Day 58 - Tokomaru Shelter

One last good breakfast before heading out. Toast with honey is a luxury these days. After saying farewell for the last time to Lindy, as she’s heading back to Aus for a bit, I headed out. 

The first 2 days are only approaching the tararuas. And firstly I need to walk out of Palmerston North. It was mostly bike paths and suburban paths for the first 15km. 

11am photo hitting some track. Still don’t know what free peee is. 

On some mountain biking trails I passed the 1500km mark. Actually the 1510km mark this season, as the trail changes every year. 

Eventually after 35km I reached the hut I originally planned to stay at, but it was only 2:45pm. Absolutely not, so I kept walking. A new goal of either a tenting spot down trail or a shelter even further. 

Now some proper track started, Burttons Track. A remoter track that was surprisingly dry, interspersed with small stream crossings. 

I cruised past all the potential tenting areas and reached Tokomaru Shelter. Some 48km today, including a pesky detour route. I don’t feel fitter, but at the beginning of the trail if you told me I could hike near 50km days without feeling worn out I would’ve said you were mad: But here we are. I’m ahead of schedule, which is fantastic. I can change up my days ahead to be a bit more to my liking.