15/02/14 : GHOST TOWN

Day 10, Waikanae – Foxton Beach (about 60kms)

 

Today is a big day under a stunning sunshine despite an heavy traffic jam. The landscape is virtually made of green hills and fields separated each other by a railway. In the background, we can see the first mountains that delimited the New Zelander’s sky.

We get to Foxton Beach early in the evening. It looks like a ghost town. Streets are empty, no lights, any stores open. This is somehow a bit creepy.

We immediately look for a place to set up and sleep but we struggle to find one. We are knackered of this long day since we did more than 60kms.

While the dark blue curtain of night is taking over the sky, an old man is calling us from his van. He asks us if everything is all right. We say we are currently looking for a place to sleep and luckily he asks us to follow him. He probably has an idea of location to sleep for tonight. Indeed, he brings us in a front yard of an inhabited house. He tells us folks who live here are currently in holidays ; then we may use the front yard to sleep on. We utterly accept his proposition and we fairly thanks him for his help. We are very surprised how the New Zelanders are kind and nice with us. And it’s just the beginning. Then he takes time to advice the neighbour next to the house of our presence.

Later on, the neighbour, who ought to get about 60 years old, come to us and ask us if we want to use his barbecue to cook tonight. Stunned again, we gently accept. Once again we are glad to see how people in this country are kind and helpful.