29th Jan Sunday, Te Anau  120

Telford Campsite 2816kms to Pine forest 2856km (40km)

Thank goodness we camped in a sheltered  area as 4 o’clock  this morning my tent was at first getting thrown about by the winds and then came the rain, I had to move fast and grab my gear and stuff into my waterproof  bag. The storm wasn’t to bad it was more wind than  rain, thank goodness

I’m in the habit  of using all the pegs to tie down the tent but even so, I had to get out of the tent twice to find the peg that was pulled out of the ground.

First up this morning the sand-flies  were on attack  mode so after a coffee and a energy  bar we made our way through the farm paddock  tramping through the streams that the cattle  have turned into mud. A river crossing soon cleaned my boots, after 2 and a half hours of walking, it’s our second breakfast  time. Supplies are getting low but should be OK for another 4 days. 2 days with coffee and treats then they are all gone.
Passing through  Mt Linton Station, reminds me of the days in the North Island, navigating my way through sheep and cattle but the 4WD tracks made a welcoming  change to the previous  days of swamps.

The day has turned out really good, along the way I’ve meet many hikers travelling the opposite way, one in particular  one stood  out was that he was wearing noise  cancellation  headphones and the odd thing was he was bear foot. I’d say that’s one of the most strangers things I’ve seen so far.
Yesterday I passed a woman  that carried a backpack much bigger than mine and also carrying like 5 liters of water, I think she is going to really struggling.

It  was another long day and just as we did 40km for the day, we found  a nice spot to pitch the tent for the  night on the edge of  pine forest. Finally no sand flies!

This is a sight you don’t see much anymore, phone box. probable not working.