5th Oct Great day weather wise, Te Araroa 4
Eunhwa was in much pain, her blisters on the pad of her foot were filled with liquid and blood. She screamed with pain and at times just wanted to throw in the towel and give up for the day. Midday we rested as the high tide was forcing us to walk onto the soft sand which really slowed us down and made for tiring work. For an hour we rested with an elderly couple in their 60’s that have taken on the Te Araroa challenge but with a larger time frame than us, 6months. And lucky for them, they have a backup / support crew travelling North to south with in a Camper Van.
As we lay there resting, naturally we fell asleep that was until Eunhwa screamed at us to get up quickly, the tide was coming in and as I grabbed my backpack the wave had just damped my camera case fortunately not enough to get my camera wet.
My feet were also getting sore, new boots that haven’t been worn in were the problem. These were mail ordered from America and were the exact type and size as my other pair and they fit like a glove from day one. We made it to the camp site, it was a paid site this time of 10 dollars per person if in a tent , kitchen, shower and water. But strangely Eunhwa didn’t want to stay, it was only 250 bath each in Thai currency, I said, but we carried on for another one km them found a nice shelter spot in the sand dunes where we setup camp on soft vegetation. Later, Eunhwa said that she got the conversation of the currency wrong and though it was much more expensive and the new camp site was just taking advantage of the Te Araroa walkers
We decide to head off early the next morning so with the alarm clock set at 5am we both crashed, only occasionally waking with rain and wind hitting our tent.
