Live From Ahipara

Hey all,
Just going to give a quick update here.
-Got into Auckland on the 30th and had to change my return flight at the last second before leaving San Fransisco because of a confused visa issue
-Got through customs and bio-security and ended up on a bus to Kaitaia, farther north on the north island, at 7:45AM (plane got in at 5:30 or so)
- Checked into a hostel, the Mainstreet Lodge, which was full of German travelers working at a zuchini farm
- Met up with a Kiwi girl, Alex, who is also walking the Te Araroa
- Did my food shopping for the week
- Woke up the 31st and hitch-hiked up towards Cape Reinga with Alex
-Got rides with a surf bum middle aged lady and her hairy dog, a young Mauri worker coming back from a break, and a 75 year old ex-cop
-The old cop, a pretty funny Scot named Arch, took us to his place in Pukenui for tea and we saw he and his wife, Fran's, property which had peacocks, chickens, some Arabian horses, avocado trees, and macedamia trees among other things
- We ended up making friends with them to the point that they drove us all the way to Topotupotu Bay just east of Cape Reinga where we strolled up some cool coastal mountains as a little warm-up for the coming walking
-Started the trek on Nov. 1 and made it 25km to Te Paki stream which is near the beginning of the famed 90 mile beach
-Also, my stove works.  I found 'methylated spirits' and the liquid burns well in my Narragansett Lager can stove. Though slightly differently than the denatured alcohol I pretested it with. 
-Nov 2 we did another 25km or so on the beach to just past the 'Bluff'
-Nov 3 -another 25km or so to Hukatere, where we met up with a few other Te Araroa walkers, Mel and Sarah aged 24 and 31, and Stuart aged 54 who is walking the 600km to Auckland. Stayed at a small backpackers' hut and had dinner cooked for us by the owner, a German lady named Gabrielle. 
- Also, I went out scalloping in the low tide with this 77 year old Mauri guy who lives on the Hukatere Lodge property.  He's called 'Uncle' due to a tough to pronounce local name. I found one scallop which was pretty exciting (Uncle only found four or five and he had a wetsuit).
- Nov 4 - still walking with Alex, she's from Blenheim, NZ on the South Island, and we did the last 30km to Ahipara with a strong headwind and a late-ish start.
-Nov 5 - Hitch-hiked 15km to Kaitaia in order to re-supply.  Ride there was with an extremely nationalist Mauri dude who gave a confusing lecture on the legal specifics of land rights concerning the Mauri people and basically how they gotta get their rights and politics are corrupt...met up with Arch and Fran again at the pharmacy by chance and they gave us a lift to the local Pac'n Save, or Pac'n Rob as Arch refers to the giant warehouse grocery store.
-Got a ride back to Ahipara with a long haired surfer looking guy who likes to hunt and lives in the hills near the coast.
-Spent the last two nights at the local campground/holiday park which is occupied by 70% German tourists
-Heading out this afternoon towards the Northland Forests...should be a bit different than long beach trekking
- Hope all's well with everyone back home / wherever you are, I'm doing super well.
Best,
Nick