Day 72 - Birchwood Station to Merrivale Road

A part of me wanted to take a rest day at Birchwood Station, but the sun was shinning today for the first time in a long time, and I couldn't pass that up. At this pace I will reach Bluff without taking a rest day for 15 days.

It was a cold morning. Hard frost was layered on every blade of grass and the pot holes on the road were solid with ice. Although most of the trail was through farmland and not particularly interesting I found a sense of calmness and peace that stuck with me all day. I'm reaching the end of my journey, and a part of me is feeling sad. I'm incredibly excited to finish, don't get me wrong, but I know I will miss it. Because of this I took my time. I enjoy the views of the snowcovered mountains all around me, and the bright blue sky above me.

It was a 30km day, and I was glad to have made it to Merrivale hut before 5pm. The sun is starting to set around 6pm these days which makes things much more rushed when I get in. Generally, when the sun sets we all go to bed. I'm currently on the same pace with Stef and Heiner (trail name "The Black Bandits") As well as Anna and Raffiel (no trail name), and Geome (trail name "Jukebox"). We've all become quite close and have been the only ones at the hut together at night. I'll be walking into Bluff with all of them on the same day, which has starting to become a common topic of conversation at night. We're all so very excited to finish. We're already planning a bit of a party on the night we arrive.

It's 5 more days before I reach bluff, the end of my journey, but all of those days - except one - will be hard 30km(+) days. Finishing with a bang.