Drank morning tea with David as he wanted me to wake him up. I can do that. So at 6:30, I knocked on his van. Thinking I would only go to Ngunguru (25km) I even had a second cup.
A lovely woman gave me a lift back to the trail (1.2km but no shame in hitchhiking it). As I passed the holiday park I saw the others. They told me the only possible time to go across the estuary at Ngunguru was 3 o’clock. I already asked a trail angel if I could stay at her place, and I felt a bit guilty about canceling. She was really cool though and still invited me for tea or lunch.
The first 10km was beautiful, with first the longest footbridge of the Southern Hemisphere, then walking along the estuary, followed by a 4-wheel drive track that winds along the shore. Loved it.
At the end was a picnic area where I arranged the boat and dried my tent. I couldn’t stay too long. At 10-ish with 16km to go. Plus a resupply plus tea with the trail angel.
Unfortunately, the 16km was road as the trail was rerouted. It didn’t mention any reroute on the trail notes, but I remember going through a muddy forest and a big-ass Kauri tree. Which is probably the reason they closed it. To protect the Kauri.
On the road, I bumped into Martin. The barefoot man from Reatea forest. I caught up with him. But he quickened his pace as he was afraid it would be too slow for me. Honestly, he walked faster than my normal pace, but I didn’t mind it as it’s good pace practice. So the only mistake I made was to show Martin the plant that produces good walking poles. He grabbed two and then flew off. I managed the pace only barely but liked the challenge until I felt some pain in my left chin (spelling?) and asked him to slow down or continue without me. We would arrive with plenty of time to spare, so Martin decided to slow down.
After arriving in Ngunguru, we resupplied and visited the Trail Angel. A lovely woman with definitely a quirky side, but who hasn’t? She was extremely kind and gave us a delicious nutritious soup and some bread with butter. After about an hour we left to wait for the boat.
On our way, we bumped into the last hikers that would join us. With a group of 10, we crossed. James was the captain and also gave instructions on the next two tidal crossings. Apart from the window for the second tidal crossing, I knew already everything.
The crossing went well but with a nice slib-muddy trail before the road. This mud can be tackled barefoot (although my feet weren’t happy with that choice), but the biggest difference is the smell. It stinks. But so do I. So the perfect combination.
The 5km road section to another walking bridge was fine. Unfortunately, the kind couple that offered me camping space wasn’t home. I left a photo behind in their mailbox with a thank you note.
The backup campsite wasn’t far. We arrived at 6:30. Was a long day and thus time for bed!!
Zilla-in-the-wild 