“Nature is one of the most under-utilised treasures in life. It has the power to unburden hearts and reconnect to that inner place of peace.” – Janice Anderson
14km. I wake to a cacophony of birdsong including one very noisy and repetitive participant who is doing a great job of being an alarm clock. I didn’t sleep very well. After all the social interaction last night (including social media) my mind was racing and my tumbled dreams were full of strange things. I walk across a still sleeping campground to the kitchen and make a cup of tea. I’m soon joined by Frank who offers me crumpets and some of his leftover KFC from last night. I gratefully accept a piece of KFC to eat later on the beach. On check out Sandra tells me the rate for a tent site is $20 but as I’m walking Te Araroa it is only $17. I don’t want to carry coins so tell her $20 is okay, or I could do $15. She takes the $15 then gives me back $5. I tell Sandra that I’ve lost my sunglasses since arriving in Waipapakauri and that someone might hand them in. Sandra gives me a spare pair that she has lying around (a nice style, with ‘Mitre 10’ emblazoned on the arms :)) I’m really grateful. Then as I go to leave she gives me back my $10, saying I need it more than she does. I am a bit gobsmacked, and the generosity of this place doesn’t stop there. As I approach the beach I stop to speak to a teacher from Kerikeri College who has brought some students up to go surfing. As I start to walk off down the beach he runs after me and gives me a large Kerikeri orange! I’m really looking forward to my morning tea – KFC and an orange (staple Northland diet according to one of my friends 🤣). I devour the chicken and revel in the juicy, deliciousness of the orange, which I swear is the best one I’ve ever tasted. It is wonderful to get so much enjoyment from these two small things (especially as food doesn’t usually excite me much) and I bless the generous souls who gave them to me. I take off my shoes and socks and once again soothe my sore shin in the cool sea water. The medication isn’t having much effect today. Further down the beach I stop for lunch and check how far I’ve walked. 95.2km. It’s less than 5km to the 100km mark! As I approach Ahipara I chat briefly to a guy walking on the beach. He says it’s a 20-minute walk to town so I think I must still have a way to go on the beach. I check the Te Araroa app and it shows my position as just past the 100km mark. I do a GPS ping on my Guthook app and it comes back at exactly 100.0km. Woohoo! I write ‘100km’ in the sand and take some photos.
The Kaka Street boat ramp is just a little further up the beach. I walk up to the main road and consider my options. I could turn right and walk to the Suprette for a milkshake then try and hitch a ride into Kaitaia or I could turn left and go to the Ahipara Holiday Park. I head to the campground. It’s a lovely oasis of green after the beach. Eileen at reception tells me that cabins are $70-$90 or I can have a bed in a shared dorm room for $34. She says there is one guy booked into the room but he isn’t here yet so I can take the double bed. Deal! Eileen very kindly gives me some ice packs for my sore shin.
Marius, from Germany but currently working in Paihia, arrives just after I get out of the shower. He spent last night camping up at Spirits Bay. We are the only ones in this very nice YHA lodge. It would have been nice if they’d given us separate rooms but there’s less cleaning this way, I guess. Sleeping in a dorm is a bit like sleeping in a tramping hut. Marius goes out for a walk on the beach while I do my washing and hang it up to dry, along with my slightly damp tent. There was a breeze on the beach today (luckily a tail wind) so I held my tent fly up in the wind for a few minutes during my lunch break which got it mostly dry. Consulting Dr Google it seems I may have shin splints. No! They can take ages to heal up completely. I wonder if arch supports would have helped or if I should have visited a podiatrist after I got my shoes. They seemed – and are – so comfortable. Stretching may also have helped. I may be able to get some orthotics in Kaitaia. Marius is going to drop me there tomorrow. My shin is so painful I start to think it might put paid to my walk for a while. I hope not but I’ll get things checked out tomorrow.
I have couscous and tuna for dinner and watch the news. There was a weak positive test result in Northland today. I hope we don’t go into lockdown! There are also cases in Cambridge outside the extended Level 3 border. It seems as if things are really getting out of control. Marius gets back around 7:30pm, cooks himself some dinner and pours us both a glass of wine. He worked as a Chemist in Germany but didn’t really like it so decided to go travelling. He came to New Zealand to improve his English as he didn’t concentrate on it at school even though his teacher said he had a talent for languages. He speaks French well after having a French girlfriend (who broke his heart). He is surprised to hear that my boys studied German at school. We talk for a long time, then do the dishes and climb into our respective beds. Marius doesn’t seemed too bothered that I have the double.
