A Dangerous Business

Date: 1st November 2023

Start: Hukatere Lodge (km 69.6)

End: Ngapae Holiday Park (km 87.2)

Distance Walked: 17.6 km

Total Distance Completed: 73.8 km

Current Song Stuck in Head: It Was Always You by Maroon 5

Angry Crabs: 1

Today’s theme was being smart. On the video I made of my time on the Great Ocean Walk, I commented about the importance of rest on trail and listening to when your body is telling you to take a break. My intital plan for today was to walk all the way to Ahipara and get off the beach. That would mean a 31km day of basically the exact same scenery as the last two. None of the other hikers in our little party were going to attempt it, but I thought I had it in me to do it. Perhaps I did, but as I stepped back onto Ninety Mile Beach and I reflected on what my body was telling me, trying to do so would be foolhardy. My feet were already damaged from yesterday’s hike, repeating that same level of torment would likely end up costing me further down the road. So, the decision was made, I would only go to Ngapae Holiday Park, a little over halfway to Ahipara from Hukatere.

Still carrying the blisters I picked up yesterday – albeit feeling a lot less stiff – I wrapped them up with a mixture of bandaids and hikers wool and hit the beach in what was perfect walking conditions. The rain system that had been following us for the last couple days had dissipated, leaving us with a nice layer of cloud sheltering us from the heat. That didn’t change the fact that there was still nothing much of interest to see, the monotonous journey only interrupted by a crab who wanted to have a go at me.

I’m also pretty sure I saw a kotare on the beach too. It was a small blue bird with a sizeable beak, but it kept flying away when I tried to get closer to take a pic. There’s a chance it could’ve just been a blackbird or something similar, but there’s no way of confirming it now. Otherwise, I had to stick to the usual sightings of Pacific Gulls and Crested Terns.

With only 17 km to walk, today’s stints were nice and easy and free from much of the pain that I arrived at Hukatere with yesterday. As such I managed 11 km before stopping for lunch, which was mildly difficult as it was high tide, leaving a thin strip of beach to sit on.

As has been the theme for this walk so far, it was pretty uneventful until I reached camp at 1:20. I was welcomed warmly by the staff and allowed to set up my tent before paying. By this stage the sun was out in force, so I also laid out a bunch of my wet stuff that hadn’t had the chance to fully dry since day 1. The good times continued as I then learnt that this campsite lets Te Araroa hikers stay for half price! So yeah, I definitely made the right call staying here.

Over the next couple of hours, Mirjam, Marlon, Vadem, and Sonja all trundled in and got settled in. Is it selfish that I find solace in the fact that I wasn’t the only one struggling with blisters and other body aches? If anything, it was something we could all bond over as we relaxed in the afternoon sun.

Then came dinner time. Good grief, what a hassle. For context, like with most campsites, this place had a communal kitchen, although this one was distinctly lacking in pots. Normally not a problem, I can just use my own pot, but not on the induction stoves they had. So I had to wait over half an hour for a pot to become available before I could start cooking my couscous. Then a put the pot on the stove… and it didn’t get hot. To make matters worse, the numbers on the dial that are supposed to show you the different power outputs had rubbed off. So that pot sat there, probably on the lowest setting for about 30 minutes slowly heating up before another camper told me of my silliness. As soon as I turned it up, the water began boiling within 5 minutes. So, I followed instructions, added in the couscous and killed the heat. Well I thought I killed the heat, because I came back a couple minutes later to my pot simmering away and the smell of burnt herbs and couscous. Ugh.

The cherry on top of the cake was that I had made way too much food, so I barely ate any of it before filling up. Ah well, it’s a learning moment. Not to matter, I still went to bed satisfied, albeit with the beginnings of a sore throat coming on. Hopefully it doesn’t amount to anything.