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Many of you will be following the epic journey of Rotarian James Talbot as he walks the length of Aotearoa/ New Zealand to raise funds for a Creative Centre in Rarotonga. During his time in New Zealand, James is being supported by local Rotary Clubs as his journey progresses.
Day 100 Te Kuiti to Waitomo 7th May
7am alarm got dressed (had a sleep in hehe) and made a coffee....had 3 poached eggs on toast delivered at 8am by the owner of Motel Te Kuiti awesome mate thanks 😊
Packed up my new "old" pack ready to go and meet up with Savannah from Waitomo News LTD at 9am....at a local cafe....will be great exposure (Thanks Dora Ward Te Amohanga for sorting this out!)
Ina arrived as I was leaving, to collect all the leftover food from the kaikai the night before....and then she waited outside the cafe for me as well!! 😊
Will be getting a copy of the write up sent to me digitally so will share this ASAP. Savannah took some pix in front of the Colin Meads statue hah!
Got taken to the trailhead by Ina after we drove around TK so I could take some pics😎....awesome stuff Ina Mutu that was really appreciated 😊 we had a big Kuki hug farewell....
The Pehitawa track itself hmmm, started off with colored poles that didn't match the trail map....the trail also crossed farms and forests, overgrown paddocks....a lot of cows 😒.
Have been told that a lot of TA walkers find this section hard to follow and now I know why....southbound visible markers only....grrhhh my bugbear 😕. Some markers were covered by overgrowth so badly I missed them then realized and backed up and found them 2nd time round....
The Forest parts were fairly easy and a bit of fun....it was more the farm "trails" that were not marked too well and a bit of intuition/guess work went into it tbh! 🙄 there was a section where there were quite a few peacocks in the forest....tried my best to get a pic....
Some tracks were not where the map says...I found them but it was a mission to find the right path....while it was only 13.43kms in 5hrs it was navigationally quite difficult
My old pack was a treat....just had to dial in the straps etc and will be swapping out some gear when I get to Pirongia so it will end up weighing 8kgs max with 2.5ltrs of water and 6 days of snacks....as I'm billeted all the way to Whangarei I will remove anything I won't need until I reach Whangarei....Will make the walking much faster 👣
Once I hit the road into Waitomo it was just a case of a 1km road walk to the Waitomo Top 10 Holiday Park...where Dora Ward Te Amohanga has billeted me into a cabin for the night!! Meitaki Korereka to you Dora just what I needed and the Hotpool was awesome 😉 thank you...
Had to sew up my left gaiter again as the hole just opened up after today's efforts....Will see how it holds out...
Had a Dehy Beef Stroganoff for dinner and a Yoghurt and Muesli for dessert...full now...😑
Tomorrow I'm walking to Honikiwi Rd (south of Pirongia Mountain) approx 21 kms mostly road walking though...my sister Julie is going to collect me and I will spend tomorrow night 8th at the Talbot homestead Base HQ in Pirongia....then Thursday morning 9th I get dropped off to the trailhead and climb up and over Pirongia Mountain to Oshea rd where she will pick me up again....then Friday 10th May is a scheduled Zero day in Pirongia ....thanks sis! 😁
Missing my wife, time is ticking over quickly now so won't be too long xxx
Please donate here if you wish to contribute: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/creative-trail-feb-
April 6
James Talbot, Rotarian from the Rotary Club of Rarotonga is being billeted by a family in Whitby whilst he is here in Wellington. So we managed to whisk him away for a few hours to see The Plimmerton Rotary Club’s Te Ara Piko pathway in Pauatahanui and some fellowship at home. So inspiring to hear about his walk across the South Island. After his rest days he is ready to go tomorrow morning. We packed him with some biltong, bhajias, chicken curry and feijoa pudding 😀for tomorrow’s snacks. Hope the weather is kind. All the best James! We hope the many Rotarians in our District support your walk by contributing to your give a little fund for the Creative Centre for the special needs people in Rarotonga. 68 days done and 64 days to go to reach Cape Reinga. Service above Self- go James Talbot.
https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/creative-trail-feb-2019/2019/