Diary

Friday, 20.02.04
Arrived in Waitiki Landing where I parked the car and paid for a lift to Te Paki stream. The beginning of Cape Reinga Walkway. Paying for the lift paid off ;-) On the one hand, because there is hardly any traffic to be hitch-hiking and on the other, because the women who gave me a lift also gave me some very good tips for the track. I chose not to take the path but to cross directly to the seashore through the dunes. Great stuff, although pretty nasty to walk. Did not regret it, although it sometimes felt like being in the Sahara desert.
The rest of the day I spent walking on the Ninety-Miles-Beach, Scott Point and finally Twighlight Beach where I found an acceptable campsite on the northern end. The whole beach just for myself!
Believe it, or not. When I reached the end of Twighlight Beach I got undressed to take a quick dip in the sea to get the sandy crust from my body. And as I was running down towards the water (feeling like one of those Baywatch guys) I got shit on by a seagull. And not just a little bit. It hit me straight on my chest and some more bits and pieces landed on my right leg.
Well... One more reason to get a wash.
There is only a little stream here, so I had to dig a little hole in the sand, wait until it was filled with water, gather it and boil it in the end. It smells awful and tastes quite salty, but there is no alternative. Right now I am cursing myself for not bringing my water filter to New Zealand.

Saturday, 21.02.2004
Sitting at Cape Reinga at the moment. Have to give up here, because my left foot seemed to have taken some damage from the first day when I was walking through the dunes with my sandals. Started limping after a couple of hours today.
I actually managed to cross Te Werahi Stream at high tide. Just needed to wait for the right moment between two waves. But still... Not really a wise thing to do. Even between the waves, the water was as high as my hips. If a wave would have caught me ... it would have probably carried me away.
Anyways... it was not much good, because, shortly before the way up to Cape Reinga the waves were too strong and trying to walk along the cliffs would have been suicidal at high tide (I know, because I tried it). So, not being patient enough to be waiting for low tide I fought my way up the hill through thick bushes which ended up with plenty of slightly bleeding cuts on my arms and legs.
One more thing I would like to mention. There is no way of refreshing your water supplies (no stream, no shop) around Cape Reinga. I was quite lucky that one of the bus drivers had mercy with me and gave me a litre of water from his own supplies.
The weather is tropical. Only the strong winds make walking endurable. Limping and with no more water, continuing the tour is not an option.