Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet

One of my favorite podcasts is called “Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet.” They read one star reviews from Yelp! in a really dramatic fashion. The name of the Podcast says it all – these were real complaints from a disgruntled beach resort vacationer. That’s what I felt like when I finished the 90 mile beach section of the TA. That section really got in my head. I saw other hikers at the campsite but I was spending the entire 6 hour hike each day alone with a vicious headwind and rain most of the time. It got pretty monotonous and I was so happy to finally get to Ahipara for the traditional beach finish treat of fish and chips at the Bidz takeaway shop. So greasy but so good going down with a sweet lemonade.

The next bit was a 9 mile road walk into Kaitaia where I had a bunk and a hot shower waiting for me. I caught up with a hiker from the Netherlands named Mahrin and we chatted our way into town and then we had a nice dinner together. The Beachcomber Hostel was hopping. It was filled with thru hikers playing games, comparing stories and cooking together. So much happy energy. Although these hikers are all in their 20s, I don’t feel any different at all. We all have the same goal here and I love being around them.

Today I headed out of town and met up with Thomas from Belgium and Thurston from Germany. They told me about a couple that prepares vegetarian Indian meals for hikers at their home right before we start our big climb for the day. We arrived at their farm around Noon and spent a lovely two hours with them while they served us a wonderful meal and dessert. They have a beautiful fruit tree farm and a sweet dog that likes to herd their chickens. They were so sweet and lived such a peaceful life in their farm in the valley.

Thank goodness for this big lunch because our day was just getting started for real. The final section of the day was a four hour climb in ankle deep mud up the side of a very steep mountain. I wouldn’t really call this a trail but more of a bushwhack over the mountain to get to the other valley. We lost our shoes several times in the mud and it was funny until we reached the final climb up to the radio tower and our campsite. It was crazy steep and almost vertical in places where we had to pull ourselves up over muddy banks climbing on tree limbs. I learned later that over 100 hikers have had to be rescued from this section over the last three years. Yikes!

The campsite is nothing more than a little patch of grass next to a radio tower but it felt like heaven. We made dinner and Thomas showed us a yoga poses that he learned last month while spent a month at a yoga collage in India. I climbed into my sleeping bag covered in mud and exhausted. We have a six mile descent down the other side of this muddy mess tomorrow but then the hiking should get easier.