Day 22 - Puhoi

A rainy start, and it’s forecasted to rain for a couple days. Today we’ll make for the pub in Puhoi for happy hour at 4pm, some 29km away.

The track was very foggy in the morning up in the hills. I was wet under the rain jacket from sweating. If you’re not wet from the rain you’ll be wet from sweat. 

Big milestone today, 500 kilometres done and dusted. 1/6 (17%) of the trail behind me. 

11am on the gravel roads. Very windy and rainy today, would give waterton a run for its money. 

Track was quite muddy, wet feet all day today. 

Three Bushtail possums caught in the traps. I learned that there is over 30 million of them in New Zealand. 

Through the cut blocks. Much of forestry in New Zealand does not use native ‘wilderness’ as the source of the their lumber, but rather tree plantations. Productive areas are planted with non-native but very quick growing Radiata pine (Pinus Radiata). 

What a day of hiking in wet feet looks like. 

To the Puhoi pub! Where we got some pints and talked to a couple other walkers who hitched today, and are staying in a nice hotel. They like things easy I guess. 

Meanwhile we’re heading to a trail angel who owns a tea shop in town. We met him earlier on the road and he said he’d make macaroni for us, and let us pitch a tent in the yard. What a legend.