Day 20 | Pakiri Beach Holiday Camp
2 November 2022 | 21°C | 24Km
This was the best sleep. I had so far on this trail. I don’t even know what the name of our host is, but his bed is super comfy. We are a bit off trail now, and need a hitch back to the supermarket where Tony (the name of our host as I learn later), picked us up yesterday. Surprisingly, it is not an easy hitch, but after some time of road walking a lady that just is returning from her morning swim picks us up . We pass by a few fellow hikers I know, especially surprised to see Steve, the guy from Alaska, that we haven’t seen for a long time. The poor guy had to go back to Auckland to get a new tent as his was not waterproof really. Good to see him back on the trail.
Once we start walking, I met Headlights and Lavender,” a Swiss couple, who had just finished the PCT in August and now are already on the TA. Wow! We exchanged quite a bit of PCT experiences and it’s great to talk to them. There is some beach walking coming up again today maybe the last one for a long time, or even the whole trail? This will definitely be a swimming day for me: I am very much looking forward to it, so that I hardly feel the heavier pack after yesterday’s resupply. It’s a lovely sunny afternoon and I walk almost all the way barefoot.
Thought of the day: I am grateful that I have the possibility to do this adventure.
Day 21 | Dome Valley Café
3 November 2022 | 19° | 26km
Talking to Anne (who I thought is Dutch but I find out a week later that she is actually German) she says it is going to be a long day tomorrow, 25 km. Not that much I think but a lot of up and downs she adds. As it turns out it’s not so much the elevation, that is a challenge but the fact that it rained a few days before. Mud all over the place. I still enjoy the walk though also because it is cloudy today, and I was really struggling with the sun by the end of the day yesterday. The walk on the slippery muddy “trail”is quite some fun until the afternoon.
As soon as we hear the highway it looks like we are already there. Big mistake though as there are still quite a few climbs to tackle, the so called Dome is still ahead and even after that there are still few endless up. The most mentally challenging day so far. At 7 PM I finally arrive at the Dome Café.
All the camping spots in the backyard are already taken, but there’s a huge porch with a table and a sofa. Perfect for cowboy camping, no need to pitch my tent. Though the highway is just at the other side of the café, it is a relatively quiet night, and I sleep like a baby after this exhausting long day.
Highlight of the Day: Passing the 500 km marker.
Day 22 | Puhoi
4 November 2022 | 21°C | 26KM
It’s an easy walk today after Yesterdays up and downs. I even would not have mind walking on a flat concrete road. fortunately it is mostly forest roads and small beautiful trails in the forest in the afternoon.
Highlight of the day: Big hiker gathering at the Puhoi pub and nice airbnb with a lovely Dutch couple being our hosts.
Bummer of the day: I lost my water filter somewhere on the way.
Day 23 | Stillwater Motor Camp
4 November 2022 | 21°C | 32km
“If you want to do the coastal walk today, do you need to be at the bridge half an hour before low tide” says Headlights the previous evening, while we are all having dinner at the Puhoi Pub.
Next day at 9:00 AM Steve, Phil & I are still having coffee and chat with our Airbnb hosts on the lovely terrace although we should have left by then already. However, Jan and Marleen, who have done this walk many times before assure us that we could easily still do it as we have a four hour time window.
I have also opted out from the kayaking, as this would have meant getting up at 5:30 in the morning to be able to go out with high tide. Hence another roadwalk. A bit tricky this time as we have to walk a couple of kilometers on State Highway 1 with cars passing by pretty quickly and road works in the section. The latter should turn out to our favor though as we can walk on a newly built lane that is still blocked for traffic. Furthermore, cars have to drive slowly which makes crossing the highway at one point a breeze.
We easily manage the coastal walk and head into Orewa, one of the many coastal towns. From here on, it will be walking mostly through city area until Auckland. I take the chance to stop at a shopping center to get new headphones as I expect to be a boring walk.
It’s a Saturday night and a few of us hang out at a party at the Stillwater boating club including fireworks.
Women’s rugby World Cup is on TV and the French almost beat NZ.
Day 24 | Auckland Central
6 November 2022 | 20°C
Another day where the tide determines a hikers‘ schedule with the last big challenge before Auckland coming up: the crossing of the Okura river. Only doable with low tide which is around midday today. Angus and Phil still head out at 9am while the rest of us are having a relaxed morning with an extended breakfast.
It’s just a 40 minutes walk to the estuary. When getting to the location that was indicated in the trail notes as the best crossing spot, we see Angus waiting there. Apparently the water is still too high. “Where’s Phil?” Bruce asks. „Oh, he blew up his air mattress, put his pack on top and swam over“ Angus replies. I start laughing as he had been talking about trying this while we were walking together the previous days. We all try at different spots but the water is still more than hip high.
While Angus decides to walk through with the pack over his head, I spontaneously blow up my air mattress, put my pack on it and swim over in my underwear. Too curious to try that out. Works like a breeze!
I was expecting the walk towards Auckland to be a boring one but I walking along the coast again passing by lovely houses is very enjoyable actually. No need to carry food as there’s enough of shops along the way. At lunchtime I stop and listen to a awesome young band playing in the street while having a falafel kebab (the shop does not accept card so I literally unpack everything in front of the counter to get to that 50 dollar bill I keep as a reserve at the bottom of my pack). 🤪
I meet other hikers on and off during the day. I am not sure where to stay yet. Jens and Connor are staying at the (last) holiday park approx 15 km before the ferry crossing which seems a bit to early for me. I am not too exited about staying in Auckland as I have been there before and would prefer to stay in Devonport but there are only pretty expensive accommodation options left there. After stopping at a small shop in Takapuna where I talk with the owner about Potsdam, Heidelberg and the Oktoberfest, I have my favorite energy dose (liquid breakfast with protein, vanilla flavor) to get ready for the last push of roughly 10km to the ferry terminal. Time flies and suddenly after a nice stroll through lovely Devonport the Auckland skyline comes into sight.
Once I get to the terminal, a ferry has just left but it’s just a 30 minute wait for the next one at 8.15pm. Kinda fascinating to approach the city from the water this time with the skyline being illuminated. What a day!
Day 25 | Papatoetoe / Maukau
7 November 2022 | 18° | 33km
No need to do big shopping in Auckland but I still take the chance to get a new water filter in one of the outdoor shops on the way out of town (replacing the one I had lost a week ago). A lot of shops in Newmarket, a part of the city I had not seen before.
The walk out of Auckland leads through a not so exciting harbor area. Time to take a few shortcuts while still maintaining my continuous footpath. Then the airport area is coming up. We pass a lot of logistics companies, stop at a pub for a quick beer until we get to the end of the runway with a good view of planes starting and landing.
Rather surprisingly we get to a natural reserve tucked away somewhere between the harbor and the highway. The swan family swimming in a lake seems not to be bothered by that peculiar location. Could be a good campsite here but we head on further to Manukau for a proper dinner and an Airbnb that is a bit hard to find in the dark