Jigsaw Pieces of Track...

Walking alongside the beautiful shores of Lake Pukaki in 30 degree heat was so much fun I am at a loss to fully convey the magic of the moment. Quite how you are supposed to walk 30ks from Tekapo and then another 30ks to find the camp area I don’t know. This is probably why I found 2 other TA trampers hiding their tents in the trees after collapsing in a heap.

I had a beautiful dip in Lake Ohau....before the weather broke. 

Again. I managed to test the outer limits and beyond of both my tent and my resolve somewhere near Lake Ohau:  The biggest storm that I’ve experienced for some time left me floating on my deluxe $6 Warehouse yoga mat, and to add to the general feeling of joy I had been stung by a wasp and my left eye was swollen shut. Next to me was a young American guy whose lightweight tent was even less water-tight than mine. We both made a decision to end our misery by walking out to a road, any bloody road and try to hitch to Wanaka.

Many thanks to my friends Rob and Anne, who found space for me in their Bach. As Challenge Wanaka was on I took the opportunity to run some of the course, as this was on the TA Trail - plus hopefully a few people saw my bright orange MS T-shirt.
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As my friend Wendy and her son Dan are here from the UK, I have jumped ahead to Queenstown to spend a few days with them and complete some sections of the trail here, before going back on myself to fill in the 2 sections that I’ve missed.

​Then I will be in Southland - the last set of trail notes!