Despite the relatively late bedtime thanks to the other camping guests, I woke up early. I looked forward to not hiking. The sooner I start the earlier I’m finished.
After a quick introduction to other (awake) hikers. I hiked off. First the 1.5km back to the trail and then uphill. The weather today was grey with sometimes a bit of a drizzle.
I rang my parents until the reception was too bad. The forest part was a bit muddy, but nothing extreme. The newly created campsite at km 430 looked lovely and I had a sheltered snack break.
Soon I was at a tiny bit of a road walk before returning to the trail. It was a shock to me that the car didn’t move at all. So I quickly stepped further in the ditch. On a straight road with no cars in the other lane. This felt like extremely unsafe driving. I can understand that you don’t appreciate hikers on the road. But nearly running them over, won’t solve anything.
Bit shaken I was happy to leave the road and back on a trail. The part I loved the most was the coastal track. I had a great time, Despite the drizzle because I saw a group of dolphins. Absolutely lovely!
After that, it was a bit of beach. Of course, I was there around high tide with a decent swell. I watched the surfers for a while.
As I was getting hungry I continued into Mangawhai Heads for food and a drink. Nomnomnom
I texted the trail angels Sue and Steve that I was nearby and my expected arrival time. They asked if I wanted to join them for pizza that night. Of course!!!
The final part still had a trick up its sleeve. The boardwalk was closed due to (visible) storm damage. I walked back, but nearly all the stairs back to the road were private property. One didn’t say that but it became very clear. At the top of the stairs, I took my phone out to look at the map. At that moment the owner appeared (in his underwear) that it was alright to walk over his property back to the road. He apologized for his attire. I thought he was very kind because he just came out of the shower and instead of ignoring me, he came down as fast as he could to help me. I cannot emphasise enough how extremely kind Kiwis are.
The road was a short distance and soon I was at Steve and Sue! Such a lovely couple and she offered to do my laundry right away.
The pizza was delicious and it was a perfect homely evening. Exactly what I needed. The only rain on my parade was the wind. Not the best night spent in my tent.
Zilla-in-the-wild 