to Checkpoint SEVEN 14.8km
"Climb up through pastureland to the highest point of the course and into pine plantation forest then head round the back of Mount Tauhara. Oxfam is grateful to Landcorp and local Iwi for granting Trailwalker participants special permission to go through this section.Many teams will get to watch the sun rising up behind Mount Tauhara (1068m). There will be an aid station halfway along this section, just in case you need to call for assistance.You will emerge close to State Highway 5 but follow Tuck's Track, an old bushman's trail through low lying bush to Checkpoint 7."
It was rough setting off and leaving the warmth of blankets and jackets behind. We were all struggling to get our minds into a good space... especially the girls who had done this section on the training weekend before and knew there was a bit of climbing ahead. By now nearly 2am we were all in pain and very tired, wishing for some sleep but knew it was only the "short amount" of less than 30km to go!! At this point Andre got a phonecall from the UK... which we all confess to listening in on... it was hearing Andre laugh and carry on walking that helped the rest of the group take the focus off themselves for a while... sorry for the listening in, but thank you for the phone call Elbert and Nick... you helped us all keep going!
Going through the farmland and up the hills took a lot out of all of us... but we did it. But there was still more... as we rounded Mount Tauhara all sorts of subjects were up for discussion... as distraction... anything and everything was discussed at great length! And finally we hit the Aid station... Yay! Half way! Moving a lot slower now we carried on still in darkness we passed along the DOC tracks we had picked berries along during our training weekend... and across more fields and styles before finally reaching the Underpass to the Highway. At this point after 4 hours of walking in the cold and dark, if we hadnt had the warmth of the tent to collapse in we would all have started feeling the effects of the cold very, very quickly. Support crew ever ready with Hot drinks of Milo and Tea... warm blankets... massages... the works... we were that weary we could barely decide what we wanted... We all definitely didnt want to leave the warmth of the tent at 6am... without our ever amazing Support Crew all pushing and encouraging us on we would NEVER have left! THANK YOU!
It was rough setting off and leaving the warmth of blankets and jackets behind. We were all struggling to get our minds into a good space... especially the girls who had done this section on the training weekend before and knew there was a bit of climbing ahead. By now nearly 2am we were all in pain and very tired, wishing for some sleep but knew it was only the "short amount" of less than 30km to go!! At this point Andre got a phonecall from the UK... which we all confess to listening in on... it was hearing Andre laugh and carry on walking that helped the rest of the group take the focus off themselves for a while... sorry for the listening in, but thank you for the phone call Elbert and Nick... you helped us all keep going!
Going through the farmland and up the hills took a lot out of all of us... but we did it. But there was still more... as we rounded Mount Tauhara all sorts of subjects were up for discussion... as distraction... anything and everything was discussed at great length! And finally we hit the Aid station... Yay! Half way! Moving a lot slower now we carried on still in darkness we passed along the DOC tracks we had picked berries along during our training weekend... and across more fields and styles before finally reaching the Underpass to the Highway. At this point after 4 hours of walking in the cold and dark, if we hadnt had the warmth of the tent to collapse in we would all have started feeling the effects of the cold very, very quickly. Support crew ever ready with Hot drinks of Milo and Tea... warm blankets... massages... the works... we were that weary we could barely decide what we wanted... We all definitely didnt want to leave the warmth of the tent at 6am... without our ever amazing Support Crew all pushing and encouraging us on we would NEVER have left! THANK YOU!
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