Utea Park to Kaitaia
28.3 miles
Mile 71.8
By 7:00 AM I’d packed up my gear, topped off my water and had made my way from my cabin back to the trail on the beach.
About 20 miles later my walk along the 90 Mile Beach came to an end as the trail headed inland through the small town of Ahipara. It had been neat walking along the beach, but I was ready for a change in scenery.
I swung by Bidz Takeaway for a cold drink before beginning the road walk to Kaitaia.
The road didn’t have much of a shoulder, forcing me to walk a bit closer to the cars than I liked, but the farmland I walked past was interesting enough to keep me entertained.
Two cars stopped and offered me rides, which was tempting, but my goal is to walk the entire length of New Zealand, so I turned them down.
By 6:00 PM I’d arrived at the town of Kaitaia. First I swung by Pak’n Save to buy a resupply before beginning my search for a place to stay for the night. This turned out to be more difficult than I’d anticipated. The first four places I tried were completely full, but ultimately I found a neat hostel called Backpacker that had room.
I spent the night organizing my food and taking care of phone chores on their shoddy WiFi available before crashing hard. Here’s a picture of my food for the next few days…I think I may have overdone it on the nuts…
P.s. I’m really enjoying this trail! New Zealand is an incredible place that I’m looking forward to exploring from north to south by foot.
Cheers!