Day 117: Soggy Slog

February 4, 2020

Kilometers: 2939.7-2971.4

Riverton Lodge Backpackers to Ibis Styles Hotel in Invercargill 

I was up early today. I’m finding it harder to sleep as we get closer to the end, guess i’m just too excited. Despite getting up early we were slow to start. It was raining outside and it was forecasted to continue all day. Just before 8:30 we left the backpackers and headed over to the grocery. We bought some breakfast and lunch items. We proceeded to eat them under the grocery store overhang.

We left the overhang and walked to the beach. We had 23kms on the beach in the pouring rain. Obviously, we were very exposed so the wind was also a factor. Due to the rain I didn’t get many pictures. 

Less than 10 minutes in we were all absolutely soaked. We left right at high tide, which is less than optimal. The waves pushed us high up on the beach making the walking slow.

After about an hour on the beach I decided to chug a Red Bull and switch from a podcast over to some hype music. This increased my pace significantly. It reminded me of the first few days on Ninety Mile Beach where I just took off down the beach ahead of everyone else. Team Belgium called me “la fusée américaine,” which translates to “The American Rocket” because of the way I pushed down the beach the first few days. They didn’t tell me they were calling me that until the South Island. Since then they have been introducing me to people as that. I guess it has kinda become my trail name.  

We came to one river crossing a little over halfway through the beach walk. We were told not to cross it at high tide and not if it was raining. We did both of those and it was still only knee deep. It was kind of cool crossing it because it was so wide that when I looked to the left it looked like I was basically in the choppy ocean. 

The tide finally started to go down making the walking easier. The sand where the water had receded was compact and perfect to move fast across. I started to notice that my hands were getting too cold. I couldn’t grip anything. Couldn’t open my bars, couldn’t readjust my headphones in my ears, my hands were just useless. I started to make a concerted effort to move my hands around every ten or so minutes. I got one pic on the beach of Chuck behind me.

At 12:30 we finished the beach section. Charlie and I were ahead of Peter a good bit. We walked 2.2kms down the road to the nearest cafe. We got there and it was closed. I’m no business major but I feel like you have to have your restaurant open to make money, especially if it’s peak season in the middle of the day. 

Charlie and I ate under the porch of the restaurant. Barely sheltered from the rain and wind I tried to cut up my cheese with my pocket knife. It was a little hard when I couldn’t feel my hands. Peter never arrived so we figured he had hitched into town. 

Chuck and I continued walking and soon after that he also hitched the last 6kms into town. I was left alone in the rain as I made my way towards town. I was delighted to get a FaceTime from my friend Ashley, she filled me in on everything I have missed back home in the last four months so that i’m all up to date when I get back next week. 

I made it into town and walked to our hotel. The guys had gotten a three bedroom suite for us. I guess we’re celebrating big baller style. 

After showering I walked over to grab my bounce box. I successfully bounced my box seven times ahead of me. I also bought a new phone case and a sub from subway. 

I returned to the room for some celebratory rum and cokes with the guys. Charlie’s friend, Joel, arrived in Invercargill and will be staying with us tonight.

We all went and got Thai for dinner. After we went to an Irish pub. Tomorrow’s walk is easy, the hardest part will be carrying the champagne all the way.