Apparently, today was our 30th day of actual tramping. Bethany keeps track of this sort of thing far better than I. Considering the amount of time we've spent in New Zealand, we don't have a great hike-to-rest ratio, and perhaps an improvement in this department would speed up our progress. However, it's not a race to the finish line and I've very much enjoyed all our stops, the people we've met and the time we've spent with them. I see the trail as a way to see New Zealand, not as an athletic enterprise undertaken for itself alone.
The 30th day was made additionally special by an entirely new experience for me. I got stuck in a bog. Yes. It happened. I accidentaly went off trail for a little while, led astray by a goat track or some such. Nothing terrible - I could still see the next trail marker, I was simply off the beaten track. And suddenly knee deep in sticky, slimy, smelly mud. My first thought was that my nice dry boots were now filled with goo, and I throroughly lost my temper with Mother Nature. Then I remembered times when I hade been instructed on how to react when stuck in a bog or in quicksand. "Don't panic. Don't struggle. Slowly and calmly make your way out of the bog, as though treading very thick water." My complete oversight of the "panic" reaction in favour of fury suddenly struck me as hilarious and I couldn't stop laughing at the whole situation. Then I got around to the task of slowly breaking the suction around one leg and laboriously pulling it out. Then the other, and so on until I had escaped. The whole incident probably took about 15 minutes. And fortunately, there was a river crossing soon after with no pathway across, so my boots got a good washing.
We walked 21 km today to the John Tait Hut. Bog experience aside, it was a fairly easy walk, characterized by flat, well made tracks through mossy birch forests and a very posh hut at the end. There was even running water and a table with benches, what luxury!
The 30th day was made additionally special by an entirely new experience for me. I got stuck in a bog. Yes. It happened. I accidentaly went off trail for a little while, led astray by a goat track or some such. Nothing terrible - I could still see the next trail marker, I was simply off the beaten track. And suddenly knee deep in sticky, slimy, smelly mud. My first thought was that my nice dry boots were now filled with goo, and I throroughly lost my temper with Mother Nature. Then I remembered times when I hade been instructed on how to react when stuck in a bog or in quicksand. "Don't panic. Don't struggle. Slowly and calmly make your way out of the bog, as though treading very thick water." My complete oversight of the "panic" reaction in favour of fury suddenly struck me as hilarious and I couldn't stop laughing at the whole situation. Then I got around to the task of slowly breaking the suction around one leg and laboriously pulling it out. Then the other, and so on until I had escaped. The whole incident probably took about 15 minutes. And fortunately, there was a river crossing soon after with no pathway across, so my boots got a good washing.
We walked 21 km today to the John Tait Hut. Bog experience aside, it was a fairly easy walk, characterized by flat, well made tracks through mossy birch forests and a very posh hut at the end. There was even running water and a table with benches, what luxury!