Another early morning, another low tide river to cross. As soon as I come out of Alan's driveway, I run into a couple of hiking friends. We walk together for a bit, strolling and chatting, reaching the beach section and climbing a big rock. Then I continue alone to increase my pace, because I'm nervous about the river crossing to come - I'd seen photos of friends that had the water level reaching their chests.

When I get to the river, my worries seem to have been unfounded. The tide is low enough and I easily wade through the small stream. Immediately after I find the Holiday Park, where I've booked an incredibly cheap bed for the night, in a cabin shared with fellow hikers. The afternoon sees another characteristic torrential downpour, that I enjoy from inside with a book and cup of tea. I'm very happy with the luxury of a solid roof for tonight!

A big day in the bush! Twelve hours of mud and rain, up and down, wrestling a way through wet plants and trying not to fall (unsuccessfully). It was was really good fun, but also ultimately exhausting. The last few kms were a bit of a struggle, my legs and brain depleted, so when the ultimate descend surprisingly was a well-maintained trail I was... ecstatic. I've never been so happy to see stairs in my life before!

The joy grew even bigger when I reached the Dome Cafe, which has been closed for a while but still lets TA hikers camp in the garden. Thanks to the neverending downpours though, the owner took pity on us enough to open the doors and let us sleep inside the cafe! We rolled out our sleeping pads on the floor, gratefully made our meals in the kitchen and had a great night's sleep while it was storming outside. 

Today was a nice cocktail of TA North Island's main ingredients: roadwalking, bush and extra mud. And in that lovely NZ jungle, I have finally managed to get very lost. After a lot of bushwhacking, mudsliding and following many tiny trails, I had to admit defeat and walk all the way back. It turned out that I had gotten myself at the wrong side of a fence. Usually I can really appreciate properly getting lost, but today I was too tired to enjoy it. By which I mean, it was rather frustrating and I almost (but not yet!) cried for the first time on trail too 😆

Back on track, the rest of the day was easy to navigate but still wet and slippery. Though all of that was quickly forgotten when I reached Puhoi, and more specifically the Puhoi pub. My fellow hikers and I treated ourselves to some yummy dinner and drinks and had some good laughs before bedtime. I forgot to take a photo, but just imagine a big plate of chips with some steaming crispy battered fish on top, a salad on the side and a VERY happy hiker.

What I thought was going to be an awful day (weather forecast: "heavy thunderstorms with small tornados"), turned out to be an amazing one! A bit of roadwalking on my old friend State Highway 1, a bit of muddy bushwalking, but also a really beautiful and somewhat sunny coastal scramble over the rocks 🌞

I'm now really getting into the Auckland suburbs and that comes with a singular but massive advantage: coffee on every corner. So naturally I had to order a flat white halfway down Orewa beach, which I enjoyed while chatting with fellow hiker Darby.

Reaching Silverdale, I did a quick resupply at Pak 'n Save and then got picked up by my Dutch trail angel Gwendolyn, who was so kind to host me during yet another long torrential downpour. It was lovely spending an afternoon with her, her daughter and their golden retriever. She even cooked a real Dutch "stamppot" (mashed potato with kale, bacon and sausage) for dinner 😍

Sun, rain, wind, sun, rain, wind. The Auckland weather has been strange, changing every few minutes from one extreme to the other. It's like the weather gods have left a toddler alone in the control room, who's now punching all buttons in rapid succession. The result is a burning sun and heavy rain simultaneously (but without the expected rainbows).

Highlight of today was crossing the Okura estuary, the first waist-deep water wading I've done. Although to be fair, it could've been a little less adventurous if only I'd had the patience to wait another hour for the tide to be at its lowest. Oh well, I made it to the other side alive, if not dry.

Getting further into Auckland, through the suburbs and slowly approaching the city centre, the emphasis of my hike has temporarily shifted from nature to culture. It's not about the scenery, but about the people I meet: the amazing trail angels that open up their houses for me, share their stories and their space, making me part of their family for a day - for which I'm very grateful.

Speaking of which, tonight I'm camping in lovely Karen's garden, who is exactly one of the legendary human beings I have described above ❤️ 

This morning I took the ferry over to Auckland CBD! 🎉 A milestone moment to be entering NZ's biggest city again after a month of walking. But however exciting this may be, I don't actually enjoy the loud and crowded city life, so I immediately make my way through and out of the city center.

It's a lovely sunny day though, and the city trail is interesting and diverse, leading over university grounds, through many small and big parks, over iconic mount Eden, through the Auckland Domain and its fabulous winter garden, and around One Tree Hill, which has tragically lost its one tree twice (a sensitive topic).

I pitch my tent in Ambury Park, Auckland's only and surprisingly nice campground.

Lots of walking today, trying to get through Southern Auckland's suburbian dystopia as fast as possible. Some of the trails are nice, but most of the way is grey and uninspiring. Although, walking through it long enough, I started to discover some amusing things in the seemingly homogeneous streets.

Like the random discarded items along the way (beheaded unicorn plushies, single shoes, a plastic bath tub, 7 packets of instant noodles ( - I took 3)) and the many abandoned shopping carts in (un)expected places. I also encountered some vocal local characters, with aggressive dog breeds and custom license plates like FKKU and N4UGTY (yes, without the H).

But! Like everywhere, this area also houses some especially great people. Like Zoe, a powerlifting trail angel with 4 cats, a house full of plants, good stories and a guest bedroom, where I may lay my head tonight ❤️

Oops, I gotta be honest here: somehow my wild adventure turned into a bit of a glamping experience. Blame urban Auckland and its incredible network of trail angels. Because this evening my tent gets to stay packed once again, my body being treated to an actual bed 🥰

Joined by another 3 hikers, we have a big family dinner at angels Brent and Susan, we share stories and they even make us breakfast. Thank you! 💕

About the trail today: suburbs, rain. But also: coffee <3