Lot's of wonders along the Kapiti Coast, including the birds of Kapiti Island. If you click on the bird's name, you can hear it's song.
Tuesday
Kapiti Coast Ahead
Leaving Palmerston North, heading south, the next town Brad will stop in, after Levin, will probably* be Waikanae and the northern gateway of the Kapiti Coast located off Kapiti Island.
*I say "probably" because it's always a guessing game for me where Brad will be next. If you're reading Brad's blog you'll know he's now doing the "Te Araroa Free Style".
Map of the territory Brad tracks -- Palmerston North to Wellington, North Island, NZ
View of Kapiti Coast from Paekakaariki Hill
View of Kapiti Island from beach
Levin, NZ, 2/1/12
Ha, I located Brad, well, with a little help from Brad. He's in Levin, NZ about 50 road km from Palmerston North. He, Ludo and Flore decided to rest another day. Tomorrow they will be heading back into the bush. Brad reports this leg of the trek will take a little over a week with lots of vertical but lots of hut options too. Wellington is at least two weeks away, 93 road km from Levin to Wellington.
I think this is the library Brad is using for his computing needs today.
Slow and Steady
Two days ago Brad left Palmerston North with two friends, Ludo and Flore, at a slowed down pace of about 22 k each day. With Brad's sore and swollen knee and Ludo and Flore's very heavy packs they were traveling at a compatible pace for tracking together. A quick e-mail home from a library, approximately 30 miles south of Palmerton North, let me know the injured Brad was doing well (even if living on Tylenol and Ibuprofen to keep the swelling down) and is enjoying good tracking companions. Today the three of them head back out into the bush for six days of hiking before reaching another town for communicating home.
Another doctor was visited after Brad's two days of hiking to check his knee again. It was determined, as with the first doctor's visit, that there were no pulled, ripped or broken parts, just a very bad sprain. So, he pushes on, hopefully without doing permanent damage to his knee.
I'm pleased, especially given Brad's injury, that he has companions to trek with.
Sunday
Sneak Preview
Brad, once he can find a computer again, will finish a draft blog on his site that will have many new photos. I have lifted these two because they so capture the romance I feel with boardwalks and swinging bridges. Both have popped up in my life from early on, and I've always loved them. These photos were taken by Brad on the Te Araroa Trail north of Palmerston North, but I don't know where. For Brad, with "just another day of wet feet on the Te Araroa Trail" experiences, he must have cherished the opportunity for staying out of the streams and puddles and mud.
Saturday
Heading South from Palmerston North
Departing Palmerston North, headed south, the Te Araroa Trail crosses the Manawatu River on the Fitzherbert Bridge. The hike Brad did yesterday was from Fitzherbert Bridge to Burttons Track (estimated time 8 hours). With a sore knee, 8 hours might have been too much. But, he is somewhere on this section of the Te Araroa Trail. Happy and pain free tracking, Brad.
Second Fitzherbert Bridge 1935 - demolished?
The newest Fitzherbert Bridge crossed by Brad yesterday, as he left Palmerston North.
Thursday
Holed up Healing
Brad has been in Palmerston North for the past few days. He was able to see an emergency room doctor and the two of them determined, by manipulating his knee, that there were no torn tendons or broken bones so no need for surgical repair. Having his mind put to ease with the need for just rest, rest and more rest, he perked right up about his trekking future. Once the swelling goes down and the pain recedes he'll be able to get back on the Te Araroa Trail. Tomorrow, he's thinking, will be the day he starts walking again but with short, easy days at first. Perhaps throwing in some hitching to avoid over using it.
In the mean time, Brad has been hanging out at the Polytechnic Institute. He's been meeting instructors, touring the campus, helping out with a green building project, using the computer in the faculty room, feeding his teaching dreams, and generally enjoying academia and the ideas, computers, people and projects that go along with it, not to mention the fabulous campus architecture.
Polytechnic Institute
From Palmerston North it is 145 km by road to Wellington, although probably much further by trail. With Wellington in his sights, he is closing in on finishing the North Island of the Te Araroa Trail. Wellington is the southern most city on the Northern Island. From Wellington he will need to ferry to the South Island. There the trail picks up again
in Picton, located
at the head of the Marlborough Sounds
.
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