Days 16-20 | km 385-510 | Finding My Mojo In Mangawhai

These last few days have felt like I fell down a rabbit hole into a scene from Alice in Wonderland; with giant bunnies, fairies and mad hatters tea parties! Not to forget offerings of a sleeping in a manger for the night. The main thing however, after an enforced rest day waiting for the postman, I have new shoes and happy feet! As soon as they arrived, I was off on a boat across the Whangarei Harbour and over to Marsden Point….finally Auckland was creeping closer.

I cracked on down the Bream Bay coast towards Waipu, known for its Scottish Heritage and host to the Highland Games at New Years & winter Tartan Festival. With a late start to the day I didn’t want to arrive to late to Waipu Cove (7km back out to the beach) where I apparently had offerings of a ‘manger’ to rest my head for the night - from a friend of a friend and also ex-parish priest. The last thing I wanted to do on a first meeting was arrive nearing dark smelling quite disgusting so I thumbed a lift in the direction of the beach. At the same time the darling Bob & Jenny were wondering if i was OK so hopped in their car to drive toward Waipu in search of a waif and stray - me. We must have crossed paths in separate cars and not realised. On arriving to their little seaside caravan I’m informed by their neighbor they’ve gone for dinner at a nearby cafe and to go and catch them. I then creep around the cafe asking every couple ‘errr excuse me are you Bob & Jenny by any chance?’, although I had a few invites to join others for dinner no-one turned out to be them! I was too early and they were still out in search of me. Without giving up hope (I really wanted that manger) I had a cuppa with their lovely neighbor and awaited their return.

Next morning Bob & Jenny carted me to the post office to pick up my poles before waving me off. Oh wow, why did I not think these 2 stick things would be of use?? Friends use them, my trail/mountain running idols use them so why not me? Nearly everyone I had met had exclaimed ‘your running AND you don’t have poles?’. I’d never used them before so never quite realized how flipping amazing they are at helping to hoink you up hills [life changing moment]. So now I’m feeling like a total Ninja, I have new shoes and new poles and what seems to be a new lease of life! - must have been one heck of a manger I slept in!

The trails linking Waipu to Mangawhai is home to a Kiwi safe ‘ecological corridor’ linking brown kiwi populations along the coast. You can read more here.

I stumble into Mangawhai possibly a little heat exhausted having been in the blazing sunshine all day. I’m handed a beer my the trail angels I’m staying with and introduced to their giant bunny. This is where I’m feeling Alice in Wonderland like where aside from the bunny I’m also offered a bed for the night (for the same cost as putting my tent up) in what seems a giant dolls house in their orchard - I’ll take that! After a night of being sick (delightful - either a bout of heat exhaustion or more likely I ate bugs with my dinner) I wake feeling pretty good, buy a coffee that must have been laced with Red Bull as I was off - I’m properly RUNNING again!

I smash out a cool 20km down Pakiri beach, enjoying watching the Fairy Turns (a critically endangered bird in Nz) then the sun comes out…. wooooooo it’s HOT

The absolutely amazing Robyn & John who I met whilst working in Auckland and who hooked me up with their lovely friends all down the Northland coast were finally going to host me for the night. They knew roughly when I was going to finish the trail and I found this (watch the vid below), it was honestly the BEST surprise as I had totally ran out of water by this point. You guys are THE BEST!!

They then whisked me away on a little boat excursion to Kawau Island for a cheeky drink - I was spoilet rotten!

Super charged on Avo on toast with eggs poached to perfection - you know , just your regular camp breakfast, pah! I missioned into the Dome Valley Forest - another long hot day which at the point I started dreaming of finding a smoothie tap on a forestry trail I decided to knock at the next house I came across and beg for water - 30km without a water source is pretty tough going - luckily the happy home owner obliged!

Surfs up on Pakiri beach! Ran past a surf contest and also lots of endangered cute little Fairy Turns.

Alice in wonderland’s Orchard Dolls House :)

Wellies!!