“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.”
28km. I wake convinced there is a possum outside my tent. I lie quietly listening for a while, feeling a little scared. Then I realise I have to go outside as I need to pee. I tell myself that I can do this. I can be brave. I climb nervously out of my tent into completely engulfing blackness. There isn’t much chance of spotting a possum in the darkness but I soon forget all about possums when I look up and see the magnificent expanse of starry sky above me. I gaze at the awe-inspiring vista overhead and smile to myself. This is one of the reasons I wanted to walk Te Araroa – to look at the stars far away from the lights of the city. Snuggled back in the warmth of my sleeping bag the strange noises outside continue and my anxiety returns making it difficult to get back to sleep.
I open my eyes and am surprised to discover that it is 7:00am. I made it through my first night on Te Araroa! I get up and make a cup of tea and eat my muesli looking out over the Tasman Sea. It is so beautiful here! As I am packing up Victoria and Emilie come down to say they were ready to start walking. I tell Emilie I’ll catch up. I don’t leave for another half an hour but I do eventually catch up and we walk together over Scott Point. It is cloudy and a little windy today. There are lots and lots of steps down to the start of Ninety Mile Beach. I tread carefully, afraid of losing my balance and falling forward, but I am very pleased to be going down rather than up.
Victoria, Emilie and I explore various treasures thrown on to the shore by the last night’s high tide while a brisk wind blows tendrils of sand sideways across the beach, sandblasting the backs of our legs. It is particularly irritating for Victoria and Emilie who are sporting pink-tinged pins from yesterday’s sunshine. Victoria and Emilie head into the dunes for a lunch break so I carry on down Ninety Mile Beach on my own. But I’m not alone. There are lots of cars and people on the beach. They are fishing, gathering shellfish or waiting for the tide to bring in the mussel spat from which they make their livelihood. I see lots of dead fish and gulls washed up on the beach and also a dead baby seal. After a stop for lunch I need to detour into the dunes and dig a hole with my trowel. Toilet facilities on Te Araroa are few and far between!
On and on I walk and the bluff I am aiming for barely seems to get any closer. A lady and her son on a quad bike stop and give me a piece of ginger crunch. The woman tells me that it’s her daughter’s birthday and they’ve been sand boarding down the giant Te Paki sand dunes. My feet are tired and beginning to hurt and my shoulder muscles are really starting to ache. And then it starts to rain. I walk in the rain for a while but I start to feel quite cold so I fight my way inside a stand of trees, the low branches clawing at my clothing as I try to find some shelter. I put my rain coat and rain pants on and then I put my head down and walk and walk…and walk some more.
I finally arrive at Maunganui Bluff. I cant see a campsite on this side of the bluff and I’m not sure I can get around to the other side as the tide is coming in. I scramble over the rocks and find a path leading over the headland. Back on the beach I’m still can’t see a campsite. I’m really beginning to feel that I can’t walk much further. Then I see something protruding from the dunes. It’s the metal base of a road, long since eroded by the sea. It leads to the Maunganui Bluff campsite. The rain has eased so I dump my pack in the campground’s cooking shelter and quickly put up my tent. I’m the only one here. I’m hobbling around like an old lady, feeling as stiff as a board and aching all over. I really should have done some training for this! I’m really not sure that I’ll be able to walk 30 kilometres to the next campsite tomorrrow. I’m too tired to eat and after snacking through the day I don’t really feel all that hungry. I boil some water and make myself a bowl of soup. Half a wrap completes the meal and I’m soon crawling wearily into my sleeping bag. Just before I fall asleep car headlights sweep across my tent. I feel panic start to rise as thoughts race though my mind. Who could be arriving at this campsite so late? Maybe some youths out on a joyride? Am I safe? I only have a one-person tent, I’m a long way from civilisation and there is no one else around. I lie quietly in the dark until the car finally drives off. A wave of relief washes over me.
