9th Jan Monday. Te Araroa 100
2228km Ryton River to Lake Coleridge 2245km (17km) Tented
Rakaia Gorge camping ground we stayed at tonight
No breakfast, just a coffee to get started at 6:30 this morning.
Road walking isn’t very interesting, my shoulder blade is a bit sore which is always the case when pounding your feet on a gravel road.
Tony was making good time, not to many complaints about his ankle only just at the two hour stop he rubbed some anti-inflammatory gel into his ankle.
Very cool this morning making ideal walking conditions passing through occasional farm buildings with a mixture of cattle and sheep.
Brenda (Tonys wife) and Jomara came and within a couple of kms of getting into Lake Coleridge, we stopped and out came the cookers and we made ourselves a hot coffee with the Lake our views
Lake Coleridge
There wasn’t much at lake Coleridge except for hydroelectric scheme, about 10 houses which I’m sure half are not occupied and used as only holidays and a Lodge. The manager wasn’t friendly at all at the lodge, we went to the lodge in the hope to get a drink, maybe a beer after doing the long walk and to reward ourselves. But were turned away saying they couldn’t serve us anything due to liquor licence requirements. So we moved on
Rakaia Gorge camping ground was where we stayed for the night, at the price of $8.50 per person with a hot shower and well maintained grounds it’s a place to stay on the way to the next section.
We drove into Methven for shopping and popped into the local bar for a quick beer and a large plate of chips. Before that, we tried to find a fish and chip shop but nothing could be found. It’s a busy town during ski season with cafes, bars and three Spark WiFi points to update your Facebook.
Yep, that’s my mess
More beers tonight and cheese, tomatoes and salami on crackers was a real treat. Then the main meal of beef stu which you boil in a bag.