Day 11. 10 kilometers of Sitting. 11/13/15.

46.5 kilometers (10 km were in a boat)
Km 243 to 289.5

Dusty’s $20 water taxi worked out perfectly. There were 19 TA walkers plus a dog on the boat. That is a new record for Dusty. The popularity of this trail is going thru the roof. Most of the hikers I had met before. It is crazy to have that many all together.

The 8k walk from Pahia to the water taxi in Opua was some of the most beautiful so far. It was all either on the beach or coastal trail. I walked by gorgeous beaches, lots of moored boats and picturesque houses. Except I didn’t take any pictures of the houses.

Waiting for the water taxi.

4 of 19 on the boat

After the water taxi I walked the rest of the day with Nathan, Brett, Alex and Helen. And we never saw the other 14 people.  For 4k we walked right up the middle of the Papakauri Stream. Once again trail runners (Altra Lone Peak 2.5) were so much better than boots.

A dirt road took us thru the Russell Forest then out to a paved road. We walked to Helena Bay hoping for some camping possibility. We saw no-camping signs. Then Alex asked a guy who was working on his house if he knew where we could camp. Peter said we could camp in his yard! So that is where we are set up.

After dinner we went for a stroll on the beach.

I am loving the fresh air after suffering thru last night. My broom closet of a room shared with 3 others was so hot and stuffy that I could hardly sleep. Tonight will be way better.