15 Feb
BIG walking day today. 35k. Karl forgot his walking stick part way along the Highway and returned 300 metres to get it. He has become quite attached to his walking stick. We refer to them as ‘mana’ sticks! Mana in te reo Māori means ‘pride’. It actually has a number of meanings, but that is a simple one.
Of the two pheasant feathers in the top of my walking stick one decided to fly out in a gust of wind. I saw it go and come to rest in the middle of the road. My instant reaction was to dart out and retrieve it, however, I paused as a big rig about 100 metres away, and advancing fast, was more of a risk than I was prepared to take. The feather would have to fend for itself. I stayed focussed on the feather with hope, only to see it sucked up beneath the truck and trailer somewhere. If that wasn’t enough, a second tandem rig was right behind that!! Farewell feather, and thanks for travelling with me and seeing part of NZ on top of my mana stick.
Makatote viaduct railway stood 77metres high and spans 252metres in length. An amazing engineering achievement. We thought about walking across it, but it was nearing the time of the train coming through from Wellington. Didn’t want to be that scene out of the ‘Stand by Me’ movie!
A 35km day!
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