Day 115 | Waikanae
4 February 2023 | 25°C | 24km
I am somewhere in a skiing area but cannot find my skies. Was there a mix up with somebody else’s? While i am still confused someone says “Tanja, do you still want to come for a morning swim?”
Still puzzled I wake up. Phew, just a dream. Sure I wanna go, and quickly put on my swimsuit.
There is quite a few waves that break at the beach and in order get past them, I get introduced to duck diving: as soon as the wave is right in front of me I dive under it, touch the ground and crawl forward under the wave. It takes a few attempts to get used it (and I accidentally swallow some water) but pretty quickly I am a couple of hundred metered away from the beach. The water is not very cold but still refreshing. What a great way to start the day!
Quick morning tea and I head out towards Wakanae. The forecast predicts rain for the evening, so ideally I am there already once that kicks in.
It’s a nice walk along the beach until I turn inland for I little detour to Mitre10: I still need a gas canister before entering the Tararuas. Luckily the big shops are open even on public holiday.
Again, I still don’t know where to stay that night; a lot of accommodation options “with a proper roof over one’s head” seem to be fully booked for that long weekend: Tomorrow (Monday) is Waitangi day, a (controversial?) national holiday in New Zealand.
My first stop in town around 5h30pm is the Countdown supermarket to resupply for the next 5 days. Once I get out the rain has fully kicked in. Hmmm. I check the trail app and call one of the options where hikers can stay for a donation to see if the have availability. A friendly lady answers and says yes of course and that there are already 3 hikers.
After half an hour of walking in the rain, I enter the kitchen and longe area of the River Pa. Before I can take off my rain poncho someone offers me a hot tea. Looks like I am in the right place!
