(2200-2400km) Won't take the easy road

Around Arthurs pass. Foggy morning. Down the valley, couple river crossings, state highway. Pick up a parcel at Bealey Hotel. Some food and new shoes: Vibram Five Fingers. Convinced two new people to hike Te Araroa.

Lake Coleridge. Business as usual: Get up, get wet feet. Dozen river crossings. Gravel road. Strong winds. Dust devils dancing. Boring roadwalk. Furthest daily distance on my trail so far. Stealth camp. Fall asleep while writing this.

Rakaia River. Nobody can cross it. We walk 25km to the next bridge, then hitch to Methven for resupply. Camp along the road on the way back to trail.

Double Hut. Awesome sunrise behind the clouds. No single tree since the road. This is Rohan! Dusty hills, rocks, grass, almost no trail. Walk the cold riverbed or fight through thorns. Epic speargras flowering higher than a man. Makes the thorns and thistles look poor. Hut is dark and old. Light a candle. Possum climbing the roof at night. Creepy.

Rangitata River. All day through the grasslands. Hills, little lakes and streams. No shade but my umbrella. Pitch tent inbetween the rosebushes off the wind.

Stone Hut. Takes 10 km to cross all sidearms of the Rangitata river. Flowing fast, knee deep. Hasn't rained in ages. Strong sun. Into a new valley and up, up, up. Yaks in the grass tussock.

Lake Tekapo. Cold morning, shivering in the river. An hour later: sweating in t-shirt. Meet a guy that we now call Czech Norris. Stag saddle at 1900m. Melissa and Chris give a whole bar of dark chocolate each to Tarek and me. We build a snowman. Merry Christmas! View is just breathtaking: Can see snowy mountains, rolling hills and lake Tekapo the whole day. Cowboy camp under the stars.

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