Te Araroa (day 71) - Te Anau to Lower Wairaki Hut / mile 1766

Gas station was opening at 7am and I made sure I'm there exactly at that time to have a coffee before hitching back to trail.

It wasn't easy to catch a ride though, people were still half asleep and the rising sun was hitting directly front windows of passing cars. I got joined by a couple from Christchurch going back to trail as well. They decided to wait on the side until I get out. After 45 minutes a car stopped and a bubbly lady jumped out of it asking where I wanted to go. I explained best I could and asked her if she would have enough space for two more people. I waved at the couple and shortly after we were on our way to the trail. It turned out that the lady worked for Simply New Zealand and I met her yesterday at the shop asking for Paua shells. She and her husband were going to do shopping in the other town as they Te Anau markets too expansive.
Ride finished after 15 minutes and we started walking. I had a short conversation with Liam and Ashley the couple from Christchurch. They were on a honeymoon walking Te Araroa, got married a month before getting on trail. They moved to South Island from Wellington not long ago. I thought that it was a bold decision and congratulated them. They seemed happy, TA didn't manage to break their spirits. We were almost at the finish line at this point!

Soon after the trail became quite muddy and slippery. It was a mixture of woodland and tussock and it was quite slow going. In one of the huts I met Goda aka Freya, an American triple crowner of Lithuanian descent currently living in Hawaii. She was waiting for her friends (which I also saw not long ago) to join her. In the register I noticed entry from today saying "Kasia - UK" it must have been the same girl I met in Richmond Ranges and I thought she might have been Polish (we use the same name) but she was in fact Welsh.

After few hours I managed to catch up with her. It was nice to meet again, she wasn't taking any days off since we last met, just a couple of shorter days caused by the bad weather. At 7:30 pm I've reached the Lower Wairaki Hut, it was full and the few camp spots nearby were taken. Luckily I managed to find a good place to pitch the tent in a meadow shortly after.
The first day on the last long section of the TA has been successfully accomplished.

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