Te Araroa, Day 54

We got an early start at 7:00 am this morning. We aim to reach Pirikiri early since we will have to do some road walking too. From Pirikiri to the next bigger town (Whanganui), we will have 75 km of road walk. Most of it will be quiet, rural road walking.

The river is slow today. The water level sank overnight, and we have to paddle much more than on the previous two days. Despite enjoying the silence on the river, I am glad when I can walk again.

The worst rapid is supposed to be today. There are some challenging rapids, but it was over before we could detect the "worst." We got pretty good at tackling the rapids.

At the landing in Pirikiri, we unload the canoe and our barrels. Soon the canoe company is there, and we get our backpacks to pack them.

I have far too much food left. The canoeing we did did not take as much energy as walking.

When other people arrive, I distribute some of my protein bars and mixed nuts. They are happy about it, and I lighten my load.

Once packed up again, we start walking. The plan is to walk 17 km to a campground in a small village. It is very hot again. Soon, I run almost out of water. There is a small place called Jerusalem, where I could get some water at the church, but I am too tired to do a little detour. I walk a few more kilometers to find a little stream along the road. When we arrive at the campground, it is closed. It is already late. There is another place 5 km further down the road.

Since we cannot call to find out if they have space for us, because there is no mobile reception, I offer to knock at some doors to ask to use someone's landline.

It was not the best decision. At three houses, no one answered. At two houses, I was told they had no landline. Since that was about the whole village, I tried my luck at the last house, up a hill, where I saw someone mowing the lawn.

Turns out it is a 78-year-old woman, trying to get her steep lawn mowed before the rain would come. She told me she can't get the phone since she needs to get the lawn done. I offer to mow while she is getting the phone. She disappears, and I push that huge old thing up the hill. She does not come back. For a long while. I am so tired. I finish the lawn. She appears, telling me that she arranged for someone from the accommodation to pick us up. Nice, but I had told her that we won't take a lift. I say my goodbyes and quickly get back down to the road. We start walking again. It is already around 6 pm. Soon, a car stops. The owner of the Matahawi cafe and riverside cabins. She informs us which cabin we can use, and we keep on walking, arriving at around 7 pm. Ready for a good rest.

Besides us, there are two New Zealand brothers. One of them explains that he is working for the Te Papa museum in Wellington. He is specialized in Birds and walks the Te Araroa, counting every bird along the way. His brother accompanies him. He has a blog on the museum's webpage where his sightings are recorded.