With everything packed and strapped I raised the orange tree one last time before jumping in the car. We got to Puhoi by 8 so sat in the car outside Puhoi Canoes having one last chat. I've certainly got a few things to ask Mum about her younger days when I get home ;)
With a last goodbye Ron headed off and I went to meet Cody, who was readying a kayak for me on the front lawn. Cody's house overlooks the river, and he has been running a canoe hire business from it for twenty odd years.
I loaded my once-again-heavy pack into the van as I would just be taking my camera, phone, a drink bottle and a museli bar on the river. After I paid ($50) and some quick instruction I signed my life away and hopped in the kayak before Cody gave me a shove into the river. He asked me to paddle upstream to the bridge and back first just to make sure I knew how to handle it. No problem. Ahhh, it was so nice to be out on the water again.
All in hand Cody gave me a wave and off I went, down the Puhoi River, bound for the coast (more specifically the boat ramp in the estuary just before the river meets the sea). It was a lovely trip that took me just over an hour and a half. I'm sure it takes a lot longer if you just float down with the outgoing tide, and a lot faster if you paddle the whole way. I paddled a fair bit, but also slowly explored the riverbanks, managing to stalk a few eels that were cruising in the shallows. One was obviously hunting, sticking his head into every little hole. The thought occurred to me that I wouldn't want to swim down the river sticking my face into dark holes in the river bank...but then it also occurred to me that that was probably because of the eels...
I managed to startle quite a few ducks, only mildly perturb a few white faced blue herons and float quietly past some kind of shoreline wading bird I'm not familiar with (note to self: look up photos when you get a chance).
As you head downstream the water gets clearer and mangroves dominant the river banks. The river broadens and round a sharp bend suddenly opens out into a wise estuary with a narrow channel meandering down it to the sea. The channel was quite hard to see and a number if times I drifted into shallow water and had to divert course. Sooner than expected I spotted the boat ramp and sent Cody a txt. I putted about in the estuary for 20 mins or so, peering into the shallows but seeing nothing but shell-strewn sand and the odd tree branch.
Soon enough Cody arrived in the van and backed the trailer down the beach next where I came ashore. We loaded the boat and I retrieved my pack. Cody and his wife Catherine had both come down as they were going to do one of the walks through Wenderholm Park, to which my paddle had brought me. I thanked them very much and wished them good walk as I would take my time re-packing my pack and booting up for the day ahead.
After scoffing a museli bar I set off, through the park and past the historic Couldrey House. Not far along the path I got the fright if my life when a trush erupted from a bush and started doing circles on the path. There was clearly something badly wrong with the bird as it kept flipping itself over and holding it's head and tail at odd angles. The merciful thing to do was probably to kill it, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Not wanting it thrashing about and distressing itself further every time someone walked passed however I picked it up (actually I tried to but my pack tipped me over when I bobbed down so I had to take it off first!) and carefully laid the bird down, right side up, a short distance off the path in a patch of sunshine in the bushes. That was the best I could do so I went back to the path, re-shouldered my pack and headed on up and over the headland. Lots of Nikau up there which was nice.
The track comes out at Waiwera Bridge and the trail leads through Waiwera, past the thermal pool resort, to the beach. At the southern end of the beach the trail becomes a rock hop down the coast. It was fairly easy going as the shallowly dipping, thinly bedded siltstones and mudstones (turbidites?) along this part if the coast form a nice sequence of rocky platforms to walk on.
Approaching Hatfields Beach I passed an Asian woman in a cone-shaped perked hat collecting shellfish from the rock pools, and around another corner a Pacific Island man was snorkelling to do the same. On the beach itself I sat and had lunch and watched a man pull up in a 3-seater jet ski, drop anchor, and wade ashore to fetch his ute and trailer. By the time he returned I was on the move again. A short walk up steps the trail emerges amongst cliff top housing and follows the road down to Orewa Beach.
I set off, trying but failing to get my beach pace going. About 2/3 of the way along an empty picnic table at the head of the beach beckoned and I sat down for a snack and to rest my feet. I was aiming to get to my friend Bridget's house in Millwater tonight, but she wouldn't be free until after 4 so there was no rush. I was catching up on my diary when I got a txt from Bridget; change of plans she was now free and was waiting for me at the bridge over Orewa Estuary so she could walk a bit of the trail with me! Hastily I packed up and set off again and with quarter of an hour had reached the estuary, just as Bridget, coming the other way, reached the beach. Great to see her again!
We walked together following the Te Ara Tahuna walk (and TA) around the estuary before coming out at the road. I know I had a pack and was tired, but I was shocked at how hard it was to keep up with her!
At the next intersection we left the trail and walked the 1.5km through the new and rapidly developing suburb of Millwater to Bridget's place. It's a lovely modern house that she and her daughter Scarlett share with Bridget's colleague Penny and her daughter Olivia. Bridget's Mum Trish is also staying tonight so we were a large and merry gathering over a scrumptious dinner of sausages, carrots, corn and potatoes. So much fun being in such a girl power household!
I offered to do the dishes but apparently that's Olivia's job and I'm not allowed to lift a finger! Ok then...so I sat in the recliner with a cup of tea and my feet up and cuddled Bridget's adorable tiny cat/kitten, Socks. After dinner we watched 'Piha Rescue' and Trish made fruit mince pies...mmmm soooo much better than shop-bought! Shortly thereafter I crashed into bed (which Olivia has kindly given up for me) and slept like the proverbial log.
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