Whoo, I sure did cheat the trail today. No ride back to where I hitched in from yesterday was apparent, so I attempted to get over toward Ohai. It took forever. (How did I manage to plan this hike so that I'd need a hitch bright and early on day one of the new year?)
In a miraculous occurrence, the guy who picked me up after 4 hours of trying to hitch (a ~10k? distance) works on Litton Station, the sheep farm that I'd be crossing on the TA. This guy is a tramper himself, just back from hiking around in the Fiordlands, and cut out a significant amount of my gravel farm road walk. I'm a bit sad to have skipped the Otautau to Ohai portion, but the logistics were daunting and maybe I'll be able to give some of my aches and pains a bit more rest and attention for the next couple of days. So far, I feel pretty vindicated in my cheating.
So, Litton Station is the biggest sheep farm in all of New Zealand, and it is gorgeous. Drop-dead, I-could-live-here-forever, why-am-I-not-a-sheep-in-New-Zealand, maybe-I-could-go-into-farming gorgeous. Seriously, if I thought I would have any chance of being hired on at this farm, I would discard that shiny new genetics Ph.D. in a second and start working on my, I dunno, shearing skills or something. This farm has some really steep foothills with crystal clear streams and incredible vistas through a multitude of narrow valleys.
I took a short walk up a hill, across some sheep paddocks, and through an area with a bunch of cattle who were not so used to humans. I've made it just to the start of conservation land, and have set up at Telford Burn Campsite. This is the prettiest spot I've ever camped, and thanks to my laziness and my odd turn of luck, I've been able to wash, read, and relax while the sun's still up. It's still toasty out, and I think this is the first day that I haven't been on the trail for 10-12 hours. Lordy lou, this is a beautiful spot.
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