Day 23 Punakaiki to Greymouth

Walked by Mike & Rapid 44.6km Ella walked 20km and wanted lots of cuddles at the bank to celebrate.

Martina and her weimaraner walked with me for about 40 minutes. We chatted about lots of things but somehow I remember almost none of it - my excuse is I'm getting old. We started early at about 6:40am so that I had time for breaks and would still get to Greymouth on time. There were 2 showers of rain during the first couple of hours and then it was fine for the rest of the day.

Ella was supposed to walk 5.8km in the morning and 8km on the afternoon. She was looking so good I walked her for 7km in the morning and 13km in the afternoon - from Rapahoe rather than Runanga to Greymouth.

I was rather cross with Alex when he picked up Ella. We also had a miscommunication so he went to 16km rather than 11km to wait for me for a break. When there was no sign of him at 11km I wondered if I had been too rude and he had just driven off to quit. Still no sign of him at Barrytown (15km) I was getting very worried. I flagged down a police car who told me Alex was at Rataview - another km ahead. Fortunately Toby had made good on his offer to deliver a coffee and I had a muesli bar with me so I didn't run out of energy.

I made good time as far as 12 Mile Bluff. I told Alex I was 5 minutes behind schedule but then after I started walking again I came up with the conclusion I was half an hour ahead so I stopped pushing. The correct situation was I was 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

I met a reporter from Greymouth Star at 9 Mile Bluff who took a few photos of Rapid & I. I then realised that I was running out of time so I pushed myself hard to get to Rapahoe on time. About the same time I noticed that Rapid was walking a little stiffly when not on grass. Either Alex or I was always out of coverage so the message I needed Rapid's shoes didn't get through. He only got them when I got to Rapahoe where Alex was waiting.

Very close to Rapahoe I met Lyndall and Rebecca walking to meet me from Runanga. Lyndall had her three whippets - Darby, Dominique and Scooter. Rebecca had her white Staffy Hail with her.

At Rununga Bronwyn was waiting for us with her boxers Bella and Monte, and Remmi a retriever. Bronwyn is a postie but said she wasn't very fit. She still managed to lead us into Greymouth at a pace that left 10 minutes free to collect on the way through town.

The Greymouth Messenger did an interview when I arrived at the National Bank in Greymouth, along with Katie, Lyndall, Rebecca and Bronwyn who had $300 raised by the Greymouth Community Dog Walking Group.

Once we got inside the branch Rapid flopped while Ella worked her charm on all the staff. After a cup of tea and some bacon & egg pie made by Bridget I walked down to say hello to the staff at ANZ. Sharon manages both branches, and I think Hokitika as well.

Tonight we are staying with Katie and Dean at 2 Brown Dogs. It is their first night in the new house. I am sleeping in the small cottage they built as a temporary measure to replace the housetruck they initially lived in.

I lost a third toenail while soaking my feet tonight. It is only the toes that are a serious blister problem now. I'm a little stiff after all the walking this week and rather footsore but the feet are way better blister wise. The shin has also stopped hurting but my right foot is still a little inflamed.