Legs and Borders

"Nature is by and large to be found out of doors, a location where, it cannot be argued, there are never enough comfortable chairs" Fran Lebowitz Today, second of my planned skips to allow finishing TA on time happened, I've took a bus over a 60 miles section from Whanganui to Palmerston North. That section was following mainly roads and beaches which I wasn't particularly interested in. From this point on I should be covering Te Araroa to it's end in Bluff. Yesterday, just before going to sleep, I've made the final decision how to tackle the rest of North Island as it involved planning ahead. The main issue was a ferry which every hiker had to take to cross between North and South Island, Christmas-time tickets were selling fast and there were no boats at all on Christmas day. In the morning I walked to Whanganui bus station and took the Intercity. I've arrived in Palmerston North at 10:00am, resupplied at P...

Another day another river crossing. For this one, being precise was important as the water during high tide could reach over two metres. I left the campground at five with the head torch on, listening to the bird noises hoping they were kiwis. I still need to check on YouTube how they sound like, they are rare, nocturnal and notoriously hard to spot, most of the New Zealanders probably never seen a wild kiwi bird in their life. I got to the crossing by 6am during low tide, it was pretty easy going but I hit a muddy section towards the end and started to sink above my hips level, I had to swiftly retreat and find more suitable section to cross. Ten minutes later I helped Lukas who started later to cross as well. We exchanged the phone numbers and he added me to the TA WhatsApp group which might come in handy in the future. From here on, it was easy going, path was leading through beaches and urban areas with plenty of shops, public toilets...