Te Araroa Trail Rangiriri to Huntly
I woke to very thick Waikato fog this morning at Cathy’s in Rangiriri. It was pretty cold last night, so there was lots of condensation inside the tent. I began the task of wiping the tent down whilst waiting for my water to boil for a cuppa.
Once brekkie was done I packed a wet tent – there was no sun to dry it properly.
I checked my feet. They were wet for most of yesterday, having walked through lots of tall wet grass – and my socks and shoes hadn’t been able to dry out overnight. I had the beginnings of a blister under my toe, so I taped my big toes and used hikers wool under the rest.
Putting on wet socks & shoes is really tedious, and not a nice way to start the day. I started walking but it took at least 2kms before my feet warmed up. That’s not to say they were dry, they were just warmer.
Walking the Waikato River
Most of this morning’s walk was on the riverside stop-banks, in lush hip-deep grass, which sounds lovely, but was so wet! My shoes & socks were instantly drenched again, and I had to hitch up my shorts. Probably the wettest day of the trail so far – I grumbled to myself..a lot…!
Huntly
I got into Huntly around 12.30pm and to my accommodation by 1.30pm.
Just as I was about to go in, Anja and Markus texted to say they were in Ngaruawahia several Kms away, at my friend Neil’s house where I lived for a month before I joined the trail… As Neil is looking after my car, I asked if they wouldn’t mind picking me up (they didn’t).
We had a nice relaxing afternoon, made pizzas for the worker (Neil) and enjoyed a couple of beers in the evening. Having been my pre-TA support crew, Neil is now officially a TA trail angel too!
