South Mavora Lakes to Mossburn Highway – 36km – 2760km total
I woke up early this morning with the intention of getting the walk done so that I could get to the highway with enough time to get a hitch into town. Consequently, I was packing up in the dark and started hiking at 7am just as the sun was coming up.
I started the morning on the track as I knew road walking would soon become painful and I was right. I followed the track for a couple of hours to kiwi burn swingbridge where I crossed to the other side and got onto the road that paralleled the track. This allowed me to cut off the muddy farmers field.
However, within an hour of walking on the road, I was over it and if any cars had come along I would have hitched. However, none came. It was the most desolate road ever, so I just kept walking. The only thing that kept me entertain, was that there was some reception along the road and I started getting messages from my friends. I discovered that one friend who I thought had pulled a big day to the hut, had actually hitched out last night and that other friends who I though were days ahead were actually a couple of hours ahead on the road. So it was a hiker reunion in Te Anau once I finally got a hitch out. I had almost finished the road walk when some Germans who had been camping at the lake took pity on me and were thankfully going all the way to Te Anau.
Once in Te Anau, I went to the cafe and was sitting there less than 5 minutes when the friends I thought were days ahead found me and it was reunion time.
Today I am thankful for hiker reunions.
