40 – 70 Hukatere
Up at dawn again, pack up and then off.
The dunes look like massive bluffs in the distance that slowly shrink as you get closer until they are only ten or so meters tall.
It feels like it goes on forever, the walking that is. Without the island to give me a reference point I would lose track of time and couldn't tell whether I had just had a break or whether it was hours ago.
At one point I saw a stick that looked like a man riding a bicycle and it was only when I got closer that I realised it was a man riding a bicycle....in floro. Very disconcerting.
4WD's occasionally went past but I didn't see any tourist buses.
I forgot to say that at the Bluff Campground I met a French tourist who asked me whether it would be a good idea to drive down the beach. I think I sort of killed it for him by asking to many questions.
"Is it your car?"
"Is it 4WD?"
"Have you ever driven on a beach before"
Etc....
Finally, I saw a flag (to give me hope) and after a small amount of wandering confusion due to my slightly dehydrated state I found myself in the wonderful Utea Park.
I did try to figure out the history of the lodge. They were defiantly doing something. But then two guys turned up with a didgeridoo and offered me a beer after which we went to get some more.
They have fantastic metal roads up here for the logging trucks. Wide, flat, and one of them had a roundabout.
By the time the owners turned there were quite a few of us outside and it didn't faze them at all. They just joined right in.
Sorry, I didn't get many photos. I got sidetracked. I did get a video though.
Hindsight
- Utea Park was great. It would be a good place to rest for a day even if you aren't feeling like it.
