Day 36 Tekapo to Twizel

Walked by Mike & Rapid 39.2km 52942 steps. Walked by Ella 18.5km

It was sub-zero at 6am this morning. Fiona had put the dogs to bed and I forgot to tell her to put the warm coats on them. Ella was obviously shivering. Rapid's boots which I had left in the van to dry out were frozen. When I emptied the water bowl onto the grass it had frozen by the time I finished putting on Rapid's coat and shoes.

I had originally planned to use the walkway as far as Lake Pukaki but as the road was still closed I elected to use the road. About an hour into the walk a Genesis van came through and as I expected the road was being opened. The next vehicle to arrive was Fiona in the van. She had been shopping in Tekapo. When she went past the Tekapo end of the canal road the gates were still closed. By the time she got to the Pukaki end they were open. A car was coming through every 2 or 3 min utes so when I got to the bridge before the salmon farm I cross to the walkway (which is also used by fisherman for that stretch). Ella found no rabbits to chase today but the long walk on top of yesterday has her feet very sore and she won't do much tomorrow.

I made fairly good pace the first 2 hours but I was much slower once I switched to the walkway which was a fairly uneven gravel surface. By the time I got to the 20km mark I was about 20 minutes behind and I lost more on the break.

I found a four wheel drive track that descended the Pukaki dam to the canal so I was able to save a little distance there. There is a flood channel from the canal to the Pukaki River. It is blocked off with rather heavy concrete blocks. How the water is supposed to find it's way into the floodway beats me as I doubt the water in the canal would have the force to carry away the several tonne concrete blocks at the edge of its flow.

To get to Twizel on time Fiona drove me across 5km which I went back and walked later.

There were only 3 of the 5 Twizel branch staff working today. Maggie had brought in some food for afternoon tea and the staff took it in turns to have a talk with me. I left just before closing time and went back and walked the 5km I had skipped earlier.

Fiona cooked bacn and eggs for dinner and we then went to the pub for dinner where I was able to get a few dollars in the bucket.

My plans for the rest of the week are in a bit of disarray now as the local branch of the Cancer Society want me to help them with the launch of the Relay for Life tomorrow. It is the first time it will be run in Twizel. The plan now is to try and cover the 30km to Omarama by 1:30pm and then come back and do the Relay for Life launch. Tomorrow I will take the morning off and then walk 16.5 km to Dunstan Downs. The 0.5km between Dunstan Downs and the original end point will be transferred to Saturday when I walk over Lindis Pass. This will help Fiona have a late start as I will just walk out the gate of Dunstan Downs where we are staying.