On behalf of team Four Geldings we would like to extend our many thanks for both your financial and moral support in making your team the highest fundraising team in the Oxfam Challenge !!!
Around $ 24,500 raised to date, we hope if the pledges to support continue to come through we should raise that to over $ 25,000 , by far the most any team has raised, all thanks to you.
When we took on this challenge I don't think any of us really thought 100 km was that far...I can assure you by the time we finished it seemed a lot further.
Our day started in the early morning with a 5am departure after breakfast to our start point along the western shore of Lake Taupo, we kicked off with around 100 other teams of four at 6am toward the front of the pack and made easy work of the first three stages from Whangamata Road Airstrip to Kinlock Marina and onto Whakaipo Bay. A wonderful walk along a well formed walking/bike track and a track we all wanted to go back and do again.
After the first 38 km we were feeling a bit cocky...reality came in a the next stage of 16km over some pretty steep winding long hill over farm land to Taupo Domain. At that point we decided as a team to push on to get through the next two stages before night fall so we could start the last two stages in day light if we could.
Stage 5 saw us walking along the Waikato River, a pleasant well formed path which takes you across the Huka Falls which we knocked out in no time and headed across the Wairakei HWY into a tough 9 km loupe through a never ending forest of mature pines with plenty on undulations and tricky footing in places. We were all starting to feel all of the almost 70 km we had covered in the past 13 hours.
We arrived at Wairakei Resort to the welcoming arms of our fantastic support team of Pip and Cherry who as usual were dressed as slutty nurses, hot food, foot bath, shower ( had to have a bit of style), clean socks and dry clothes. We kitted up for our night walk and for what we knew was going to be a tough night..I don't think any of us expected it to be as tough as it was.
We departed just on dark with food in our tummy, beer under our belt and still what survived of our bravado into what is the longest stage of 18 km down the Waikato River over the Aratiatia dam. It seemed the further we walked the kilometres seemed longer than a 1000 m. At our briefing 100 km equated to 140,000 steps and we were feeling every one of them as we wound our way back along the river to Taupo Gliding Club, not much chatting, plenty of grunting and it was pretty much lets just get this thing done. As we got closer to the end we encountered the always friendly event support girls who enthusiastically advised us we were about 1 km away from the end...what relief. After another 3 km in the rain, cold and wet, walking through fields of swedes we were a bit demoralised and uttering some very unpleasant refections on her type and conformation.
On arrival at the end of the stage Cat cheered us in by providing a musical entrance to the support area along with Gina and our ever pleasant Hot Nurses who did their best to provide us with hot food, warm clothes and helps of moral support. All appreciated, but the lads were well and truly over it, all we had left was steely determination to "knock the bastard off" so after a quick stop we started on the final 13 km at about 11 pm.
What an ugly, boring, demoralising stage of a hundred gates to open and close, through rough farm land then onto never ending long heavy gravel walk ways down to the water front of Taupo where we thought it was going to be easy street. No such luck after 96 km the last 4 km on sidewalk pavement jarred through arching feet, knees, hips and right through to our ears, just head down and grind.........
Finally we arrived after 100 km to a great sight of our support team at 1.26am, a little over 19 hours after we started, our arrival was great, fully celebrated by an enthusiastic bunch of event supporters and other teams members and a lovely cool beer.
We couldn't have completed this with out the support of our Hot Nurses, Pip and Cherry, who were there to attend our every need, especially when we were over it and probably a bit grumpy, along with Cat and Gina we couldn't have had a better team support.
I know your generous donations will be put to great use, especially in Vanuatu, for that we thank you.
Kind Regards
The Four Geldings
Brent Roddy Sam Dean
Footnote....when I said to the lads later on Sunday morning that Oxfam had offered us a discounted entry for next years walk for the great work fund raising etc....all I got in return was a dead pan look and f@$)k off !!!
The tally besides the arches & pains that made even blinking uncomfortable
Roddy... Lost 3 toenails and blisters
Dean..blisters and dehydrated
Sam...blisters on blisters until there was no more room for blisters
Brent ..unscathed .. Just a touch of cellulitis
http://www.oxfamtrailwalker.org.nz/about/otw15/blog/did-someone-call-nurse
