Day 4 - Sunny, but long day from Maraetai to Tapapakanga Regional Park.

So now Maraetai and its great bay are behind me, luckily the route always runs along the sea, which means that the route is relatively flat. After about 15 kilometers, the road (Pacific Coast Way) turns right, from there it is quite hilly to the small town of Clevedon. As American as the name seemed to me, the town was too. It reminded me of the Westerns of days gone by, except that there were no horse-drawn carriages on the only long road, but rather large, heavy SUVs. Once there, I went to the only 'Medical Center' for miles around to get something for my cough and cold. Unfortunately, the doctor had a waiting time of about 2 days, unless it was life-threatening. Therefore, after a brief conversation, the nurse prescribed me a medication that should help and is available over the counter at the pharmacy.

With the pharmacist's advice, inquiring about my destination for today, ringing in my ears, that the path to Tapapakanga Regional Park is very steep and strenuous, I set off. Until the picturesque bay of Kawakawa, the path was more or less hilly. There I took a short break and had a snack. Just behind the lovely little town, the path now went up almost 250 meters, but with ramps of over 11% gradient, it's hard for me to stay in the saddle. But the further journey through farmland was worth it, until it went down towards the mentioned destination. When I arrived at the campsite, I was really amazed, now I knew why the campsite was called 'Beachfront'. This place ranks very high on the list of the most beautiful places. In a super beautiful bay between cliffs right by the sea, with old trees, I was the only camper that night. Since rain was forecasted for the next day until late afternoon, I decided to stay here for 2 nights, unfortunately I could only book one night here and one more night at the higher located 'Sea View'. I will clarify that with the ranger tomorrow morning. First of all, I put my feet in the water, as I got a small abrasion from a little fall during the day.