Start – Auckland
Finish – Auckland
Daily Distance – 0km
TA Distance – 595km
The main job for my rest days was an expensive trip to the outdoor equipment store. Having learned a lot
of lessons about thru-hiking during the past month there are a number of changes to my gear I wanted to
make. The changes are:
- Raincover – Having decided against bringing my rucksack raincover I have regretted the decision
on several occasions already. While my dry bags have been generally excellent in protecting my
gear, it’s still miserable dragging a sopping wet rucksack into the tent at night. At only 90g I
would rather carry the extra weight and have drier gear. - Cooking pan – the plastic lid of my existing pan has developed a rapidly worsening crack, so
needs replacing. It’s a shame as I like the pan, but it has now been replaced by a 1 litre, stainless
steel pan, which should be more rubust. - Merino wool top – NZ, or rather the NZ sun, is far hotter than I anticipated. It is certainly too hot
on sunny days for my trekking shirts, so I have spent many days melting in the heat. I’ll keep 1
shirt for layering purposes, but a lighter top will be very welcome. - Footwear – The biggest change by far and the one that I have spent most time deliberating over. I
am leaving my boots and trekking sandals in Auckland and continuing in trail runners (a regular
sport shoe with a more aggressive tread). Having walked with several people who wear them I
haven’t noticed any real advantage that my boots give beyond tougher construction. While my
boots are great and have performed well so far, they are 2-3 times heavier than a shoe and the sole
is showing signs of wear that leads me to believe they will need replacing in Wellington anyway.
Hopefully the new shoes will work out, but I won’t be anywhere remote for a while, so it is a good
time to experiment.
Other than gear purchasing and exploring parts of Auckland I have planned out the next few days walking
and booked my tour to Hobbiton! It seems pretty lazy that I’ll have another day off after only 4 days of
relatively easy walking, but some things can’t be missed. It will be a shame to leave Auckland and say
goodbye to Tim in the morning. It has been great to have a couple of days in town to hang out, although
part of me wishes we’d never discovered how amazing the scones are in Countdown. I think I must be the
only TA hiker who is gaining weight on the trail!
