Day 111: Don’t Tell the Front Desk
January 29, 2020
Kilometers: 2737.4-2771.4
Stream Camp to Te Anau Lakefront Backpackers
It rained during the night. Woulda been quite a predicament Team Belgium would have been in if I hadn’t warned them last night. The rain stopped around 6am and I got out of my tent at 7. I was off and walking at 7:30, before the Belgians. The first 4 or so km were on the same riverside trail as the previous afternoon. The long grass soaked my dry feet and legs immediately.
I quickly got to a swing bridge over the river. I crossed it, ending my trail hiking for the day and putting me on a long gravel road.
I had about 30km on the road to reach the highway. A few people drove by and some offered rides, which I politely declined. After a few kms on the gravel road I regained cell service. This made the boring walk much more enjoyable.
As I saw the dark clouds rolling in I decided to sit down and have a quick early lunch. I wanted to be full and walking in rain instead of hungry and waking in rain. I finished packed up and started again. As has been customary practice, I watched Charlie and Peter drive past me in a hitch. Here’s some views of the exciting gravel road.
The rain held off and I arrived at the highway at 1. I crossed to the correct side stuck my thumb out and the second car to pass stopped for me. I hopped in.
The woman who picked me up was actually a former TA hiker, who did the whole thing southbound in 2014/15. She also completed it without any hitches, what is referred to as a purist by the trailfolk, so we talked about that for awhile. She is a big hiker and is trying to complete a thru hike in as many countries as possible. She has already hit NZ, the USA (PCT), Sweden, Norway and is looking to create her own through hike along the length of Japan next year. Very cool person and she dropped me right out front of the backpackers where Charlie and Peter were.
Team Belgium had booked one of the last rooms in town. They told us it was to be used only as a two person room. So we agreed to that and then all put our stuff in our room, I’ll be sleeping on the floor. Sshhh don’t tell the front desk.
I then went to grab some fish and chips, a beer and my last resupply of the trip. When I returned we did some laundry. For dinner we hit the Chinese place in town and then I went across the street to get a triple scoop of ice cream. I also bought new headphones and headphone converter as has become the norm anytime I reach a town.
Te Anau is the gateway to renowned Fiordland National Park. It sits on Lake Te Anau and is quite beautiful. We got some nice views of the lake from our place. I’ll be returning to this town to do some more exploring right after I finish this hike thing.
Tomorrow we will hitch back to the trail and start a five day push that will get us to the southern coast of the country. Probably no more blog posts until then.