final steps

and so i walked to the coast and had a swim in the ocean. It's hard to believe that i have completed my journey and find myself at the journeys end. What a truely amazing and extrodinary experience i have lived for the last 110 days; and the lands i have lived in and travelled through are just so beautiful and awe inspiring. I feel so blessed that my path has taken me here.

will write again soon

thanks for all of your love and support

x

delays...

seem to have been delayed..... somehow and not sure how I've managed to strain my glut muscle...however after a couple more days rest feel that it's healing and all ready to go again...so I;'ll set off on the 17th. I'm quite aware that this next section is going to be pretty remote and hard work and don't really want to carry an injury or to adapt my route. so i've had a full week off now and all inspired and mostly healed enough now to continue. so finish date will now be around the 1st or 2nd april .... as always weather depending, cross fingers. x

Te Anau

so i have reached the last big section of my trip, heading off today into the wilds of fiordland..I;m sure it will be beautiful and hope that I shall reach the ocean for a swim. fingers crossed for good weather and deer trails to take me through the thickest scrub. strange to be on the last section and makes me realise that one day this journey will end, i think i will be sad about that a little.

since the last time I wrote there has been many lovely adventures. From makarora my route took me up the wilkin valley and over rabbit pass into the east matukituki valley, lovely pass and a spectacular pass, loved it. But when I came out of the forest in the valley wandered into a whole tribe of cows and got chased into the mountains again by a bull intent on telling me to get out of his territory, and for me this has been the scariest part of the trip as he seemed quite intent on getting me and crashed into the bushes after me, luckily I can climb better that bulls.

Got stuck in aspiring hut for a day or two due to water falling down, seem to have lost the settled lovely weather that has been with me for the last month or two..oh well. but crossed cascade saddle and wandered down the Dart river. Had to do a 30 km road walk to get to a bridge as I couldn't cross the river, and then had to change plans again. I had wanted to do a couple of route type passes to get into the greenstone valley, but the weather made it seem like a bad idea so took a diversion through the routeburn and down the greenstone. These are well travelled valleys through my feet, and it feeled right to be doing the routeburn in a day where 150mls of rain falled.

I met my mother at the end of the greenstone track, arriving with mounds of lovely food, and seemed to eat my way through the mavora walkway with her. Lovely to share some of the journey with her.

A 60 km road walk(yuck!) has brought me to te anau. with a huge rest break and now seeming to have problems getting out of here due to a couple of things.... but will leave soon, I managed to get to manapouri yesterday and tomorrow will head off again.

should finish at the end of the month. will be at port craig around the 29/30 ( ish) so if anybody want to come and say hello, I'll see you there.. if not... see you whenever! Feeling quite excited about this section as it will preobably be the remotest and most wild section...but will take the time to check in with myself if it the right way to go...if it doesn't feel right once I get in there there will be a plan change. we'll see how it goes!!!

Makarora

So i find myself at a food drop again. amazing how if you just keepputting one foot in front of the other and you get there... somewhere. and that place is here for now, 70 days down and 40 to go.

I'm so loving being on such an adventure as this one and I feel privalaged that I have the opportunity to be here and experiencing he journey and all that it entails. The diversity of the landscape keeps blowing me away. I'm travelling really well at the moment just appreciating the space that I'm in both internally and externally.

The Last section was full of rocks and lost the trees to a little bit north of here and have found them again. but by going south the glaciers receed and forests takeover. Since last writing I travelled over bush streamand dropped into the Dobson river (rather up close andpersonalwith hard goingalpinescrub and trees) and then ahuge alk down the valley, up the Hopkins river and into the huxley,over broderick pass and into the lansborough. The huxley to here has just been beautiful,just so many beautifulplaces,as well as a rather hairy crossing on the landsborough almost went swimming but held on. Somemay think that once I have done this trip new zealand wil be out of my system.. not at all I just have a headfull of new dreams for the future.

Just checked my email and there were a number oflovely e mails from people out there, thanks for all your words of support,encouragement and love- they are appreciated

about to go into lands I;ve travelled before. It feels like I'm going home

Mt Cook

So on the 4^th Feb. I arrived at Mt Cook. It’s been an extrodinary section, no trees, bouldery riverbeds, high passes and amazing scenery. I find myself feeling pretty privileged to be doing the trip that I’m doing and being where I am. It’s pretty satisfying to follow one’s dream.

In some ways it’s been pretty hard, tough ground at times (feel like I’ve just walked on rocks since Arthur’s pass) and I’ve discovered that managing my fatigue is the biggest challenge of the trip, but ‘m learning to pace myself and stop when is needed. Weather days are always welcomed.

For those of you interested the final route was: Up the waimakari and white river and over white col into burnett stream, down the Wilberforce and up moa stream and over into boundary basin, dropped into the south mathias and up west mathias to go over observation col into cattle stream and onto the rakia, over butler saddle and down the Lawrence to Erewhon station with amazing hospitality from Colin and Christine. From there crossed the Clyde and Havelock rivers and the up Murphy’s stream to go over into the McAuley river, up to upper Tindall stream and into the north branch, across the godley up the rankin and over into cass river and then up over alias pass into the Murchison, some moraine bashing on the tasman and into Unwin Hut.

And so now I think that I’ve passed the halfway point and so far have managed to walk over 700km and climber approx 21,000 meters since the journeys beginnings.

This journey space is quite an extrodinary one to be living in just day after day of simple pack/walking living, and a trip that feels that it never ends. I’m loving it. I’ve had my friend Jason with me since Arthur’s pass, it’s been great to have him along and time now to travel on my own again. Of course with Max the summit monkey

So off I go again.

Erewhon Station

Talked to Olivia on the morning of the 27th Jan. She was just putting on her boots to get on her way again after a couple of days rest at Erewhon Station (b/w the Arrowsmith and Tom Thumb ranges).

Doing good. Bit tired. Will be in Mt Cook around the 4th of February. Bron.

arthurs pass

so it's day 38 today and I find myself in arthurs pass, the second rest day in a row, lovely to rest and eat food that crunches. I'm learning that I;ve got the best chance of completing this journey is to listen to what my body's telling me, to rest when I'm tired and to walk when I;m feeling strong.

The journey continues in a lovely fashion, it certainly has it's hard days, both environmentally, steep climbs or hot sunshine, or just of tired bodies. But so far the head is staying strong and I'm continued to be inspired whilst I travel across this landscape. I keep discovering many places of beauty and love the nightly ritual of plunging myself into icy cold water.

From the last posting, thanks sarah!! I traveled up the hope river into lake summner and then across harper pass into the taramakau valley, up the deception and down into minga valley and out towards arthurs pass.

My friend Jason has come to join me here and will travel south wity me for a while. I think It will be nice to have company for the land that I'm about to travel into, I;ve heard there are tigers in there. but Il;m sure that max ( the monkey) will frighten them away.