🗓️ October 23, 2025

🏁 Kilometers : 70

I woke up at 4:15 a.m. after a full 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep! Fantastic, I feel as fresh as a daisy!The day before, I felt a little sore, but the human body has an extraordinary capacity for recovery during sleep. I packed up my things, had breakfast, and set off at 6:00 a.m. for 30 kilometers of beach. It is still dark, dawn is slowly breaking, revealing its light and adding touches of color sparingly. It is a real spectacle that brakes the monotony of the repetitive landscapes offered by a long, narrow beach. I am happy to be here, happy to be one of those lucky enough to embark on this long adventure. By the time the day had fully broken, I had already covered a few kilometers. I realize that this is the first time in my life I've hiked 85 kilometers continuously with zero meters of elevation gain! Absolutely flat. Zero altitude. Zero elevation gain!

Along the trail, I meet Mason, a 13-year-old New Zealander riding a motorbike. It's barely 7:00 a.m., so I'm a little surprised that a young boy is riding a motorbike so early. He asks for the direction to Hukatere Camp, the camp where I'll finish my hike today. I regretfully have to tell him he's going the wrong way. He checks that he has enough gas and heads back the way he came.After about ten kilometers, I turn around and I am surprised to see that the vegetation around the starting camp is still visible. It's strange not to feel like I'm moving forward when I look back, nor forward when I look ahead. With clear visibility this morning and the beach perfectly flat, the illusion of going nowhere is a little disorienting. But I know that step by step, I'm slowly but surely making my way toward my goal. There aren't many discoveries, very little to distract me. Mussel shells again and again, a few purple jellyfish, and mounds of washed-up seaweed. I walk past yet another pile of seaweed… until, from about three meters away, I realize it's actually a baby fur seal ! It must be about 80 centimeters long, and I estimate it weighs around 20 kilos. It's there on the beach, sleeping, yawning, and scratching itself. In New Zealand, it's not very surprising to find them. The country has a fur seal population of 200,000. This one, hopefully, was just waiting for its mother that went fishing to feed it. I hope he wasn't abandoned. I don't bother him for long and continue my way.

I plan on taking two breaks today. One at 12 km and the other at 20 km, to rest and have a snack. It's the method I've chosen to avoid getting tired and optimize my recovery.I have the brilliant idea of ​​settling down next to a dune to rest; the wind picks up, and the peanut butter sandwich I made myself gets covered with a delicious layer of crunchy sand. Meanwhile, my bag fills with sand, my phone gets covered in sand, I'm practically turning into a dune myself. I should have bought a camel during my eight years in Dubai!As I approach the last few kilometers, I start counting them. Eight more. Six more. Five more. Four and a half more… I’m not that tired, but my feet are definitely not keen on walking any further. Walking in the sand, even compacted sand, is an exercise in itself.

Arriving at the evening camp, I find young Mason, who recognizes me and thanks me for pointing him in the right direction. His brother defines him being “such a dumbass”. Tonight, the camp is pure luxury: a small kitchen, outlets for phones, Wi-Fi… and even hot showers! What a treat, a real shower after three days of hiking! Ben is celebrating his birthday today. Knowing this, I had already bought him a small present four days earlier in the last small town. Others will give him chocolate or a birthday card. He even brought a cake and candles with him to celebrate. We're all gathered around him singing "Happy Birthday" – it's a friendly, almost familial atmosphere. The Te Araroa family.