Day 12: Kerikeri to Paihia (27km, 7.5 hours)

I admit I had a good cry last night. I think I was missing everyone back home, more than I realised. I’d been writing a thank you note for Clare and Daniel at the Hone Heke lodge, and that set me off, thinking of how welcoming they’d been. My hanky was still damp in the morning. 

I left my note behind, with the rest of my Xmas biscuits, when I left at 7:15am.

I was still fighting back tears for the first 20 mins up the road.  Goodbye, Hone Heke lodge. Goodbye, Kerikeri.

A note about distances: I'm judging my distances from the official markers on the TA app - today’s hike was from the 224km trail marker in Kerikeri to 251km in Paihia. But each day I probably do a little more that this - today for instance, Hone Heke lodge was an extra 30 mins away from where I rejoined the TA trail. Anyway - 251km by the end of today! I'm making progress!

The trail continued to wind along the Kerikeri river, past the famous colonial Stone House, then back onto roads out of Kerikeri. 

 

Stone House

At about 9am the trail entered a forestry area. Active pine logging is happening here, so the road is taking a slight detour from the usual route to keep trampers safe. But no sign of work today, I guess everyone is at home for Boxing Day. Apart from the cicadas - deafening!

13km of gravel road under pine forest today.

10am pic: time for a 15 minute break, sitting on pine needles, munching on salami

Several hours of trudging later I emerged from the forest near the outskirts of Waitangi.

View from Mt Bledisloe, overlooking Waitangi and Russell

 My shin was coping fine today, but my feet had had enough as I inched closer to Waitangi. There were more gravel roads, before I passed a golf course and the Waitangi Treaty grounds, and crossed Waitangi bridge.

Looking back at Waitangi bridge from the beach. It just struck me that I’m now on the other coast!

Lunch stop at the first place I found, which gave me a bit of extra energy.

Finally I staggered in to the Pickled Parrot, a short distance from central Paihia. It’s a lovely calm lodge run by Cherry and Jay. The rooms were fully booked but there was room for my tent in the garden.

Peaceful!

Cherry and Jay

Cherry and Jay were really lovely, and took time to show me around. Jay has done the TA himself so had some good advice about the next few days. This would be a lovely place to stay longer, I really must visit again.

My friends Donald and Anthony happened to be in Paihia for Christmas. So after resting up for a bit, I headed back into Paihia to catch up with them for a drink and dinner. It was great to see you guys, some familiar faces after the last few weeks away from home! (And thanks for taking my spare boots - that will really help to lighten the pack!).

Cheers!

Back to the Pickled Parrot after dinner. Just time for a quick blog update, then off to bed.