I’m not going to complain about the road. I’m not going to complain about the road. I’m not going to complain...
Hey! Guess what? This morning’s hike began with a 20k hike along the road/shoulder.
It’s tough going on the feet if I stick to the road. It’s tough going on my hip if I stay on the uneven surface of the shoulder.
The highlight was that I could see the Tararua Ranges and sometimes, glimpses of the Rangitike River.
I stop my grumbling self for a very early lunch at Feilding (and yes, I do want to change that and spell it properly) I had two pies. Two pies! And a chocolate milk. Seriously, this hiker hunger is shameless. :/)
I was just glad to have a break. It was hot, humid and cloudy (although the ‘clouds’ were actually smoke haze blown over from the Australian bush fires).
After lunch (or Hobbit’s second breakfast) I passed the Feilding Sale Yards. These are the largest sheep sale yards in theSouthern Hemisphere. I would have loved to see it in action but it was closed today.
After bouncing across a small shallow stream I was heading to the Manawatu River Walkway. It wasn’t an auspicious start, as I began hiking along a storm water drain. Not the ‘walkway’ I had anticipated!
It got better. This is an easy walk, popular with locals. I stopped twice to pat dogs and say hello and have a yarn with their owners.
I take a small detour to the Massey Arboretum. You may have already picked up that I am a bit partial to a tree or two :-)
The path continued along and I passed some small bush streams and manicured farmland.
I was keen to finish. I had booked in to stay with a trail angel here and I was in two minds about it.
I had struggled a bit with ‘being present’ and having a positive attitude today. I’m not sure why.
Maybe I was a bit tired and I probably spent too much time looking ahead to Wellington and thinking about my family. I know I’m only about a week or so away from finishing the North Island. I was looking forward to a zero.
I made an effort to stop being grouchy. Trail angels are pretty special people who open up their yards, house, family etc and give of their time freely. They don’t deserve cranky me that’s for sure. (Not much I can do about stinky me but hey, I guess they get used to that!)
How cool is this for a town sign!
More trees. Massey Arboretum. Maybe I should have just committed to a cross country tree hike
Comments