Kerikeri Holiday Park Layover

0 km

Many town chores today. New shoes for Parker; we only find sandals, that will have to do. Go through the bounce boxes, re-post those. Figure out the next 2-3 resupply sections in fine detail. Tackle some state of the union issues. Clean everything as well as possible. We sign some petitions we’ve received in our inboxes, and research our country’s news until the nausea becomes overbearing. We call our families. We go back to the same sushi place for lunch, and Bryan treats us like royal guests, or long lost cousins, bringing more rolls and sushi pieces on the house with hot fresh green tea. He is a gracious man.

While we are eating, I see a familiar yellow tail sticking out of a navy backpack turn a corner several blocks away. John! What is he doing here already? I text him and he reports he is headed to the Holiday Park and will see us later.

Somehow the end of the day arrives, with the hours filled and the to do list not finished. Everything took longer than expected, as it always does, which should mean it took as long as expected, shouldn’t it? Parker turns in early, and John comes over to spend his dinner with us, treating toffee ice cream cones to everyone.

When we are almost ready to turn in ourselves, Prana notices something so far overlooked: that there are two tide dependent crossings coming up in the next 6k, one mandatory low tide, one mandatory high tide. A phone call reveals that we are also hitting the high tide crossing on a day when all the charter boats are already full, which means the next few days’ plans are now askew. We crunch and comb and calculate, and finally come up with a new hopefully workable plan that sacrifices the upcoming choreless layover day. I much prefer working my legs in the trail to working my brain in towns.