Start – nr Piropiro Campground (the timber trail)
Finish – Bennett road campground (timber trail exit)
Daily Distance – 28 km
TA Distance – 1049 km
Happy birthday to me ?. Thanks to everyone for the kind birthday wishes. Unfortunately I still have 26km
to walk before I hit town, so cake is looking like a very distant hope right now. More positively, I’m
sharing the campground with a very nice Dutch couple, Jasper and his nameless girlfriend (I have been
told her name several times previously and somehow conspired to forget it instantly every time), who
gifted me several sausages that they had in turn been gifted earlier in the day. Not cake, but a welcome
second course following my customary lentil curry.
There isn’t much to say about today other than my after dark walking last night means I have exited the
timber trail a day earlier than originally planned. It has been some of the most enjoyable walking to date,
so I’m sad to reach the end early. However, it has allowed me the freedom to eat 2 days worth of food
today, which was super!
The only unusual event of note today was unexpectedly being roped into sheep herding this evening by a
neighbouring farmer. A collection of lambs (a shearing?), had infiltrated his land through an old fence
and he needed a motley crew of campers to stop them making a break for freedom when being herded
back to their rightful owner. I’d love to say that I whistled those dogs in perfect formation and the sheep
flowed out two by two in the finest biblical tradition, but that would be rather overstating my role. I
imagine my vital role could have been performed by a particularly sleepy golden retriever, lambs being
easily menaced after all, but then somebody would have had to go wake him up. Nevertheless, I do feel
slightly more justified in donning spurs, a wide brim hat and poorly imitated John Wayne accent if the
mood ever strikes me now. And frankly, now I’ve thought of it, that may very well happen at some point
on this trip. I have a feeling 35 will be a good year.
