Te Araroa Pt. 3

Day 5

Day 5, 22 Nov 17

Had a really long day today. So long, that I am writing this under the light of my headlamp.

I finally completed the entire stretch of 90 mile beach. Feels like an achievement! Oh my poor legs... Everywhere is aching and I am ready to fall into pieces. Hence I am going to rest here for another day. Seems like a waste, but it was certainly good training. I've been cutting down my rest time for the past few days. I believe there is some improvement. I hope this will make the future sections easier for me.

Had to go get supplies and there was no supermarket in town so I had to go to go to the neighboring town to find one. I'm not going to walk 5km carrying groceries, so I hitched a ride. Today was my first time hitchhiking and it let me see many different kinds of people. Of course we cannot expect anyone to come to our aid, but when they do, it is a heartwarming moment. And more often than not they will have a very cheerful outlook on things, and be communicative and polite.

This is about all I can muster to write about. I am going to collapse now.

Day 6

Day 6, 23 Nov 17

Another day of rest. Feeling much better now.

Today I was shocked with how pathetic some people are. Today someone took away my power bank. Right, that was my fault, should not have left something out in the open. I deserved that.

Later on, someone took away my bottle of salt and spices while I was eating. Someone actually stole a bloody worthless bottle of salt. I have no words. Now I have no salt for the next few days.

I do not know what to say. Maybe I should feel happy for helping out these poor souls. Anyway my pack is now lighter thanks to them.

We must note this down as a lesson to ourselves as well. If it does not feel good to be on the receiving end, then do not be the one dealing it out.

Day 7

Day 7, 24 Nov 17

Oh it was so tiring and dirty today. But I'm glad for this little hut with a little fire and mattresses.

Oh how fleeting life and human experience is. I have gone through all that pain and don't remember half of what I saw. We live in the present, whatever that has passed has passed. Also most of the time I was looking down at the mud. Will I remember this 10 years later? And not just this one forest trail, but the entire trail? Will I have stories to share? Will they be pleasant ones, or just simple recollections of pain? Merely just up and down some hills?

Such is life; most of the time we experience and then forget. More so for pleasures. The beautiful flowers, big Kauri trees, bright warm sunshine... how much can you remember? But the mud, pain, cold, you certainly would. It makes sense to remember pain and avoid its sources. It seems like life is very centred around pain.

Oh I don't care. Such things are not for me to know. I just know that I am tired.

< Here be pleasant memories lest they be forgotten >

Thoughts

On this section of the trail I met a friendly German guy by the name of Markus at the YHA I was staying at after the beach section. Part of the reason why I stayed an extra day was to set off together with him. He was pretty steady and kept a good pace, also kept the spirits high. Really cool guy, we even slid down mud slopes together.

Right, in the next part of this series I will be hitting more forests after forests. There's one forest that they say "if you can do this you can do anything else on the trail"... we'll see.