Day 23: Puhoi to Stillwater Motor Camp (546-561)

After 10 wonderful hours of sleep I woke up around 7, which can be considered sleeping in after the last few days! It was wonderful. I packed up and decided to sit at the store and write some blog posts (I fell asleep last night before I could write one for the day). When I got there I saw Julia, Puff Puff and their friend Kristin. They were getting ready to go for the day. We all talked for a bit and realized we'd all probably be at Stillwater Camp by the end of the day.

Julia and Puff Puff have walked every kilometer of the trail (they're so tough!), so they road walked around the section I was skipping.

Around 10 I turned in my room key and walked out to where I was supposed to catch the bus. I was there a half hour early and waited at least 25 minutes after it was supposed to show up. A guy pulled into the spot I was assuming the bus would have picked me up and asked if I needed a ride. I explained the situation and he said he'd take me to Orewa. It was "right over the hill." He was running a bit late on his way into work, but didn't seem to mind. With it about to be Christmas it sounded like work was slow this week.

He dropped me off at the countdown. I got a meat pie and gatorade and made my way to the beach around noon to rejoin the trail. This was the best beach walk of the trail! At least from the point I got to the beach, there was a paved walking and bike path the entire way. All the beach views and sound with none of the sand. It was wonderful.

The trail then followed a nice bike path off the beach before road walking by a shopping center and down to the campground. It began raining part of the way, but not too hard. I kept dry with my raincoat and all the rain clouds meant it was a nice temperature out. After a few minutes it stopped raining. I've been lucky so far this trip that whenever it rains it's in short spurts.

A little bit after I turned to go down the road to the campground was on, with about 5 kilometers to go, a man stopped in the road and asked if I wanted a ride. I thought for a second. I knew I could walk 5 kilometers but it had become a really windy road with absolutely no shoulder. Taking a ride seemed like a good idea. He explained that he lived by the campground so he and his wife would give TA hikers rides if they saw them. I also learned that in New Zealand you have to take driving tests when you get older. Keith, the man who gave me a ride said he had been worried about taking the vision test when he turned 75 because it would be pretty hard to drive a scooter up and down this windy road! He thinks at 80 or 85 they might make you take a driving test again like teenagers have to.

After a few minutes we were at the camp. I said thank you and found Peter, the man who runs the campground. He was so kind. He has a room with mattresses he lets trampers sleep in for free and he gave me a token for the shower and wifi. A few hours later Kristin showed up and he showed us maps of where the trail went next and told us when we need to be at the Okura River to hit it at the lowest tide (9:38 am). It's about 4 kilometers to get there from here, so I get to sleep in again tomorrow!

Julia and Puff Puff showed up a little after 7 as Kristin and I were walking to the boat club to get dinner. They had taken a wrong turn on the road walking and had gotten poured on. They still walked every kilometer even though they were offered five rides. They're impressive.

Peter had told us about the boat club. They had a burger and fries for $10. What a deal! Fun fact: in New Zealand they put beets on their burgers (and an egg too, but this one just had the beets), in addition to normal fixings like ketchup and lettuce.

Tomorrow I should be in Auckland for my Christmas break!

Some of the day's trail: a pretty underpass to tavern road

My bed at Stillwater. It's so nice to sleep under a roof with a mattress!