From Havelock to Pelorus Bridge
Hiking time: none
Daily/Total distance: 20km hitched/109km (38km hitched)
Steps: none hiking
Weather: cloudless and sunny

Upon waking up this morning I immediately decided not to hike today. The tow feels better but I want to be on the safe side concerning this before I go into the backcountry. So I will either hitch to Pelorus Bridge or stay am additional night here. Hitching to Pelorus has the upside of my food package being there. Otherwise I will have to buy more food here as I have nothing left after breakfast.

While eating my breakfast I overheard a Kiwi woman offering a Dutch family to take their packs as she is going by car to Pelorus Bridge. So I approached her and asked if I could come along with them as I was planning on skipping this part and that way wouldn’t have to find a car to take me on the road. She said yes so I went ahead to get everything ready to leave at 9:30am. Driving us was her cousin with her husband as they were staying as campers on the campground in Havelock.

We got to the Pelorus Bridge Campground just after 10am and checked in. Although the website states that a night costs 20$ per person and in peak season right now you have to pay for at least two adults regardless of group size we got a headspace for 8$. They seem to have just opened up a previous picnic area as a campground for hikers and cyclists. While checking in I also picked up my 8.6kg heavy resupply box. In the camp office though they have a box where hikers can exchange food. Inside was a backpacker meal that I picked up. I plan to later bring some food from my box as I fear I might have to much food packed.

The tentground was gorgeous right next to the Pelorus River. Nice emerald green water. I picked a nice spot in the corner of the ground and set up my inner tent, spreading out my gear in the sun to let it sit out.

After setting up I went to a picnic table in the shade to sort through my food bag. It was originally planned for 11 days. As the weather is predicted to be perfect for the next 10 days I decided to reduce some of it. I also plan to eat some of it over this day. So I went through everything and packed the food for the 9 days that I plan to take. Additionally I packed an extra day of food of breakfast and dinner. Should I really be trapped in a hut due to bad weather I will have to ration my leftover snacks for the day a bit more.

As I had just finished the DOC employee came towards us to bring us to the end of the campground as they were doing some woodworking and felling one of the trees by the side of the ground. We therefore had to stay clear of the area where it could drop. We waited together and saw and heard that tree dropping down. That was some noise. Immediately afterwards the Kiwi and I thought we should have videoed that. Now it’s to late. They will be felling the second half of that tree (as it was originally one big tree that was splitting in two and in danger of dropping on its own) the next day.

Afterwards I spent some time lying in the sun and reading a book. As I was reading I suddenly heard the other tree going down as well. That was not planned to happen today. If it would have been I would have taped that. Now it’s too late and I can hear the workers chopping down the tree into smaller pieces. I also had a small trek over to the 700m distant cafe for some lunch were I got a Bacon and Egg tart. So good:)

Then I read some more, although this time in the shade as I already managed to get sunburn on my feet. I also had to cover myself in sandfly repellent as the beasts are out and they are vicious. The German girl arrived soon and we spent quite some time talking about her previous working holiday as well as TA experiences. She had just managed to get a permit for the PCT starting this April that morning. Something that is on my list as well for far in the future. The German couple whose seat pad I carried the day before also soon arrived joining us again. Last but not least the Dutch family also came along. Their daughter is currently walking the whole TA while her parents joined her for 4 weeks on the journey. They will continue for 3 more days and then leave towards Nelson before flying back home. It is a nice adventure that they do and the parents feel that they can now better appreciate what their daughter has actually accomplished.

We spend dinner time talking with each other after which I went to my tent at 9pm for some reading. Due to the loud noise from the street, the trucks passing by are especially bad, I used my earplugs for the first time when I went to bed at 10:30pm.