Saturday, March 14: Sunny and very warm, clouds appearing in the evening, and some rain

Tramping: Nga Tapuwae o Toi, 16.9 km

Windsor Lodge

• Topo
• GPS

The weather was very tempting for a paddle so I was up and organised early, and Kenny the kayak man offered a freedom hire, the only problem was that it was from his place. I indicated that I would take it, and set off with a Google Map in mind to drive the 30 or so km down to his place. Was ready to leave here just after 9:00.

Never got there. Found the road alright but there were no numbers greater than 9, and I was looking for #93. Came to the end of the road where it changed its name & further along to a dirt track and then turned back. There only seemed to be farmhouses on the rest of the street, so I looked around further in town – thought I might have mistaken “wharf” for “harbour” in the street name or some such, but there was no other street. With another half an hour to drive back, time was being eaten up and I abandoned the project. Ken should get himself a more central location.

The day was still looking fine so I decided on redoing the walkway in town. Went over to the supermarket and bought a couple of slices of ham for lunch today and tomorrow, packed today’s sandwiches in for the hike, together with a full bottle of L&P.

The going was tougher than I had in memory. Made it to Ohope Beach for lunch in the park before pushing off along the beach. Lots of very large, articulated shells, and some photos. I thought that I would be after high tide, but was actually just at high, so that the one passage was a little difficult and I did get wet boots. I was looking for a spot to photograph the sunset but nothing much was looking in the right direction, and eventually made it into town.

Tried looking around for an ice cream that I thought I deserved, but nothing much was on offer. Made it back here and showered (pretty cold, not much water coming through) and had a shave as well. Boots ought to be washed.

For the next bit of planning it will be important to get to Waikaremoana when it’s no longer raining so that I can camp out. Will try to do it in three days, then onto Napier for the gannets, then along to the Coromandel.

Dinner was a piece of tarakihi from the fish’n’chip shop for $3.9 and yesterday’s chips reheated. Two guys were watching telly all evening so it was not quiet enough to put a call to the Flying Nun Hostel so I will have to take my luck for tomorrow.

Finished off the evening with an attempt at shooting time lapse of the sunset (not much) and then the main street from the middle of the road as the lights came on.