Down the home stretch to the Sky Tower

Rejuvenated and invigorated after our relaxing interlude with Lee and Barry, we powered up Moir Hill, over paddocks, through Dunn Reserve and along the road to the delightful Puhoi village. We made short work of a cold beer at the fantastic pub, walls festooned with interesting relics, and scoffed fish and chips sitting in the sun outside the classic General Store. No campground, so we snuck into the park and hid our tiny tent near the river. No one seemed to mind, even the Park Director who came and had a friendly chat next morning; word gets around in small villages.

We had to wait for an outgoing tide, so headed back up the road to a café that claimed to have been serving Devonshire teas for longer than any other place in New Zealand. True or not, we can verify that the scones were the size of a small loaf of bread, and were served with lashings of homemade raspberry jam and cream. Yum. The east coast provides plenty of opportunity to participate in the cafe culture and it’s difficult to walk past the smell of freshly brewed coffee.

Into a double kayak we hopped and off we paddled down the mangrove-lined Puhoi River to Wenderholm. It was a pleasant run, particularly as Debby could just pretend to be paddling hard and let Rob do most of the hard work - especially into the teeth of the strong easterly wind.

From Wenderholm we walked to Orewa, and next day did a monstrous 37km day through Whangaparoa where a Te Araroa Trail supporter, Gunter Haferkamp, boated us for free across the Weiti River to the start of the Okura Bush walkway. High tides meant a long diversion inland before getting back on the coast.

We made it to the Takapuna motor camp, with its million dollar views of Rangitoto, at 7.00pm and went all soft and hired a caravan- what comfort and spaciousness after our little wee tarptent.

From there it was just a short stretch to Devonport and the ferry. We turned a corner, saw the Sky City Tower like a great beacon, and high-fived as it dawned on us that we had actually made it: over 600 kms, 27 days. Mind you it nearly turned a bit sour when halfway across the harbour on the ferry a certain person realised the GPS with our entire trip record was sitting on the ticket counter back in Devonport. Thank goodness we managed to get it back on the next ferry, and many thanks to Tom and Heather who had to patiently wait for us to drive us back to our car.

We are home, we have both lost a kilogram or so and Debby’s feet have changed shape! But we have a great feeling of satisfaction and will soon be planning the next stage – Auckland to Ohakune. We hope to do it early next year, so watch this space. A heartfelt thanks to our wonderful helpers and supporters, we really appreciate all you have done for us.

Notes

Day 23: Rest day, yay.

Day 24: Dome tearooms to Puhoi - stealth camp in the sports ground. 27.9 km

Day 25: Kayak 8 km to Wenderholm, walk to South Orewa Beach camp. 11.3 km

Day 26: Boat across Weiti River, walk to Takapuna. 38.3 km

Day 27: Walk to Devonport, Ferry to Auckland CBD and the finish line! 12.9 km