After spending a few days in Auckland for work, I boarded an Intercity Bus to Kaiwaka and hitched out to Mangawhai Heads, where I caught up with John again. Together, we made our way along Pakiri Beach, which could have been more uneventful. This is meant in the most positive way possible as beaches up in Northland are stunning… and long! After 16 km along an almost empty beach, we arrived at Pakiri Holiday Park. There, we encountered a typical kiwi weekend experience: the place was bustling with substantial walk-in tents, picnic tables, and chairs, and people having a good time. After the solitude of the beach, this was almost overwhelming.
Not surprisingly, most people were still asleep when we left the park, and we made our way inland across farmland towards Ōmaha and Dome Forests, which we would tackle the next couple of days. And “tackle” is not the wrong term for it: forests in Aotearoa are muddy, full of roots, full of vines that want to trip you, and as it was raining for two days, it was pretty challenging going downhill on very sleek clay paths. But, without the rain, the forests wouldn’t be this beautiful abundance of green! However, I must admit that I had a hard time hiking these couple of days as the hiking was very slow and frustrating, and I couldn’t find any joy. It didn’t help that my trail runners did not find a good grip in the mud. But after rain, mud, and minor temper tantrums, there is always sun and eventually a next road walk until one loathes this again and looks forward to another muddy forest section. If there is something that the TA has taught me so far, it is patience!
As we (mostly me!) had had enough of the rain and the mud, we were very much looking forward to the little settlement of Puhoi, where we intended to stay in a room in the Puhoi Pub. I have been to Puhoi before: it was the first settlement of German-speaking settlers in Aotearoa, where we went on a field trip with students last year. It feels nice to walk toward familiar places.
The pub offered more than I expected: rooms were spotlessly clean and cozy, great burgers, local beer, and an overall very welcoming and pleasant atmosphere.
The following day, the trail included a section by kayak on the Puhoi River. However, as the weather was still bad and the tide was not on our side (you’d need high tide to kayak), we decided on the alternative on the road that brought as to beautiful Wenderholm Regional Park and out of the forests back to the beaches. A last hill to climb, we made it to Waiwera, a small town from where the trail can only be walked at low tide as it winds its way around the cliffs for a few kilometers. As we missed the low tide and the rain was still annoying, we decided to call it a day and take the local bus back to Auckland to sleep in our bed, and return tomorrow in hopefully sunny weather, at low tide, and continue our way south.
