• Te Araroa Day 13
• Puketi Forest Hut to Kerikeri – 30.1 km in 9 hrs 30 minutes
• To my lovely physio: please don’t read this, it’s not my smartest day!

It’s International Women’s Day today, which seems like a fitting day to be out doing something crazy like Te Araroa. Today I passed the 200 km mark but unfortunately didn’t realise until I was at 213km… No going back to take a photo from there!

It was difficult to get going from the comfy hut quickly. A DOC ranger came to visit and we chatted about my big day yesterday. He mentioned that they’re planning to relocate the Apple Tree campsite quite a bit closer to Mangapukahukahu Stream, which will be better for future hikers.

I taped up Barry the blister – my friend thought it would be helpful to give it a name 😂 the other one is Bernie. As I taped them, I did think that it looked more secure and hopefully wouldn’t slip over today’s 30 km. I half thought it would be bad to tape them too much and restrict the foot movement.

It was nice and overcast, and the ranger had said it was easy going downhill to Kerikeri. There were of course no toilets on the gravel roads running through farmland, which is awkward when you’re a woman and trying to keep hydrated. Very sadly the two sections through farmland are closed at the moment. I was gutted.

Quite suddenly around the 20km mark I got a very sore lower shin. State Highway 10 looked terrifyingly busy as I approached it, while frantically googling Kerikeri taxis and wondering what I could do. Actually from the corner though I could see it was just 800 metres and the ditch looked ok. I looked down at all the support messages on my vest! Then I skirted up to the bridge through tree debris outside the guard rail, waited for a clear gap, jumped over and sprinted the 15 metres across the bridge. The drivers in the other lane must have been entertained!

Phew, safely through the bit I’d been dreading all day and now for the part I’d been looking forward to! But my leg was really sore, even after resting and putting it up. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it, and it was just getting worse and worse.

I convinced myself it must be a stress fracture, as it was the only thing I’d ever felt that seemed similar, albeit higher up my shin. 26km and counting, I started to feel nauseous and like I really couldn’t make it. A quick check, but there is of course no Uber in Kerikeri. I googled the closest possible motel, and saw it was only 2.4 km to holiday park. Maybe I could make it?

Nope…I limped up the road into town from the riverside track, and chose the first motel I saw next to New World – thinking at least I could crawl to the supermarket! I got the last room in a not cheap motel, almost tearing up while checking in, but the guy was really kind.

Naturally it was upstairs, but clutching my milk I made it. I made a cup of tea, and lay on the floor googling ‘stress fracture thru hike’, checking flight availability back home, and trying not to cry. However, the tea really did work wonders and trying to keep calm and carry on I took my shoes and socks off. The tape is still in place at least I thought to myself, so hopefully Barry & Bernie aren’t worse… I looked a bit closer at the tape and wondered… Grabbed the scissors and cut a few centimetres off.. Flexed the foot…. And immediately realised how stupid I’d been.

Just a few centimetres extra of tape running under my heel and up to the bottom of my ankle bone HAD restricted the movement, and made my shin muscle very unhappy and sore. I’d been careful not to tape it tightly, or run it circling around the ankle, but I was really gutted I hadn’t realised earlier in the day it might be the taping. I guess in a tired state from the previous few days, I wasn’t at my brightest. Or maybe it’s unlucky day 13?

Quickly my disappointment turned to relief and excitement that my journey was not over, I could now enjoy my lovely motel room for the night, and head to the supermarket to stock up for an eatathon before watching TV and blogging the night away. Yay!