Stephen

Day 26 and 27 (542 to 590 kms) It would take 2 more days to walk to Auckland city. The first day to Stillwater and the second day along the costal path and the north shore beaches. The forecast for…

Day 25 (513 to 542 kms) Wet start to the day and a wet finish. And everything in between was great. The plan to push on yesterday worked well, making it easy to catch the 12 noon outgoing tide for…

Day 23 and 24 (471 to 513 kms) Time to leave the beach and head up and into the forest, including the Dome Forest. We knew from others before us, that the trail would be muddy and slow. So mentally…

Day 22 (450 to 471 kms) Very late start today, due to the tides. The 6 kms from the start and 500 meters from the end of the walk is tide dependent. In hindsight, the first tide crossing was completely…

Days 20 and 21  (422 to 450 kms) My last rest day was at Paihia, 9 days ago. Before the trip started, I planned to take a rest day every 5 days, so I am a little overdue at 9…

Day 19 (392 to 422 kms) Day started with a water taxi ride across the water to Marsden Point. Blair was our Captain for the short journey. Everyone wanted to be in the first boat, but the second boat left only…

Day 18 (378 to 392 kms) Camped at the southern end of Ocean Beach for a reason, as today would be a big day. Not distance, but in terms of going up and going down. My fancy GPS watch reported…

Day 17 (349 to 378 kms) So nice to spend time at the Nike Bay Eco-Lodge and enjoy the hospitality of James. Our little group is well armed with information for crossing the river. We set off in high spirits…

Day 16 (322 to 349 kms) Started the day with crossing the footbridge between Ngunguru North and South. This bridge claims to be the longest footbridge in the Southern hemisphere. Originally built to allow kids on the South bank to…

Day 15 (306 to 322 kms) Up early when the birds woke up. Everyone else was sleeping. Took 2 eggs from the box and tried (unsuccessfully) to fry one, then (successfully) poached the second. It was worth trying, but needs…

Day 14 (280 to 306 kms) Left earlier with hopes to take it more slowly. It is not in my nature to walk slowly, and nature is hard to change. But after two weeks on trail, I feel I am…

Day 13 (262 to 280 kms) Ruth, Elliot and I had discussed “The Farm” many times, and we had created our own stories about this place. There were rumours on the trail that it was a hippie joint, or maybe…

Day 12 After the kayak trip, we had a short walk to Sheryl’s place, my first trail angel. It was an eye-opening experience for me and not what I was expecting. Sheryl lives on Maori land. Her home is a…

Day 12 (251 to 262 kms) There are a couple of options when leaving Paihia. Either take a small passenger ferry to Russell and walk the roads or board a sea kayak and paddle with the incoming tide to Waikare. I…

Day 9 to 11 (197 to 251 kms) The walk to Kerikeri was very pleasant, but maybe a little harder than anticipated. Or maybe it was harder because the previous day was a big day. The last 5 km stretch into…