28 Nov, 14 km, warm, muggy, overcast, showers.

I started at the wharf ferry terminal and ambled through the Sunday Oriental Parade activities enjoying the sculptures, dog walkers, the craft fair, music, food hall it was all activity.

For anyone who wants to have the experience of TA north Island all in one day the Wellington South section will give you a good sample, without the mud, gusty ridges or narrow ledges. I highly recommend to make a day of it and start anywhere along Oriental Parade. Follow the track from the TA guides from the website. https://www.teararoa.org.nz/the-trail/wellington/

Mt Victoria, zig zag paths, plenty of signs, no signs, confusing guidebook instructions, no km markings, cyclists and beautiful views is what you will experience. Give it a go, have lunch at a cafe in Island Bay and catch the bus back to Wellington. Free transport for seniors!

And it’s almost December and we know what that means.

Until I return to complete the jumped over restricted Auckland and Waikato sections, two months after setting out at Cape Reinga I complete what I can of the North Island.

It was a bit of a flop when I found the Cairn. Is that it? I asked myself, that rock in long grass among the building site for a new playground.

I have many good memories of the highs and the lows of walking the North Island. The people and the places hold special thoughts and now plan and execute the next section.

I appreciate your comments and encouraging words left here and sent to me personally. It’s a hard task day after day to record exploring new places even though this blog was for me to relive once I’m done. To me the pictures don’t provide the smell or small differences between the scenes, tracks or bush. They all tend to look the same in a picture but to experience the discovery is special to me. I see it fresh, alive and exciting.

I was hosted by a Defence Force Pilot who said he often looks down at the bush from his helicopter cockpit and wishes he could be down there for just half an hour. And when he walks to an isolated place over a couple of days it makes the wilderness experience even more special. He looks up at the sky from that isolated place and says to himself, I’d rather be here but I’m grateful to fly over it first.

Thank you for reading my life activities day after day. I’ll keep walking until it no longer holds the excitement of discovery.