Auckland To Whangaparoa

Before I left Waiheke Island, Diana from the Waiheke Marketplace newspaper interviewed me and took photo's of Jan and I. (An article appeared in the Gulf News that week and in Waiheke Marketplace the next week.) Jan and  Mika then took me to the ferry terminal where I caught the ferry to Devonport. Once in Devonport I took a bus to Takapuna and booked into the Motor Camp. There was quite a wind blowing and heavy rain forecast so rather than be in my tent I took the cheapest bed available, $72 for a caravan for the night. After dropping off my pack I caught a bus back to Devonport and walked the 6km back to Takapuna, via North Head, beaches and roads. As it was low tide I managed to walk the final section over rocks and onto Takapuna Beach.

It rained overnight and the caravan was rocking in the wind, I was glad not to be in my tent. As it was still raining in the morning, and I only had 14km to walk that day, I stayed abed until 7.45am. The rain stopped just after I left at 9.50am. I mostly followed the coastal path but as it was very close to the beach the sea was blowing over the path in places and I had to revert to the streets for some sections.

Coastal Path north of  Takapuna

After 1.5km I met Fred walking his dog. As he lives 2km north of where I met him and was about to drive home he agreed to take my pack.  When I collected the pack I had a cuppa with Fred  before I went on my way. My destination for the day was Long Bay where there is a Regional Park. Unfortunately no camping is allowed in the park but I had been told about and phoned the  Sir Peter Blake, Marine Education & Recreation Centre (MERC). Their facility at Long Bay has accommodation for 70 as well as large kitchen and dining facilities. As they had no groups booked for that night they allowed me to stay free of charge. On arrival Lynette, who I had previously spoken to on the phone and who had arranged for me to stay, showed me around. Later I met Paul, the manager, who gave me advice about my route the next day.  I had the spacious complex to myself for the night. I am very appreciative of being allowed to stay at this wonderful place, especially since I was an unknown stranger.

The next day I initially made a wrong turning and ended up in a new housing development and no way through the security fencing. Once heading in the right direction 8km of road walking brought me to the Okura Walkway. This is a 6km walk through wonderful bush. I met many people using the walkway, including Jonathan and his grandson who were checking rat traps.
Once at Stillwater I went to the boat club to see if I could get a ride across the Weiti River. I was gruffly told  "no, you'll have to walk". As I walked away I was told to try at the Camping Ground. Backtracking to the camp, I initially found nobody around but eventually found Bruce working on his yacht, he agreed to take me across on his inflatable tender. The hundred yards across the river saved 15km of road walking.

Bruce took me across the Weiti River.

Once on the other side a rough track eventually led me to suburban streets and then to Arkles Bay    on the Whangaparoa  Peninsula.  While walking I met Maureen who was on her way to the shops. She showed me to the bus stop, as luck would have it a bus to Auckland arrived 4 minutes latter. On arrival in Auckland I caught another bus to Hamilton, where I am enjoying a few days with Charissa.  I will return north on Friday and resume walking on Saturday.

Total Km so far = 3682.