Day 72: Levin to River Pa, Waikanae (37 kms)

Thursday, February 9

We made an egg skillet for all of us and packed up. A little after 9 we began our 35-kilometer road walk to Waikanae along the highway.

We stopped for Sara to get coffee on our way out of town and the customers and owner were so nice and talkative (I love coffee, but I don't usually drink it on walking/hiking days). We passed a lot of fruit and market shops on the road and eventually got to an auto shop with an old police car sitting out front. A nice guy named Des came out and said hello to us. He likes to make sure tourists and people on working holidays are having a good time in New Zealand and he and his parents have helped out quite a few folks that had negative experiences with working holidays or with their vehicles.

We found out he got his police car from Los Angeles and met his really nice dog. It was a great pit stop, but he got a call and had to go back to work. We said goodbye and continued walking, passing more shops and stopping at a dairy in Manakau for cold drinks and treats.

As we were walking toward traffic, a post office van drive up to us from the opposit side of the road and dropped off contact info for Des. He wanted us to reach him if we needed anything and wanted the link to our blogs.

We eventually got to Otaki, which must be the outlet capitol of New Zealand. We went in the ice breaker outlet and got some things. I got a new tank top for the South Island. My current one is pretty hole-filled.

By the time we were done it was around four and most of the cafes were closing. We quickly grabbed food somewhere and continued walking. I called River Pa, a place mentioned in the TA trail notes as a place to stay. It was a little closer to us than the holiday park in Waikanae and was less expensive. I told the lady I thought we'd be there at 8:30 and she said that would be fine.

We walked our last few hours along the highway to Waikanae and stopped at New World to get snacks. Then it was only a twenty minute walk to River Pa. Around 8:30 we finally made it! Marie met us and showed us around. The place used to be a Christian School so there's bathrooms and a kitchen and they've moved a ton of mattresses into the old chapel for people to sleep in. The bahroom was tiled so brightly, it made me smile and the chapel had loads of old National Geographic Magazines.

We paid her and got ready for bed. It was so nice not to have to set up our tents after a long day of road walking. I can't imagine how nice it is to stay there after a few days in the difficult Tararuas!