Day 57: Riverton to Invercargill

35km, 8 hours.

1 day to Bluff!!

It's getting harder and harder to get going in the morning. Luckily because we have 27km to walk on the beach and there's a tidal creek crossing we had to start late to avoid the high tide. What a shame, haha.

It was round two of bacon and eggs for breakfast and then this is when we know we're all falling a part... an hour was spent, sewing up socks, sewing up holes in shoes, taping up shoes, while the other half strapped up ankles, knees and wounds on feet that aren't healing thanks to continual use and wet feet.

I still have not had one blister the entire time so this will go down as a record for me and I'd hate to speak too soon with one day to go but I think by now I'm safe.

The owner of the campground asked where she could take a photo of us for her to use in TA promo. Of course we obliged!

Before we had even left Riverton town, Ivan had led us the wrong way and we were already off trail making our way across a football field. I was annoyed but luckily he made this even enjoyable by shouting like a commentator announcing me onto the field like I was running out onto a football game..I still punched him in the arm and demanded 'where is David?! Why aren't we following him?'

The coach from the footy team was putting markers out and yelled out to us 'are you walking the TA?!' yep we yelled back. 'much respect!' was his reply. In those simple two words you're reminded, yeah this is one extraordinary thing we're doing and very hard work. I seem to forget that sometimes because it's just life currently but my goodness when you do think about what you are doing or have done, it's pretty darn epic.

On the beach we walked for kilometres after kilometre. 27 of them in fact. For once it was overcast and cool and could not have been more perfect weather for the walk we had to do today.

The sand was hard and compact so it was rather easy going. So much so I spent the entire day doing all my life admin, insta posts and catching up on posting all the blogs - hence why I uploaded so many at once.

At 2pm I met up with David and Laura for a quick food break but I didn't want to sit for long, I was in the mood to get this beach walk over and done with. Sev caught up to us and we hadn't seen him for days since he left us at Merrivale Hut before the Longwoods.

I walked the last 10km with Sev on the beach and road in the strongest of easterly headwinds. Sand blowing in our face but rather than complain I thought how lucky I was that it wasn't like this the entire day.

Sev in his late 50s is such an interesting man. He was in charge of the sky diving school in the Airforce and has been posted over in Syria and Lebanon on peacekeeping/liaison jobs. It's so fascinating hearing stories of people and realising how interesting and diverse people's lives are when you ask questions. Then he said something that nearly made me cry. He would no longer finish at Bluff as he has a flight to catch from Invercargill and has run out of days. The reason he has run out of days - 'when I first met you all at Aparima Hut, the banter between you and Ivan, the laughs you 5 had and the fun you were having, I enjoyed so much. It was nice to be apart of and so I walked to where you guys would be those nights for company'.

I was taken aback by this. Because for us what we have is just this trail thing but it is noticed as something so special by so many single people on trail, on multiple occasions. Because we're down to our last days the 5 of us have had so many more serious reflective conversations on the special bond we've formed and we do absolutely appreciate what we've created for ourselves. The fact all of us at any point could have gone on ahead but we haven't. Conny, Laura and I have been together since day 1 and then as a group of 5 we have been together for 35 days since Arthurs Pass. You don't even spend this much time with your friends or family constantly. Let alone day after day when you're exhausted and tired and hangry (hungry & angry) but not once have I been sick of any of them. Well Sam and Ivan have got me to the end of my tether on occasions but they have done it in the best way with laughter that I could not even lose my temper.

Finally we reached the end of the beach section and it was just 9 kilometres left to walk on the road. At this point I was spent. My foot was hurting but I couldn't stop and it was the first time on trail where I nearly cried and wanted to end. Instead I put music on and continued the long walk into Invercargill.

We reached a cafe 4km out of Invercargill and so David, Sev, Conny and I stopped there for a coffee and carrot cake and Sev got the traditional southern staple Cheese rolls. We were a bit burnt, wind burnt and tired and had to muster up the energy to get going again.

Finally we reached Invercargill at 5pm, staying at the Tuatara Lodge but we didn't even make it to our room we hit the bar downstairs and it was beers and pizza for hours. I cannot tell you how elated I was to reach Invercargill.

We met Michael a Czech friend of Ivan who had finished the day before. Michael then told me one of the funniest things I've heard in a while that I didn't believe until I saw the pictures. Michael and one of his mates thought it would be amusing if they made a 'world sandwich'. His friend flew from Prague purposely for this to a small rural town in Spain which was the antipode (diametrically opposite side of the world) to where Michael was in NZ. They then both took a piece of bread and put it on the ground, technically making a sandwich with the world in the middle. Who even thinks of this stuff! His friends piece even had lettuce in it.

It was Sevs last night so we had a beer with him and said how much we have appreciated meeting and spending time with him this last week.

It was shower time and bed. David, Conny, Ivan and I were in a 4 bed dorm and so over tired we tried getting as much trail goss from the boys and vice versa as we could. Our last night on our school camp... I will also never forget Conny making it through 57 days and on the last night asking me whether her gas cannister has enough gas left in it to get her through one more day! Thanks to Ivan being a creep he caught it all on camera.

Ren x