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.