Te Araroa Trail Blog Day 16: Taurikura to Waipu Cove

Unfortunately, when John had contacted Blair Jones last night to arrange our boat ride across to Marsden Point, he only gave us two options: 7.30am or 8.45am. There was a 5 kilometre distance between our accommodation at the Green Bus Stop and our rendezvous with Blair, so 7.30am didn’t sound very attractive. Blair mentioned he was ferrying across three other hikers on the 7.30am spot, so we spent some time wondering who it might be as we hadn’t come across any other hikers yesterday. We wondered if possibly Haley and Joe had been too late to get across yesterday, and they’d had to wait for morning. 

Having worked backwards on the time slow we made sure we’d packed up and left Taurikura by 7.15am. Not having to pack away tents made for a quick getaway, and the complimentary jug (kettle) in our kitchen made the breakfast routine a lot quicker.

Leaving Taurikura Bay early in the morning en route to our rendezvous with Blair.  

First up, the walk through to Reotahi Bay. For the most part we hiked alongside roads (on paths, would you believe!) or on the actual roads themselves. There were a couple of hills to climb but they were relatively small ones. It took us just over an hour and fifteen minutes to walk the whole way through to the main track. 

Hiking past the (now closed permanently) Taurikura General Store.  

John had powered on ahead (as he usually does) and completely missed the left hand turning to the start of the Reotahi Coastal Walkway. He was a good way off into the distance making his way towards Whangarei by the time we realised he’d made a wrong turn, so Julia and I shouted his name at the top of our lungs hoping he would hear us. On the third or fourth try he finally heard and we signalled that he’d missed the turn. He turned around and started hiking back up the hill towards us. 

Waiting for John to catch up on the road walk to Reotahi Bay.  

By now we’d realised that John was a little flighty, often preferring to immerse himself in the wonder of his surroundings that do things as trivial as checking maps or looking for markers.

Looking down towards the main Whangarei inlet from the top of Reotahi Bay.[/caption]

The Reotahi Track skirts around the point to Reotahi Bay. It was a nice, warm and calm evening on the water and the views were excellent. The actual trail wasn’t particularly well marked along this section and there were a couple of points where other smaller tracks split off from it with no indication of which one TA hikers should follow.

The start of the Reotahi Bay Coastal Walkway on a beautiful Te Araroa morning. The blues and greens of the landscape pop on the Reotahi Bay Coastal Walkway.  

Eventually we arrived at the boat ramp with about five minutes to spare. Julia and I sat down in the shade whilst John went off to climb a boulder to meditate. 

John meditates on top of a rock at Reotahi Bay.  

Ten minutes later we were still waiting so I suggested John text Blair. It seemed he had been waiting for a text from us to say we’d arrived. Blair is happy to accept bank transfers (which was a good thing because by now I had run out of cash) so when he arrived all we had to do was hop in the boat.

The boat ramp at Reotahi Bay.  

He took our packs, mine first, and dropped it rather heavily into the back of the boat. I cringed a little but it was too late to worry about it. He gave us all slimline life jackets to put on whilst he manoeuvre the boat into the water with his small white tractor. Once he was happy the boat was far enough into the water, we had to wait for him to park the tractor before we could leave. 

Leaving Reotahi Bay behind on our way to Marsden Point.  

We had a lot of kilometres to cover today, most of them along our second biggest beach walk of the trail, so I was anxious to be going as soon as possible.

The three of us in Blair’s boat on the water crossing to Marsden Point.  

The boat ride was really beautiful. It was a little chilly once the boat picked up speed but very short, and before we knew it we’d arrived at Marsden Point.

Leaving Reotahi Bay behind on our way to Marsden Point. Watching Blair pull away after dropping us at Marsden Point.  

The jetty is gorgeous but is flanked by the main landmark of this region, the Marsden Point Refinery. It’s noisy and emits lots of air and light pollution for this region, but it is incredibly important for New Zealand. It is the only oil refinery in the country and provides 70% of New Zealand’s refined oil needs, including 60% of our petrol, 70% of our diesel, and 85% of our jet fuel (a big deal in a country which relies on domestic air travel).

The rather ugly and industrial looking Marsden Point Oil Refinery, with the trail route passing around its bulk.  

The refinery is a huge boost for the economy of the region, being a big source of jobs, but as at 2021 there are rumours that it may not be operating as a refinery for much longer but may convert to an import only terminal or a place for refining alternative fuels.

On the way past the refinery we had to walk under some pipelines which must have been carrying petrol. The fumes were almost too much for me to handle, so I held my breath and walked as fast as I could. 

Approaching a set of pipes for the oil refinery, which we ended up hiking underneath.  

Once on the other side of the point we were onto the main drag of Ruakaka Beach. The sand was soft here again, lending credence to my suspicion that all sand on the east coast of this island would be the same. The tide seemed to be coming in, so we were forced to hike on the softer sand at the high tide mark. We calculated a 12-13 kilometre hike to Ruakaka along the beach, which initially seemed a long way but later I realised I didn’t mind.

The start of the Ruakaka Beach Walk, where we would spend most of the rest of the day.  

In fact, I found that I was becoming reflective and philosophical following my birthday the previous day. I drifted away from the other two, and I found that after two weeks of constantly hiking with at least one other person around it was nice to get a bit of distance and have some time to myself.

We’d passed a local couple just a little way past Marsden Point who mentioned the Ruakaka River crossing up ahead. They suggested we might not get around and might have to detour and bid us good luck. A couple of thru hikers journeying south on Ruakaka Beach.

 

It would seem none of us were really paying attention during this conversation. We’d failed to consult the trail notes for information on trail conditions past the river crossing, believing it to be a pretty straightforward beach walk for much of the day. However, when we eventually reached the river, we could see what they meant.

Looking back to our route across Whangarei Heads, from further along the trail at Ruakaka.  

It must have been pretty much bang on high tide when we arrived, so the river was up as high as it could get. We walked a little way along the small inlet to the suggested crossing place shown on our maps, but it still seemed to be very deep. John went in first to test the depth. The water came up to his waist. He turned around and gestured to us that he thought it would be alright.

Approaching the (unexpected) Ruakaka river crossing.  

Once again opting to reduce our discomfort later in the day, Julia and I decided to strip down to our underwear. It occurred to me that once upon a time I would have been embarrassed to bare my body in front of complete strangers. Now, I felt proud of this body. It felt stronger every day and I was incredibly proud of how far it had brought me so far. 

I tidied my pack, tucking in things that were dangling or putting cumbersome items inside of it. I clipped my belt straps away, ready to balance my pack on my head for the crossing. If the water was waist deep on John, it would be mid-torso for me, so might as well try to keep my pack and its contents as dry as possible.

Having returned to our side of the shore to assist us, John went first. Julia followed and I brought up the rear. Unlike the Horahora Estuary crossing a couple of days previously, the water was not only deep but swift. In hindsight, I would have preferred to walk a little further upstream so that the river was pushing me downstream gently to where I needed to exit. As it was, I had to fight it more than I would have liked. I eyed up an exit point a little further downstream though if things turned bad. I’d also clipped my Garmin GPS to my bra in case I got separated from the others.

All things that seem overkill in hindsight, but you can never be too careful around water crossings. 

In the end of course, the crossing was uneventful. But the water had been cold. Half way across I broke out into a fit of laughter. It just seemed so ridiculous to be wading across a river in my underwear with everything I needed in life balanced precariously on my head.

Once on the other side we sat around for a few minutes to dry ourselves off before eventually putting our nice dry clothes back on. The decision to get undressed certainly had been a good one.

A quick stop at the dairy in Ruakaka to grab John a litre of milk.  

We headed into Ruakaka. John wanted a pie and some milk from the Oasis Store dairy, so even thought it was in the opposite direction we accompanied him to it. I was hungry also, but the thought of eating a pie right now was too much to handle. Instead, Julia and I stood outside chatting to two local ladies who told us there was a cafe on the main beachfront we could try.

The Bach Cafe had an excellent selection, so with a salivating mouth I politely ordered a sausage roll and chocolate milkshake. Unfortunately, neither of them were particularly fantastic, but it was a whole lot better than the cracker crumbs and three day old cheese that were sweltering in my pack.

Exterior shot of the Bach Cafe in Ruakaka, the only eat-in place on the trail route.  

As we sat and ate, Troy and Jordyn appeared. They stopped to say hello briefly and we caught up on their progress. It turned out they were the two hikers on the boat with Blair this morning, and we had missed them because they had taken a detour to a supermarket a little further back up the beach.

Once lunch was finished, we all made our way back down to the beach. Very much the kind to keep to themselves, Julia, John and I ended up powering on past Troy and Jordyn who seemed to be happy with a much more leisurely pace. I found myself marvelling at the fact that, even though they were carrying them, I never once saw either of them using trekking poles. I didn’t know where I’d be without mine. They’d been a big help in keeping exhaustion at bay most days.

The tide was almost all the way in now, which made walking very difficult. Julia and John powered off ahead of me as I started to struggle and my pace slowed considerably. The sand was too soft to walk very fast. It was using up almost all the muscles in my legs and that meant I was tiring easily. I knew the 400 kilometre trail milestone was coming up in a few kilometres though which gave me the motivation to carry on.

There were lots of people fishing off the beach, as well as at least two nude males. I got an eyeful of one of them who was laying out in the middle of the sand, butt naked, seemingly unconcerned with the rest of the world.

Good on ‘ya, mate. 

Julia had waited for me at the 400 kilometre milestone. We’d developed a practice of marking these together, so we made a sign in the sand and took some pictures together.

Crossing the 400 kilometre milestone on Ruakaka Beach!  

We took a small break, knowing that it was only a little way further up the beach before we would exit to Waipu. A quick read of the trail notes suggested there was a restaurant serving pizza and beer in Waipu, which we now had our eye on for an early dinner. 

By the time we picked up again, John was so far down the beach he was nothing more than a speck in the distance. We soon realised that he’d missed the turn-off point, but there was nothing we could do. He was too far away to be able to hear us, and neither of us had his phone number. Breathing a quick sigh, we took the exit and watched his footprints disappear into the distance, hoping he would realise sooner rather than later.

Our exit point from Ruakaka Beach, unfortunately missed by John who was now way ahead.  

I was in some pain by now, and was not looking forward to the 5 kilometre road walk to Waipu. It was a very busy road, and at one point we had to cross a bridge, taking our lives into our hands in the process as it was very narrow and there was a distinct blind spot where it was obvious oncoming drivers wouldn’t be able to see us. 

Another stunning bunch of wildflowers along a road walk in this beautiful region of the country. Finally reaching Waipu township after a long road walk and an even longer beach walk.  

By the time we reached Waipu town I was absolutely shattered. We made a beeline for the pizza restaurant (Pizza Barn) as we discussed whether we’d be attempting to hike the final 7 kilometres through to Waipu Cove (our destination for the evening) or if we would try to catch a lift with someone. This section of the trail was notorious once again for being a sketchy road walking section, so we were in two minds as to whether it was worth it or not. We decided to see how we felt after we’d had something to eat.

Spying the pizza restaurant we’d been looking forward to reaching all afternoon.  

Something wasn’t right as we approached the restaurant. As we got closer we saw chairs on tables inside, and on the door was a CLOSED sign. It was demoralising. When we got closer we saw that this particular restaurant is only open every day from mid December! Unfortunately we’d caught it on one of its regular closed days.

Unfortunately it’s closed until mid-December!  

There is nothing that can describe the feeling of complete disappointment and despair when you arrive at a place that sells hot, hearty food and ice cold beer at the end of a very long day of hiking, and see that it is closed. It was enough to put me immediately in a foul mood.

We wandered back in the opposite direction, off-trail now, through the town of Waipu looking for an alternative for some food. But there was really nothing that could compare to the pizza and beer we’d set our sights on. We eventually stopped on a picnic bench outside the Four Square mini supermarket. I withdrew some cash out of the nearby ATM whilst Julia went inside to get some supplies for the next section. I did the same when she was finished. In the end we decided to have something to eat outside the Four Square, and then try to hitchhike down the road to Waipu Cove. This day was well and truly over. 

A very tired photo from Waipu township.  

As we sat on our bench eating, I spied Troy and Jordyn on the other side of the road. Again, they came to say a brief hello, but pushed on without us towards Waipu Cove.

Just as we were finishing our pre-dinner snack, we saw John crossing the road! We’d assumed that he might just carry on to the Waipu Cove campsite when he realised his mistake, but it turned out he’d come upon an estuary which he couldn’t cross. Instead, he’d had to backtrack around 6 kilometres back up the beach before rejoining the trail, having a mini adventure in the process. 

Now that we were all back together again, we began making plans to get to Waipu Cove. We’d not been talking more than a few minutes before a man arrived wearing a Hammer Hardware uniform. His name was Larry, and he told us that he used to be a trail angel until his wife got sick of all the hikers. He and his family had done all of the Great Walks and his daughter would be hiking the South Island TA section from January. I mentioned to him that we were thinking of hitchhiking down the road, with a bare hope that he might offer us a ride, but he bid us goodbye and made his way back to his car to leave.

Then, all of a sudden, he turned around and asked us if we wanted a ride! We barely hesitated before accepting his kind generosity.

By this time, I knew that John probably would aim to walk down to Waipu Cove, despite his extra off-trail kilometres today and the fact that it was another 7 kilometres down a mildly dangerous road. John was hiking Te Araroa in a purist manner. His intention was to hike every single kilometre of the trail as far as it was available. He hadn’t skipped any road walks or tricky sections so far, and this was no time to start.

For myself, I’d set originally set out with the same goal. But by the time I’d reached the end of Ninety Mile Beach, I knew that trying to stick to a purist hike would more than likely lead to an early exit from the trail for one reason or another. Instead, I was now operating on the basis that I would let the trail decide how many sections to skip and how long. My goal was to get to Bluff.

We assured John we would save him a campsite once we reached Waipu Cove, and buckled ourselves into Larry’s vehicle, enjoying the feel of not being on our feet again. As we made our way towards Waipu Cove we saw two other hikers on the road walk, one of whom was Paul, our British friend from Nikau Bay. 

I was surprised to feel a sharp sense of regret when we arrived at Waipu Cove, almost as if I had somehow cheated. But this soon disappeared in place of the knowledge that we’d arrived at a respectable 4.30pm and not 6.30pm. 

Camp Waipu Cove was unexpectedly expensive. It worked out to be the same price for us to share a room in the bunk house, as it was to pitch our tents. I remembered to ask to hire a towel at reception, and we dumped our gear in our rooms before heading off to the shower block. The showers were incredibly powerful and wonderful. There was music playing in the shower blocks, too, which was great. I sang along to Adele’s “Someone Like You” with surprisingly satisfying acoustics. 

A little later on, John finally arrived. He said he’d been suffering with one of his feet on the road walk. We suggested he take a shower, and when we were done we could all head over the road to The Cove Cafe for the pizzas and beer we had missed out on earlier (the trail always provides!).

A well earned pizza at The Cove Cafe in Waipu Cove at the end of a very long day.  

After I had satiated the ravenous hunger with an entire pizza all to myself, I enjoyed the feeling of sitting on the restaurant patio, dressed in my pyjamas (for want of a better term for my ‘town clothes’ that also doubled as my ‘sleeping clothes’) surrounded by well dressed upper class diners, with nothing to worry about at all, simply watching the world go by.

We lingered for at least a couple of hours, and at the end John paid for the entire meal. 

We returned to camp, and I wanted nothing more than to collapse onto my bed for the evening. The others wanted to sit up on the bank overlooking the ocean to watch the sunset. I Joined them for a little while but I found that my mind was elsewhere.

A murky sunset at Waipu Cove.  

I was completely exhausted from the day. I just wanted to sleep. By the time they got back to the room I was already all tucked up.

The lights went off soon after, and I think I must have been out for the count about five minutes later. 

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Watch the full video from this section of Te Araroa below.