Day 118 - Invercargill

 

Two days till Bluff. For the second last day I will be spending it on the beaches. Oreti Beach. I always enjoy the beach sections, maybe it’s because I rarely see it in Canada so the novelty hasn’t worn off yet. 

The weather was not beach weather unfortunately. It was patchy rain for most of the day, and very windy. The wind was nice in the morning because it was on my back and essentially pushed me along. As the day progressed and the beach curved to the south the wind became increasingly to my side, and I ended up walking at an angle for most the day. 

11am picture, I found a half buried truck in the sand. Soon after a couple more

This section and the last is a little poetic in the grand scheme of the thru hike. I started on a similar long hard packed beach and deep mud in the northlands when I start 4 months ago. We’ve come full circle, ending how we started. 

The day continued on with patchy rain and a constant bone chilling wind. Florian in the distance. Joren woke up in the night with an allergic reaction that sent him to the hospital, so just me and Florian today. 

Eventually the beach ended and I ended up on my way to Invercargill. It was a city that reminded me of North American cities. Urban sprawl, pedestrian unfriendly, and a little worse for wear. Good murals though. I’ll be staying here for the night before pushing onto Bluff tomorrow.