Headlamp off, I fell asleep in my tent beneath the starry sky. At dawn, I woke to the sound of waves.
This was my first night camping on the Te Araroa Trail. Before this, I had little experience and absolutely no idea if this lifestyle was for me. But in that instant, I’d already fallen deeply in love; in that moment, I understood what yesterday’s 12 kilometers had been for.
I arrived at the campsite too late last night and was thinking about maybe staying to rest for a day, but after waking up, I immediately decided to strap on my pack and keep going. Because I was loving this lifestyle, and I was even starting to look forward to each day’s journey!
After the first day’s 12 kilometers on the Te Araroa Trail and overnight camping at Twilight Campsite, what lay ahead was the endless 90 Mile Beach. In reality, it’s only about 90 kilometers, but walking it feels as long as 90 miles (approximately 144 kilometers).
The beach sounds flat and easy to walk, but there’s no easy access to water along the way, and no shops for supplies. You have to carry all your food, and your body is still adjusting to carrying over 10 kilograms on your back for dozens of kilometers. Your feet are even more likely to blister from sand getting in. It’s visually beautiful, but that same scenery stretches for 90 kilometers with little variation or wildlife—like a solitary, desolate beach.
It’s a trial, testing both your body’s endurance and your mental strength. Many people give up here, and I had no idea how long I could keep going…
I was carrying too much food, and combined with the wrong backpack technique, my body was taking a real beating. I was alone on the beach, shouting and yelling about how exhausted I was. Yet in my head, I kept telling myself, ‘Just one more kilometer, just one more step, and I’ll be fine.’
The waves kept washing up as the tide swallowed the beach. I even found myself yelling at the sea, ‘Sea Dragon King, please lend me just a little more space!’ (What kind of Chinese mythology character am I even talking to…)
Just when I was at my most exhausted, the sky opened up with rain, perfectly matching my mood. Finally, before high tide and darkness, I pushed through and completed 28 kilometers of beach walking in the rain, reaching The Bluff campsite where there was water.
Day two of hiking, I did it! In that moment, it was enough to make me forget the hardship from before.
https://www.facebook.com/creyanet/posts/1163281917053329:0
https://www.facebook.com/creyanet/posts/1164261246955396:0
📍 Te Araroa Trail | New Zealand 3,000 Kilometer Hiking Diary| Back to Full Series Index
