Te Araroa – Day 2

Beach Camp to Utea Park

31.1 miles

Mile 43.5

I woke to the sounds of crashing waves and clacking seagulls at around 7:00 AM. Thirty minutes later I was walking down the beach enjoying the cool breeze coming off the water.

The beach I’m walking on is called the 90 Mile Beach, but it’s actually more like 60 miles, so I’m not sure where the name came from…

Anyways, I spent the day passing sand dunes on my left and rolling waves to my right.

There was a fair amount of traffic on the beach. A mixture of tour busses, cars and trucks kept me company as I walked along the ocean.

I found this interesting bird that seemed to be injured, as it was struggling to walk. It looked sorta like a penguin, but I’m not sure…

In the afternoon I stopped to chat with a hiker heading in the opposite direction as me. I was glad to find out that she’s passed a few other hikers earlier, so maybe I’ll run into them later.

Just before 7:00 PM I arrived at Utea Park where I found a variety of camping and cabin accommodation options.

For $25 I got a cabin for the night, a hot shower and a cold beer. Seemed like a good deal to me!

Cheers!

4 thoughts on “Te Araroa – Day 2”

  1. There are several stories about how 90 Mile Beach got its name. I don’t remember the details, but they all involve misjudging the distance. It took be two tries to hike from the end of 90 Mile Beach north to the lighthouse and then south to a campground on the other side – a nice three day hike. Backpacker Inns are a great place to stay, and Backpacker Buses are a good way to get around. Keep trekking.

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