Day 67. Back on the Trail. Havelock.  January 8, 2016.

33 km
The highway by Smith Farm Holiday Park past Anikiwa km 1771 to Pelorus Bridge km 1804.

Alex and Helen have been spending time with his parents. They were driving back to the trail and coming thru Nelson. They had one seat in their car. So I got an easy ride, got to reconnect with Alex & Helen, and got to meet Leanne and Dolph. Nice. It was pouring rain when I got out of the car. Nathan and Owen got to hitch.

I dropped all my stuff at the Blue Moon Backpackers in Havelock. Since I had left the trail on the other side of Havelock I first hiked the 13 km back to town. This was pretty easy and fast. There were periods of light rain, heavy rain, strong wind and sun.

Owen walking on the road.

After lunch in Havelock I walked out of town to the Pelorus Bridge and hitched back to town. It hardly rained for the 2nd half and was sunny by the end of the day.

The Pelorus River was brown and overflowing its banks.  It must have rained lots in the mountains.

The last section today was Daltons Track. It is a farm track along the river. There are lots of warnings about staying on the track and not walking on the farm road. It turned out to be one of the best farm tracks yet. Flat. Well marked. Straight line across the farm. Stiles in the right places. Of course there were a few connecting sections between paddocks that were thru tall grass and across small streams. We couldn’t go another day without getting our feet wet.

Daltons Track

A swingbridge was near the end.

This hostel is great. Free unlimited wifi that works!

Tomorrow I start the Pelorus River Track which leads into the Richmond Range. Mountains. Views. Hopefully decent weather. Six days at the minimum. I can’t wait.