Day 99. Hot, flat and boring. February 9, 2016.
36 km
Twizel km 2453 to Freehold Creek km 2489
Today was one of the worst days for me on the TA. Hot. Flat. Uninteresting. Gravel cycling path.
Farmed salmon anyone? Yum.
Every long trail has its connector sections linking the great parts. I usually feel more like a thru hiker walking these parts. Who else would walk them? But since Lake Tekapo it’s been one long connector section. Too long.
I really think hiring a bike from Lake Tekapo to Lake Ohau and having your backpack shuttled for you would have been a much better option. 100 kilometers on a bike would have been fun. Walking it was mostly misery. Today was the first day I seriously thought of just quitting the TA. There are so many other trails in New Zealand that I want to walk. I have just under 2 months left and I feel like I’m running out of time. I’m not.
I did jump in the water once I got to Lake Ohau and that revived my spirits some.
The day ended with a great campsite. Picnic table and view. Sweet!
Looking down on Lake Ohau
nancyhikes 
Te araroa walks a fine line, it comes close to some pretty scenic but difficult (near vertical) terrain with minimally developed tracks and frankly a lot of the people walking it would struggle with it if it was routed through that terrain, the designers erred on the side of caution and opted for “boring”, but feel free to go and climb mt cook if you like 🙂
Ahhh! You’re killin’ me. I’m sure you’ve never thought of quitting a trial before…As you can see, I’m waaay behind and now catching up on your posts.
You will understand next year. Just bike this section and stay happy.
” Just bike this section”. recorded.