Pouto "The place of hidden treasures"

Pouto point is a small community at the end of a long and narrow dirt road. It's situated at the head of the Pouto peninsula and feels quite remote and isolated.

After the nightmare of driving through Auckland,  I had despaired that my journey in the wild and isolated parts of this beautiful country was over.  I stayed in a campground north of Auckland that was run by the Auckland regional counsel. It was an interesting place.  They had put up a fine mesh fence across the peninsula to keep out predators and make a bird sanctuary. Booking into the campground was an exercise in patience with a bureaucratic organization but after a long phone tree and talking with 3 different people, I had a wonderful stay for a night.

The sands around Pouto point are classified as a road and there were several 4 wheelers out playing on the sand dunes. I felt there were some spots that would be too soft for my little car and so settled in for a very long walk to the lighthouse on a beautiful sunny day. About an hour into it, I could see no sign of getting even close and was thinking wouldn't it be awesome if someone came along and offered me a ride the rest of the way,  then I could walk back.  20 minutes later am old guy named Ken came along and took me to the lighthouse. Still makes me laugh to think about it. Composing this on my phone,  I'll update with a picture of the lighthouse I find some Internet.

Picture as promised:

Spent the last 2 nights at a DOC campground a on the edge of a managed forest with huge 1000 year old Kauri trees. Managed means they kill off rats, possum and other predators and attempt to maintain a native environment.  The are apparently several hundred Kiwi living here but I've yet to see one.
A Kauri tree:

 

Heading north today not sure how far I'll get there are supposed to be some nice walks along the way.  It rained all day yesterday and could continue today.