• Te Araroa Day 60
• National Park to Whanganui – 2 hours by bus

There was a lot of time to kill today, with the bus not leaving until 3pm. The host at the backpackers very kindly said I was welcome to hang out in the lounge until then. Cheese on toast was the ticket for lunch on a chilly, dreary day. Thankfully the rain cleared just in time for the ten minute walk to the train station, which doubles as the bus stop.

Never one to waste the opportunity to get more calories on board, I went for the scone with jam and cream at the station cafe. It didn’t disappoint! Prone to car sickness, I did vaguely wonder if this was a good idea…

No…. it maybe wasn’t my best idea, as the bus made its way along a very windy road beside a river. However, I managed not to throw up so that was a win!

After the Christchurch earthquakes, there was quite a period of time when travelling anywhere that I found myself constantly looking up at buildings and structures in cities thinking “yep, that would come down, that’s dangerous” etc. In a sort of similar way, this time on the bus (the first time I’d been in a vehicle since before Huntly) I found myself constantly looking at the roadside verge. “Not bad for walking on, no margin there, ugh that’s a big ditch, that part would be ok…” – shut up brain, we’re not walking on the road, we’re trying to enjoy the bus ride!

I also thought back to how upset and lost I’d been after taking a bus for the first time south of Auckland. Somewhere along the way though it occurred to me that I’ve never been one to enjoy talking about achievements. I don’t go round telling anyone about other stuff I’ve done. So why would it matter to me if I could say “I walked every single step of the length of the North Island Te Araroa leg” or not? By now I was reasonably sure I wanted to go home safe and alive, rather than able to say that. None of my amazing friends and family would care if I hadn’t walked every step, so clearly it shouldn’t be something I agonize over. I didn’t have any kind of point to prove with this journey – that wasn’t the reason I was doing it. Maybe as I’m inclined to be a bit of a perfectionist this was supposed to be a lesson for me in that some things just don’t work out perfectly? So far the trail had certainly had some good lessons and reminders…

It was a chilly but pleasant twenty-minute walk along Whanganui River to the YHA where I’d booked a dorm room for the night. I was a little nervous about meeting my dorm mate, but I needn’t have been. A quick hello turned into an hour long chat where I learnt she’d majored in a foreign language, studied overseas, and worked as a relief teacher so we had plenty to talk about. Her hobby seemed to be travelling all around New Zealand on Intercity buses, and staying in a variety of backpackers and she enthusiastically told me about her favourite destinations, routes and accommodation. I have to admit the factory licorice shop stop she described in Levin sounded great, and had me hoping I might not get a weather window for the Tararuas – just so I too could go to the licorice shop!

Waiting for me in Whanganui was another supply box. I couldn’t help but grin and laugh when I read the note from Mum that started with her childhood nickname for me. The homegrown blueberries topped it off!