0 – 12 Ahipara to Twilight
Actually, this will start a little further back than Ahipara......
Dad and I traveled up from Auckland on Monday, firstly to Kaiwaka to see Ashley and Aubrey, Kaikohe for lunch, and then to Ahipara to stay the night at the YHA and hopefully pick up any news from hikers who had just finished 90 mile. Nobody seemed to have just walked in so that plan fell over.
On the way to Kaitaia things began to get a little more real as we started weaving on and off the edges of my printed maps and then up the Mangamuka Gorge...and up...and up. It is remarkable how well reality was setting in by the time we reached the top (That is part of the next trail).
The next morning we headed to Cape Reinga.
It is very beautiful, and steep. Luckily I was already at the top so after one photo I said my goodbyes and headed off.
Currently I am at Twilight Camp so the actual beach part starts tomorrow. I did end up taking a few more photos though :) I will add them in later as they appear to be to big currently.
Hindsight
- Getting dropped off early in the morning worked well. It is a long way from Ahipara to Cape Reinga and lots of people I met who hitched didn't make it until later in the day. Another option might be staying at the Tapotupotu Campsite the day before.
- Matching the right tides up to my start date was a good idea. What I looked for was around a half after high tide when I started out so I wouldn't have problems being forced up into the dunes on my way down Ninety Mile Beach.
- Although Twilight Camp was a good first stop on the journey it didn't take me long to get there and I probably should have grabbed some more water and pushed on to shorten the next day.
Ahipara to Twilight Map
