12 March, return to Invercargill and transit home.
The rain and wind belted down overnight. The old Bluff post office building rattled and shook with the wind.

As a historian this building reeked in history. Little signs still showing of it’s early days.

It was a gloomy morning but the overnight wind and rain had stopped.

I had booked the ferry bus back to Invercargill at 9:00 so was up and about at the usual walking hour.

I had breakfast in the lounge with the shearer who had stayed in the hostel for 3 months.

It’s always good to look back at the track from a vehicle. I was back in Invercargill within the hour and was dropped off at Tuatara Backpackers. I booked in untill Thurs morning.

My second breakfast was in the cafe where I began to catch up on the posts I had not yet written or published. Other track admin included ordering a TA patch for my beanie and buying the medal.

I have so many other walker posts to read and enjoy. It’s such a diverse country to walk through. The experience each of us has depends on simple things yet the outcome is so vastly different.

There was a cold wind and patches of rain so the raincoat continued to be worn outside.

Invercargill has a lot of building works going on but I headed out exploring the city noticing the difference without a pack.

Once I had access to my dorm at 1:30 I uplifted my stored gear and found my room and settled in. Ooh so nice to not move for a few days.

I sat in the corner of the cafe writing till quite late before cooking my dinner in the Backpackers.

I shared photos with Bex and Max and posted my last Te Araroa Instagram + Facebook post.

This is my last Blog on my Te Araroa experience. I haven’t yet worked out a statement to explain how incredible these last 5 months have been. I will and post as a final full stop. Until then, I appreciate all the support you have shown in signing up to my blog.

Who would ever have thought I could achieve this?