Day 24: Waist Deep at Sunrise

November 3, 2019

Kilometers: 548.7-580.6

Stillwater Holiday Park to Auckland CBD Pisspoor Hostel 

The tides have dictated a lot of our walking the last few weeks. They have caused us to take detours, wait them out, and in today’s case, wake up early. The low tide today was at about 6:35am and we had to cross the Okura River right at low tide. We woke up before 6 and were on the trail before 6:15. Getting Ethan up this early wasn’t as big of a challenge as I thought it’d be but he was still a tad resistant. He stated he would “rather get a root canal than cross the cold river at sunrise.” 

We walked about 3kms from the holiday park to the river as the sun started to rise. The tide was basically at its lowest as we started across the muddy flats that typically are covered in water. The sun, extremely low on the horizon, created some awesome lighting for us. 

After walking across the mudflats for a little we reached the section where the river crossing officially started. Peter went first, followed by Charlie and then Philippe. Ethan and I, in an attempt to keep as many clothes dry as possible, decided to cross in just our boxers. This made for some good content. 

Once across we started our way down the coast towards Auckland. It started with some grassy fields that led into a gravel walkway. The further we walked towards Auckland the more and more people we encountered. 

After a few kms we got to the beach, which we would be on for the majority of the day. As it was Sunday morning the beaches were filled with people and their dogs. It seems like dogs are allowed on all beaches here, unlike the states. Another point New Zealand. All the dogs also made me miss my best friend Colt even more.

As we walked more people began to stare at us and ask us what we were doing. This soon became quite annoying as it hindered our pace. Soon the beaches were going through towns, the ocean on one side and streets, businesses and cars on the other side of us. I was extremely impressed with the amount of people who were out and about. There were sailings clubs, youth group swim lessons, paddleboarders, kayakers, and so on. 

We then reached a jetty pathway thing that was super cool to walk on. This was followed by some rock scrambling. This was my favorite part of today’s walk. 

With about 5km left we decided to stop for lunch. We found a place serving brunch and mimosas. The bottomless mimosa trend hasn’t seemed to make its way over here yet unfortunately. After eating we had a road walk to the Devonport ferry. Once we got to the ferry terminal we celebrated with a beer and bought our tickets. We had walked 33kms, bringing our total to 580kms in 24 days, including two zero days. 

The ferry took us across the bay into Auckland CBD where we had a 1.5km walk to our hostel. The hostel is really not great in any way. We had to wait 30 minutes to check in, had to make our own beds with bedding given to us at check in, and found out there is a no alcohol in the bunk rooms policy (like its a freshman year college dorm or something). We also found out that the showers are disgusting and the water turns off on you every 20 seconds. Pretty sure I’d rather be sleeping in a tent than this place. If you’re ever traveling cheap in Auckland stay away from Silverfern Backpackers. 

We got taco ingredients for dinner and headed to the communal kitchen. We ate a huge dinner and put down some cocktails. 

In other news, Ethan’s big right toenail fell off this evening. Charlie’s fell off yesterday. Whose will fall off tomorrow?? Stay tuned. 

-Alex