Legs and Borders

"This hamish coleslaw can last a month" Chef at the Blue Duck Cafe Today since I diverted from the main path at Whakahoro I haven't seen another human being. I left Couper's Crossing Farm as planned at 6am, few other hikers were also awake but it looked like they were waiting for breakfast at 8am. I followed the road towards Whakahoro 15 miles south where the river section was starting. Several vans full of tourists with attached canoe trailers drove past me. By the time I've reached the village, they were all floating on the Wanganui river and the place was empty. I went for breakfast to Blue Duck Cafe, they were using convincing slogan: "Last coffee for the next four days". I've asked if kitchen was opened for food, chef said they were so I've ordered ham and cheese toastie and a latte, it was 20$ in total. Toastie arrived ten minutes later with a special coleslaw that apparently lasted for a month, and it mu...

"If you'll piss on that lemon tree, it will make it grow faster." Roger Tongariro National Park has ended and the connecting trail to the Wanganui National Park today was a bunch of roadwalking. It started with finding the way out of the forrest onto a busy asphalt road leading to National Park Village, the last place I could get my resupply before entering the park and spending there approximately five days. I arrived at the village at 8am, and spent around 80$ on breakfast and food for the upcoming days. I also met Frogga from Australia, I saw him before when he was flip flopping north, trying to make up miles in the bad weather. He used to hike in USA, we spend almost an hour reminiscing adventures we had there. Around 9:30am I decided to move on. Trail was going through the forrest on a gravel road then after couple of hours it opened up from one side to a picturesque countryside with a lot of green hills and meadows. Then after few miles it wa...