• Te Araroa Day 36
• Botanical Gardens to Drury – 18 km in 5 hours
• Toenails remaining: 9

It was really sad to say goodbye to Ailie and Cyril this morning. By now they felt like my Auckland Auntie & Uncle, and I’ve really loved staying with them. I’m so glad they could be part of my Te Araroa adventure – dropping me off and picking me up here and there, and sharing lots of laughs and yummy food. I regret not getting a photo with them!

After not really understanding how hikers forget their poles… on the way to the gardens as we stopped at the post office, I realised I’d forgotten my poles 😅 thank you Cyril for taking me back to pick them up!

Possibly the beginning of this day in the Botanic Gardens and Totara Park was the most scenic part of it. After that it was just footpaths and suburbia. A real highlight was wearing my new socks on their first outing:

After a podcast, I rolled into Papakura and chose a cafe for a cup of tea. I needed to kill a little time before arriving at tonight’s accommodation, and sort out tomorrow. It really just seems too much of a dangerous lottery to take on traffic on bridges, so after studying the intercity bus route I came up with a solution. I instantly felt so much better for deciding, even if it’s really difficult to skip parts.

It started raining just after I left the cafe. I momentarily regretted sitting there so long, but 3 cups of tea was well worth an hour of walking in the rain! Doubling back to the pharmacy was worth it too, my quads just do not seem happy and are in dire need of anti flamme cream. I also saw Judith Collins’ office. Papakura seemed nice and quite multicultural. I was sad I was too late for the toasted cheese sandwich speciality shop.

I arrived at tonight’s accommodation at 4:30, and got a tour from owner Robert. It was an unusual set up, previously being a farm stay but now having quite a few long term residents. I was in a wee cabin in the garden, and for $60 for the night I was stoked to be inside as the rain continued. It had an excellent tea selection and everything I needed.

In the evening I went to watch TV and chat with one of the long term residents Jenny who is in her late 70s. She was from Central Otago originally, and had gone to school in Dunedin. It was lovely to hear how they all get on well, and learn more about her life and what living here is like. She asked how old I was and I laughed when she said I looked about 22. Surely this walk must be ageing me a bit?! Anyway, even though I’d just booked this place because there was nothing else around, I’d once again stumbled across really nice people and interactions that you don’t get staying in a hotel.

In a feet related update: one little toenail has fallen off… It didn’t hurt and presumably they just grow back?! My shoes seem to be holding up well considering they’ve now done almost 700 km including the wearing in. Probably the thing I was most excited about today was trying out my new slippers, and I’m happy to report they seem great so far! They have synthetic fill and apparently dry quickly even if they get wet.