Friday 15th March 2024
Kaitaia to Ahipara
5 or 6km walked today (10km hitched)
101km to Cape Reinga
I’m downtown by 9am to pick up the new pole tips from the parcel pickup place. That all goes well and soon I’m sitting in a cafe having a big breakfast. I need to shop for 7 days to get me to Cape Reinga by next Friday to meet Kim, but there is a famous fish and chip shop at Ahipara where I’ll stop two nights. The only big supermarket is the Pac and Save and that’s 2km out of town, then I’ll walk back 2km to the road out to Ahipara. The Pac and Save is enormous and I spend at least an hour going up and down every aisle with my pack in a shopping trolley. I buy a lot of fresh fruit as well for my stay in Ahipara. Once I’m outside I can’t get everything into my pack so carry the overflow in a small daypack back to the Ahipara turnoff. At the turnoff there’s a large grass and tree traffic island so I head up to sit down and ring Kim. I get a surprise when I realise there’s 4 or 5 boys in school uniform behind some bushes and realise they’re wagging school; which is just over the road. Once they realise I’m not an authority figure they relax and give me a tentative friendly wave. After ringing Kim I walk down to the road and start hitching. It’s only 12km to Ahipara but it’s a fast sealed road with no verge and it’s recommended for walkers to hitch it. Almost instantly I’m picked up by a Māori lady who’s just finished work and is heading home to her community for the weekend. She says she retired 10 years ago but was convinced to take on a job as a social worker for local young people. She mainly works with young single mothers, and eight years ago she took on a baby whose birth mother couldn’t look after her and there were no other relatives. She’s a great grandmother from her children. She tells me the story of the large hill beside Ahipara which is coming into view. It’s called Whangatāuatia, and is a female deity who guided the canoes of the migration to this place
I walk to the holiday park, set up camp and have an hour before the rain starts. Once my tent is organised I’m happy to stay in it until tomorrow. It’s Friday night and I can hear groups setting up nearby for the weekend.
SAUNTER101 