Day 47: Mangaokewa Camp to Pureora (37km, 10 hours)

I woke up at dawn to the sound of birds. My feet were a little sore, my shoes were still wet, and I was a little tired, but otherwise I seemed in OK shape. After packing up the tent and an early oatmeal breakfast, it was time to get back on the road.

I was off at 6:45am. Basically, today was 37km of road walking - which would make it my longest day on the TA so far. 

The first 25km was along a never-ending gravel road. Head down, plod on. I amused myself by trying to remember an old Rowan Atkinson monologue (“Purpose is what we’re stwiving for. We must have purpose! We mustn’t be purposeless! We must not exhibit purposelessness! We must be… purposelessnessless! etc”)

The road goes ever on…

10am pic: Stopping for a break - my first OSM bar of this trip

But it was very hot. There was no shade. My feet hurt more every hour. And it was boring!

The halfway point - and the only shade today! Time for a quick rest

After 25km, the road turned onto a state highway for the next 8km. Traffic went up from 1-2 cars per hour to 1-2 cars per minute (mostly towing things and travelling at speed), so I was continually stepping into the verge. This is where I started to hit the wall. The sun was taking its toll, and my feet were aching.

They were so sore that I stopped to take off my boots to check them out. Not only had gravel gotten inside and destroyed one of my socks, but the wet shoes and hard roads had resulted in multiple blisters - under my toes and at the base of my heels. I padded them with hiker’s wool as best I could, and kept hobbling on. (By the way, I think the hiker’s wool was a pressie from you Kim - sooo helpful!)

Are we there yet…?

Eventually I staggered (literally) into camp. Peter and Bryce were also there - along with a large motley collection of hunters, mountain bikers and campers all preparing to explore the Pureora Forest and the Timber Trail. 

Peter, me and Bryce 

I could barely stand - I managed to hobble to a creek down the hill, only ankle deep but it was enough to splash myself and wash off some of the sweat and grime. But my feet were too sore to stand, and I was too tired to chat to Peter and Bryce. I made shepherds while sitting in my tent, and went straight to bed. 

I knew these first two days would be very tough. And they have been, for very different reasons. Hopefully tomorrow will be easier…? I’m worried about my feet, but we’ll see how they are in the morning. 

Today’s route (the blue dot is my current location)