The rest of the North Island

Hi, it's been a while since I last checked in, sorry about that. Either I didn't have reception or I didn't have time, something always came up. Anyway, I'm here to let you know that I'm alive and well in Whangarei. Yes, you read that right, I'm back in Whangarei and happily using the free Vodafone Shop Wi-Fi. But don't worry, I haven't been hanging around here for the past 1.5 to 2 weeks (I'm not that slow).

The day after my last report, I set off to Kaitaia in the north, hitchhiking once again (it's really cheap). Thanks to a friendly camper who saw me taking down my tent and later on the roadside, and a very friendly fisherman, I actually made it to my destination quite quickly (quickly for hitchhiking standards, about 5.5 hours) as they each gave me a ride for just over an hour. In Kaitaia, thanks to some connections (the lady who gave me a ride last was a friend of the hostel owner), I quickly found a place to stay at the Mainstreet Lodge. In Kaitaia and the surrounding area, there isn't much to do besides the Cape Reigna and sandboarding tours by bus, but the hostel provided plenty of entertainment with a large kitchen equipped with very slow hot plates (hostel standard) that could turn cooking noodles into a one-hour affair, a free billiard table, a free table tennis table, plenty of people to chat with, and a game developer in my room who was eager to play his creations with us (board games, not video games, don't worry, today's youth still knows how to play "Sorry!" and "Monopoly"). So I had a pleasant time at my hostel and spent my time preparing for my plan to hike from Te Paki Stream (where the giant sand dunes are) at the end of the 90-Mile Beach, through Cape Reigna, to the end of Spirits Bay. All in all, it's a 48 km hike that will take about four days (not including carrying two backpacks).

So three nights later, armed with two backpacks, six liters of water, and food in the form of fruits and cereal bars, I set off north. Along the way, I encountered a woman who informed me that I would burn in hell one day (so nothing really new and definitely a great way to start the day), one of the elders of the Far North who told me a lot about the land and its people, a friendly forester, and another very friendly hobby fisherman (is it a requirement for fishermen to be friendly to helpless-looking backpackers? Well, I'm certainly not complaining about it.) until I reached my destination.

At that point, I started having doubts: Shouldn't I rather slide down those giant sand dunes on a board instead of embarking on a strenuous hike with two backpacks, with warnings of quicksand and buses at the beginning? The answer was yes, I wanted to hike, so I marched on, ignoring the cheerful screams of the typical backpackers. What a fool I was. To reach the famous 90-Mile Beach, I had to follow the Te Paki Stream, which is also used as a road by tourist buses. To avoid these buses, I stayed as far to the right as possible. Turns out, I stayed too far to the right, as I found myself separated from the river by a massive heap of thorny bushes. Too proud to turn back and still optimistic (there must be a way to the beach), I continued trudging through the waist-high foliage (really waist-high, taller than me, Klitschko-tall, not average-tall).

But scratched up and completely exhausted, including a small heart attack (giant spider!! Giant spider!!!!!!), I finally stood on the beach, which is simply an endless stretch of sand along the coast, as the name suggests. And with the merciless sun beating down on me, it was scorching hot. Grilled from above and below, I searched for my way to the end of the beach, and after a bit of swearing about the slippery sand and my own stupidity for carrying two backpacks, I reached the end. But my destination for the day was still further away, namely a basic campsite (meaning just a toilet and rainwater from the tap, but free) of the New Zealand Department of Conservation (from now on just DOC), the Ministry of Conservation. This campsite (or should I say "is") at the beginning of Twilight Beach, and I really wanted to reach it before twilight. However, I still had to cross a few hills (more like mountains for me), and so it was pitch dark by the time I finally arrived there. But at least I made the acquaintance of a possum that claimed one of the toilets as its own because there was a lot of rubbish outside its door. Good night then.

The next morning, I quickly packed up my tent and set off. Destination: Cape Reigna and Sandy Bay. First, along Twilight Beach, through some sand dunes (sliding downhill), then over some "forested" hills (with trees that are too low to provide shade but plenty of mosquitoes).

Of course, as expected, at the beach in front of the cape, I ran out of water. Well, I just had to keep going. So I bravely trudged on, ended up with one boot in the water while crossing the rocky cliffs (Brrr), and finally reached the cape in complete darkness. Oh, what a wonderful view into the abyss of darkness where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific in the natural spectacle of the whirlpool. Well, then I used the drinking water well (I hope they had enough water left afterward) and continued on to Sandy Bay. However, the path soon became so steep that I had to find a somewhat flat spot (still steep) and hope that my tent wouldn't roll down the slope and off the cliffs into the sea with me.

After my tent didn't do that and I got some sleep, I continued (still with a wet boot) to the truly beautiful bay, which just cried out for a campsite (great). After that, I had to climb another damn big hill, and in the sun, my forearms burned so much despite sunscreen that I had to take breaks almost constantly. Finally, with the help of other hikers, I reached the Tapotapotu Campsite, where I didn't originally plan to stay. But after seeing the distance sign to the next campsite, I decided to spend the night there. Despite various invitations for coffee, I went to sleep after a cold shower (these DOC campsites have showers, but they cost a little) in plain sight because the shower was located on the forecourt of the toilets.

The next morning, I set off again before the break of dawn and tackled the 10+ kilometers to Pandora. Which, considering the strenuous climbs and beautiful views, actually worked quite well. Until I reached the rock pools at nightfall, and for some reason, the sign pointed down there, indicating that the camp must be at the bottom of the several waterfall plateaus.

So down I went, slowly crawling on all fours down steep walls, retrieved my bottle that had taken a dive in one of the pools (getting both boots soaked in mud in the process), and realized that there was no way forward. It was dark by now, and mosquitoes swarmed around me in such great numbers that I kept swallowing them. With a headlamp on and a dishcloth over my mouth, and carrying one backpack at a time, I made my way back up. I have no idea how, but I somehow managed it, stumbled, and made it back to the base camp and rolled up in my tent.

The next morning, the inner side of the outer wall of my tent had an interesting discoloration, it was gray-black from mosquitoes. I myself had red spots from the mosquitoes that had slipped into my tent. There was nothing I could do about it, so I shook out my tent (looks like I was trying to kill someone in it and couldn't completely remove the blood) and packed it up. Then I took the flood route due to the tide and walked along Spirits Bay (which stretches quite a bit) until I reached the campground, which I arrived at just before sunset (not in complete darkness). I did it, completed the whole journey with two backpacks.

The next morning, I wanted to wait for the rangers of the campground because I couldn't pay the fee as they had run out of forms. However, they didn't show up, and there was also no one around who could give me a ride. An American who had also hiked the trail said he would walk to the main road. I started walking as well and tried to hitchhike with every car going in the right direction. Finally, a couple took pity on me and gave me a ride to Waitiki Landing, the northernmost gas station, restaurant, and hostel. There, I couldn't find anyone to give me a ride, so I checked into the hotel and spent a relaxing evening with a German couple who were crossing New Zealand by bike (Hello, if you're reading this now). The evening was once again cut short by bloodthirsty insects. (Grrr)

The next day, I tried hitchhiking again, and actually, a young Swiss lady picked me up and took me to Kaitaia, where I was warmly welcomed and placed in a four-bed room by Suzie (that's the owner). At the hostel, I ran into the American from the last campground again, who had actually walked all the way to the main road and was picked up there. However, he got into an accident and was recovering at the hostel. In the evening, we had dinner together with my chili con carne, which I had been looking forward to throughout the hike, and the next morning, he continued his journey with the Dutch girl from my room. But the room didn't stay empty for long, as I was joined by three young ladies, all German (come on, I wanted to practice English). On a day when they were all out and about, the entire area had a power outage and thus no internet, so once again, I couldn't write my blog post. Instead, I spent an enjoyable evening with the ladies, chatting late into the night (the power was back by then).

The next morning, I said goodbye to Suzie and hitchhiked to Waipoua Forest, where the largest kauri trees are. Hitchhiking went well but uneventful, except for one spot where I stood for two hours until the owner of a café on the other side of the road brought me a cold glass of water and helped wave down cars (with much more energy than me) until one stopped. After that, I was picked up by two young residents of Barcelona (how do you call them in German anyway?) and we visited the giant trees together (they truly are impressive). Then I spent the night at a forest campground and today I was brought back to Whangarei by an Australian family. In two days, I will probably take the bus to Auckland, then to Blenheim on the South Island, we'll see. Pictures will follow as soon as possible.

PS: They have followed, even for the last entry. Some are in the text, but there are also some under the images. And they are somewhat chaotic, just so you don't wonder.