Little Planet Lodge and the Glow worm caves

Today I woke up nice and late at Whangarei falls and spent the day down in Whangarei waiting for Stefanie to return from her dive adventure for the day. I walked around the small town that I had gotten to know at least a bit, and was amazed how many familiar faces I saw. When Stefanie was done, we moved to the Little Planet Lodge, also known as the best hostel I've stayed at. By far. Not even close. You must go there. We arrived in the late afternoon and went for a walk in their backyard which has 3 large glow worm caves in it. We walked through nice fields filled with large foreign trees until we found the small entrances to the caves filled with streams. Immediately inside we began to appreciate the amazing nature of the worms. They lit up the ceilings and the walls of the caves everywhere. We walked in for a while and found a place in the first cave with a 100 foot ceiling and a tiny hole at the top that reached the surface. A minuscule bit of light was peeking through as the sun outside set. We sat in that cavern until that light went away, and the starlight we were entertained by came not from the sky but beneath the earth. The worms were everywhere, like a galaxy on the ceiling. \The sound in the caves was incredible with the river running through. We sat there for what felt like hours before returning to little planet and enjoying the company of our hostel mates in the kitchen and heading to bed. It was a small adventure with great rewards. It's amazing to think I didn't know Stefanie before yesterday, and today we went on a great caving adventure. Travelling is awesome, and sometimes the smallest holes in the ground have entire worlds in them to explore.

day 22: Whangarei 0 day

Today is known as the day of fate. I went out this morning and met David at the Quarry Gardens so that he could return my heart pouch to me. The fact that I was even the one who had gotten his number was lucky, and I was able to get in touch with him and he was working when I was in Whangarei. great. Just the beginning of my luck today. I bought some things that I was going to mail home to my family in the US, and on one package I elected to get the express delivery. I needed to full out the larger customs form for the express delivery. When I did that I realized that I had filled out the adress wrong. If i hadn't needed the other customs form, that package would have been lost in international mail forever with no tracking number. On the way out of the post office, I dropped another small gift from my pocket. I received a call 5 minutes later from the post office on the FINAL minute of my pre pay plan informing me that my gift was found on the floor by a patron and returned. They would not have had my number if I had not filled out the larger customs form. I thanked them and said I would be right there, because on the way out of the post office I ran into a friend from the hostel last night, and we decided to get a coffee.. right next door. I walked over 10 seconds later and received my gift back. Surely that's the end of my luck for today? Surely not! I spent a few more hours in Whangarei, and then started walking to the last bus up to the hostel. I got turned around on my way out of town, and realized I was going to miss the bus by about 2 minutes. I was not looking forward to the walk back home. Then out of nowhere I hear 'BEN!'. What. I'm in New Zealand. who knows my name? I turn around and it's none other than OT! he's just getting off his job, and offers to give me a ride back to the hostel. I walk with him back to his house and we hang out for a while chatting and then drive back up to my hostel. He lets me know when and where a great NZ music festival is in february right after Gary gets here, so I'm now looking forward to that possibility as well. I get into my hostel room and find a new group of people there that are fun and kind. We talk for a long time, and one of them, Stefanie talks to me about some nearby Glowworm caves that she wants to visit tomorrow, so I think i'm going to join her on that adventure as well. After all, Whangarei has been kind of a bust when it comes to outdoor activities. Today, however, kicked ass. It's days like these that make you think someone is out there looking out for you. What an incredible experience, just the experience of living like this has been awesome. Carpe Diem.

Pataua hitch to Whangarei

Yesterday I realized that I had left my heart pouch behind at David and Miriam's house, so this morning when wveyone woke up early, I opted to sleep in and hitch into Whangarei for a 0 day. I figured it's the city of the northland, I could get some Christmas gifts and mail them, and I could see David at his work and get my heart pouch back. I slept in and began walking down the lonely road from Pataua South. It was a long 7k down a nice secluded stretch of road before I was picked up by a fantastic woman who took me to her home on the outskirts of Whangarei. Wee were there briefly while she gathered some things, then she took me into the town itself. I was less than astounded by Whangarei, but it's a nice little town for what it is. I treated myself to a nice lunch and Caipirinhas on the harbor, reminiscing back to Ecuador years ago. It was a good urban break from the trail life, but it was already beginning to wear on me. I walked around, checked out the shops and the storefronts, walked in town for a few hours and quickly realized that i've seen all of whangarei there was to see. A nice town, but nothing special. I resolved to stay the day tomorrow and get some boring things done before heading back on the trail. I needed to print out the new maps, figure out where gary is meeting me etc. we'll see what tomorrow holds.

Day 20 Ngunguru- Pataua South

We woke up today on a lazy Sunday morning, and David offered to drive us to the head of our next trail cutting off a ton of awful road walking through deforested areas. We gratefully took him up on it, and got his information so that we could get in touch with them if we ever found ourselves in northern NZ again :). We walked down into our 'forest track' through massive deforestation on a hot sunny road. We got into the valley and had about 2k of actual woods before getting to the end and then hiking up the back side of the same mountain on hot, sunny, deforested roads. We would have loved to see the tall pine forests described, but instead we merely glimpsed the destruction of man. It was a sad section of track to have starting the day . We began walking afterwards down the road towards Pataua South. Nick hitched a ride with a local almost immediately, but the rest of us opted to continue on. We all split up far on the road, frustrated at a less than spectacular day. John passed myself Kaspar and Manja in a car and informed us that he had blown his knee out on the road behind us and he'd meet us in Pataua. We wished him well and soldiered on. About 3 hours later of fast hiking, Kaspar Manja and I were walking together when we saw a big banner declaring Double Brown Fest 2013! and a field with a tent and some people in it. We looked in curiosity and heard them call out "Ey! want a cold beer?!' to which we instantly responded 'Of Course!'. This is how WE met OT, Cris, and friends whose names I didn't write down and now regret. They are a group of childhood freinds who for the last 7 years have been gathering on their friend's farm and hosting a big party celebrating their long friendship. We came into the picture the morning after. It actually turned out that OT was the guy that had picked up Nick and taken him to Pataua earlier that day!. We stopped for a while, had a couple of beers, and then figured we should probably head back onto the road. We gave our thanks and moved on towards Treasure Island campsite for the night.

After about 5k more we entered the beautiful isolated village of Pataua North/South. A village split by a large Estuary joined by a gorgeous footbridge with a large mountain looming over their own sheltered cove on the ocean. There were many people on the beach and children collecting mussels and starfish in the water during low tide. Right before we got on the footbridge, OT pulled up behind us and passed us a case of beer and a bottle of homemade plum wine, explaining that they had too much left over from double brown fest. We thanked him and took it off his hands before walking across the great bridge to Treasure Island Campground, right underneath the hill over the cove. We joined up with John and Nick and were glad to see that John was doing alright and planned to continue with us in the morning. We did some laundry and I went for a swim in the cove only to discover it completely full of sea life. The sheltered bay was a perfect place for starfish sea urchins and eels. I swam with them for a short time then went back to the campsite for dinner and drinks with the group. We looked at the mountain and decided it needed to be hiked for the sunset. What a perfect decision that was. Manja Kaspar and I got to the peak just before sunset, and watched the last light descend over the tiny village of Pataua sheltered away from the mighty pacific ocean. It was an incredible cliff to be up on top of looking down on the entirety of the town as the last light faded away. We got to bed and talked of waking up very early the next morning to get across the estuary at low tide. Not something I was looking forward to >.<

Day 19 Whananaki- Ngunguru

We left Whananaki this morning after some decent fish and chips from the small store by camp and walked across an awesome footbridge crossing their estuary. From there we got a bit lost out on a spit, but we had a cool detour across the spit through a nice tall pine forest from beach to secluded beach. It was a great way to start a day. We were still sore from yesterday, and everyone had pains flaring up throughout the day. As we left Whananaki and moved towards Ngunguru we were treated with some spectacular views overlooking the ocean and fantastic homes with private beaches miles from the nearest town. The country was beautiful, and the coast breathtaking. The trail was nice, and we kept getting closer to Nguinguru. We had a fairly hot unshaded section right before town, and we were all sore afterwards when we were spit out on the final road section. We were walking into town and Nick and Manja dropped back to change ytheir shoes, and as we waited for them, we saw a runner stop and chat with them. She caught up with us after that, and told us her name is Miriam, and we are more than welcome to come pitch tents in her back yard for the night. We took her up on her offer, and walked to her home from there. About 20 minutes later we were introduced to her partner David and their wonderful little girl Nina.

They had just moved into the small coastal town of Ngunguru as David had gotten a new job as manager of the (awesome and beautiful) Quarry Gardens in Whangarei. We set up our tents chatting and then hobbled ourselves to dinner at the local cafe. The chef was actually an American woman, and she cooked the best fish and chips I have had in NZ. By \far. They also had homemade cakes and pies that were to die for. Probably the best carrot cake I've ever had in my life. We bought many cakes, pies, fish and beer and wine and shared a little bit of everything, loving the little slice of heaven we had found with fantastic fresh food in the great tiny town of Ngunguru. We went back to David and Miriam's place far less sore and more happy and stayed up with them for quite a while through the night entertaining Nina and chatting about everything from where we were from to where we were going, why we love travelling etc.

The conversation was refreshing and it was great to meet some fellow travelers, as they had just returned from several months in Europe visiting Miriam's family in Germany. Travelling has shown me one great thing so far, and that's that fellow travelers seem to be far more open to each other. More willing to share their homes and their hearts and their stories with one another. In a way like no other community I have been a part of. It's understood that we travel to learn. We travel to share, we travel to hear stories and share stories and enjoy things we don't know Travelling is broadening our minds hearts and worlds of experience, and it's an unbelievable community to get to be a part of. Nina is lucky to have gotten such an early start with such amazing parents! We got to bed, and I noticed my soreness was far less than what it was when I got into town. Sometimes the best ure for physical ailments is just having company there to make you forget about it for a while. I went to bed looking forward to the next morning, and I slept like a rock through the night on their soft grass.

Day 17 Paihia- Opua Harbor

We woke up on our last morning in the Parrot, and the rain still hadn't let up. The track notes talked about a 6k section at the beginning of the track in Russel Forest that is a knee-deep river walk that should be avoided if there might be a possibility of rain in the area. The last 3 solid days of rain made that an easy decision. However, Nick looked at the maps for a while and found a marked trail that looked like it would skip the river section and allow us to continue on the track without having to do the roundabout Russel Forest road walk track. We figured that would be perfect and set off on our journey. The morning began with an awesome water taxi ride out of Paihia Harbor up the river in the driving rain. It was tons of fun and we all enjoyed ourselves out on the water in the tiny boat. We got to the trailhead and were excited to be on the trail again. We began walking and got lost instantly trying to find this non-TA trail. We doubled back and began down a 'road' that was really more like a driveway. We followed it, as was marked on the map, rossing a few streams and maybe a few fences that we shouldn't have until eventually the trail grew cold. We had nowhere to go, and had to begin on the Russel forest road bypass. It was about noon, and we began to walk down the road. We hadn't done much that day, and spirits were getting lower, but we were glad that the rain had FINALLY let up. We got about 10k down the road, and Nick began thumbing. Right as we got to a place where we were supposed to turn off onto a smaller road, he got a man with a flatbed trailer to stop. He agreed to take  us all the way to Opua Harbor, and after some conversation we all agreed to take him up on it. It was just a road bypass after all ;).

 What followed was the most scenic drive I think I've ever been on in my life. We had tons of fun hanging on to a strap on a flatbed truck as he drove us literally down the scenic route past cliffs overlooking beautiful bach homes and small towns out on the pacific ocean. We even saw Fernando from the pickled parrot driving behind us towards Whangarei! We got to a point that was even more spectacular than all the others, and Phillip our driver pulled over to allow us to gaze upon Edward's Bay, a beautiful and pristine stretch of coast with huge rolling waves crashing in on it. We say and laughed and admired the ocean as our driver/host offered us fresh oysters that he had just grabbed up from the sea hours before. We got back on the trailer and Phillip dropped us off at beautiful Opua. We walked down the coastal town and over a hill at the end to a beautiful campsite set apart from town with its own island out in the bay and its own beach just under where we camped. We made dinner, went for swims, I swang in a nice tree swing underneath the beautiful 'christmas trees' of NZ that the campsite had. Then we stayed up late and watched the stars for a while over the water. A fantastic end to a fantastic day. I remembered that I just need to let the world come to me and show me wonderful things, and that's exactly what happened today. Many thanks to Phillip for giving us one of the most fun days we've had yet!

Day 16 Paihia 0 day!

Today was great. I met so many people in the kind common area of the Pickled Parrot. I updated my blog a few times, and spent the entire afternoon and evening with many new friends. From France, USA, England, Scotland, Spain, and the Netherlands. We all sat around the common room drinking and talking all night as the group enjoyed simply relaxing and being off of our feet. Glad for the respite, but ready for the day tomorrow. Also really nice to watch the rain pound down outside all day as we remained warm and dry inside eating ice cream and drinking whiskey! great day :)

Day 15 Kerikeri- Paihia

Today we woke up in kerikeri well rested, well fed and CLEAN! We all throroughly enjoyed our showers and clean clothes. We headed out fairly early, and the group split up in the rain as John and Kaspar went a different direction to get to the stone store than Manja Nick and I. When we got there, we went up on the track and got turned around up on top of the Pa because of bad track notes. We looked around for about a half an hour to find the continuation of the trail, and right as we found it John and Kaspar caught up with us! We continued on through a nice little trail over the kerikeri river and out towards Paihia. The day turned nicer and the rain we had in the morning went away in the afternoon. We enjoyed walking through the forests after a bit of a road section, and were granted a gorgeous view of Paihia from the top of a mountain with a monument. We sat there for quite a long time enjoying a bit of rest and then began walking down the road towards Paihia singing and loving life. We were greeted on the road by a man who told us that the route we were on was leading us to a terrible highway section and we were missing a beautiful river walk. We thought we knew better and completely ignored him without checking the maps. Only to realize 4k later that he was completely right. We were walking the wrong way, and the only way into town was via the highway. We Got to see some cool falls that we would have otherwise missed, but after that we walked on the main highway into Paihia for about 4k.

 It was dangerous, smelled like gasoline and the side of the road was covered in broken glass. Then it started to rain. We continued to walk with damp spirits and damp backs. We finally reached Paihia and Kaspar led us all the way through town to the Pickled Parrot which was on the exact opposite end of town from where we started. All the road walking had given me wicked shin splints, and I was incredibly grateful to have finally arrived at the parrot, it has been a while since my last rest day. we got into the Parrot and met some fantastic companions in the Hostel who we shared some nice Port wine and a few beers with before getting to bed nice and early. Forecast for tomorrow tons of rain and a 0 day! Today was one of the first times that we dismissed the idea of a local and didn't stop and enjoy their company chat with them and take their ideas. And boy did it bite us in the ass. I hope that as we and I continue I continue to say yes and listen to the people around me. Remember that everyone has something to teach me, and I'm just a guy walking in their country!

Day 14 Puketi to Kerikeri

Today, I was feeling a bit tired in the morning, so I let the others take off without me while I slept in a bit (I know, you're all surprised). The day seemed easy, a mere 20k through farmland into kerikeri. I set off just before 9, and almost immediately got lost in the poor signage in the farmland. I doubled back and began to walk down the more boring but far easier to navigate road bypass. After about 7k a young couple stopped and asked where I was going. When I told them I was headed into kerikeri they said they knew the exact track I was on and where it picked up on the other side of the farmland! They told me it would even be a shorter walk into kerikeri, so I agreed to take a ride with them around the small rural farms to the drop off point right by their home. Now back on the track i began to follow it climbing through more rolling farmlands and meadows. It went up a final ride displaying the beautiful Bay of Islands beneath me all at once. I was glad that they had convinced me to return to the track instead of the road. I took some time on the last hill looking out over the bay and once again marveling at the vastness of the ocean. I began to descend the farm in high spirits which were almost instantly crushed by getting lost once again. After about an hour of cursing more poor signage, I found the stile I was looking for in the bottom right corner of the pasture, where i had started on a hill in the top left. I then was able to hike along a beautiful river walk for about 5k before getting to a nice little roadside park at the end of the track. A man in the park agreed to take me to the Holiday Park in town, because I's had enough of road walking today. I was sure the group would have been there waiting for me with all of my directional challenges. They ended up coming in about an hour after me, having gotten lost in the same places! We got some delicious cheap burgers, some beer and had our own bunk room in the hostel to rest in. It was a good end to a fun day.

I found myself quite happy when I was alone today. It is still kind of strange to me having expected to be solo for the first half of this journey and ending up in such a large group. I like it, but I also really enjoyed the freedom that I felt today, especially at the top of the hill overlooking the bay. However, when I truly was hiking solo all I did was find people to hike with. I think that no matter where I go in my life I will always be striving to meet people. I don't yet know why because I do really enjoy time alone, but I don't find myself alone often. Getting true isolation on this trip or in life I think would be good but very difficult for me. I value it, but I always have a backup plan. I have friends in NZ now like I did at home, so even when I am alone I know support is nearby. It seems like a good way to be doing my own thing, but how isolated is it? Then again, if you isolate too much you just end up being a useless hermit, and no one wants that!

Day 13: Wairare river- puteki recreation area

Today was a nice short day. We cut it down to tend to out sore knees and feet and take some cold showers at a DoC campsite. After only 13k we set up camp, cleaned up and took some well deserved naps. I had a good chat with John and Kaspar a bit before dinner and tea around the fire tonight. It's nice to take things easy today and spend time talking and relaxing with friends. We shared stories and time around the fireside resting. Not a terribly productive day on the trail, but an excellent day in terms of some group companionship. Looking forward to Kerikeri tomorrow!

Day 12: Mangamuka- Omahuta Puketi forest track.

We woke up in Lizzy's back yard, and all 5 of us departed together. Many times today I found myself regarding with wonder the group we have found. An old Australin Air force vet, a Danish floor sweeper, a German physical therapist, a Kiwi Math student, and an American wilderness guide all hiking together in Nz, most of us incredibly far from home, and all from different backgrounds in different places in our lives getting along and working together through great challenges to achieve the same goal, and we'd found each other all within a week. It's really something wonderful that I think we all realize. I have found things in each of these people that5 I really admire, and i think and hope that they have found some things in me as well. I hope that I can continue to learn from them, and I am grateful for their company for more than just someone to talk to on the trail.

Today was my favourite hiking day yet by far. After a long but fast 18k through roads in farmland where w were briefly joined by a lost dog, we were dumped off the road into the Mangapukahukahuka stream. We walked through the stream for 3km, and high, steep jungle mountains framed the crystal clear water for its entirety. The stream itself had swimming pool after swimming pool, some up to 10 ft deep, and all of which you could see clear through to the bottom. Some even had their own small beaches lined with palm trees and ferns on the banks. The Mangapukahukahuka met with the much less fun sounding and slightly more murky and larger Wairare river which we followed up for 3k to our freedom campsite next to a nice pool. Sadly by the time we got to camp, the rain had began so we didn't use the pool that was available to us. We spread out our tents taking up the whole freedom camp, shared some dinners and headed to bed looking forward to the forest track in the morning. Sorry for the lack of photos today, the wading through rivers all day made me hide my phone deep in my pack in plastic, you'll just have to fly out to NZ and see the stream for yourself!

Day 11: Ratea track- Mangamuka

John and Kasper woke up bright and early and were out of camp when we woke up around 7. We wished them well as they headed off tot he trail and we scrounged up breakfast, prepping for our first 'route', the toughest classification of trails on the TA. This particular track contained the 770m Ratea peak, one of the highest peaks on the north island, among others. We set off and began to climb. and climb. and climb.

 The mud was deep in some places, and more often present than not. After a couple of hours or so of climbing we took a break on a 'peak' and wondered is that was the ratea peak. We had been climbing hard all morning, and ratea peak was just a few k from where we had started, so we figured that was it. Boy, were we wrong. 

what followed was 9 more hot, sticky, and completely devoid of drinking water, hours filled with climbs up and down the peaks. 

The sign on the final descent had the sentiments of most TA hikers scribbled on it.

 In those 10-11 hours of hiking we hiked just 12k.

 After the final descent we raced along the 4x4 track through mixed jungle/farmland looking for water. We found the end of the jungle track and it broke out instantly into hilly meadows containing sun, horses and wild flowers. The transition from forest to field was as sudden as it was beautiful. 

Just as beautiful, Nick Manja and I could see John and Kasper at the bottom of the field, a mere half hour ahead of us, right next to a stream!

 We took a break at the hilltop as they continued on. After the break, we went down and filled water and began walking into Mangamuka, a tiny town with just one shop and one hotel. After walking the road for a couple of hours we arrived at the shop to find John and Kasper there waiting for us, and the shop staying open having heard of our late arrival. The owner let us sleep in the back yard and fed us some deliscious food for dinner. We ate and bitched about the incredible Ratea forest with John and Kasper for a few hours before bed. At the end of the day we had hiked a little over 12 hours and covered a little under 23k. We spent the night camped out back and I was once again blown away by the kindness of the rural kiwis. Great to be with the whole group!

Day 10: Thanksgiving! Herekino- Ratea track beginning

We woke up still wet. All of our tents and my sleeping bag were soaked, but the sun was out! We woke up late and slow from the frustrating day before. Around 9 we were ready to go, but quite worried as we hadn't seen Andy pass us on the track yet. He arrived right as we put on our packs with a broken hiking pole and low spirits. He let us know he couldn't continue any farther and was going to hike out that day and get down to auckland. It was sad to see him go, but we all know it was the right call for him, this hasn't even been the challenging areas of the terack and Andy was struggling daily. We wish him the best, but now i've seen my first thru hiker drop out a mere 6 days into the walk. We began walking as Andy headed back towards town. 

The tack was steep and muddy, and I was grateful for my gaiters. The few peaks that we hit afforded splendid views of the valleys below, but the slogging through mud was difficult and slow. 

it took us the whole morning, but we broke out from the forest at a gorgeous farm in the sun and sat down for lunch and drying of our clothes, tents, and bags.  After being in a soaking wet jungle for a couple of days the sunny fields were heaven.

 The track detoured down a road, and Nick wanted to get a ride off the road, luckily we had no signal, so Manja and I enjoyed a nice road walk through some beautiful rural farmland for a while. 

About 5k into the road section we did end up getting a short ride tot he base of the Ratea track and began hiking up the mountains preparing for the 770m summit tomorrow.

As nick was whinging about the road hike and I was enjoying it, an old cliche came to mind that a good friend had reminded me of long ago: it's about the journey, not the destination. The journey so far has been amazing, and it's even more amazing when I consider it without a destination in mind. I'd love to complete the whiole track, but I'm beginning to realize that's not even why i'm here. I'm here to experience a new country with new people and no places to be or appontments to have. I'm here to walk and simoply be on a journey to wherever that journey will take me, and i'm excited to see what that brings. I have no idea what the rest of this track will look like, Io don't know how much will be road or track or town or rural or completely untamed. But I dont care. It doesn't amtter. the journey will be exactly what it is, and I have complete control over how I see that journey. so far it has been enlightening, painful, joyful and beautiful, but most definitely worthwhile. And i'm only 10 days in!

We got to the base of Ratea and nick stopped to fill his water in a stream. Manja continued on, and I chatted with nick for a bit before hiking on to go catch up with her. I filled my weater at the next stream and nick caught up with me, but we still hadn't seen Manja yet. We were beginning to wonder if we missed a track to the side when we peaked out and at the top there was Manja with none other than John and Kasper!

 I was elated that we had all made it to the Ratea and were able to get together again, as tomorrow seems like it will be quite challenging. We had a great thanksgiving dinner and chatted for a long time before bed. Company on the trail is always welcome!

Day 9: Ahipara- Herekino Forest Track

Today we woke up and caught the first bus into Kaitaia to resupply at the pak n save. We got back tot he hostel and finished packing by about 10:30 which gave us a late start on the day. Andy, John, and Kasper had all left early in the morning because only Manja Nick and I needed to resupply. We took off and began to walk through the Herekino Track. 

It began to rain shortly thereafter, and didn't stop for the rest of the day. the track was muddy wet and cold. But it was still nice to be off the beach.

 We crossed some nice streams where the water was cold and pure and delicious, but the novelty of the jungle quickly wore off as the rain continued to dampen my spirits. I knew I would be sleeping wet tonight. 

The day was slightly frustrating, as the rain slowed us down quite a bit, and we didn't really make our goal. We still did around 20k with a very late start. We ran into Andy on the track where he was setting up his tent in the middle of the road. We were slightly worried about him as he seemed to be quite worn out. We hiked on for about 3-5k more before setting camp ourse4lves on a dryer spot in the middle of the tack. hopefully tomorrow will hold some sun to let us dry out our things.

Day 8: Ahipara Zero Day!

I woke up late today! How nice were those 11 hours of sleep. I got a brutal heat rash on my feet and ankles from the beach, but a kind hostel buddy gave me some skin creme for that which has been working wonders. Manja showed up at the park around 11, and John followed shortly thereafter. Today I also met Kasper, a 30 year old floor sweeper from Denmark and Andy an older gentleman from the states. Both of them are trying to thru hike TA, and some of Andy's gear is incredible, all of his pack weighs about 15 lbs, truly ultra light. Mel was staying at the Hostel already, and Nick came in later in the afternoon leaving six Ta thru hikers in the same place! we went out for a big dinner at Bidz' take out to celebrate finally being off of 90 mile beach and being able to relax. fish n chips carried through the night as we sat around drinking wine and playing some party games. It was good for us all to be social and relax a bit. There are tons of Germans here at the hostel as well, so we had some bilingual pictionary going which was tons of fun. It's nice to be able to form such camaraderie so quickly when we're all so far from home. It's easy to be in the moment when you are around so many other people simply out on an adventure.

Day 7 hukatere to ahipara

We woke up around 8 and had some tea and breakfast with the wwoofers, the other TA hiker john had apparently left right before I got up. Around 9 we hit the beach, and the previous 2 days' soreness was clearly present. We only made about 10 painful kilometers before lunch, and that didn't rejuvenate us nearly as much as the previous days. My knees were sore and my feet were bleeding and blistered. About 5k later there was a campsite that Manja chose to use, her legs couldn't take her any farther. I opted to push on and complete the day to ahipara in the hopes of taking a zero day tomorrow. In the last 15k of the day, I stopped only twice. I found that the pain in my knees would become unbearable every time I restarted walking, so I simply hiked slowly and steadily down the beach. 

On the way to ahipara I listened to music and watched the tide go in and out, reflecting on the power, vastness, and indifference of the ocean. 

Such and integral part of human life, with no capacity for awareness of its own power. No thought or desire but the power to change the world, whether it wants to or not. 

Of course it's neither of the two, it has no desires or aversions of any kind. Maybe in a way, that gives it an even more omnipotent feeling.

 It will not and cannot stop its being or its power for any reason. It simply continues. I thought of that as my tiny body cried in pain as I willed it forward and felt slightly better. It always seems that the things farthest removed from rationality or reasoning most closely posess omnipotence.

The beach is back: day 6, the bluff to hula there

Today we walked the beach again. Nick and Mel didn't make it to the bluff last night sadly, so we set off without them. In the morning there was a heavy fog rolling in off the sea that accumulated a salty dew in my beard, which was annoying but far better than the sun we had all day yesterday. 

Around lunch however, the sun returned with a vengeance, and continued to pound down on is throughout the day. We did our best to stay out and get on enough sunscreen, but we both ended up with some burns today.

 The walk was long and flat, found another 20 mile day was difficult but rewarding when we arrived at hukatere lodge in the end. I chose to stay in their backpacker hostel because my sleeping mat decided it would be a good time to go AWOL off the back of my pack. The shower felt incredible , and the fresh aloe on my burns was a nice touch provided by the owners. The people here are kind and relaxed, and the view of the sea is incredible. A nice reward for a hard day.

I've been reading some of thoreau's walden when I can and I came across a passage that struck a chord with me today. "Public opinion is weak compared with our own private opinion. What a man thinks of himself... Indicates his fate"(5). I think this certainly holds true for myself and most people I know. I feel like the main reason for this is that our very perception of the world around us is inextricably linked to our opinions of ourselves. The world we see around us is shaped by how we see ourselves. Either as better or worse, aggressive or defensive, strong or weak. The way we behave in the world is a direct result of the way that we see the world behaving around our warped sense of self. Private opinion is incredibly strong in this way, so it is important to remember to seek outside counsel on things. People don't just see problems differently, they see the world differently from you, and will always have a different way of looking at things, even within ourselves. Sometimes the most keen internal insights are made from without by those around us. It seems to me a valuable lesson to be pulled from those words of Thoreau. While private opinion can be a mighty tyrant, remember that it is not the arbiter of fact, but merely a shaper of perspective.