in with shingle from my last visit.
There seems to be variety of routes to reach Pukeiahomnga road, i take the one marked on the map heading SW at each forks. After the first fork the valley opens up again and its easy walking, there's some good campspots in here if you needed them. After the last forks before the road, an arrow points up a scree slope, so i follow. It turns out to be a possumers route, with raised platforms on the trees, and soon stops. Not wanting to go back downhill to the stream i follow a compass bearing to the road. It becomes the thickest, steepest bush bash yet, this time taking an hour to cover the last 150m. Standing on a possum gives us both a fright, and it's the first one I've seen this trip.
Reaching the road marks the end of the Rakumara crossing, and the hardest sections behind me. From here roads and maintained tracks will become more frequent, as will huts. My food sulplys will also be closer together so ill be carrying less weight.
The term 'road' is an overstatement. Its got a grass/ dirt surface and is only wide enough for a quad, tho from the amount of windfall id say it been a while since ones been through. That said, after 6 days off track it feels like a fucking highway. It meanders south along the ridge, with occasional veiws to the bay of plenty/ back across the range, before dropping down through pines to the Rawea stream, theres a possible campspot here, tho its all long grass and nowhere to safely have a fire.
Joining the Takaputahi road, theres a sighn saying Pukeiahomnga road- no exit. The Takaputahi is much wider and maintained and looks accessible by 2wd if it wasn't for the locked gate. Heading SE it leaves pines and enters bush and the newely graded section stops, blackberry and grass covering most of its surface, suggesting logging traffic comes from the Opotiki end.
Further down i spot the perfect campsite beside the stream, there's grass for the bivvi, gravel for a fire and even a deep hole for a wash. Pines border mature podocarp. Its probably private, but with the state of the road i doubt anyone will be checking, especially on xmas day. Sadly sandflies spoil the otherwise perfect evening.
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