MONDAY 10th JANUARY - OVER THE HILL
I had a little sleep in untill about 8am and then got up ready for my tennis match. It was another beautiful day and it was hard going on the court even in the morning sun. Actually the sun was only a minor factor contributing to my tide marked t-shirt, the main one being my extremely fit and able 74yr old opponent. I was seriously put through my paces by someone 50 years older than me (He puts you to shame Dad!) and after just snatching the match 7-5 6-4 I, trying not to sound too condescending, told Laurie I hoped I was as fit and healthy when I reached his age in 2055.

There was well marked track all the way down todays section of the coast so I took my time packing up and had a fish and chips lunch overlooking the estuary. Fuelled I said goodbye to Laurie and family and set off over the huge footbridge spanning the tidal sands. At the other side a trademark DOC (Dept of Conservation) sign stating 'Whananki Coastal Track, follow the orange markers" greeted me and I set off over the sands orange in my sights. I a small pine forest seperating the estuary from the beach  I spotted a beautiful blue tinted feather and fixed it to my shoulder strap to smooth my afternoons flight. A few big beaches later I climbed a small hill to a cliff top monument paying homage to a French vessel that was overcome by the Whananki surf in the last century. I have so far not met or heard of any French settlers here so they must have just sailed to sell their wares. That is, after thay failed to colonise NZ back in the 19th century.

On from the monument it was a beautiful well marked track through a pine forest just in from the coast. After breaking the tree cover I followed a farm track heading through the hills. The track turned back on itself but as I hadn't seen any alternatives I carried on untill I reached a road. Still not sure I was going the right way I flagged down a passing car and asked where I was. Finding out I was indeed going the wrong way I retraced my steps annoyed I had added more needless Kms to my journey. All those who have pladged by the mile may be getting worried but I can assure you all that I will get better at the navigation lark. Once I had speedwalked back to where I though I had gone wrong there wqas indeed a well marked track I had completely missed.

The clouds that I had had my head stuck in had now cleared and it was a choice blue sky day. (Im sounding morelike a Kiwi every day!) The farm track wound its way through hilly green pastures full of cows and overlooking the secluded bays. Just when I though a beach couldn't look more lerfect I rounded the next corner to see an even nicer one. I have run out of adjectives to describe how stunning this coastline is so I will stop boring you all by repeating myself. It was about time for a dip and I picked a bay from the mix of marvels to reinvigorate my steaming bones. After my swin I lay in the sun feeling the heat soaking through my skin in ecstatic waves. Life coundn't have been better, barring world peace and harmony, I kept thinking as I neared civilisation. A few bays over on a tar sealed road I got to Wooleys bay and passed what looked like a campsite in a farmers field. I went and asked the farmer Wooley, the grandson of the first settler here, if I could camp up but he said it was only for family and friends. I decided to ignore the no camping signs by the beach and camp behind the dunes in the picnic spot. I must have started a trend as an Australian couple pitched up soon after. Safety in numbers for when the council come to evict us in the morning.

Okupe beach and surroundings		Stunning Coast

TUESDAY 11TH JANUARY - IF IN DOUBT... BEFRIEND A MAORI
I woke for sunrise and just after I silenced my alarm I heard a car pull up with a loud laugh announcing its arrival. I crawled from my tent and got a big smiley greeting from the driver, an abundantly happy Maori woman called Oha. She was big and beaming and she had a chin and lip tattoo which Maori term a Moko. Moko's were traditionally used by woman to attract a partner as it was the epitome of beauty to have full blue lips and moko's also told about the bearers rank, social status, special skills and lineage. Also in the car were some friends if Oha's, a couple who she had driven here for some sunrise therapy. After a stroll down the beach I sat with them and chatted with Oha while her friends paddled in the surf. Sadly the rising sun was obscured by the headland but the beautiful dawn light illuminated Oha's beaming face and added an aura of magic to what seemed a fated crossing of paths.

We had a lot in common including a South Africa connection; Oha;s uncle was a renouned Reverent called Maori Marsden who visited Nelson Mandela in jail as well as being friends with Desmond Tutu. She was a facinating woman who as well as being a teacher of the Maori language was the equivalent of a Maori witchdoctor. We chatted about the state of Maori culture and values and she confirmed much of what I had been thinking while walking through the settlement a few days before. When I started telling her about my walk she instantly pulled out a whale rider CD and gave it to me as a koha. Koha is the Maori act of giving a gift and it is seen as more important as the gift itself. It is a gift given gratiously with nothing expected in return. I felt compelled to give something in return and I found some Ganesha deity stickers I had brought from India and gave them to her, telling her that Ganesha is the god of overcoming obstacles. She was tearfully overjoyed saying it was a perfect gift. We both seem to have recieved gifts with a special significance. I have been longing to see the film Whale Rider as I knew I was coming here and was interested in Maori culture and Oha, having gone through a difficult period of her life, related intimately to what Ganesha represented. These coincidences confirmed to me that we were meant to have met; the chaotic mesh of shynchronicity bringing us together on this glowing morning.

We also swapped pendants, Oha giving me her gold flecked Jade pounamu, and I giving my trademark turquiose good luck charm which I have worn almost continously for the last 7 or 8 years since recieving it from my lovely cousin Claire. I didn't feel any sense of loss giving it away considering it had been my chalice for so long. It just felt like it was the right thing to do and I followed what I felt in my heard to be right. The poumamu I had recieved represented evolution which perfectly embodied my hakoi o aetearoa (my journey of discovery through the land of light and love) had become. By the way, Aetearoa doesn't mean land of the long white cloud as I previously stated, it means land of light and love; a much more apt name for New Zealand.

Oha seemed to know thing about me and it felt as if she could read my mind. Forst, straight out of the blue, she just came out with, "you will remember me because you have got a photographic memory" which I do. Then equally unexpectedly she said, "you can take a picture of me if you want" just as I was thinking, "I have to get a photo of you before you o." It was as if an angel had been sent to me to let me know I was on the right path and I half expected after taking some photos that they would be blank. In fact looking back on it the whole experience feels like it was a vision; a brief shimmering glimpse of the divine played out in this bizarre meeting of lost souls. Those that know me know that I do not ascribe to any from of organise religion, finding the whole concept manipulative and alien. I do see myslef, however, as a very spiritual person and it is this side of me that I have
forged a more direct link connection with over the course of my walk so far.

Before we went our seperate ways Oha gave me some personal articles over our breakfast of tinned spagetti and crackers. Thay consisted of an essay by Rev Maori Marsden on Maori illness in a westernizing culture, some photos of her family and a book of Maori myth. She said she wanted me to send it to Nelson Mandella with a message from myself. A little confused I accepted the task willingly. One of the photos was of Oha's brothers who died of AIDs related illnesses. Earlier Oha had wept when I told her about the AIDs awareness aspect of Temwenani, that charity im collecting for, and I now understood why. From the window of her car as she left she said she was heading into town to sell her  car and that she would donate the money she got to my cause. It seemed unbelievable and I was lost for words with to reply. I just smiled and thanked her as she sped away, looking forward to our arranged rendevous later that day. After what just happened anything was possible.

We had hongied as we parted which is the Maori greeting/goodbye gesture consisting of holding both palms outwards on eachothers shoulders and touching noses and foreheads. During this parting embrace a council man drove into the carpark and I though, 'here we go, im busted", but he just circled and drove off. Oha said he wouldn't dare say anything as he had seen me hongi a Maori. Its funny the relationship between pakeha and Maori, with the pakeha treading on eggshells, not wanting to offent or infringe upon any ancient or customary rights or indeed upon the Treaty of Waitangi. If ever on dodgy ground, befriend a Maori!

After slowly packing up I hit the road for the days 14km road stretch to Nguguru. On the way out of Wooleys beach I saw a Free Tibet flag flying from one of the batches and remembering Oha showing me her Tibetan Lotus tattoo I crossed the road to enquire. I was greeted by a gently spoken middle aged man who explained how his Free Tibet activist daughter had met her now Tibetan husband in Darasalam, India, on her OE (Overseas Experience, what New Zealanders call a gap year or travelling break). He soon invited me up for a cup of green tea and we happilt chirped away about Tibet, China and the general state of the world. David and his wife had just returned from living in China and having been to China myself we had a lot to talk about on the subject. It was as if my dream had continued, following the signs from one fated meeting to another. I was the detective in this game of cosmic cluedo and I had so far found the first few clues. Where was this all leading. Would I have to decipher the signs before the next stage of my hakoi began or would my path fall unprompted before my feet. It was a mystery but as with most mystical conundrums, its only when you stop concentrating that the answers present themselves. All I cound do was ride this wave to its conclusion, leaving my preconceptions in tis wake and lettin the shore greet me when it so wished.

I ended up staying for lunch and after swapping e-mails I stomped on determinedly. I was going to have to hurry if I was going to get to Nguguru in time for my meeting. It was a lovely hot day again as I attatcked the tarmac. The heat was rising from the road ahead of me in a desert haze while kilometres fell behind me. I covered 10km in less than 2 hours and got to the shops in Nguguru, another estuary town, early for the money drop. I took my steaming boots off and flopped into a bar for a few cold beers and waited for Oha to arrive. It seemed unlikely that she would turn up and hand me $5000 but I half expected it to happen. I waited two hours but she didn't show so after gobbling some fish and chips I headed on to find the campsite. I wasn't dissapointed as the day had been so fruitfull already. I had Oha's address to hook up with her further down the track and I expect she had had more important celestial business to attent to while leaving me patiently waiting in line.

The Story Continues... click for the next page!