Te Araroa, Day 44

"What a day!

It had rained hard throughout the night. When I wake up, the world is grey, and it rains cats and dogs. I pack the tent in the rain, take the bike and backpack, and push the bike to the lodge to drop the backpack. We wanted an early start. Was it 6 am? When I reach the lodge, I am wet from the rain, hungry, even though I had eaten, and I feel completely exhausted, unable to tackle this day.

X is already there. As he asks me, "Are you OK?" I break into tears. It turns out I believe my body can't be strong enough to manage this day, to deal with the cold and wet weather, etc. Thanks to the sparring with X, I come to realize that this belief is a cause for me to feel exactly like what I am scared of. The mind is strong! However, it takes a while to get myself together. I am grateful to X for pointing out how my mental imaginations affected my body.

Later than planned, we finally start in the non-stopping rain. Soon, I am completely drenched and covered with mud, and my neck/shoulder and butt constantly hurt. I only stop once for a short break to eat and drink because not moving means freezing for me. Still, today I can't bike the uphill sections at all. I just push the bike on those parts.

At some point, there is some metal thing with "TA 1000 km" scribbled on it. I take a picture and move on. Seemingly, I just passed the 1000 km mark of the walk through New Zealand. The surroundings are beautiful with many suspension bridges again, and at some point, there are beautiful rock formations, and the path leads through a pitch-black tunnel through rock. The path is challenging, though. There are a lot of deep puddles, mud, rocky terrain, and even rocky stairs to bike down. - And the rain never stopps.

From the moment I start, I am fixated on the kilometer marks. Every kilometer done gives me energy to tackle the next. All I can think of is being dry and warm again. It takes about 5 hrs for me to do those 45 km plus the additional 4.5 to get to the rental place.

I drop the bike there, take a hose and pour the water all over my wet and muddy clothes to get at least some of the mud out. Then I can finally change into dry clothes, which are the clothes I usually sleep in. While eating, X arrives. Being dry and warm again and after having had some snacks, I feel my energy coming back. I am ready for the 22 km roadwalk now.

The rain had stopped soon after I got to the rental place; on the walk to Taumarunui, it comes back on and off. I am OK. I am walking again and I had realized something helpful today, and not just in an intellectual way.

I arrive at the Forgotten World Motel in Taumarunui at about 6:30. It was a long and hard day.