Day 25: Red Beach to Stillwater

I was awake quite early despite being inside in a comfy bed. I read a little and then finally got up. We were in no rush today because we only had about 15km to do since there’s another estuary to cross at low tide and it makes most sense to do it tomorrow morning. The first part of trail today was along a bike/pedestrian path to Silverdale, which seemed to be completely new builds and quite unattractive.

The big attraction was the mall that has a couple of outdoor sports type stores. I bought a dry bag for my electronics since my current one has developed some holes. I also went to the grocery store to get a banana for tomorrow morning and a bar of chocolate since I was all out. Afterwards, we looked at massage balls in a sports store, since I lost my cork one somewhere. They only had rubber ones that seemed on the heavy side. Cecile bought one, but I might take a look in Auckland for a cork one. It was then lunchtime and I had a large salad with a lot of different grilled veggies and grilled halloumi over some baby greens. It definitely satisfied my craving for vegetables. After lunch, it was down the road to a Bin Inn, chain bulk food store, where I only bought some trail mix and dried mango since all I needed was some snacks. Then it was a 10 km road walk to Stillwater through the countryside. I arrived at the campground with dry feet for the first time in a long while.

It’s a quirky place, a bit rundown compared to most of the other campgrounds, but it’s only $10 to stay and everything is in working order. It’s an early night since we have an early start to get to the estuary crossing at low tide at 6 am.

Day 26: Stillwater to Takapuna

I hadn’t set an alarm since I’m a light sleeper and did wake at about 4:20 when others started stirring. We set off just after 5 am and within less than a minute my shoes were soaked from the dew on the grassy track and then the puddles and mud.

Somehow we ended up on a track that was a scramble over and under some trees and that had a slip (small land slide). We finally made to the beach and then across the mud flats to Dacre point where the estuary crossing starts. The tide being completely out meant that we pretty much just had puddles to contend with for most of the crossing although there was one more significant channel that got to the tops of my legs. We definitely timed it right.

The track followed the coast either on the beach or on the clifftops. Apparently we walked one nudist beach, but no one was out at that early hour.

When we got near Torbay, we detoured into town to a cafe to have a warm drink. Afterwards, the trail followed the coast from one North Auckland suburb to the next. We met a lot of people out for walks and got stopped a few times to be asked what we’re doing and even if we were training for something. One couple we met, Melinda and Ian, invited us over to their house for some tea. We accepted and were led up a small hill to their house with a beautiful view out to the sea. They had done a fair bit of travelling and backpacking themselves when younger and pay forward the generosity that they received on their travels. They made us a beautiful platter of avocado, lettuce, tomato, hummus, egg and cheese with bread for lunch and of course some tea. It was a lovely experience, especially given it was unexpected. After an hour or so, we continued on and met Tyson, an Australian doing the trail who always turns up when you’re least expecting to see him. We hadn’t seen him for almost a week and there he was taking a break on a bench in a park. We continued on together for a while, getting our feet a bit wet again since the tide was high now and lapping up to the top of the beach or the rocks that we had to negotiate.

We said goodbye to Tyson at the end of Takapuna beach as he was headed to his uncle’s place in Auckland and we were headed to a trail angel nearby. We picked up some strawberries as instructed and also some wine before finding Ruth and John’s house. It was just past 3 pm and they weren’t home, but had sent instructions on how to get in. It blew my mind that these strangers felt comfortable giving us the use of their house before even meeting us. They had left out towels for us, and we showered and hung around in their yard until they got home. Emily, an Australian hiker, was already here when we arrived. Ruth and John made us dinner, a soba noodle salad with salmon, asparagus, spinach and other good things and a pavlova for dessert, which Cecile did a wonderful job of decorating with the strawberries, all delicious. We ate well and I had my first glass of wine of the trip, a New Zealand Sauvignon blanc, which I really enjoyed. We chatted until quite late, about 11pm, especially considering we were up at 4 this morning, before turning in for the night to our beds. Ruth and John’s generosity was incredible and inspiring although we stayed up much later than usual chatting with them.

Day 27: Tapakpuna to Central Auckland

I slept well on the pull out bed, but we got up late given that we went to bed late. After packing up, we headed off to a cafe for breakfast, I had french toast with grilled bananas and a berry coulis with a flat white. We then joined up to the trail again and Followed it along the coast to the ferry and had a short ride across the harbour to Auckland’s central business district.

I set off to find the post office that was holding my bounce box and Cecile and Caroline went to the Airbnb we had rented to drop their bags and then go shopping. I wandered through the CBD and main shopping area and was a bit overwhelmed by the number of people and sounds. I eventually made it to where the address for the post office was supposed to be, only I couldn’t find that street number. Finally, someone I asked told me that there was a post office around the next corner so I tried there and thankfully they had my box, even though it wasn’t at all the address on their website. With my box in hand, I hopped on a bus and headed to the Airbnb and arrived just as the rain intensified into a thunder storm. After organizing myself and having some lunch, I went out to walk around the Auckland Domain, a large park with some grassy areas, a museum, some gardens and also some forested areas. I met a woman while I was out who explained to me the Maori concept of Kaitiaki Tanga, being a caretaker and treating land/environment like it’s only yours to look after (even if you own it). After my walk, I headed back to the Airbnb and after relaxing for a bit, we all went out to dinner at a noodle place in the CBD. My dish was very spicy even though I had requested mild spice. The server did warn us that not everyone can handle even the mild spicy level, but I just about managed. After eating, we walked around a bit and then headed back to the Airbnb.