Twilight Beach to Maunganui Bluff

28km

Total 40km

I slept suprising well on my first night so felt good setting off at 9am. I said goodbye to Merek. The three guys were heading to Maunganui Bluff as well. The farmers from Waiotira had already gone.

It was an impressive view coming down onto 90 Mile Beach. I was lucky to have strong wind behind me for the first stretch but I was still struggling by the time I reached the bluff. I got my boots wet crossing one of the first streams that run into the ocean. I got lazy and tried to jump over it and failed. I should have taken the time to put my sandals on. My failed landing also took a toll on my right knee which started to worry me about 1km out from the finish line. I stopped twice to give my feet a breather and bandage some hot spots on my feet to prevent blisters. I stopped once for lunch. The cheese I brought was not looking good from the heat so I had to ditch that later on.

It took me seven and half hours to get to my campsite. Much longer than I thought and I was putting in a good effort. I was following a figure in the distance for the second half of the day and we both arrived at the same time. His name is Xavier and he is French. About two hours later the other three guys turned up. I now know their names, Julian, Geram and Fabian. They are from a variety of European countries. Xavier and the three guys are all hiking the Te Araroa so we may be seeing more of each other depending on their speed and plans for rest days etc.

I had already set up my camp site and was keen for a early night. I’m glad I got to sleep at around 9pm because I was going to be woken up early on day 3….