Day 16: SEAL Team Selfie

October 26, 2019

Kilometers: 323.8-353.3 (29 km walked 0.5 paddled) 

Woolleys Bay Campsite to Treasure Bay Campsite in Patua 

Last night we camped at a public beach near the town of Whananaki. We were joined by a number of camper vans and some loud neighbors. The group complained about the neighbors playing music and partying until 2am. I wasn’t that upset about it cause if we were in their shoes and had a beach house here we’d probably be doing the same thing on a Friday night. 

We packed up and we’re out just before 8am. A short road walk along the coast led us to the only forest track we would have for the day. The track started flat, led us through some farm land for a little and then into the forest, where there were a couple big drops and climbs over the 7kms. 

New Zealand also has a bad possum problem and we’ve passed hundreds of traps along the way so far. I guess this dude didn’t read the sign next to the trap. 

The forest track took us out to some more road walking. The five of us all listened to music as we walked the 5km into town. 

Once in town we went to the takeaway eatery. After confirming that the burgers came with patties on them we each ordered one. Although they came with patties they were pretty far from the quality we are used to in the states. We are also quite unimpressed with New Zealand’s form of ketchup. Nonetheless we scarfed everything down pretty quickly. 

After lunch we had our first test of the day. The Ngunguru estuary separated us from the side we needed to be on. The trail notes only named one way to get across by boat but the boat didn’t leave until 5pm. We didn’t want to wait four hours and essentially end our day short, so we started thinking of ways to get across as it was too deep to wade across even at low tide. We saw a sign for $10 kayak rentals so we put together the following plan: we would put all of our five packs in the two kayaks and swim the boats and gear across. Once across Peter and I would paddle the kayaks back to the original side and return them. Then, Peter and I would swim across meeting back up with the others. After telling the plan to the kayak owner she agreed to let us. 

However, a paddle/surf guide overheard the idea and had some safety objections. He offered to paddle us and our gear across on a huge paddle board for $10 a person. Kind of disappointed we didn’t get to try our plan, we agreed his idea was safer and smarter. 

We zoomed across with the five of us paddling and him steering in the back. Ethan kept saying we were like a navy seal team, the whole time taking selfies of the event. It was really fun to paddle across and got us to the other side of the estuary three and half hours before the scheduled boat was to leave. 

After the paddle we high tailed it the next 3km to the next river crossing to cross before the tide got too high. Peter hopped in to check the shallowest place to cross. After a few attempts we found the best spot and made our way through the river. 

After the river crossing we had about 6km left to the campsite. We were all sore and tired but arrived to the beautiful town of Patua. We crossed the bridge and walked towards the campground. 

Right before the campground a guy said hello from his front yard and quickly offered us a beer which we took him up on. The friendliness and hospitality of the Kiwis so far has been amazing. It is a stark contrast to what you’d get in the states. After a quick chat about the trail we headed into the campground. We were able to take short hot showers and all do some laundry. 

After dinner we went to the campgrounds TV room to watch the All Blacks game, the Rugby World Cup Semifinal. The room was packed with more than 40 loud Kiwis cheering on their team. Despite being the favorites the All Blacks lost to England 19-7. Staying up late to watch the game allowed me to get my first view of the star filled night sky. Typically we are asleep before the night sky is at its peak so we haven’t seen them much. We will definitely have to stay up later some nights to view them, especially when we get to the even less light polluted South Island. 

-Alex