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Published: March 7th 2018
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Day 10: Whanganui to Hunterville, 60km. Wet, wetter, wettest
The Donkey only managed to get to Hunterville on day 10. He had planned to go twice the distance but when he woke up that morning it was raining cats and dogs. The Donkey liked using that expression as he did not really like cats and dogs, they messed with his head. Of course he did not really want it to rain cats and dogs as it would be dangerous to go outside, but the thought that cats and dogs could splash down en masse pleased him.
The Donkey decided to wait a while and catch up with some administration. He was resigned to the fact that he was never totally going to catch up with his administration, which was not in his nature; it was always work in progress. He admired donkeys with an empty desk.
At 10 a.m. the rain had still not abated so the Donkey decided to risk it. At least he got to try his rain gear. Within minutes the Donkey was soaked to the bones. His 20 year old kayak jacket did not cut it. The only part of his body which stayed
dry was his head as he had strapped a mighty big plastic contraption around his helmet. A dry head is important for thinking and contemplation.
He rode across the bridge over the Whanganui river and the instructions read to enter a tunnel which had a lift at the end. The Donkey rang a bell beside the lift and with a lot of shaking and banging the lift came down. When the doors opened the lift looked 99 years old, without any upgrades. The Donkey felt he went back in time. He felt pleased about that. He always thought that he would have preferred to have been born a bit earlier, when life seemed easier. The lift was serviced by a grumpy old penguin. He did not blame her with the weather as it was even if it was dry in the lift. He paid her two dollars and tried to make conversation. He asked how old the lift was. 99 Years, was the short answer and then they were at the top.
There was a very high tower at the top, a monument for the fallen soldiers from the First and Second World Wars. The Donkey always felt
a bit sad when he saw these monuments. There were way too many of them sprinkled through the country, with far too many names of young men who fought for a Queen who lived on the other side of the world. Go and figure.
You were supposed to climb the tower and enjoy the views but it was still raining cats and dogs and the Donkey had a fear of heights so he decided against it. He had started already way late and did not want to waste any more time. He set out in the wet over country roads. He and Spot bent over in the rain which was lashing at them from all directions. They went at an agonisingly slow pace. Soon the Donkey was passed by a Malaysian Easter bunny. The rain did not seem to bother her. Hello, she said, I am Amy. Hello the Donkey said, I am the Donkey. She looked at him strangely. What, thought the Donkey, is the Donkey not a perfectly logical name for a donkey? Perhaps the problem was that she did not realise she was an Easter bunny. He was ready to explain but she was too strong and with her spindly little legs disappeared into the rain, a perfect picture of grace and harmony, despite the conditions, and unlike the Donkey. He was just about ready to get contemplating when the two grizzly’s from Owhango came past. They grunted and growled and drooled and one of them had the hick-ups. They did growl hello but the Donkey did not want to take any risk, in case they were hungry, and quickly dropped back. Then it was just Spot and him and Rain and Headwind and the hills and a couple of slips on the road he had to wait for to be cleared.
10 km before Hunterville he was passed by two animals of an undefined species, they looked like a cross between an owl and a lama, but the Donkey knew that that was not possible. Perhaps they were dressed up hippos. The Donkey jumped on their wheels and got a ride into town, how sweet it was to havesome company and finally be able to ride out of the wind in someone else’s wheel.
The Donkey arrived in Hunterville at 3 p.m. He was not even halfway to where he had wanted to go. The Donkey had learned over time that expectations do not always meet reality. His mother had always advised him not to have any expectations, then everything is a bonus. But the Donkeys father was the opposite and advised the Donkey to set goals and aim high and always work hard. The Donkey got mixed up about this at times. Can you set goals without having expectations, he wondered.
So the Donkey booked into the Hunterville Station Hotel where a whole lot of other tour riders turned up as well, some of which the Donkey knew. It was a happy time especially when they watched New Zealand beat England with the last ball in a one day cricket test.
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