Today took us to from TA km69.5 to TA km101 but the Suunto says we did around 32.5 actual in just over 9 hours. (today's gps track) After achy bodies last night we started of more or less OK. B was having quad issues though and I was just generally sore, so we had a slower first half day. As you can see below, it's funny what/who you can run into in the middle of nowhere. A while lot of "lumps" in the far distance resolve into a woman, a bicycle and five dogs! And very big dogs - four Anatolian herding dogs and one a type of European shepherd apparently! After lunch the pace picked up for a little while but in all honesty we were both pretty shattered for the last few kms! No more photos of the beach today but as we reached the boat ramp at Ahipara we found someone to take a photo to signal our surviving 90 Mile Beach!! :-) In summary we were even a bit proud of ourselves for making it relatively unscathed, although the last km to the campground was pretty slow! Again, pretty weary might (politely) describe us after such a long beach walk!
Overall, a great experience. Sure some might say it's a bit repetitive towards the end, but it is a magnificent walk all the same. We were lucky having only a slight sprinkle or two of rain and tides were pretty good which limited the soft sand walking, and we only had to dive up a sand dune a couple of times to avoid getting wet at high tide! Now for at least one rest day before the Northland forests!
2 Comments
Geoff
23/10/2015 19:04:04
Every step south counts! Very well done....a great start,and asI tell Lynne, I am never fit enough when we start, but get better every day. Following with envy, but my timewill come. Will catch up when ypu pass by. Geoff
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Ant
23/10/2015 19:14:08
Thanks Geoff. We had a good chat with Lynne when she stopped by, about your experiences! Some handy tips for us novices! Pity you don't have a campsite on the TA!!
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AuthorBelinda and Anthony (aka Tony) Hadfield made a decision, in their late 50's, to do something a "bit different" and walk New Zealand's 3000km Te Araroa Trail over summer 2015/16 - although updates will now tell you that this plan will take longer now!!. As the old saying goes - "don't leave home 'til you've seen the country"!! Archives
January 2018
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