Day 9 - down time
Having had a pretty busy few days, we took the opportunity on Thursday for some down time. With no fixed plans, having once more survived a freedom camping night, we moseyed on into Whanganui and then south along the highway en route to Wellington. Although it was a bit overcast and not really tanning weather on the exposed west coast, we dutifully stopped at a couple of beaches on the way. The first was Foxton, a long stretch of dark volcanic sand which sparkled in the sunlight. This beach was littered with driftwood, and I mean littered. It reminded me of the 'elephants graveyard' in Lion King. New and old, logs and kindling strewn the length of the beach, it was a sight to be seen.

We wiled away an hour or so wandering by the sea and in the dunes before heading back to Kylie. On our way again, the next destination was Paraparaumiu which boasts views of a small self contained conservation island, Kiamiti. The jetsam on this beach was different, smaller bits and pieces in interesting shapes and textures. We spent several minutes exploring the treasures, the results of thousands of years and probably thousands of miles of journeys across the vast oceans.

To refuel after our efforts, we found a small cafe that served coffee, hot chocolate and a local favourite, ginger slice which ought to be enough to sustain us as we ventured onwards south to Wellington. We reached our campsite at a reasonable time and were able to do some washing and eat a respectable dinner, play some cards and drink some beer before bed! Still not quite got the hang of this partying malarkey, besides we wanted to be pretty fresh to explore Wellington in the morning.