Whanganui to Palmerston North

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Day 30: Whanganui to Koitiata (33km, of which we walked about 21km)  

Our first day back on the trail for a week! And technically our first day “walking” for about two weeks! 

We flew down to Whanganui yesterday (direct flight with Air Chatham) and Rob and George kindly picked us up from the airport. 

Another delicious evening meal with our new friends then it was time to get our kit ready for the morning. 


It was really good to be back. George cooked us another amazing breakfast and then we walked in to Whanganui to have a look around. Neither of us had had a chance to look around the city before and we were both very keen to do so. 


There are some really interesting buildings and monuments and we were both really impressed with the city. 







One of the many murals. This one features Rob’s mother (on right as you look at it).




        The essential coffee! 



Then we were back on the trail. The first part included going in to the tunnel and up the Durie Hill Elevator. Unfortunately the elevator was out of order when we arrived so we walked up the steps instead, only to be greeted at the top by the mechanic who had just finished fixing it! Doh! 


At the entrance in to the tunnel which takes you to the Durie Street Elevator.




Anyway, feeling very fit (!) after our climb, we admired the city from our high vantage point before setting off out of town. 




The trail took us past some lovely cottages with pretty gardens and on to a long, hot road. 


       (Some gardens are more unusual than others!)


We were about 9km along the road when Roger mooted the idea of us hitching to the next road junction (another 9km).  About 100 metres later we passed a driveway just as a lady was pulling out. She kindly gave us a lift - not just to the next road junction but all the way through to the quiet gravel road which would lead us to the beach! 


Very happy with our hitching success (yet again) we walked along the gravel road for about 6km to the beach. We then walked along the beach for about 5km, admiring the “driftwood cemetery” and the huge flocks of seagulls that seemed to call it home. 








Our decision to hitch meant we reached our river crossing about 3.5 hours before low tide. However, rather than wait it out Roger decided to take off his shoes and see how deep it was. I waited, curious, to see just how wet he would get but when I saw the water was no deeper than his “plimsol line” I decided it was safe to give it a go! With my bumbag and shoes wrapped around my neck I stumbled in after him but the soft sandy bottom and the calmness of the water made it all pretty easy. 




Safely on the other side we headed to the Koitiata campground and set up camp for the night. 


     At the campsite.


Showing off our new patches (presents from Rob and George) on our caps.


Roger’s notes:










Day 31: Koitiata to Palmerston North (77km, of which we walked 23.5km)

We rose early and got the tent and everything packed away before the rain came in. That said, it turned out to just be a passing shower which really did not hang around. 

We then continued our walk along the beach, this time for over 14km.  Despite the longer distance today it was still very pleasant listening to the sea and watching the waves come up the beach. There was plenty more driftwood, some of which created very interesting shapes (if you squint and use your imagination!)











Once we left the beach we headed inland on a forest road. Roger found a bush full of ripe blackberries and was like a kid in a sweet shop! A very happy bunny.  




The forest road then led us on to a gravel road and it was about five kilometres along here that we got our first lift of the day. He was the first person we saw driving in our direction so we were extremely relieved that he was willing to stop to drive us the remaining 12km or so to Bulls. 

In Bulls we had a celebratory coffee and cake and reminded ourselves of all the puns on the word “bull” (eg “Responsi-bull” on the litter bins, “Consta-bull” at the police station, “Impecca-bull” outside a cafe, Mo-bull” at the Mobile petrol station and so on. I love it!! 







We then found a good spot for our next hitch and we could not have been there longer than five minutes when a young lady pulled over and very kindly gave us a lift all the way to Palmerston North. 


OK, OK “what’s with all this hitching?” I hear you ask. Well, the leg from Whanganui to Palmerston North is reputed to be one of the worst in terms of long sections on roads. Different TA walkers tackle this in different ways. Some get an intercity bus, some hitch bits (or all) of it and some even walk the whole 100km in one go just to get it out of the way. We decided to go with the “walk some/hitch some” approach which definitely worked for us. 


Once in Palmie we walked to where two of the local Trail Angels lived. A lovely couple, Gail and John, they made us feel incredibly welcome, gave us a delicious dinner and a very comfortable bed for the night! Perfect! 


One of Gail and John’s three greyhounds.


Roger’s notes:







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