Start – TA km 855 (after mt Pirongia)
Finish – Otorohanga
Daily Distance – 42 km
TA Distance – ?
I have suspected since planning this trip that eventually I would have cause to start a blog post with the
words “well, wasn’t that a giant balls up!”. Well, today is that day. Having somehow booked
accommodation in the next town a day early we had 40km of trail to walk in one day. An impossible
amount given the terrain and lingering tiredness after the last few days. So began a creative off-trail jaunt
with the intent of walking to a nearby road to hitch a ride to the next town over to get another ride to the
town we were actually aiming for. The missing kms could then be made up over a few days. The slight
wrinkle in this otherwise fine plan was the near total lack of cars heading in the correct direction. 10, in a
full 8 hours of walking and none who looked even remotely tempted to offer a lift. Footsore and weary
we stumbled into town (and McDonald’s) after a full 12 hours on the road and 42km covered. Never
again! My feet are heat spotted, blistered and very tender.
The bright spots of the day were a change of scenery being off-trail and making lots of new animal
friends. Walking through rural backwaters we saw farms that had been simply carved out of the
surrounding forest with farm dogs and paddocks of very curious cows. Despite descending into total farce
and requiring some transport back to the trail tomorrow, it has at least been an adventure today.
