Otaki Beach To A Ferry-Adjacent Campground

From the clay cliffs we headed south to Otaki Beach on the Kapiti Coast, where daytime air temperatures push 50 and the sun warms everything. On the horizon is Kapiti Island, the entire place a nature reserve. One day we'll visit.

We're making tracks, campers. Art and I well-matched in that we rarely plan ahead for any portion of our NZ trip. But today we're excitedly making reservations to cross the Cook Strait, bound for NZ's South Island, via an Interislander ferry.

Tomorrow we'll drive to a campground just eight minutes from the ferry terminal, location likely their main selling point. (Click here to view map if reading in email):

And on Sunday we'll be up early drinking instant coffee and making our way to the ferry terminal by the 8 am check-in time. 

Otaki Beach, dog heaven (people too)

Today we walked for five miles on the beach, just a block from our campground.

And then sought out a flat white at the only cafe in this little settlement.

There's a pretty little eatery next door, though not serving until 6 pm (too bad--I would have happily devoured their lamb shanks after our walk, at 3).

We sat in the sun talking to the cafe's proprietor, who formerly worked for Quantas, and the friendly Kiwi woman in the shadows, whose daughter left NZ on an Idaho State University basketball scholarship. You meet the nicest people here.