Te Araroa Pt. 2

Day 2

Day 2, 19 Nov 17

Excruciating pain. Going through miles and miles of endless beach -- and to think that I still have to do it again tomorrow! My shoulders hurt, my legs hurt, and I'm low on food. Guess I'm not really prepared enough.

Sometimes I meet people driving past on the beach. Some of them drive right past, but some stop to encourage me, and it gives me a boost. There was this man who stopped to shake my hand and it really kept me going for a while.

I'm beginning to feel homesick. Wouldn't it be nice to sit at home and be doing nothing! But this is an experience of a lifetime: and given that life is so short I should find some meaning in it.

There will be more pain tomorrow. There will be more pain in the days to come. But the key is to never give in. I have completed today's section, and nothing is stopping me from doing it again tomorrow, and the day after.

Day 3

Day 3, 20 Nov 17

Started off with great vigour and went at a breakneck pace. Partly because the weather today was very supportive. But at what cost? My feet is blistered and my legs are sore.

As usual there was nothing much today. Just the same thing, over and over and over, sand and more sand, sea and more sea, pain and pain.

But all is well now. I've arrived at this friendly lodge and had some good food. I'll heal up and get stronger and set off with even more vigour! But I'll probably be alone then, because Chris, who I met on the trail will likely set off tomorrow. Who knows.

Watched the sunset here. I don't think I've seen many sunsets before. In fact I can't seem to remember seeing any before. I could see the sun slowly sinking below the horizon, the sky reddening, time moving on and never turning back. The immutability of nature. The sun waits for no man, and cares not for the insignificant things happening to any of us. We are nothing in the eyes of the giants.

< I drew a nice picture of the sunset here >

Day 4, 21 Nov 17

Stayed here and didn't do anything much, so nothing much to write about. I hope when I wake up tomorrow I will be fit enough to complete this beach walk. Sometimes I get angry at this beach walk. Why is it so boring, why is it so empty, so long, so repetitive, so wet, hot, cold, sandy? I want to curse at it, but I remember that I am the one who chose to do this. Also that this beach was not made for my sake, but made by the passage of millions of years and through the interplay of uncountable forces of nature. Hence I shall accept it for what it is. Whatever I can prepare for I shall, and whatever I cannot I will accept and endure. What takes me by surprise is my own fault. It seems like it is going to rain tomorrow - fine. I have waterproofing, and I have walked in the rain before. It is a long walk tomorrow - fine. I have done shorter ones before, and what is a few kilometres more?

I will begin my preparations for tomorrow by having an early rest.

Thoughts

The spider may lose its web but it will make another one. Anyone who has seen an ant drowning will know that it will not stop trying until its last breath. And as a human, why do we let our pains trouble us so much?

Honestly I was just being a little wimp, it was just some aches and sores and I should have just kept pushing. This part wasn't even that hard, there was no climbing or any difficult terrain. The hardest part was to just get your mindset changed from city dweller to thru hiker, and to shut out all the noise and doubts. If I recall the distances of the 4 days of the beach was 12, 26, 30, 31kms, and I always start at 7-8am and end my days around 3-4pm. I was averaging at about 5km/h with around 5 rests at most, including lunch. It was truly breakneck speed. It is almost ridiculous when you think about it. This is because though the sand is annoying to walk in, it has a great advantage of being flat. Nowhere else in the trail is there terrain so flat. I shall never attain these speeds ever again.