This evening Jo and I went for a walk around the local golf course to stretch our legs after a day cooped up in shop and office. It has been beautiful day and evening and it is a magic way to relax. We hadn't got far before we were passed by a keen looking walker, obviously walking a bit further than we were as he had a small backback of gear. We passed and re-passed him several times as he stopped to take photos of the toitoi bushes with the late afternoon sun shining through them. We exchanged greetings and a few comments on the photo subject and just before we headed in different directions I asked where he was walking from/to. Turns out he had walked from the Tawa area today and was heading to the south coast. Jo asked if he was walking Te Araroa trail and that was the start of a long conversation. Freebird ( his trail name) was completing the North Island section of Te Araroa trail and has walked most of the long trials in the US in the past - at least one several times. It's a way of life for him. Anyway he has some fascinating stories to tell and is a great raconteur.
Our friends Rob and Debbie are also walking Te Araroa so we are well acquainted with stories of it. Rob and Debbie are now somewhere south of Rakaia Gorge and should be finishing their trip in Bluff in about a month. Their blog is here
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