Day 9 | Kerikeri
21 October 2022 | 16°C | 27km
I love the sound of rain on my tent. Guess it recalls some childhood memories from camping with my family in Italy. I expect a boring walk on forest roads. Luckily, we meet a couple of northbound hikers telling us that there is a turn off to a nice, small trail. It is easy to miss but with their indications we pay attention and soon find ourselves on a nice path alongside some farmland followed by a walk along the river.
“Tanja” I hear someone shouting once coming out of the bushes. It is Eva who is taking her lunch break with some other hikers. We all continue together until we meet the Highway where - craving for ice cream and a cold drink - we suspect a service station. We walk a couple of hundred meters along the highway but it turns out though that there is only a gas station for trucks so we backtrack to the trail. This detour would turn out to be a lucky coincidence as some old friends of Phil spot him while passing by by car and invite us for a boat ride around the Bay of Islands the next day. The rest of the walk into a Kerikeri is a nice one along the river also passing a a waterfall, but my ankles and feet hurt so much by then that I can’t wait to get to town and sit down. It’s nachos and beers as soon as we reach town followed by a yummy kebab.
Once we get to the holiday park where we reserved a cabin for the three of us, there’s some confusion about the room due to someone having a similar name. Very strange. It all turns out nicely though as in the end due to the hassle we get a second night for free. What a nice surprise!
Learning of the day: The trail provides (again and again :)
