Longstride

Our first zero on Te Araroa, we rested and took care of chores in Kerikeri.

• Today started off very lazy. We had set a 7 am alarm, but didn’t really get up for several hours after that.
• A little after 2 pm, one of our hosts, Diane, gave us a ride into town, to the laundromat. A kind lady let us use some of her laundry detergent so we didn’t have to buy any.
• While the laundry finished, I went to a sporting goods store to get us new fuel canisters.
• We got a late lunch at Burger Fiasko. The burgers and fries were surprisingly good. We also got milkshakes, they also were excellent.
• CareFree arranged a ride back to our cottage from John, and grabbed dinner at Pita Pit to eat once we got back.
• We decided on a tentative plan for the next few days, though some upcoming closures and the disjointed nature of the TA’s trail notes, trail alerts, and the information in the FarOut guide made that a frustrating experience.
• I exchanged a few messages with Shaun trying to share notes on the next section of trail, but there seemed to be some problem or delay receiving our messages, and we didn’t successfully coordinate anything.
• I arranged us a ride back to the trail tomorrow morning with Diane when she went into town.
• We repacked our packs and went to sleep “early”, for town.

Tomorrow, we head for Paihia, with a stop at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, the site where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the British Crown and Māori, founding New Zealand.