Levin to Foxton (13.45 miles/21.65 kms)

Today was my first day back to trekking and my first day trekking on the North Island. It turned out to be shorter than I expected. I was glad that I didn’t start yesterday because it rained hard all day long and it would have made for a hard day trekking.

This morning the sky was clear and the forecast was for cool weather and no rain. I started out feeling fairly energetic as it felt good to be back trekking. I walker through the Levin business district and stopped to get something for dinner tonight thinking I had the energy to go a long way and probably beyond Foxton, which was only 13 miles.

The road was mostly flat, with a few rolling hills, but with the cool weather and my energy level it seemed a great day for trekking. Traffic was a little heavy but the shoulder so far had been fairly wide, which made it nice.

I had been walking at a good pace and by noon had decided to go beyond Foxton, since I had the energy, and hopefully just find a place to camp. Everything was going well, until, I hit my most dreaded thing on the road, a bridge. Not just any bridge, but a long one with no shoulder! This was the old bridge across the Manaeatu River, with the new one under construction. The river itself is not wide but the area around it is swampy so the bridge is long.

I stopped dead in my tracks because it is so long that it was hard to see the other end of the bridge and traffic. And with the amount of traffic on the road it was not something I wanted to cross by waving my flag! I thought of going several times when I thought there was no traffic coming, but I just couldn’t see that far to be sure. This was one of my concerns in starting the North Island and I have decided that I will not endanger myself for the sake of achieving a goal.

At that point I thought I’d probably have to hitch a ride across, when a construction truck stopped across the road from me. I went over and the driver told me he’d take me across if his boss would let him, but then he told me there was a temporary bike path through the construction zone between the old and new bridge. Great!

I followed the asphalt path down into the construction area and was stopped at a dairy cow crossing. I had to wait until all the cows passed, and then the farmer opened the gate for me to cross. It was kind of funny because the construction trucks had to wait too.

As the farmer opened the gate for me he said, “I hope you have some rain gear!” Sure enough, huge black rain clouds had rolled in and were right above us. No sooner had he said that and it started to sprinkle. Before that the sky was cloudless. I tell you, it’s those mythological weather gods having fun with me again!

I had not anticipated rain so all my rain gear was packed away. I scrambled to get the Wheelie covered and my rain gear on and as soon as I did it started to pour. Fortunately the path crossed back under the old bridge and I was able to get under it for shelter and waited out most of the heavy rain.

I was there for about forty-five minutes and it didn’t look like it would let up, which changed my thoughts about camping out tonight. I searched the internet and found a few motels in Foxton, which was only three miles away, and made a reservation at the Castletown Motel. Three others motels were full and I didn’t want to take a chance of them all filling up.

I walked the rest of the way in the rain and got here around 3:00. There are no laundry facilities here for guest, and when I asked the owner if there were any, he asked his wife and then told me I could use the washer and drier used for the motel.

Today didn’t turn out as I thought, but it all turned out well at the end. It has since stopped raining, of course, but I am glade I stopped and got the motel or I would have continued walking in the rain and possibly may not have found a place to camp. Getting here early also gave me time to relax, which is always a plus at the end of the day.

There is a take out across the street, and a cafe bakery on the other corner, so I can grab something to eat in the morning. Sanson is the next town, about 20 miles away, and I’ll see where I end up tomorrow. Weather calls for cool temperatures and no rain. Ha! Prepare for the worse and hope for the best!

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.