Start – Waikanae
Finish – Paekakariki Holiday Park
Daily Distance – 20 km
TA Distance – 1662 km
Another day, another town I can’t remember the name of. Having slept badly owing to the summer heat
and a mind full of decisions to be made I got off to a super late start. I only needed to cover a relatively
short distance today though, so not the end of the world. Ordinarily 20km on relatively easy beach and
park terrain wouldn’t take me quite so long, but it seems to have been hard work today. Between hitting
the beach just before high tide and the frequent conversations with other beachgoers enquiring about what
I’m doing, my pace wasn’t speedy. Still, I haven’t seen another TA hiker to talk to since leaving the hut
yesterday morning, so these chance conversations weren’t unwelcome. The highlight for me was one halfdeaf
old lady who was very impressed by the walk and recommended some other nice tramping spots.
She then proceeded to casually one up me by dropping that she’s being taken through the Panama canal to
the Galapagos islands on her grandsons yacht soon. She then went back to collecting sea shells for her
granddaughter.
Tonight I am camping at the seaside town of Paekakariki. Having camped almost exclusively for the first
few months of the trip, this will actually be my first night under canvas for a few weeks. In a way it’s nice
not having to pitch a tent when staying in a hut, but I do also like having my own space on occasion.
This afternoon/evening has been spent in the expensive task of booking ferries/accommodation for my
arrival in Wellington and subsequent crossing to Picton. My dates are: Sat 6th – arrive in Wellington, Tue
9th 14:45-17:55 – ferry crossing to Picton, Wed 10th – take a water taxi to Ship Cove and take my first
south island steps on the Queen Charlotte track.
There will still be plenty to do once I hit Wellington, but I’m hoping to have as much of the south island
logistics decided as possible by the time I arrive. I can then just focus on buying food and other sundries
and getting the boxes posted. It’s a decent chunk of work up-front, but should lead to an easier life in the
coming weeks.
