Day 66: Whanganui to Koitiata Campground (1375-1405)

Friday, February 3

Kristen and I ate breakfast and she shared some of her GoPro photos with me. They're always so fun to look at! We packed up and Vicky, Sara and I finished the puzzle we'd been working on the last few days.

Once that was complete we were all ready to continue our adventures. The four of us walked to Victoria Avenue. Sara and Kristen were Hitching further along the trail and Vicky was planning to hitch to the next place she planned to travel. We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

I stopped in a coffee shop for some hot water with lemon and ginger and tried to get a few more blogs posted before leaving town. Around noon I began my 30-kilometer road walk for the day.

It was mostly on the highway and my headphones were staring to go out. I wasn't quite sure what was wrong with them but I kept trying to fidget with them to get them to work. Road walking without a podcast to listen to can get really boring. I stopped at a picnic area and hoped there would be a bathroom. No luck!

The highway was so busy with nothing to hide behind and pee, so I hoped I'd find somewhere soon. The walk wasn't too bad. Although the highway was busy, there was usually a good shoulder. But for the last 5 kilometers on the highway, the shoulder shrunk and I had to really pay attention to the traffic.

In the early evening I made it off the highway and was on the home stretch to the campsite I planned to stay at. There were finally some houses too! The first few I passed were farms with long driveways or looked like nobody was home, but I finally got to a house that was close to the road, had a car in the driveway and had a few windows cracked. Someone had to be home. As I walked up a really nice lady said hello and I explained I'd been walking all day and would really appreciate it if I could quickly use her bathroom. She showed me the way and after thanking her again I hit the road to the campsite. I made it to the Koitiata beach town and campsite around 6:30. They let TA hikers stay there for free and just ask that they sign a guest book. After setting up my tent and making dinner I found the book. Erinn, Trevor, Marjolein and Creya had been there the night before like they planned.

I finished my dinner and went to bed. The road walking had worn me out a bit. I had about a week without my pack on the river trip so I had to get used to walking with it again.