Day 19: Reotahi Bay to Waipu Cove

In the morning, I met Magdalena, Kendall and Erik at the waterfront in Reotahi Bay as we had arranged to get a boat across to Marsden Point together. The boat arrived by tractor and we got on roadside and were pulled out into the water by the tractor. Blair, the captain, then took us across.

Marsden Point is the site of a huge oil refinery and as we started down the beach, we had the pleasure of occasional whiffs of the fumes. There was about 7km of beach walking before we crossed the Ruakaka river mouth. The tide was completely out when we crossed and it still got to the tops of my thighs in one place. The others decided to stop for the day after the crossing, while I pushed on down Uretiti Beach to Waipu, where I stopped for icecream, and then to Waipu Cove. I passed a few people on Uretiti beach, a couple fishing for snapper using a drone with 6 fishing lines and some day hikers. Waipu was a cute town and I would have been tempted to stay, but there was no camping option and the motel didn’t appeal. It was rain on and off when I got to Camp Waipu Cove so I didn’t go see the beach, but apparently it’s right in front of the campground. As I set up my tent, I was offered a hand by a man and then got invited over for drinks with this group of 13 MDs who are also bikers, who are in some cottages at the camp. I did go say hello and there were also two French girls who they invited that I chatted with most of the evening after the MD bikers went to dinner. Laurie and Camille are here on work holiday visas and have toured the South Island in their campervan and are now doing the North Island.

For dinner, I made rice with a dehydrated vegetarian chili (from the bulk section of New World in Kerikeri) and although I added some salt, it was tasty. My food bag is quite heavy for this section, making me question some of my choices. I did a re-pack of my food bag at Thistle Do to accomodate the resupply that I picked up there and the trash that I had was a package from some crackers, a package from some cookies and the foil from a bar of chocolate. I also recycled the cardboard box that I’d used to mail the resupply and the paper packet from the chocolate. I feel like I’m doing a decent job of being Nero waste.

Day 20: Camp Waipu Cove to Mangawhai Village

It rained on and off during the night but I managed to pack up during a lull. I set off up the road to rejoin the trail and then up a paved road that eventually became gravel, climbing steadily all the while. It started to rain about an hour in but then stopped again. I think there would have been lovely views if it hadn’t been cloudy and rainy.

The Langsview track started at the end of the gravel road and it was a muddy, slippery mess as per usual. It started to rain again and the wind started to get up. I didn’t stop at the top given that the conditions were so inhospitable. Thankfully the track turned into a gravel road again just after the summit and it was much easier going. After a short stint down a paved road, it was onto another gravel road through a large farm. I stopped in a sheltered spot the other side of a gate to have lunch. Although the rain had stopped again, it was getting even more windy.

After lunch, it was off the road and across some pastures without any animal sightings. There was a very steep climb up a hill and then a short forest section before coming out on the Mangawhai coastal walkway along the cliffs. I had been concerned about the wind for this section, but luckily the trail was mostly quite sheltered.

The walkway ended at the beach and went about a km along the beach before turning up a road that went around an estuary and into Mangawhai. I stopped for a snack at a cafe (ginger bar thing and a decaf flat white). as I left the cafe, it started the thunder and a few minutes later it started to pour. I took refuge in a real estate office with a covered porch (with their permission) and continued on when it eased about a half hour later. After crossing a bridge, there was a walkway along the estuary and a boardwalk through some mangroves before arriving in Mangawhai Village, my destination for the night.

I had contacted a trail angel, Mark, and had arranged to stay in his little cottage (aka shack) in his garden. Barbara from Argentina was my cottage-mate for the night. There are also two chickens and a bunny living in the garden. It’s great to be indoors since it has been absolutely pouring since about 6:30. I couldn’t even fathom going outside to cook it was raining so hard, even though there’s a covered area. Thankfully I had the backpacker meal that Maria had given me (thank you!) and there’s a kettle in the cottage to boil some water.