Day 19 | Mangawhai
1 November 2022 | 21°C | 25km
I slept with my ear plugs in and when I wake up it’s past 7am already. The grass is soaked with water as always when camping close to the ocean or a lake but I slept super warm. It is November 1st today which feels kind of funny as I associate cold weather with that month while it is going to be a very sunny day today. Though the campground has a nice kitchen I head to the dairy to have breakfast. Unfortunately their coffee machine is broken so I get a muffin and a hot chocolate before starting my walk. The campground is a bit off trail but talking to Seb yesterday, we both saw a short trail on the map that cuts aus back to the Te Araroa trail without having to backtrack.
Once we head out, it’s a half hour walk and a steep climb on a concrete walkway until we reach a gate and a private driveway. Shit! It says “Bayern Allee” at the gate and I wonder if the owners are German. We feel a bit uncomfy as we walk up the driveway but the trail is supposed to start right behind the house as per the map. Someone is cleaning the terrace with a Kärcher. We decide to kindly ask. The man tells us friendly but firmly that there used to be a trail but it is now completely overgrown.
Suddenly, two German Shepards come running around the corner barking at us followed by a grumpy women telling us that “a closed gate is a closed gate” and what is happening today as that we are not the first ones today. When we apologize and turn around to leave I hear her calling back the dogs “komm, komm”. We decide to walk the road until we meet the trail again und after walking through some farmland and a steep climb we reach a beautiful coastal walkway that slowly leads down to the beach. Love it!
Once we reach the town of Mangawhai we meet some fellow hikers also heading to the riverside campground. While Seb and Sabrina go to the Foursquare supermarket, Phil and I head to New World (another supermarket) to try sth new. Once finished shopping we walk across the big parking space, I am hungry but it’s still a 45 mins walk to the campground. A man starts talking to us asking if we have a place to sleep and offering to stay at his place. Oh yes!
