The TA saga comes to an end

Castle Point

Well, quite a lot has happened since my last post and a fair amount of time has gone by, so I thought it was about time to update everyone on our life, which just never seems to go to plan.

Seals at Cape Palliser

The first major update is that sadly Glen and I made the tough decision a couple of months ago, to not go back to the Te Araroa trail. This was a massive decision, very difficult to make and was affected by multiple factors. Ultimately neither of us regret choosing to end our hike, but it was a hard choice as we had given up so much to do it. Let me explain.

The Olive Grove 

As you might remember, we were staying with my parents at the olive grove where they call home while I got my iron levels back up. Just before New Year's Eve I managed to get another blood test done and my iron was back to normal levels! This was fantastic news and we immediately planned a couple of short practice hikes to test me out. Glen, my stepdad John and I attempted to climb Mt. Dick near Carterton, which was very steep but not a huge distance. Unfortunately I didn't get very far at all. I couldn't do it without the dizziness and shortness of breath symptoms and had to turn back feeling like a failure again. I didn't understand this as my iron was good again. After a bit more research we realised that although my iron was back to normal, it takes much longer for the red blood cells to replenish and these are what transport oxygen around the body, which explains the symptoms...Humph!

View from Mt. Dick

I obviously needed a bit more time. We decided to keep practicing and preparing for a couple more weeks then we would be ready to hit the trail again. We did a long walk from Carterton to my parents home, which was about 12km on the flat. I did well, but even on the flat I was a bit dizzy at the end. I knew it would keep improving however, and now we had a date to work towards, the 19th January, when my Mother was due back from England where she had been looking after my Grandparents since Christmas. That was the day we would continue our journey. In the meantime we had a bit of a holiday, exploring the Wairarapa and Wellington areas and enjoying not stressing about hiking or planning.

Horse on our walk from Carterton 

At that point however, life threw us another curveball. My Grandma became very sick and sadly passed away on the 14th January. I had been considering flying to England to see my Grandparents one more time, as I still had a couple of weeks to go before walking again anyway, so when my Grandma's health declined quickly I chose to book a flight. Unfortunately she passed before I could say goodbye to her, but I was able to be there with my Mother and Grandpa to help with the funeral. I hadn't seen my Grandpa for over 6 years so, although the circumstances weren't ideal, it was the perfect time. I was there for an amazing 3 weeks. I spent loads of time with my family which was incredible and family friends, whom I hadn't seen in decades. We had real snow and mostly, I had precious time with my Grandpa. I'm so glad I went and had that time there.

Day out in London

Proper English snow!

When I arrived back to New Zealand, the plan was to stay with Glen's parents a few more days then get back to Hamilton to hike the trail as far as we could before time was up and winter got too close. When Glen met me at the airport, however, he had some news...another life-plan altering situation actually. He had been approached about a job in Nelson.... It was the perfect job and the perfect opportunity, but oh man, the timing! It was the middle of February now and suddenly our TA plans were officially over. I can't say that either of us were particularly upset with this decision, as it really was about time we finally gave up. We did walk just under 1000kms (a third!), which is seriously still something to be proud of and moving to Nelson was a dream we had discussed plenty of times previously. We hadn't known how to make it happen and now it was happening in front of our eyes. How could we not follow our hearts.

Valentine's Day in Paihia

We spent some time driving back to Carterton, where I waited while Glen went to Nelson for an interview. He didn't have to wait long to find out he got the job. Next thing, we were on the interislander and headed to Nelson! We had a month to find a house and move our stuff, before the start date. I resigned from my workplace with a heavy heart, as I had been planning to return there in April. They had held my job for me and shown me so much support in doing this adventure, but it was time for a change and this was our chance. We found a home relatively easily and have just  shipped off our stuff from Auckland this week. We are currently back in Mangonui with Glen's parents, about to embark on our last roadtrip for awhile and to start our new adventure of life in the South Island!

Waikoropupu Springs in Tasman

This has been a whirlwind 5 months, but I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason and this was just all meant to be. We will definitely keep hiking as it is one of the most amazing, enjoyable ways to spend time outside, experiencing nature. Just maybe not for more than a few days at a time...Luckily, Nelson is surrounded by beautiful spots to explore on foot. There will be no more blog updates, but I did thoroughly enjoy writing them and sharing our experiences with you all. Thank you for reading and following us with interest. Peace out! P.S. Glen is keeping the beard...

Making a new home in Nelson