If you are a 'are-we-done-yet' kinda person, you better rethink reading on because the journey just began to get interesting.
The night at Bark Bay was quiet and quick. The luxurious lamb chops put me to deep slumber and my night was littered with dreams of moonlit seashores and magnificent sunrises. When I woke up, I was every bit thrilled to see the most magnificent twilight ever. The blushing pinks and blues carved out silhouettes of the Nelson mountain range across the bay and the morning star was twinkling just like a 'diamond in the sky'. In that nippy, twilit dawn, I ran to the ocean to soak in the sight. I was quickly joined by many others from the camp-site and there was a poignant calm in the air.
As seconds rolled into minutes, the high clouds above us, which were invisible till then, turned into an artist's palette, adorning the magical morning hues. The silhouettes of trees on the hills around the bay slowly began to gain some colour. The natural 'instagram' filter lingered on forever and then without any notice, a bright orange dot tore through the horizon, spreading out it's golden hue over the ocean, sand and everything else around. It grew in a matter of seconds and before we knew, we were being blinded by it. That anticipation and a fitting climax to the start of the day left me in a reflective mood.
Digression #2 - All through the journey we struck conversations with strangers - Germans, English, Austrian, Americans and of course kiwis. Our walk party consisted of South Africans and Indians. The world felt very small and I felt the power of human connection more than ever before. A smile or a hello goes a long way and I surprised myself at the ease at which I could start a conversation (must be the high spirits). Good times.
Bark Bay had so much to offer and I wish I spent more time there. But who knew there were better things in store. After proper breakfast and coffee, we packed our tents and marched on. We had a long way to go and we started sturdy. Every small beach and every campsite was inviting. It took a lot of restraint to not go into every beach we saw. But Onetahuti was well beyond my self-control. The white-sand beach had clear blue waters that looked extremely inviting from the cliff we walked down to reach there. In the far distance, we could see Tonga Island, yet another eye candy. I fished out for my swimming goggles and went in to have a peek around a few rocks. The sea caves that bordered the beach harboured star fish and glow worms. I lacked the confidence to explore around rocks a bit deeper but the visibility was very good and Derek went around to have a peek. Alas, all good things have to end.
The walk continued and we headed to Awaroa post lunch. The water taxi drop-off was fairly easy in the earlier days but it was a mess on the last day as the luggage drop-off was not on our route. Blame it on ill preparation or miscommunication, I ended up running down a hill and then back up again (Good exercise karma though!), Pat had to wait more than an hour all by himself and Derek had a mini panic attack that Pat might run away. In the end, Derek and CC took the beach track to Awaroa and Pat and I paced down the gentler slope of the hill that I had just climbed back up. We made good progress but the night was falling quick. Maps don't lie - as expected that was the longest walk of the four days and although we were rewarded with a blood red sunset, we only reached campsite after 9pm.
The mishaps wouldn't end there. Trying our best to not piss off the sleeping campers who expect an early start the next day for the low tide Awaroa crossing, we tried to make some coffee. It so happens that we were inept at using a camp stove (it was dark in my defence), we almost burnt my beard and CC's eyebrows after a mushroom cloud of fire blew up from the tiny gas cylinder. We laid low until Derek came back and turned it on, all the while trying to assess how much arm hair CC burnt. Despite that, we had our coffee and went on to our meals. And within minutes of starting my meal, I became brown-bob-curry-pants. A splash of hot water on my arm, hand reflex and next thing you know I'm cleaning up the mess. When we retired in the end, all that anxiety made it hard to sleep and CC's snores did not help. I was physically and mentally spent and couldn't rest. Sigh.
Well, tomorrow is another day.
And tomorrow also happens to be a work day. So, goodnight and goodbye.
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