Day # 66 - 69

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A beautiful sunrise this morning as we reluctantly farewelled Tokerau Beach and more reluctantly headed back to Kaitaia. Lance needed to renew his driver’s license and required a medical. Rather than leave till the end of month we decided to do now so it wouldn’t interfere in our Noah Genda lifestyle. Lance and I joked it was probably the most annoying/stressful thing we have had to organise in 66 days.



New license in hand and off to Maitai Bay. Maitai Bay is out the end of the Karikari peninsula. A big DOC Camp that overlooks the beach. You have a choice of been down close to the beach (with no view) or up on the hill with a gorgeous view (I am sure you know what we picked). The weather is building for rain but we decided to do the Maitai Headland track out to Omahuri. Omahuri is the rocky point on the lefthand side of the Bay. Track is pretty but a little slippery in places. We did come across beehives and thousands of bees (conveniently located on the track!). So after a bit of deliberation (me saying no flippin way am I going near them bees) we opted to climb through scrub and over wetland to get pass. The track at the end of the ridgeline splits into two, left down to a small bay and right out to Omahuri. A steep climb down a slippery slope high above rocks we were rewarded with a beautiful view across to the Bay. Oh I wish the sun was shining.



Day 67

A very quite day at camp today. Squally rain, thunderstorms and lots of wind. So feet up and a bit of reading, playing cards and just chilling.



Day 68



The need to get out and do something outweighed the persistent rain showers. Jackets on, we went for a wander down to Waikato Bay and around the rocks. This is a nice beach, especially if you can tuck yourself in around the sandy area by the rocks (very sheltered). It would be a great place to take the kids for the day with plenty of shelter from the sun under the Pohutukawa’s. More photos between the rain and the blue skies (crazy weather) then a return walk along the beautiful Maitai Beach.



Day 69



The weather is not improving so we decide to throw caution to the wind and do the Fig Tree Bay Track over to Whangatupere Bay. We just made it to Waikato Bay and the skies opened up and were basically wet before we even started😊. The track leads off the end of Waikato Bay up a very steep slippery clay track. We made it to where the track splits into two, up leading to the trig and down leading to the Bay. Opting to go down as the Trig option was even more dodgy. Actually we were really not sure how we were going to even get down. We made it by swinging on the Tea Trees and bashing our way off the tracks in parts so we wouldn’t slip. (I was dreading the return trip). The views along the ridge and down to the Bay are spectacular. You can see across to Doubtful Bay and over to Houhora Heads in the distance. You could not get right down onto the Bay and the DOC instructions were not exactly clear. There may have been a track from the Trig but this wasn’t an option for us today. We made it back safely……just 1 heavily coated clay backside and a swollen hand from a heavy fall. I'm absolutely buggered and looking across to Lance sitting on the sofa he is much the same. It will be Panadol and an early night I suspect.

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