cape reinga to ninety mile beach

let's see... dirty? sandy. haven't seen much dirt yet... smelly? yup, i received very detailed directions for the shower and laundry facilities when i checked into the motor camp today. hobbling-about? also true. stiff more than sore, but stiff in that takes a few minutes to stand up sort of way.

05 jan, 12 noon... made it to cape reinga, the tip of the north island. i walk down to the lighthouse, watch the the tasman sea and pacific ocean collide, and ask one of the countless tourists to snap a photo of me. with the post there. i had hauled my full pack down anticipating a photo op with the post full of signs pointing in every direction and indicating my distance from the corners of the earth (as shown on all sorts of tourist brochures), but when i got there, all the signs were gone. so i have a photo with an empty post.

set off southbound, positively floating despite my fully loaded pack. i don't know how far the route is, but i've decided that it will take me 4 days. so i'm carrying 5 days' food and marveling at how liberated i feel - how can i know if i'm walking far enough or fast enough if i don't know ANY distances? it's brilliant, really...

after about 20 minutes, i've descended from the bluffs and am walking along te werahi beach. and i swear, it was not until i was ON the beach that it first occurred to me, but 4 days of beach walking meant 4 days of SAND. sand gives me the heebee-jeebies. i'm that person who walks across swimming beaches in shoes and socks, stepping gingerly. who sits on a beach blanket like it's the last outpost of safety in shark-infested waters. 4 days... how did i completely miss this little detail?

the first day was a mix of beach walking and track through dunes and bush. mostly uneventful... except for the place where i climbed 15 min up a dune before realizing i was following markers for the wrong track. doubled back, waited about 1/2 hour for the tide to go out, and found the correct markers across the inlet. curiously, there was no mention of tide in my planning either, but ohwell.

about 5p, i found myself humming and tuned in... "and i-i want to tha-ank you, for giving me the best days of my li-ife." a bit melodramatic, but i was very happy to be out and walking...

day 2... woke up at the very tip of ninety mile beach, fried to a crisp. i had heard the special news report on the uv here and the highest incidence of skin cancers, etc but it just didn't feel that warm... with the clouds and the breeze off the sea... but i slathered on the sunscreen and opted for the long-sleeved shirt today. of course i didn't pack a pair of long pants on this trip, inspired by everyone who did without them on the pct this summer. but even the early morning sun was too much for my poor legs, so i fashioned some pant legs out of bandanas... looked foolish i'm sure, but i think i had captured that when i decided to walk the beach.

ninety mile beach... not actually 90 miles, a little better than 60, i'm told. LONG. flat. remarkable straight. my new home. followed wild horse tracks for a km or so... saw a little penguin, injured, standing in the surf... a couple of cars that have been lost to the tides and the sand... about 30 tour buses (the beach is an actual roadway here, with speed limit signs at the entrance points, etc.)... the tide coming in... and going back out...

i managed to walk a little better than half the beach on day 2, so i was looking forward to reaching the end at ahipara by dinner the following day. but by day 3, all the novelty of the experience had worn off. and i was just walking down a long flat entirely monotonous beach.

so when i reached waipapakauri a little after noon, i didn't even think. i just turned inland, walked 2 blocks to the motor camp, and set up under a big shady tree, on a patch of soft grass. showered, did laundry. pure bliss.

those last 15k to ahipara? i think i know about what they look like. it's almost as if i walked it...

(and in case you are wondering, i seem to have miraculously recovered from the sand affliction. it really didn't bother me. whew.)