Rakaia Gorge Camp Ground to Glentunnel (17.00 miles/27.37 kms)

Went to bed pretty tired and I figured I’d have a hard time getting up, but for some reason I woke up at 3:30 and never fell back asleep. I tired counting sheep to fall back asleep, and I kept seeing those lonely three or four on the hills rather than those large herds of hundreds I saw today. I would have gotten up and started trekking early but it doesn’t get light enough until after 7:00. Even at my usual wake up time of 6:00 am it’s still dark and I have to turn on the light to start packing up.

I did pack up in the dark and started to leave about 7:30 when I ran into Sam. We said our good byes again and shook hands.

It felt a little strange as the camp ground was so quiet as everyone in those motorhomes must tend to sleep late. Out on the road it seemed quiet too as I didn’t see a car on the road until I crossed the one lane gorge bridge.

I had been told by the camp hostess that the climb out in the other direction was not as steep, and more gradual. After crossing the bridge the road did indeed start ascending in a fairly gentle grade. As I had noted in yesterday’s blog, long steady uphill grades don’t trouble me as much as roller coaster ups and downs. Wow, this will be great.

About a half mile up the grade a man going in my direction stopped in the middle of the road. Hey, I just wanted to warn you that the road gets really steep around the corner and it’s really windy, with absolutely no shoulder. Some of the locals drive down a little too fast and it can get a little dangerous. It’s really steep! Hop on in and I can give you a ride up to the top if you’d like? What?! This is not what I was told last night! It’s a gradual climb up! This has got me worried! Should I take a ride? It would be breaking my attempt in “walking” the whole way. No, thank you, and thank you very much for asking. I’ll be careful, and if I have trouble I’ll stop and hitch hike.

So sure enough, once I turned the corner I saw it! The start of the steep climb on a sharp curve with no asphalt shoulder! Wow! But wait, there’s enough room on that dirt shoulder to fit the Wheelie, just enough to get us off the road. So I started out making sure I really listened for the sound of any car coming because I couldn’t see around some of the curves.

I don’t know what that hostess was thinking because this climb was steeper than the one I came down yesterday. That was an 8% grade, and this had to be more. It was three mile to the top of the gorge from where I started, and it took me one and a half hours to reach it! I was fortunate that I started early as I didn’t encounter too many cars. I could usually hear them and move over to the sliver of dirt shoulder to get off the road, but the drivers were also good about moving over once they saw me. Twice I did move over to the other side of the road when I encountered a real blind curve.

I could feel my calves knotting up as a strained to pull the Wheelie on a few very steep sections. Some of the curves were so sharply slanted that I had to hold the handles as it felt like the Wheelie was going to tip over. Needless to say, I was totally drenched, sopping wet, by the time I got to the top.

The views were spectacular when I looked back, and I also noticed that the top on the other side of the gorge was lower that this top. So where did the hostess come up saying this was not as steep?

All and all, it was a lot of work, but because it was early and cool, I had my rhythm going and it wasn’t too bad since I knew the rest of the day was downhill and flat. Well, that’s what I was told.

I went about a mile and came to a little gas station and thought I’d get something to drink and eat. It was a funny station with no real attendant and just a credit machine on the outside wall. Inside there was a small rack with a few candy bars and a fridge with only about five different drinks. Nothing I would normally drink but maybe a little sugar will give me a boost.

A man came out, and I hate to always use that word, but he seemed nice. I asked him about a place to eat, and that developed into a twenty minute conversation. Surprise? No!

Again, the question I get all the time, what do I think about when I am walking by myself? Well, all those curious question about people’s lives out here are getting answered, and I didn’t even have to ask him. He is British, a mechanic, and came here on vacation fifteen years ago with his wife and just happened to stop at this gas station. He met the owner, who was older and wanted to retire, and wanted to sell the business. So, he moved here with his wife and daughter, bought the business, and has been here ever since. Said it was the best thing he ever did in his life as he wasn’t happy living in the crowded part of England with a dead end job. He’s sixty-six and wants to retire, so he can enjoy life like me, because he works five days a week here, and then twelve hours a day on Saturday and Sunday on their farm. He told me more, but I’ll leave it at that.

I guess you can look at other people’s lives as meaningless, but for me meeting and talking to people is part of the joy I get when I am trekking. For me, how better to really see life in other places and cultures. You surely don’t get to do that when you are driving past at 100 kph.

Before I left the gas station I asked him whether the road to Glentunnel was up and down, or level. Same answer as the campground hostess, level. Well, the next thirteen miles or so were like a roller coaster with constant ups and downs. I don’t mind the downs, but I do mind the ups. If an up is just a little 50 feet, but you have twenty of those, that’s an elevation gain of 1,000 feet! Overall it probably wasn’t that bad but the morning climb used a lot of my energy.

The scenery was nice since the hills were more forested and not as flat as much of the farmland had been.

I got to Glentunnel at about 3:00, and checked the Glentunnel Holiday Park motor camp and there was a cabin available, but for $80 ($55 US). The most I’ve paid for one was $70 ($46 US), but that was a really nice cabin and it came with bedding and towels, and unlimited hot showers. This only had a bottom sheet, everything was extra. And, the shower was coin operated for an extra $.50. I don’t mind paying for a nice place, but it was below average compared to the others. A bike rider later told me she thought it was a ripoff, but beggars can’t be choosers.

The first thing I did was lay out my tent to dry, then I went to take a long hot shower. I had asked the owner for coins for the wash machines, and she said you’ll need 50 cent for the shower, and gave it to me with the change.

I stepped into the shower and noticed the faucet was a single handle, like that on a outdoor garden faucet. Interesting! I had my coin and dropped it into the coin machine and the water immediately turned on, spraying water all over my dry clothes and toiletries. I shut the curtain and tried to adjust the faucet but it just spun around in a complete circle, either on or off, and no temperature control. The temperature was a little hotter than I wanted and I just had to get use to it.

I washed my hair and was feeling good. I got my favorite travel soap bar, Dr Bonner’s peppermint, and started working up a great latter from head to toe. Ahhhh, felt and smelled good after a long sweaty day. But then the water turned off! Dang, no, shit! I’m covered in latter, dripping wet, and hoping I have my wallet in my clean shorts? If you’ve every seem that scene in my favorite comedy, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, where Steve Martin has the water turn off in his shower, that was me! Dripping wet and latter all over my hands, I found my wallet. I was frantically looking through my coin pocket for a silver coin. I unfortunately, have developed a little rash from the constant walking and friction the last few days, and those private areas were starting to scream with pain from the sharp soap latter. For heavens sakes, rinse us off! Yes, my wallet was there, and digging through the coins I thankfully found another 50 cent coin. After such a long day I just started laughing at myself thinking it’s part of my trek that I’ll always remember.

I am almost out of food so I made a beeline across the adjoining golf coarse to the clubhouse, and only cafe in town. It was 5:00 and it was already closed. I only have two freeze dried meals left and I need to save them for the next unknown days so I went to the store to find whatever I could find to eat. The store is small and had very little there. I bought my drinks for tomorrow and hope I can get something for breakfast at the cafe and for tomorrow’s dinner too. The next town with a restaurant or store is about 22 miles, so it may be camping tomorrow night.

It was a challenging day, but overall it was a good day. Oxford is about 22 miles and if I don’t feel my rhyme tomorrow I may not make it and have to look for a place to camp. I can tell I am starting to feel like I might need to take another zero day when I find a good place to stop

Best wishes to all,

Ted

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