I posted a brief blog of the final day but want to finish with a more complete summary of the day and the journey overall.
Day 141 - 29 March
Bluff ferry terminal to the southern terminus of the TA. The last hurrah!!
Well the final day has dawned, wet and foggy but nothing to dampen my spirits as my TA adventure draws to an end.
I really couldn’t sleep last night with all the emotions and thoughts roaring through my mind. I knew getting to the end was going to be a strange feeling but really didn’t expect it to be quite as emotionally charged as it is.
I’m ecstatic and proud to have achieved this, sad to be leaving the trail and so happy to be going back to my supportive family and friends.
Marie, who as I write this is en route to met me at Bluff, has been my biggest supporter and for that I will forever grateful. In some ways I had the easy part, immerse myself in the trail and walk every day, Marie meanwhile kept the family and home going while continually offering me support and encouragement. The fruit cake and homemade muesli bars sent with each pair of new shoes also deserve a special mention. It is hard to explain how good it was to eat homemade food and how knowing it was made with love spurred me on.
Looking back over this journey, which I commenced on the 26th of September, it is difficult to comprehend how far I’ve come in so many ways. I recall walking off at Cape Reinga and thinking “shit, what have I got myself into”, I really was full of self doubt. Although I wanted to get here and had planned for that I just don’t think you can be sure if you’ve got the physical or mental strength to do something like this until you try and trying is the main thing.
Excluding the zero days and the time I had off waiting to do the Whanganui river, I will have walked on a total of 122 days. This equates to an average of about 25km per day.
Overall the 3000km of the TA trail encompasses over 84,000m of ascent, put another way this equates to a little under 700m for every day walking. Obviously there is an equal amount of descent, which in my case is often the more difficult.
People, almost universally, ask the same two questions when you first meet them and tell them what you are doing. The first is often “why” and even now on the final day I don’t have an answer to that one. It’s just because I could and wanted to!! Nothing deeper than that.
The second question, that’s arisen increasingly as I’ve neared the end, is “what’s the toughest bit”. Without a doubt for me it was the Richmond Range section. Taking eight days, 150km and with nearly 9000m of ascent and descent this really was a tough section that I was fortunate enough to have Chris McVet along for. By about day four I was thinking “not another one tomorrow”!! Interestingly though this was also one of the best bits too, scenery was fabulous, a real sense of achievement each night and some great company.
As I’ve progressed down the country this has been a learning experience as well as an adventure and physical challenge. Here’s some of the useful things I’ve learnt.
Never ever leave a toilet without a pocket full of toilet paper! Supermarkets don’t sell single rolls.
If it’s after 2.00pm and you pass a place that serves pizza, burgers or beer stop!
Socks can be washed in kitchen sinks using dishwash detergent. An added bonus is they adopt a lemon scent for the next couple or three days.
Fresh fruit is gold. Too heavy to carry but worth investing in if you can.
Toenails are consumables. Grow, go black, fall off, repeat!
Whenever there’s electricity, charge everything.
The scale of urine colour is like wine: Champagne, good Pinot Gris, drink a little more water Chardonnay, drink heaps more water Rosé, dial back the anti-inflammatories Pinot, stop the anti-inflammatories Shiraz, see a doctor
Cheese and chorizo have an unrefrigerated shelf life of over a week.
People in high-viz jackets are your friends.
If there’s an easy route and a hard one the TA will opt for the hard.
Cows are friendly, bulls less so!
That gas cylinder you think is almost empty has three more days in it.
Milk powder can escape from a double zip-lock bag and then spread through everything. actually so can chilli sauce and olive oil!
It is impossible to make porridge in a titanium billy without burning it!
Do not cook in your tent if a gale is flattening it every few minutes unless you want to spend the evening patching the holes that melt.
Do not check how far you have to go too frequently, it’s demoralising as is looking to see how far up that hill you are.
Do not expect to stop for a beer at lunch and then carry on. If you pass a town and stop accept that’s it for the day.
Everyone has their own natural pace. If you walk too slow or too fast it is very tiring.
Shoes are a consumable. My shoes over the journey worked out to cost very close to 50c per km with pairs lasting on average about 600km.
If your feet are dry enjoy as it’ll only last an hour or so.
That wet dog smell you keep getting whiffs of is actually you and for others is worse!
Gummy Bears can make the worst day better!
Today I’m getting the shuttle back to Bluff about lunchtime and then have only about 8km and about a Haka between me and the finish. In theory I’ll arrive at Bluff a little after Marie, so let’s see how it goes.
Unable to sleep last night I spent a number of hour getting this blog up to date so only have today to write.
Leaving Invercargill at 12.30 I arrived on Bluff a little after 1.00pm.
The route to the Southern terminus has changed for this year, it now goes from Bluff township up Bluff hill to the lookout then descends to the south-western coast before then following the shore around to Stirling Point.
The climb to the top of Bluff Hill is the last climb of the TA and at 270 m it really doesn’t pose a real issue.
The views from the Bluff Hill lookout were a true 360degrees and despite a bit of low cloud quite spectacular.
After the lookout the trail descended though regenerating bush and reached the coast at the memorial for the 1998 Stewart Island airplane crash.
I then walked (slowly as I didn’t want to beat Marie to Bluff) around the coast track until the
Stirling Point lighthouse and the famous sign post came into sight.
Seeing this for the first time was a bit overwhelming, I actually needed to stop for a minute and gather myself before walking on and meeting dear Marie who was waiting for me near the sign.
I actually had to call out to Marie as she momentarily had her back to the track as I emerged!! A really lovely reunion followed! Just as we were hugging (in the middle of the road) Kelly, Brian and Guy arrived on the motorhome. So I was able to introduce Marie to some of my “trail family”. Brian and Guy having finished yesterday.
A series of photos and hugs all round ensued as we all congratulated a each other on the achievement.
Climbing up on the sign was the last but by no means most difficult climb of a long journey.
Helen and Brent arrived at the finish not long after me so we had quite a little party.
There was a really large Indian family (perhaps twelve of them) visiting the sign, having previously driven to Cape Reinga. They were astounded and incredulous that walking between the two was possible and that we’d done it!! Their reaction really did bring home the significance of what we’d all achieved.
Marie and I departed for Queenstown after an hour or so of joviality. A lovely drive up there, on a road neither of us had been on before, and for me a chance to finally stop and let the whole experience sink in.
Finally I’d like to thank all those who have supported me on this adventure.
So many of you who lived the journey vicariously through this blog sent such lovely messages of support. Unfortunately, even now, I’ve not worked out how to reply to those messages from the mobile app but rest assured your messages were read, appreciated and gave me inspiration.
Then there is the TA family of which I feel I became part of.
Robin, Tahlia, Ding, Alan, Bruce, Louis, Brian, Kelly, Steph, Dave, Jarod, Neville/Warren, Zac, Kees, Elise, Guy, Ken, Susan, Silas, Rose, Charlie, Dave, Ritchie, Cara, Darrell, Chris McVet, Paul, Liam, Shelby, Jordan, Seth, Elina, Brent and Helen. I’m sure there are more and if I’ve forgotten you please forgive me!! To all of you sharing the experience, whether for a day or a month, a was an honour and something I’ll forever cherish.
During the entire TA I didn’t meet any walkers who were not great humans!! This says something about the people who do this.
Then of course there are those random acts of kindness by strangers, the beer left as I got to the Ratea forest, the people who picked me up hitchhiking, Kelly ( the ultimate trail angel!), the cafe lady who swapped my half jar of jalapeños for a coffee and all the others. This support from the communities the TA passes through is so appreciated.
And of course those great mates who did the Whanganui section with me. Mingle, Arch and McVet it was an absolute blast and having you share it with me was a highlight. I am so appreciative of your organising everything, all I had to do was walk there and you guys had every thing else sorted!!
Lastly my family, Marie, Sean, Clare, Chris, Jo, Cooper, Marnie, Hayley, Leyton, Mum and Dad, Dave and Rob. You guys are all so special and amazing always interested and supportive even when you all have such busy lives.
The journey has now finished!
John, Cheryl and I have read your blogs from start to finish and discovered a lot more of the beauty of NZ than we ever new existed. Thank you for sharing your journey.
WoW! I have just now begun to really plan for this hike. Very inspiring to read your blog and see you having just completed. I'd love to see a finalised version of your itinery.
I'm nervous as I have no friends or family in NZ who can send me new shoes!