Legs and Borders

"We do not know our own souls, let alone the souls of others. Human beings do not go hand in hand the whole stretch of the way. There is a virgin forest, tangled, pathless, in each; a snow field where even the print of birds feet is unknown. Here we go alone, and like it better so." Virginia Woolf Big quote eh? I know, found it buried in my notes and since there's not much to be said today I thought I'll add it in. Today was a long rollercoaster through the Dome Forest, lots of mud, lots of tree roots waiting to trip you over, a big friendly group of Chinese tourists, a jogger with an advice to "skip Auckland" I've heard at least ten times, two dead pussums hanging on the side of the road, empty cooler of 'trail magic' drinks, and that's about it. I finally met few other TA hikers on the trail (as opposed to campsites), Maggie from Canada/America (dual citizenship) and Ursula from Germany. They been both ta...

"Yes, its a good day for hiking but you should really moisturise your nose, sorry I'm a nurse" Donna the nurse "She will either explode or go, one of the two" Glen Day started with a steep downhill walk to Mangawhai where I bought a sausage roll and a coffee for breakfast, the guy at the Service Station surprised my by offering me the coffee for free. After that I took some money from the cash machine as I was getting low and had a chat with Petra, immigrant from Holland who was interested in people who hiked TA and wanted to know what their plans were. Trail was going through few towns and industrial areas, until eventually it diverted to the long stretch of the beach packed full with shells of all kind! I met Donna and her mother on a walk here stopping quite often to inspect a shell or two. This section had few more tide depending river crossings but only the last one was any deep, it was recommended to cross it few hours after or befo...