Te Araroa, Day 57

The destination today is a small campsite in Koitiata by the ocean. There will be about 22 km along a highway and 9 km of rural road. The weather forecast predicts rain.
I start at 7:16, and the rain begins when I reach just 10 km. At km 15, there are some big trees along the highway, and I take a short break there, a little protected from the rain. After the break, heavy showers leave me completely wet, and with no shelter, I keep on walking as the rain continues pouring down.

When I finally reach the rural road, it is dry for about 15 minutes. Then, again, very heavy rain. Spotting a shed, I try to find some protection, huddling against the wall. After 20 minutes, nothing has changed except that I am very cold now.

I keep on walking as fast as I can. Walking towards the sea, there are strong winds now too. I can't wait until I reach the campsite. Finding a protected spot, I set up camp in the rain. The hot shower afterward feels so good.

I rinse my wet clothes and hang them underneath the roof of the common building. The rain stops once I am finished, and I can also dry my backpack, which somehow got wet from the inside.

I have my dinner and then lay down inside the tent to rest and wait for watching the sunset at the beach. It is beautiful. After that, I go to sleep. There are a few people at that campsite, but everything is quiet. I sleep into the new year and am happy not to have been bothered by fireworks or the like.