Start – Mararoa River (TA km 2776)
Finish – Te Anau
Daily Distance – 29 km
TA Distance – 2805 km
Bluff Distance – 236 km
I lay awake last night thinking of the people I have met in the course of this journey. Uppermost in my
thoughts were the little band who started, like me, on Oct 21st. Of the half dozen or so who I spent most
time with, 3 have reached Bluff, 2 have quit owing to time/money/homesickness and the others I have no
idea what became of. Of that group there were those who nobody ever doubted would reach Bluff and
those who gave every impression of being a disaster waiting to happen. Time has made a mockery of my
predictions on that front though. I guess it goes to show that a thru-hike is more about grit and
determination than fitness and competence. I do wonder whether people thought I’d make Bluff when first
meeting me.
With 30km and a hitch into town on the schedule today it was another early start. Breakfast and packing
completed by headtorch I hit the road at first light. Cold aside, this is one of my favourite times to walk.
Watching the world by degrees and hues emerge from its nighttime slumber I find incredibly peaceful. So
it was that my only companions on the road this morning were the rosy glow of dawn over the
surrounding hills and the crunching metronomic beat of my footsteps.
After a few hours a smattering of cars began appearing on the road. Appearing first as a dust cloud on the
horizon like an approaching band of steppe raiders before resolving into farm trucks and hire cars, they
each passed with a cheery wave and a respectfully small cloud of dust. One particularly decent fellow
even pulled over for a brief chat, gave me a cereal bar and in doing so, added a smile and extra spring to
my step.
Eventually I reached the highway and fortunately after only an hour found a hitch to Te Anau for my last
TA resupply shopping. Just one more heavy, food laden bag to go. Curiously Bluff still seems a long way
off, but this thought brings it home that there are perhaps only 10 days remaining. Still, I’m not counting
chickens yet. I met two trail friends in Te Anau who told me that another hiker took a fall and broke her
wrist this week. Maybe I should buy some cotton wool to wrap myself in while I’m in town…
