Waitiki Landing to Pukenui

Look at the weather forecast at any given day in New Zealand and the bloke on TV will predict the occasional shower.
It showered violently on us when we were packing the tent which meant it got soaked and had to come with us weighing a few kilos more. It was hard work to get the trolley with our equipment out of the wet grass of the campsite and on the road, and I for one was getting pretty nervous about our changes to succeed. It seemed an awful heavy load to cycle 5 months with. Well, there is no turning back now so we got on our way.
The first hills were easy but then the wind and rain claimed protagonism and every so often we both were literally blown off the road. The buggy and trolley were everywhere. A strong eastern wind produced the phenomenon of horizontal rains but the grandeur of the landscape here is so overwhelming you forget you’re struggling to get forward. At several points the Far North is so narrow you see enormous dune formations at your left and right. The estuaries seem to almost cut the land in two. After a few hours on our pushbikes Ella is giving first signs of fatigue and hunger. We decide to have lunch at what looked like an abandoned church. We hide from the wind behind the main building and let Ella have a good runaround.
We struggled to cycle to Pukenui but we had no choice. There is nothing out here and this is the first village on the map. All the other place names prior to Pukenui turn out to be just a house, school or Maori community with no amenities whatsoever. We arrive exhausted at a well kept campsite run by Mike, our friendly host.
We set up the tent, get a perfect coffee in the only bar of the town and chat with the local liquor store owner. New Zealand must hold the world record of friendliest people per m2. Everywhere we go we are received with genuine hospitality and good humour.
We visit the harbour in the inmense bay but decide to hit the sack early. All in all it was a good day and we are both satisfied we got through the first day in one piece.