“There’s no advantage to hurrying through life”
Shikamaru Nara
Day 43 to 44
- Day 43 – National Park to Kaitieke ; 27 km
- Day 44 – Kaitieke to Whakahoro ; 25 km
Total hiked: 1219 km
On approaching National Park I was a day ahead of schedule which normally would be great, but when you’ve already booked the canoe hire and your paddle buddy only has set time off work any change in schedule isn’t ideal.
After a ‘rest day’ in National Park where I lapped the streets in search of free WI-FI, sweated in my rain outfit while the laundry was on, resupplied at a gas station and did anything but rest I was ready to set off to Whakahoro.
The trail from National Park to Whakahoro is a mixture of cycle track, tramping track, metalled and asphalt road. It passes through deer and sheep country alongside the Tupapakurua Stream and Rētāruke River. This may be a great trail to cycle or drive, but to walk your asking for dust in your face, constant sun exposure and a slight loss of sanity.
Fortunately the two days didn’t take me too long and I managed to get out of the heat by 2pm and 1pm each day. The block of chocolate, packet of cookies and dried mango I consumed also helped 🙂
On the first night I was fortunate to be able to stay on a mattress in trail angel Roger and Sharon’s shed in Kaitieke. With the moonlight shining in through the open roller door I even had company in the form of hedgehogs and wild goats, who were all munching away in the paddocks till the early hours. Oh and thanks for the water drop off Roger mucho appreciated!!!
If you were a sheep, deer or one of the 100 wild goats that I encountered on my trot you might have been treated to a performance of me singing all my trail mix songs from my Spotify playlist, joined in on listening to one of four audiobooks I completed or heard me muttering how uncomfortable I was being this hot and dusty.
On making it to Blue Duck station and with the Whanganui River in sight I was grateful to be out of the sun and soon not be as dusty, for my trot is to become a paddle tomorrow!
GC Chronicles 
Cool pictures of the goats and sheep, hope you enjoy the canoe
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