We crossed the estuary bare foot which was surprisingly relaxing in the way of some kind of mud spa but then we had to try and clean the mud off of our feet on the other side with a bucket of water that Ros and Hugh had lent us which was slightly less spa-like.
From there it was a long day up and down the hills - probably the hardest climb outside of Raetea forest. The orange triangles led us up steps to the peak where we could see all the way back to where we had started the day on Ocean Beach. Taking the few hundred steps back down to the flat, we walked the few remaining kilometres to Reotahi bay where local trail angel, Peter, invited us in for coffee before towing us in the boat on the back of his tractor to Whangarei harbour. He shipped us across in his fishing boat to Marsdon Point and we walked the short way out of the oil refinery where Renee's friend's parents picked us up and took us in for a night of fine dining! (Always knew Renee was a good friend to have!)
We were greeted with two huge spare bedrooms, a shower full of primrose shower gel and treseme shampoo- which felt like the most amazing thing ever, AND our hosts Linda and Brian cooked a BBQ dinner with homemade chocolate cake, strawberries and hokeypokey ice cream for dessert. (Will definitely be buying that ice cream next time I see it!)
We had the best nights sleep besides for Luke's toothache and woke up to poached plums with yogurt, and bacon and eggs on toast... it's safe to say the hospitality of the North had shown itself well over those few days!!
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