Te Araroa day 53

I was beginning to think I was running out of great days walking the Te Araroa trail, everyone seems to be dreading the 25km beach walk from Riverton to Otatara. I was certainly keeping an open mind and once again was blessed with a beautiful blue sky day with not a breath of wind.

Leaving the Riverton/Aparima harbour at the mouth of the Aparima river it was pond like.
The sun slowly rising above the beach.
I could barely see the destination at the far end of the beach, but it didnt matter to me. I knew the distance, know my pace and therefore knew how long it was going to take me. I felt possibly more content with the prospect than on any other day. I knew what lay ahead and all I had to do was walk and enjoy.

I had downloaded Billy Connolly's autobiography 'windswept and interesting' audio book for this trip. Chapter 1. 'do what makes you happy' was a great way to start the day.
Billy, clearly struggled with happiness, despite being a windswept and interesting showbiz personality. He does however suggest what happiness is:
'having a liking for yourself and having a joy in being with yourself'.
Which perfectly sums up what I have discovered about myself on this journey, and hearing it from Billy made me truely happy and set me up for another special day walking with me, billy and the sea by my side.
The other great quote from Billy, also appropriate for this trip has been. 'There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes'.

I guess you don't want to breakdown while driving down the beach. This car was totally munted, except for the emergency spare wheel on the back, which looked new :)
Arrived at campsite and borrowed a bike to cycle to local bar for late lunch to top off another top day on the trail.
Sad to be running out of days, but excited to be returning home.

Thanks Billy. I enjoyed listening to you on cassette tape over and over again when I was young, watched many of your shows and movies, and was lucky to see you perform live in Auckland. Last year I bought your book 'Tall tales and wee stories' which had me in helpless fits of laughter while reading at Mt Cook Village on my 50th Birthday (Narelle has the recording). Today was yet another memorable occasion with you.

Comments

  1. Jimmy FalconerFebruary 22, 2022 at 3:00 AM

    Only one day to go - sad or glad? I suspect a bit of both.
    What a great experience.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JothiFebruary 23, 2022 at 2:32 PM

    Made golden days to recollect!!

    ReplyDelete

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