Day 49: Rest day in Taumarunui

Today’s rest day was unexpected and comes quick on the heels of our last rest day just a few days ago. We could probably rest for a whole week, though, and still have various aches and pains so this was a nice surprise.

The big news today was that we hitchhiked for the first time. The town was 5 km away and we needed more groceries. We didn’t want to walk 10 km so it was time to try bumming a ride.

I took the shift into town. There wasn’t a lot of traffic going that way so it took a little while. Maybe just a dozen cars or so. Asking others for things that only benefit me isn’t really my style. It felt magical in some way when the van stopped. I also felt something of relief, and a little guilt. The woman who stopped was older; she had her grandson with her. She also said the town was dying. Sad. She was happy to take us just about anywhere we wanted. We had her drop us off in about the center of the main street.

First up was a cafe for delicious things. A couple of sandwich type baked goods and apple turnovers later, we headed to the butcher for salami and then the market for the rest. We really loaded up on things like fruit, chips, and juice that we normally wouldn’t carry. Plus, more chocolate. Hitchhiking back to camp was Emily’s job. It didn’t go as well. We ended up walking a km or two with a backpack bursting with heavy food. About halfway back, a woman stopped and offered a ride and then insisted on taking us all the way, even off the highway and around the little street.

Tomorrow we will meet the canoe company at 9 AM and our river adventure will begin. Huzzah!