Pretty easy day today. The finish was on a gravel road of course but overall pretty easy. Only 2 very small water sources along the trail today but I filled up at the second one and it was good.

Coming out of the forest and into the farmland though was the most amazing view.

Breathtaking. This is what I came to New Zealand for.

Today’s entry is fairly light on content because it wasn’t an overly eventful day and because the social situation at the hut was so good I spent all of my time doing that rather than writing this post!

Tonight’s hut is at Birchwood Station. There are 2 pet lambs hanging out outside and a dog that has some sort of problem and runs funny but is super friendly. Sadly, the hosts are gone so the promise of a hot meal went with them, so I made do in the kitchen of the hut.

Met up with the 2 northbounders who were with me from the start, they’d had some unfortunate timing and day pacing issues which meant they were ahead of me and now back with me. And 5 or so southbounders who shared many great stories and advice for places along the trail and options for resupply.

Tomorrow is going to be a zero day. I need to fix my food situation, get another bottle for water to replace my busted dirty bottle, and, well, hang out in a hotel room and watch trashy tv while I rest and also take care of some blisters on my feet.

I could probably push forward tomorrow and be fine, but I feel like this is a better idea, if for no other reason than to make sure I’m going into a 3-4 day segment with confidence rather than anxiety.