Days six and seven ~ It’s the little things
26th and 27th November 2020 | The first 100kms
Finishing off the bitch, I mean, beach.
Actually, that’s overly dramatic. We had a great beach experience. Spreading it out over 7 days gave us space to train for this porangi/crazy thing. We now mostly know how to use our gear, how much we need to eat and we’re starting to learn what motivates us - and how wildly that varies between the gang.
The last few days into Ahipara we walked 17kms then 14kms. Feels very doable now (how good!). We promised the kids that when we made it the 100kms to Ahipara they could yell out the actual b-word swear word. It became a bit of a gag as we made it closer. Goldie was the first to scream it out, revelling in the delight of swearing out loud in front of her folks and hoping others far and wide would also hear. She managed to spit it out a few times before we reined her in.
Joppy loved it too. Juno actually found it very uncomfortable. Ah, the self-conscious tween. She carried an epic weight of water in her pack down the beach with painful heels but says she loved the beach despite its trials. She's a real hiker now.
Vibes were weary but high walking up to the holiday park to ditch our packs and go in search of treats. Skipping along beside me in quiet contemplation, Golds comes out with it. Her thoughts from the week?
“Well, that was unpleasant.”
Ha. The sweet honesty of a 5-year-old. She cracks us up.
The other promise we made was a can of coke to themselves for the big kids and L&P for Golds. Delish with hot chips in a cosy cabin, sitting in an actual chair after a warm shower.
And so, as cliched as it sounds, it’s the little things.
“Well, that was unpleasant.”
The first 100kms, done and dusted.
