29/n: Feet on the ground, head in the sky
And there it was — The End — just like that. No fireworks. No tears of joy. No joyful hugs. No emotional breakdown. No sense of accomplishment. Just an internal void and the dissatisfying end of a virtual red line on my smartphone screen.
I really couldn’t tell, what I had expected. Also I was still too tired and too exhausted to really think about an answer, and so I let myself immerse completely into the flow of events for a few days.
Day 1–4 p.ta: Bluff to Queenstown, to Arrowtown, to Queenstown, to Dansey’s Pass Campsite, to Dunedin.
„Nur wo du zu Fuß warst, bist du auch wirklich gewesen“ — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
A quote, that can be translated as „Reality can only be experienced on foot.“
And maybe that’s all it is. I’ve experienced reality. The reality of hiking. The reality of organizing my days around one simple task. The reality of experiencing a country through the backyard with all its idiosyncrasies. The reality of being bedded in the solidarity of nature. The reality of meeting people out of my self-imposed social bubble. The reality of constant change.
For now I just needed a few days on Stewart Island with Lenny and Sarah. A beautiful way to come down and to shed the mannerisms of the trail life.
Day 5–9 p.ta: Bluff to Oban (Halfmoon Bay) to Bungaree Hut, to Mt Angelem / Hananui over and back to Christmas Village Hut, to Port William Campsite over Bungaree Hut, to Oban (Halfmoon Bay) over North Arm Campsite to Bluff to Invercargill
We did a little, four days, freestyle trail with some backcountry huts and parts of the northern circuit and the great walk back to Halfmoon Bay. Still something most won’t consider a little trail, let alone laid-back — but for us it was sweet and relaxing.
I was almost relieved to see, that my love for hiking and the outdoors is genuine and not limited to athletic endeavors. Also Stewart Island really is easy to fall in love with. Even though we didn’t see a kiwi, nature offered us more than enough beautiful moments.
And standing on top of Mt Angelem / Hananui, in the middle of moorland on a bald hill, in the center of my reality, surrounded by clouds, creating an moment of security and intimacy — with a fresh, salty, earthy breeze in my face, the satisfying tingling of a beautiful walk up a hill in my chest and the promise of a hot delicious dinner with fresh mussels, we collected at the beach earlier, in my mouth, I experienced all that is and will be.
Day 10–13 p.ta: Invercargill to Dunedin by bus, Dunedin to Christchurch with Bazz & Shantal aka. Bash over Oamaru and Timaru to Kaiwaka over Picton, Wellington, Auckland by bus.
Now I’m on my way back to Kaiwaka to spend some days with my aunt, who supported me so much throughout the trail. Also I still have a little culinary promise to keep, before I leave New Zealand for my next adventure. The Appalachian Trail up the east coast of the USA. Another 3500 km of reality. Because I am the trail and the trail is me. And I am always and everywhere.
