We felt quite proud of ourselves, having just biked 58 miles. I’ve never biked more than 30 miles in my life before!!! But somehow we made it through, feeling better than most days walking on trail! If you missed our biking adventure, be sure to check out Biking From Lake Tekapo: An Unforgettable Adventure 🚵🏻♂️
11 March, 2026 (Day 47)
We slept in as a treat to ourselves for our efforts on the bike yesterday. Lake Ohau Lodge offered a beautiful full breakfast and we gladly warfed it down.
Jeremy has still been struggling with the remains of a cold and so we are trying not to push our bodies too hard.
Around 10 AM we start off towards the “hills”. Straight into a climb and some rewarding views, followed by a nice walk by the river.
We walked as far as we wanted and pitched a tent by a stream next to our friends!
12 March, 2026 (Day 48)
We woke up early to get a good start on the day. Today, we navigate the widest river on the TA (aside from the two braided rivers that bypasses are recommended for).
An hour into our day, we come face to face with the river. It’s been dry lately so we cross very easily!
The rest of the day was spent walking on 4-wheel drive tracks that felt luxurious compared to what we are used to! These 4 x 4 tracks amaze me! They are all up and around the mountain and we are hiking through a farm!!!
After lunch we start uphill towards Martha Saddle. I call my mom, whose name is Martha, from the top! Why not? Of course I have to call Martha from Martha Saddle!!!
Tonight there was a massive wind storm! I hear yelling in the middle of the night! Someone’s tent collapsed on them! We used our trekking poles to give the tent extra support and we appeared to make it through the storm unscathed.
It wasn’t until later that we found out this wind storm might have caused us a whole lot more trouble than we bargained for. 🤨
13 March, 2026 (Day 49)
It was raining as we started off this morning, but luckily the wind storm from last night had passed.
We worked our way through a patch of forest that felt more jungle than alpine. From there we boulder hopped along the river until a junction where the trail went STRAIGHT up the mountain. It was so steep at times I prayed the tread on my shoe would keep my step from sliding down and losing all my progress.
It was slow work.
When we reached our intended spot for the night we pitched the tent and treated ourselves with some chocolate chia seed pudding!
14 March, 2026 (Day 50)
It’s a warm, sunny, stunning day. The kind of day that makes you want to hum and skip a bit as you walk.
Today is fantastic! We follow the farmers 4 x 4 trail through herds of sheep and up on the ridge of Breast Hill.
The descent from Breast hill was as steep going down as coming up. Looks like we will be rock scrambling for a while! I say goodbye to my knees, wishing them all the best and hammer down the “hill”.
When we make it off the mountain, we decide to walk along the lake shoreline instead of hitching. It’s so beautiful!
Around 7 PM we arrive at ‘The Camp- Lake Hāwea’
We settle in for a rest day tomorrow! They have a food truck on site at the camp and we indulge in a juicy burger by the lake!
15 March, 2026 (Day 51)
There isn’t much I can tell you about today – other than I spent most of it on my bum, eating and enjoying our view of the lake!
I successfully ate an entire container of hummus, a pepper, and 3 carrots in one setting; accompanied by a banana and about a quarter gallon of ice cream for a “balanced” diet.
As the sun set over the lake, Jeremy and I took our Zenbivy sleep system out to the lake and watched as another day faded into the mountains!
16 March, 2026 (Day 52)
We walked about 6 hours from Lake Hāwea to Wanaka.
There’s a rumor that a delicious French bakery lies half way in between the two towns so we look forward to indulging in a pie for lunch!
When we arrive in Wanaka, the next order of business comes… finding a place to stay. This town is so expensive and staying in a bed is out of the question. We settle on paying $66 DOLLARS NZD just to pitch our tent on a patch of grass next to a bunch of other tents.
Sure we get a hot shower, but this evens out to almost $40 USD just to pitch our tent in a not very scenic part of town.
17 March, 2026 (Day 53)
We woke up today and realized…
We aren’t going anywhere.
We are simply too tired.
I can’t quite describe the type of exhaustion I feel now. Jeremy lost 10 lb. just in the first two weeks of trail. By now he is a stick. I on the other hand, haven’t lost much weight overall, but my waist has shrunk so much that, if it continues, my pack won’t fit properly around my waist anymore.
When Jeremy was sick, we thought he had fully recovered when we left to get back on trail – but that pesky cough has stuck with him in the form of a sore throat and exceptionally sore muscles ever since Methven.
My foot has felt well enough to get by (you’ll remember I had a problem with it in the beginning) but it has never fully healed. Whenever I wake at night to use the bathroom, I have to hobble on a stiff ankle/ foot for a few minutes to warm things back up again.
We are simply so spent and so tired.
To compound our low moral- we are officially out of the beautiful sections of trail and headed straight for the muddy, flat, life-less, anticlimactic ending of trail. Since the trail runs through the middle of the island, it misses all of the most beautiful costal sections.
We simply can’t keep going, just licking our wounds to “get by” when there is no reason to keep walking… no views, no reward.
To make matters even worse, we realize there is a growing hole in the mesh of our tent, offering us no protection from vicious sandflies that plague the South Island.
Just when we think it can’t get any worse…
The zipper on the side of the tent busts and it’s not repairable. It’s supposed to rain tonight, and we don’t have a working rain fly 😟
We have to call it. Right here. Right now.
This isn’t working.
We are tired.
Everything hurts.
We aren’t enjoying anything anymore.
The trail isn’t scenic anymore.
I called a dear friend to see if some outside wisdom would confirm what we are currently thinking. And it did!
“If you aren’t enjoying it anymore and you aren’t seeing the best views… why not take some time off to enjoy something else. Then decide if you want to come back to it or not!”
I think this is great advice!
With this in mind, we book a Campervan for the next week… 🚐
18 March, 2026 (Day 54)
We picked up Big Bee 🐝 today- our new home on wheels!!! We also enjoyed some crepes at an adorable French Food truck!!!
We still feel tired, but our hearts are soaring with anticiptation of the much needed rest coming up!
Where will we travel next???
We don’t know where we are going, only that we are on a grand adventure! I suppose the curveballs are the parts we remember the most.
Or at least… We hope that’s the case!