Invercargill to Dacre (14.32 miles/23kms)

Well, I started the first day of my trek today! Last night I was thinking of postponing it one more day, but I realized this morning I was just hesitating because of a little nervousness in starting an unknown. I was concerned that the next nearest town with a place to stay was 23 miles away. I was not confident about starting with a 23 mile trek the first day since I had not really used or trained with the Wheelie in seven months. On the Caminos the total weight of the Wheelie averaged about 25 to 30 pounds and this time it was at least 70 pounds, or more, depending on the amount of water I was carrying. I also had no idea what to expect between Invercargill and the next town with a place to stay or whether I could even find a place to camp.

I woke up at 5:00 am, after a good night’s sleep, and decided just to face my hesitation. I figured that if I got an early start I’d have the whole day to trek the 23 miles. However, it took me about four hours to pack and repack the Wheelie to get the right balance and arrange for easy access to items I might need while trekking. The weight balance is very important because slightly more weight on the top puts pressure on the waist strap and on the hips. It also makes it more difficult to pull, whereas a perfect balance places little to no weight on the hips and makes it much easier to pull. Even though I finally started at 10:00 am it wasn’t until about seven miles later that I finally achieved the right balance after stopping and readjusting the load several times.

I took the residential side streets for the first few miles until I was on the outskirts of town and then had to move to the main road, Highway 1. Unfortunately there is no other way to go north unless I took roads to the west that eventually ended back on Highway 1, but with hundreds of miles more. There is a route along the west coast that travels north, but it goes through rugged coastal mountains and over steep passes, and it is also hundreds of miles longer. Highway 1 is really the only highway through the entire length of New Zealand, and unfortunately it is heavily traveled and has only two lanes most of the way. As progressive as New Zealand is, it has a very antiquated highway system for the population.

Once out of town the shoulder on the highway narrows to four feet, some places wider and narrower. Traffic was a little heavy in both directions early in the morning, possible due to the motorcycle event in town. There were hundreds of motorcycles going in both directions and it reminded me a little of home because many were Harleys. I did have several cars honk and wave at me for what I think was positive acknowledgement.

The scenery was nonstop farm after farm, with no open space or public land between. I thought it was beautiful but had concern that I would not be able to find a spot to camp.

Traffic lightened up in the afternoon but I still felt a little uneasy because I am not use to traffic driving on the left side. Every time I’d hear a car coming from the rear I felt they were on my side of the road, with my back to them. I am sure, I hope, I will get use to it?

About 4:30 I realized that I would not make Edendale, the town with a motel, so I started looking for a possible place to camp. I had not really seen one place since I left Invercargill where I could have camped. I had stopped to look down a gravel side road when a truck turned down a dirt driveway right behind me and stop at a large barn. I just decided then I’d just ask if I could camp on their property.

As it turned out it was a nice young man of 26, Robert, that was going to feed his horses. It was his uncle’s farm, and another uncle and his father owned the surrounding farms as well. When I asked him if I could camp there he didn’t hesitate a second and reply that it would be fine. He told me just to pick any spot on the farm.

It had been pretty windy the whole day, almost to the point that it pushed me sideways, so I picked a spot behind a large storage shed. It is just prefect because it’s all covered with thick grass and the soil was soft enough that I could push the tent stakes in by hand.

As I have mentioned, most Kiwis are friendly and meeting such a nice man like Robert was very encouraging because farms and ranches may be my only option for camping in many of the farm areas.

I am glad I started today because it got me going and all that I did on my previous treks are starting to come back to me. I know too that it may take me a few days or weeks to get fully condition, but I know from previous experience it will come.

Tomorrow will be another unknown because Edendale is too close to stay and the next town is Gore, 26 miles away. That’s all part of the adventure and challenge, and I’ll work it out as it comes.

Best wishes to all

Ted

Please excuse the typos, spelling and grammar, as I am typing this on my phone.