Awakere to Kaingaroa Forest

 


From Awatere Hot Springs I turned south in the early morning and kept Mt Edgecumbe (Putauki) on my right shoulder until it was hidden by avocado orchards, kiwifruit orchards and blueberry farms. 


At a crossroads, 1 tonne bags of 45.9% nitrogen were being spread on maize, something I thought had stopped.

Roadside weeds were looking gorgeous, I think this is a mallow.


I walked alongside the Rangitaiki River until I reached Matahine Dam and thought of China.



A few kilometers later, I entered Kaingaroa Forest.  It's redolent of tragedy - I read Ruth Park's autobiography in which she described the 1930s work camps where jobless men like her father planted trees and suffered cold and despair and suicide.

But it was a nice day for me.

I had this huge route to myself and walked until I just couldn't manage another step. Since it is pumice, there are no creeks and I supplemented my water from the only puddle I passed.


It was clear. I simply boiled it first. By then I'd found a wee hiding place to camp, and was asleep before dark after a  28km march.





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