• Te Araroa Day 6
• Ahipara to Kaitaia – 13.76 km in 4 hrs 15 min
• Highlight of today: cup of tea with real milk
• Possible new sport: the ‘combined road walk & ditch scurry’

It was onto the road today, down some of the Twin Coast Discovery Highway – yep, not an ideal place for walking! The trail normally goes through Herekino Forest but is rerouted at the moment because of kauri dieback.

On the upside, I got to put on the awesome hi vis vest that my friend Hadassa fashioned from a second hand one for me (great sustainability). I was really touched when they gave it to me, it was lucky I had my sunglasses on! So many cool messages of support from old workmates.

I think a change from the beach and new challenge helped with the road walking. I began to think of it like a new, fully-engaging sport. The object was to walk as fast as possible, on the flattest possible terrain, all the while scanning both the roadside ditch, and road ahead for oncoming traffic, as well as listening for cars too. As soon as there was a vehicle approaching, it was time to scamper down into the ditch, or at least as far down the roadside as possible. Usually it was quite the slope, and sometimes really steep, so rolling an ankle and going for a slide or tumble was a real risk. The poles really helped here though, and also proved handy for pushing through tall grass. Sometimes the ditch itself was even nice for walking in!

Crests of hills were tricky, but I managed to cross the road a few times and never got into any bad situations too close to cars as they passed me. I did end up in chest high vegetation above a cutting once which kept me laughing for a while.

Along the way there were farms a plenty, lots of cows, a quarry, a few fruit farms, corn fields, some small churches, a honey farm, a couple of marae and 4 schools. It was an odd feeling to pass the schools, hear the bell ring, hear teachers giving instructions, and think that this time last week I’d been working in one. I found myself admiring Kaitaia College’s flash outdoor gymnasium and nice school vans… Old habits die hard!

A footpath finally began about 12km into my journey, much to my relief. Once in central Kaitaia I found a nice spot on a picnic bench in the shade to let my sweaty clothes dry out, and packed away a few things so I was respectable enough to get some lunch. Poor feet were soggy from the dew all morning, and the 3 day old tape was on its last legs, but at least no new blisters have developed!

I checked into an awesome B&B in the afternoon that is great value for money at $70/night but has everything I could ever want. Highlights include a lovely host, moisturiser for the recovering sunburn, and real milk to make a lovely cup of tea.

I went to the pharmacy to get some more supplies for the blisters. Miraculously, when I finally took off the strapping tape and compeed patches, they seemed pretty good! Definitely not infected, and one had even healed a bit. It still hurts to put weight on them, but I’m hoping at least one rest day will help. The forecast looks a bit rainy for the upcoming tricky forests, so I might stay another night here and give my feet and body more rest.

It seems pretty nuts to have (mostly) enjoyed a day walking in ditches. I was relieved it wasn’t a complete nightmare, but there were difficult moments and a little early panic as 14km suddenly seemed a long way. My legs seem to be getting used to the walking and feeling stronger, but I’ve felt a bit light headed at times in the past couple of days and also had some stomach cramps. Time for a good night’s sleep!