Tides

Mile 288 / KM 465
Ngunguru to Pakiri

Podcast of the day: Cults

I miss: Wearing clean clothes. And fondue. I really miss eating fondue this time of year.


So that rumor about the sting rays in the river... remember?... well it turned out to be true. Rosi, Roland, Noemi and I didn't see them because we crossed the river at low tide when the water was up to my thighs (up to Rolands ankles). The group behind us had stopped for lunch before the crossing and by now the river it had expanded to twice the size it had been. They were wading through the water trying not to step on the sting rays which were now everywhere.

That same day we hiked through a forest and along a perfect beach, camped on a windy campsite behind the dunes, and the next morning we arrived in Whangarei (the towns here all sound the same!) where we were supposed to find a boat that would get us over to the other side of an inlet. Well... that didn't happen, since casually flagging down a boat isn't quite as easy as it is with cars. We could have waited there for hours so we decided to hitch around the inlet. It only took a couple of minutes until a pickup truck pulled over. A family of 5. The dad got out of the truck and threw our packs in the back. He was missing a front tooth. The four of us hopped on and prayed that our packs wouldn't fall off. Got to Mangasomething, got groceries, hitched another ride, and about 2 hours later we were looking to the other side of the shore where we had stood before and had met the toothless dad. Rosi forgot her hiking poles in the car and had just gotten over a three minute tantrum when we walked past a camp ground and an older lady asked us if we needed water. We gladly accepted and Rosi asked if she knew where the next outdoor shop would be located where she could get new poles. The lady calmly went into the back of her office and came back out with a set of used poles and handed them over to Rosi. This all happened in within 5 minutes.

Thru-Hiking is space to be in the moment to step away from "nexts". Happiness and sadness lie so close to together, especially on trail. You can be happy and full of energy one minute and the next you're playing with the thought of quitting the hike. The whole thing is a bit ridiculous I'll admit that. Walking all day every day. Why would anyone do this when they could just drive and go from place to place? I guess for me it's the places in between places. The spots no tourists go to because they'd have to walk a couple of k and get out of their comfort zone. It's the people you meet along the way that make the trail so special. People who've chosen to live off the grid and far away from everyone else. It's also the hiking community that keeps me going every day. It's incredibly beautiful to live this simple life. Knowing that I can do whatever I want and have everything I need in my little 5 kilo backpack.

Yesterday we hiked 30 km, mostly on a never ending stretch of beach when we realized we were absolutely exhausted. We had hiked for 8 days straight and right there at the end of that beach I felt my legs give in. Going up sand dunes is already hard with fresh legs but it becomes a mission with the tired tooth picks I've got. We needed a zero.
Sadly this only dawned on us when we were in Pakiri which must be the most boring town in the world, and by town I mean a camp site surrounded by 4 little houses. Not a place to spend a rest day at, since for me rest day means first of all a bed, coffee, beer or wine and splurging on food without limits. Therefore two out of the four of us decided to hitch 30km back to the town we had left in the morning. Mangawhai Heads. There's a brewery and a beach, which is all that matters to me.

Fred <3

Cooling a can of white wine. I was desperate.

Shower time

Pakiri beach kicked my ass