Invercargill to bluff
Te Araroa takes a wetland path out of Invercargill so for a couple of early hours I was entertained by hundreds of waterfowl and a dozen fernbirds. Probably best place in the country to see fernbirds. I sped along, unencumbered by Deuter. Just a sunhat, some almonds, an apple and hope. The trail uses SH1 for about 16km and I counted 70 trucks coming towards me. Felt like even more were heading for the port. A log carrier was in, and mysterious bulk loads came out of a fertiliser plant and a feed importer. Couldn't identify the nauseating smell. I passed a Wyethesque chapel in a field and a mystery building with a maritime job to do. By that stage I'd reached footpaths, maybe five hours from Invercargill. Just kept walking till I made Stirling Point, right on midday. I set off on 23 September 2018 so the walk took 130 days. I wore out 3 pairs of boots, 2 pairs of gaiters, 4 pairs of Coolmax socks (merino socks all still in good repair), 2 pairs of
