Day 27 - into suburbia
Stillwater —> Auckland CBD 33km + ferry
We needed to start early this morning as 4km in we had an estuary to cross. There were supposedly two ways to cross it, a shorter, low tide route or a longer, high tide route. Low tide was at 6am, which would mean we’d need to be up at 4.30am latest to get across… We weren’t keen on making a water crossing in the dark (or getting up that early) so we decided to walk a little bit longer to do the high tide route. It still meant setting off around 6.30am.
The route first followed the coast through the wetlands and along the parts of the estuary not under water.
The trail notes were pretty unclear about where exactly we needed to cross. “To the boat ramp” was about all we could understand. The low tide route would have had us crossing in chest high water so we were sure if we were crossing the high tide route, but just after low tide they’d be hardly any water at all… but as we waded through the water it kept getting deeper and deeper. I hadn’t hitched my bag high enough so I turned around and went back to shore, I didn’t feel like having a sopping wet bag all day! Josh made it across by swinging his bag above his head and then generously walked back to grab my bag. I could then walk back through, where the water came up over my waist - had we got this really wrong!?
Absolutely sopping wet and freezing cold we shook as dry as we could and set off feeling pretty mad, now determined to get to Auckland as quickly as possible. It wasn’t long before the first signs of suburbia came into view over the farmland. New developments of cookie cutter houses appeared in the distance as the smell of civilisation drifted towards us.
We stopped for coffee in Long Bay, now acutely aware that we looked like real hiker trash. In the bush, people seem very used to seeing hikers and are generally keen for a chat, interested in what you’re doing. Being back in the city amongst the young families and lycra-clad cyclists we stood out like sore thumbs.
We scarpered pretty quickly to walk through Long Bay regional park before joining the north shore coastal walk. One long trail through the affluent Auckland suburbs with stunning views out over the ocean and a coffee shop at every other corner - Auckland’s version of Bondi to Coogee.
We had lunch in the rain on a park bench and I finally say goodbye to the avocado i’d been carting around since Nguruguru - it wasn’t ripe then and 11 days later, it still wasn’t. It was clear this avocado was never meant to be eaten.
The coastal path was wonderfully flat and passed alongside endless lux ocean front properties providing house porn for hours; Josh soon became very bored of “oooo look at that home!” and “let’s just peek over the fence of this one!
After more beaches, and even more suburban streets, we finally came into Devonport around 4.30pm. If we weren’t so deadbeat after over 30km and a super early start we probably would have sat in the pub and had a drink. It was a very cute little suburb, lots of people out and about on a Thursday afternoon. Sadly all we wanted to do at that point was collapse into bed, we headed straight for the ferry terminal.
Our Auckland hotel for the next few days was right on Queen street, a 5 minute walk from Downtown. It felt good to have a space for a few days to properly wash our clothes, dry our gear and plan the next section. We emptied our bags, sat in the shower for way too long and ordered a Japanese takeaway. God I miss normal food!
