After saying farewell to Marj, Aevryl, Kenny and Ellie came with me down the drive. They were going to walk with me to the turnoff but ended up walking all the way into town with me. It was nice to be walking with people again, especially ones with so much local knowledge. Kenny made a point of identifying all the houses that have good wiring and/or security systems (yes, Kenny is the local sparky :).
Reaching the turn off to the bridge an main road south Aevryl and Kenny wished me all the best and turned back while I continued on. It's been wonderful to see so much of them this past week, but now I'm setting off for good. The trail calls!
Unfortunately my foot was also calling, calling out that it was sore. I made it across the bridge and the railway line before taking a break under some trees on the broad shoulder of a secondary road that flanks the highway, with the railway line in between. 4km seems to be the limit for my feet now. After this they need boots off and a rub down to coax them into doing another 4km...not good.
Frowning at tea bags presumably left by other hikers, I booted up again and set off down the long straight road to Bunnythorpe...stopping by a water treatment station a few kilometres out for another foot-tending session. Sitting I the grate-covered pipe I at first thought the smell was the congealed green muck in the pipe, but then spotted the dead hare in the ditch nearby. I didn't linger.
It's a busy railway line (by NZ standards) and the various trains and other rail-bound transport vehicles that passed roped to break up the monotony of the walk. Curiously the road and the highway swith sides in a figure-8 intersection part of the way along. TA follows the minor roa to it's end and then along a short walking track that emerges on the outskirts of Bunnythorpe. I made it in time for a late lunch at the Lunchbar where I ended up stopping for an hour, eating and journaling and enjoying the free cup of tea Jenny behind the counter offered me.
At length I set off again, for a short instance down back roads and then along a paper road through someone's farm paddocks and once more following the railway line.
On the outskirts of Palmerston North TA finally splits away from the railway tracks and diverts through the suburb of Kelvin Grove to the river. The route passes a commercial vegetable growing farm where the air was crisp with the smell I the celery that was currently being harvested. TA the follows the wide and paved river walk into town. I stopped for a break under the first shady trees I came across. Unfortunately this appeared to also be the preferred doggy loo stop so I had to pick my tree carefully...of course, once I set out again it was only a few hundred meters before a perfectly good park bench came into view.
By now my feet were constantly sore and massaging them was no longer helping to ease the pain. Stopping every 2km I hobbled into Palmerston North, getting odds looks from cyclists, runners and dog walkers as I went. But at least there are some nice views from the top of the stop banks.
I made it to the bridge and diverted off trail, bound for the campground that google maps told me was approx. one kilometre through the Victoria Esplanade. This is a nice stretch of botanical garden that I felt bad for not being able to enjoy. I took the most direct route I could...and could have cried when I realised the esplanade links to the back if the campground and there was a pass coded gate between me and the office. Frustrated and exhausted I set off on the three-block walk around the water park to get to the front entrance to the campground, and at long last staggered up the ramp to the office, which was closed. Fortunately there was a buzzer new check-ins were invited to use and I tried not to "buzz" aggressively.
I was slightly put off by the $25/night for a non-powered site, but have almost resolved to stay two nights. I'm reluctant to head into the Tararuas with my feet in this condition so if I can get in to see a doctor tomorrow I will. I'm conscious of the fact that Philippe posted on FB that he had managed to fracture a metatarsal and though I don't think I've done that, I'd be reassured if someone who knows what they're talking about could tell me I wasn't on the way to doing something similar, or if I am, how to avoid it! It'll mean another day burned, but I think it's necessary. Also, I realised today that I've forgotten to pack my stove! I haven't seen it since being back on trail and now that I think about it, don't remember packing it this trip! Idiot. I haven't missed it yet as I've been eating no-cooking-required food, having only just collected my gas cannister from Aevryl and Kenny's. Lucky I realised I was missing my stove now and not once I'd walked in to the hills! I'm too late to go to the shops now to get another one, so that will have to wait until after 9am tomorrow. Plus I need to get food for te next leg of the trip.
So it all hangs on the outcome of a phone call I'll make first thing in the morning to the doctors to see if they can fit me in and I'll go from there. Meantime I've set up my tent on my designated spot--it looks quite funny, a tiny tent in a row of campervans. A couple of people across the way must live here permanently as they have pot plants etc outside; one guy kindly gave me a fistful of tomatoes from his vine. So I had tomatoes and scroggin for tea, and made friends with the guy's neighbour's cat who came to investigate me and my tent, and quickly claimed both. I watched carefully to make sure no claws were included in his affections toward me, my tent, or my precious new mattress!
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