Te Araroa Trail Mangawhai to Pakiri
Sometimes the easiest days are the hardest. We had only scheduled a 20km day on Te Araroa trail, which was flat road and beach walk, but goodness, what a painful day! I think I had a delayed hangover from the wine a couple of nights ago! Once it sets in, everything hurt – my toes, feet, knees, hips, back and shoulders. Nothing particularly was wrong, I was just very very tired!
In Pain…
Each time I looked at my watch thinking it was 30 mins later it would only be 10, plus on the lengthy beach walks you can’t judge where 20kms will be, so you pick a landmark – hopefully at 20kms – then pass it, then pass the next one etc..
It’s almost possible to have a little doze if you walk with your eyes closed (a trick I learned on 90 mile beach trick). There were a couple of stream crossings where taking our shoes on and off meant the chance for a sit down.
We arrived at our destination by 1.30pm, however the Pakiri Beach Holiday Park was thoroughly disappointing. It was really expensive, and the hosts were not particularly friendly. None of us had a good vibe about it. We later found out that there was a lovely little Eco camp on the beach before the holiday camp. I would reccommend you stay there instead.
We put up our tents and commenced the main activity of the afternoon – eating.
To walk or not to walk…
Rain is forecast for the next 2 days, plus tomorrow is a mountain track, so I had the dilemma of whether to have a rest day or not.
I didn’t fancy staying here any longer than I had to, so I called ahead to tomorrow’s accommodation (Matt & Jas ) and somewhat cheekily asked if they’d come and pick me up for a small donation $$. Thankfully Matt said yes, so I get a rest day tomorrow and I’ll take the tents/gear on for Anja, Markus and Anouck so they get a day with lighter packs.
To end on a positive – today we made a significant milestone and crossed our first region! Goodbye Northland… 450 fantastic kms – it’s been brilliant!! Hello Auckland! 🙂