Distance walked by Mike & Idol 131.9km walked by Toby 32.2km
Distance to go 1071.1km
Lots of drizzly rain today but only once was it hard enough to put my parka on. A few hundred metres after the start was a single lane bridge followed by 3 km of gravel road. Idol who was so good on the bitumen didn't have a clue about where to walk on gravel. However there was almost no traffic and he comes when called so I let him wander around and drink out of the potholes. The annoying thing was that the rumble from Waikato Expressway - across the river and over a hill could be heard.
Other than a farmer who stopped for a chat I didn't get to talk to anyone, other than Bevan, until reaching Huntly, but I did get to wave at some children at a camp.
Where yesterday I was hopeless with the time today I was on or ahead of time all day - until I reached Huntly College. After the first 6km that could hardly be called hilly it was almost dead flat which made the walking easy - with a bit of rubbish about once an hour to keep Idol happy.
An interesting mixture of farm animals along the road today - dairy and beef cattle, sheep, alpacas, goats and pigs all in the first 6km and later on free range hens - fortunately Toby wasn't walking at that time.
Bevan found a cafe with really good food which made the day much more pleasant. I don't know why but all the cafes in Tuakau had the same range of food.
Most of the road today Idol had no problems but there was a 2km stretch that has been rebuilt recently and the sharp stones of the basecourse had not yet been covered and Idol was struggling a bit. I expect his feet to harden up in the next week and he will have less trouble.
At Te Ohaaki I had to put my parka on and Idol took advantage of inattention to sneak out onto the road to eat some road kill. I only knew something was wrong when the car coming from behind me slowed down. He got quite a telling off and I think will be sticking to the rules. At the other end of Te Ohaaki there was a telephone company worker in an orange hi-viz jacket. Idol took off to see him the same as he does to see Bevan (and Chris) before him. He was a bit disappointed when he got close and it wasn't the right person. Can dogs see the difference between yellow and orange?
I arrived at Huntly College just a few minutes after school was released. I only had Idol who wasn't wanting to be patted even though lots of the kids wanted to pat him. I was also pleased that the coal train went through just before I arrived as the pedestrian bridge is attached to the rail bridge and I think the dogs would have spooked. I did get a few dollars from the school children and also a donation from the dairy owner.
Willy and staff were waiting for us at Huntly branch with a bucket with the staff contribution already in it. Willy loves Huntly and I think she is the sort of non nonsense lady that gets respect from all ranks in society. After a leisurely cuppa it was off to Ngaruawahia to say hello to the staff there as they will be closed when I go past tomorrow. Toby did his smooching job again.
I have spent the last 2 nights in the comfort of Alan and Mel's house. The meals have been really good.
Where was God for me today: In the positive comments on Facebook.
Where did I need Go to be today: Healing Toby so he can join the walk.
Distance to go 1071.1km
Lots of drizzly rain today but only once was it hard enough to put my parka on. A few hundred metres after the start was a single lane bridge followed by 3 km of gravel road. Idol who was so good on the bitumen didn't have a clue about where to walk on gravel. However there was almost no traffic and he comes when called so I let him wander around and drink out of the potholes. The annoying thing was that the rumble from Waikato Expressway - across the river and over a hill could be heard.
Other than a farmer who stopped for a chat I didn't get to talk to anyone, other than Bevan, until reaching Huntly, but I did get to wave at some children at a camp.
Where yesterday I was hopeless with the time today I was on or ahead of time all day - until I reached Huntly College. After the first 6km that could hardly be called hilly it was almost dead flat which made the walking easy - with a bit of rubbish about once an hour to keep Idol happy.
An interesting mixture of farm animals along the road today - dairy and beef cattle, sheep, alpacas, goats and pigs all in the first 6km and later on free range hens - fortunately Toby wasn't walking at that time.
Bevan found a cafe with really good food which made the day much more pleasant. I don't know why but all the cafes in Tuakau had the same range of food.
Most of the road today Idol had no problems but there was a 2km stretch that has been rebuilt recently and the sharp stones of the basecourse had not yet been covered and Idol was struggling a bit. I expect his feet to harden up in the next week and he will have less trouble.
At Te Ohaaki I had to put my parka on and Idol took advantage of inattention to sneak out onto the road to eat some road kill. I only knew something was wrong when the car coming from behind me slowed down. He got quite a telling off and I think will be sticking to the rules. At the other end of Te Ohaaki there was a telephone company worker in an orange hi-viz jacket. Idol took off to see him the same as he does to see Bevan (and Chris) before him. He was a bit disappointed when he got close and it wasn't the right person. Can dogs see the difference between yellow and orange?
I arrived at Huntly College just a few minutes after school was released. I only had Idol who wasn't wanting to be patted even though lots of the kids wanted to pat him. I was also pleased that the coal train went through just before I arrived as the pedestrian bridge is attached to the rail bridge and I think the dogs would have spooked. I did get a few dollars from the school children and also a donation from the dairy owner.
Willy and staff were waiting for us at Huntly branch with a bucket with the staff contribution already in it. Willy loves Huntly and I think she is the sort of non nonsense lady that gets respect from all ranks in society. After a leisurely cuppa it was off to Ngaruawahia to say hello to the staff there as they will be closed when I go past tomorrow. Toby did his smooching job again.
I have spent the last 2 nights in the comfort of Alan and Mel's house. The meals have been really good.
Where was God for me today: In the positive comments on Facebook.
Where did I need Go to be today: Healing Toby so he can join the walk.
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