- Island Bay to Upper Hutt via Hutt Rd and Hutt River Trail
- Upper Hutt to Greytown via Rimutaka Incline
- Greytown to Upper Hutt via Pylon track
- Upper Hutt to Island Bay
Coming up to Wellington Railway Station I was wondering about stopping for some food when I found a nice man at the backpackers on Waterloo Quay giving away cheese scones - very nice too.
At Ngauranga the dogs and I put on our high viz vests before walking along the cycle path beside the railway to Petone. The last half kilometre are on the shoulder with 3 lanes of traffic only about 2 metres away. That bit is a bit scary but something I need to get used to since the South Island walk will involve thousands of kilometres of walking on state highway shoulders.
As I approached Ewen Bridge I was stopped by a Dominion Post reporter and photogrpher. He had seen Ella, Rapid and I walking along with our coats and wondered what we were doing. After expressing surprise at my plans he then got the photographer to take about 100 photos, one of which appeared in the paper on 1 May 2010. I had let the dogs off the lead when we got to Petone but I had to put them back on for the photos. I have to pretend they are always on a lead.
After Ewen Bridge we took to the Hutt River bank which we followed all the way to Jude and Paul's place at Totara Park. A quick stop at the supermarket at Lower Hutt to buy a torch (for the Rimutaka Tunnel) and some rather yummy pizza bread for lunch. Lunch stop was taken shortly before the Kennedy-Good Bridge. From here to Stokes Valley is along the river bank. The dogs would run down to the river about every half hour and get wet so no problems with them staying cool. Rapid was in a good mood and didn't try and chase any of the cyclists who went past on the path.
At Stokes Valley the path stops for while and you use the footpath along Eastern Hutt Rd for a few hundred metres before descending back to the river on a narrow path. We met another Border Collie on this path. One that got a proper amount of exercise and was a goo weight - not like most urban dogs.
By the time I got to Trentham I was exhausted. I lay down on the stop bank and had 20 minutes sleep. I texted my brother-in-law Nick in the hope he had taken the car to work and could relieve me of my pack. Alas he had taken the train. However Alison my sister sent a text 20 minute later to say she was in Upper Hutt and had the car and would meet me at the Moonshine Bridge in half an hour.
10 minutes later I realised I had failed to pick up the dog leads after my nap so I ditched the pack for a while and retraced my steps. It was the first part of the walk I felt comfortable. After a mis-communication with Alison about where I was waiting she finally found me about 4pm. we split up the stuff in my pack into things to go to Paul and Jude's place and things to go to her place in Carterton. Alas I forgot I would need the torch tomorrow and it went off in the pack to her home.
The remaining 2 hours of the walk without any bag at all were really pleasant. It got dark about 1km away from Paul & Jude's house and unable to read the street signs I went down the wrong street. Fortunately this street put us back on the river bank and we arrived at Paul & Jude's about 5 minutes before they arrived. I just had time to take my shoes off before they arrived.
The slick tape didn't stick to my feet very well but fortunately I had only one small blister but my legs and back were tired.
I was very stiff and really enjoyed the shower before a dinner of Pasta cooked by Paul and an early night. Ella was also a bit stiff after she had rested.
