Bluff to Kaitaia, Saturday and Sunday
A bright start to Saturday but quite foggy along the coast. The fog lifted we when the wind came in from the north and it stayed clear apart from one thunderstorm that passed by offshore with only a sprinkling of rain on the trail.
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| Looking North along the beach |
Thirty kilometers along three beach.. In the words of Stealers Wheel, almost:
Sand dunes to the left of me,
Breakers to the right,
Here I am. stuck in the middle with you.
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| Beach |
Limited visibility with the salt spray churned up by the by the breakers so just walking along the sand with no view. It was nice to hear skylarks singing when there was enough vegitation on the dunes.
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| More beach |
The Huckateri campsite had showers and a kitchen and as I arrived early afternoon there was plenty of time to get clean and drink several gallons of tea while talking to the other walkers as they arrived.
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| Looking over the campsite |
The rehydration worked too well as I had to get up a couple of times in the night. By morning the wind had gone round to the west bringing the damp air off the sea and the tent was decidedly wet.
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| Over the dunes and back to the beach |
The clocks changed last night for summer time so even with a plan to start early it didn't get properly light until 7 and the tent definitely wasn't dry when I packed up.
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| Even more beach |
The west wind stayed all day with a warm sun and by the time I got to the end of the beach I was coated in salt. Lots of people beach fishing today.
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| Fishermen |
I came up the ramp off the beach quite happy to see the last of the sand and was met by a 'trail angel' who invited me into his garden for a drink and a chat, very pleasant.
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| The sea |
I decided to keep walking to Kaitaia and try a bit of hitch hiking as recommended in the route description to avoid the dangerous road. I was picked up almost immediately by a car that already had five people in it four of whom all piled into the back seat so I could travel in luxury. Amazing hospitality.
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| Sculpture on the way out of Alipara |
I was dropped back in the town and went to Pack 'n Save to restock for the next section before retiring to a motel for the night.
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