Intermission

I woke with the sunrise and walked the rest of the way out the SH 6.  I had little luck hitching a ride until I sat down and started eating my lunch, at which point a ute came along and gave me an exciting ride into nearby Omarama.

I finished lunch and dialed Roxane to make plans.  She and our friends are heading to Abel Tasman National Park in a couple days.  I’ll be hitching up North to meet them and spend some time off the trail.  Abel Tasman is supposed to be beautiful, and I won’t see it as part of my hike, so this seems like a great opportunity.

Hitching out of Omarama was great.  Right away an SUV stopped, with a couple that was on their way to Christchurch.  I had expected to need at least three separate rides to get there.

Along the way we stopped at Lake Tekapo to let the car’s radiator cool off, and I took a dip in the lake’s glacial waters, much to the amusement of my companions.  I came out a bit dizzy from the cold water’s effect on my inner ear, but much refreshed and noticeably less smelly.