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0.00km, 24 hours!
I have never more looked forward to a day off than this one. It had been three weeks since my last day off in Hanmer Springs. 3 weeks! I joked that this is more work than actually being at work considering each day is 8+ hours but it's pretty true. It's certainly no holiday. It certainly does beat work though.
Priorities for me today was picking up my replacement tent at the post office. Good coffee and good food, relaxing by the lake and of course resupplying for the next section.
Sam after saying every day for nearly 10 days that he's going to do some long days and move on further than us and never did, finally continued on today. He only has till the 14th to finish. It was bittersweet saying bye to him. Felt like I lost my trail husband but kind of relieved that I knew I'd be paid out so much less with him now gone. I did thank him for all the laughs and runs but.
The top of my left foot has been hurting for about a week now. I originally thought it was caused by me tying my laces too tight when i was coming down the scree slopes so that my feet wouldnt slide. I just assumed it was bruised from that but the last few days once I'd finished hiking for the day as soon as my shoes were off my foot started swelling up and was painful to walk on. Then in the morn I'd put my shoes back on and hike pain free. I Dr Googled when i was in tekapo and self diagnosed myself with a tendon injury based on the location and also the crunchy feeling i get when i rise up on my toes.
Since I was in Wanaka i thought I'd see if I could get into a physio to massage my calves at the very least and then strap my foot. I managed to get into see this great physio Sarah who owns Alpine Physiotherapy and does a lot of professional skiers/snowboarders and travelled with a few sports teams. After her looking at my foot and the swelling she straight away thought I've got a lisfranc fracture and wanted me to got for an x-ray to rule that out but otherwise a ligament injury. As soon as she said x-ray, i was like oh no. I knew then and there if it was broken that would be it for my TA. Sarah also said id be in a moonboot for 4-6 weeks if it was broken. I bargained with her and said are you sure it's not a tendon or ligament. She wasn't buying it. I also said and what would happen if I chose not to get an x-ray or was to do it in 3 weeks once I'd finished. It was then Sarah realised that i was a little stubborn and proceeded to tell me about a skier physio she has who knows they have a broken wrist but wasn't going to give up their Canadian ski trip and went with a broken wrist. Sarah grouped me into the category of not going to do what they're told. We had a laugh. Even after her offering to drive me to the hospital. Instead we went through the pros and cons of this type of injury and so she taught me how to strap it properly every day and where compression bandage at night so I can continue to the end.
The best and worst part of all, because i am a Kiwi citizen I've access to their accident scheme but you need to have a NZ address. I quickly memorised my old flatmate Ambers, Christchurch address and so i have now been living in Christchurch since 2014 and qualified. This means $40 physio appts and cheap Dr/medical bills. Yes I felt incredibly guilty lying but there has to be benefits to having 2 passports.
I never got anything massaged more a foot bone anatomy lesson and then Sarah drove me back to my hostel. How good are Kiwis! Who would leave their work to drop a stranger home?!
I went and had happy hour with Steph & Zac, the Aussie couple from TAS i met at Top Timaru Hut. $7 gins! What a reward. We had such a great time catching up from the last few days. They've offered for me to go and stay with them in north west TAS any time so it might be time for another TAS trip.
That evening the 5 of us just stayed up in our beds talking rubbish and having a laugh until about midnight. Mainly paying Conny out for writing postcards on postcards of Milford Sound when she hasn't even been there. Haha! Nothing is off limits with this crew, no one is above being made fun of. Especially not Laura and I as we had our compression bandages on our feet and legs elevated, Conny said it reminded her of being in the hospital ward with old ladies when she broke her ankle. Harsh.
I could have easily filled another day here. A rest day never feels like a rest day!
Ren x
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