Day 4 - Black Rock to Davis Bay - QCT

I awoke with the mountains this morning, watching the sun stretch its blood red  colors across the sky. It was day 4 of 70(+), and my body was feeling more fit for the task as I rose each day. I didn't feel like cooking breakfast this morning, so I ate a bumper bar and hit the trail.

It was an easy first hour or so on the trail until I hit the road to cowshed Bay. The trail then went straight up about 400 meters and this slowed my pace. I was by no means in any rush so I took every opportunity to rest when I could. The trail then went down over a few more saddles and this really took it out of me since I was still finding my walking legs. The sun was hot today, with temperatures around 25 Celsius. Normally this would be great weather, but when youre pushing your physical limits it can be quite draining. When I left camp this morning I only brought a little over 1L of water. This would have been just fine, but the water source on my map was dry, so I had to make sure I rationed it for the afternoon.

By mid afternoon the trail flattened out and I started to cruise! I eventually found a running stream and was so happy to jump down and filter a few liters from it. I continued on - taking it slow - and while I was stopped to enjoy the view my friend, Kat - from Winnipeg - came walking up the trail. She joined me for a quick chat and we continued on the trail for the last hour until we made it to Davis Camp. When we walked into camp I was happy to see my friend David from the Netherlands who I met at Black Rock Camp had made it safe. Davis camp was on the beach and there was nothing more enticing in that moment then going for a swim! David joined me for a quick dip, and while I was heading back in, a beautiful stingray came and circled around my legs before carrying on with his business.

By the time I got back to camp a German couple who were also walking the TA had set up for the night. They just finished the north island. The 5 of us sat around a small picnic table, cooking our meals chatting about gear and the trail. David was wide eyed with inspiration. He had never heard of Te Araroa until he met us thru hikers, and by the way he was writing down notes on gear and what food to bring I could tell that in a few years he would probably be back here to give it a shot.

As I lay in bed writing my blog I can hear the footsteps of thieving Wekas all around me. I just had to scare one off who almost grabbed my foam shoes. The little buggers are supper interested in shinny things, and my duplex zpacks tent is, well, a very shinny tent. So I've been a camp favorite of theirs. So far I've had them steal my tent sack, my soap sponge, my foam sitting pad, and one also poked three small holes in the bug net of my tent. Luckily I was fast enough to chase them and get all my stuff back. Its hard to hate them though. This is their home first, and I'm just here for adventure.