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38km 11.5 hours
A long day but one of the best. Minus the first 12km of gravel road walking we had to do. We woke early around 6am but after drinking the muddy dirty tasting river water last night there was no way i was wasting my morning porridge and coffee with that water. Even adding a full packet of electrolytes to the water couldn't mask the taste which i found out last night after waking desperately dehydrated at 10pm craving water.
Instead this morning I ate an OSM bar for breakfast and hit the road.
Thanks to Ivan ahead of us, and sending us messages yesterday we knew there was a coffee and snack cart along the highway we had to walk along. It was bitterly cold this morning but I continued to wear shorts and a shirt with my rain jacket so not to get my sleeping clothes (my long pants & top) sweaty and gross. I'm day 4 of a 7 day no shower stint and somehow being filthy and putting on nice clean clothes of an evening makes you feel semi normal.
As i walked this morning along side farms, i could see in the distance a fresh dusting of snow on the tops of the mountains. I knew it felt cold. I was so bored on this gravel road especially after having walked over 20km of it yesterday. Also my right foot has become excruciatingly painful with every step yesterday and again today. I was hoping miraculously it would have fixed itself over night but it hadnt. I couldn't even bend it or flex it to walk so i walked this dirt road flat footed. Any other race or walk i would have bailed out now with this pain but I'm 200km from Bluff so this is no option now! I popped a couple of ibuprofen and put on a podcast to distract myself from the pain.
My farmer from yesterday drove by once more so i gave a big final wave and throw my head back chuckle. We probably camped on his farm!
What was also distracting and welcome relief was coming to the end of the dirt road and realising I now had 2km to walk alongside the busy highway. I hate highway walking. Finally i came to the coffee caravan 'sprig & thistle'. It was so cute and set on the front of a sheep station. The young girl had a tray of fresh cinnamon rolls and all these other delicious home made scones and slices. I got myself a ham,cheese, pineapple toastie for $8 a long black, orange juice, a cinnamon scroll, a savoury scone and then a cheese scone to take away. This may sound excessive but Conny and David had nearly the same if not more. And this girl who we found out is the daughter of the sheep station owners is on to a gold mine. Every TA walker has to walk past this. We sat there and it was really nice seeing all the locals popping in for their morning coffee and scone too. Was such a small country town scene.
Full and ready to go again we walked through the station for another 6km on dirt road through Princhester station before reaching princhester hut. With 18km already done at midday this is where the day started. We had 20km to go to reach Aparima hut. My foot was so sore and then Conny offered me a 600gm ibuprofen and it was the best thing ever.
It was just Conny and I and we both decided to not listen to head phones and talk. We talked the entire day and laughed and laughed. So much so we had to stop walking multiple times just to control our laughing because we were literally bent over laughing.
The walk was so much fun back in the forest but this time the mud and rough terrain added a new element. There were parts that was thick ferns, parts really old weathered trees covered in lichen and then you'd pop out into open tussock grasslands. I loved it! At points the tussocks were head high so you couldn't even see the track and i think because Conny and i get so distract talking all the time we lose the trail so quickly. We were lost in swampy muddy head high tussocks for a while at one point. What makes it even more complex is that there are streams and deep chasm like holes underneath the tussocks so you're trying not to fall down into them too whilst also trying to find where you're meant to be going. It was just such a fun day it didn't even matter that it was 38km. That's three days in a row now I've done a 32km, 42km & now 38km. It's solid.
We got to the hut and were reunited with Ivan and Laura who went ahead yesterday. There's another 3 others in the hut too we don't know but the younger couple are heading NoBo and had met Sam a few days ago at Birchwood Station. They said to ask us about the Wrapalicious. Our wrap is getting a name for itself on the trail.
Finally we had reached a hut where the hut intentions book had a blank back page for Ivan to write the Wrapalicious recipe for all TAers to see. It has generated much discussion on trail between hikers.
Adding a new element to it being a small world, Ivan hitchhiked in Nelson and got picked up by a girl called Rose. The couple Amy & Dave in the hut with us, were doctors in Nelson and after Ivan saying he hitchhiked with a Dr there, it turns out Rose is good friends with them! What are the chances?!?
I hadn't had a wash in a stream for 2 days and despite freezing and hungry, Conny and I decided to head another 10mins to the river for a wash. It was such a beautiful clear swimming hole I just wished it wasn't so cold! Also the state of dirt and mud on my legs from the past 4 days is so hardened i scrubbed and scrubbed with soap and it wouldn't budge. I was using my nails and then a rock to try scratch it of. I even resorted to the razor to see if I could shave it off - i couldn't. In the end freezing i gave up, dried myself and put my tights on. 'ill deal with that when i shower eventually' i thought. How disgusting is it where you're at a point of being so dirty it's just your norm and not even being able to shower doesn't bother you. I don't even believe i smell any more. I know this not true but youre so used to your filthy smell and the others around you that it's normal.
As per usual every night in the hut we provide comedy for the other hikers. Moreso now that there's this running skit happening that Ivan and I are the parents and Conny, David & Laura are our children. We pretend and act like a married couple but all we do is whinge and complain about the other. It's been some of my finest acting. We've already decided that Laura is the older sibling who causes no problems, David is the genius son who can do no wrong. Conny is the sweet youngest child in awe of everything nature who just wants her mum to cook a home made birthday cake like Emilys mum does but I'm unable to provide that because i have to work full time because Ivan isn't earning a decent living for the family.
Ridiculously the mattresses in the hut don't actually fit the spaces they're meant for so I've ended up sleeping on a mattress on the floor. I hope there's no mice. There is a million sandflies which I'm not too keen about. When will they end!?
Ren x
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