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.
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