20/05/08: 60km, climb: 623m, '42 Traverse' to picnic area 20km past Taumarunui
21/05/08: 83km, climb: 709m, picnic area to Waitomo
22/05/08: 23km, Waitomo to Mangeokewa Scenic Reserve
24/05/08: 53km, climb: 746m, Mangeokewa - Pureora (DOC)
25/05/08: 94km, climb: 914m, Pureora - Waikite Thermal Pools
26/05/08: 47m, Waikite - Rotorua
Tim and Anna dropped us off at the beginning of the 42 Traverse, a mountain bike route going nowhere in particular but that we thought would be a nice start to cycling after our small break. The track was beautiful, and only required a few short sections of pushing. Due to our late start (and slow pace) we camped along the way. During the night were disturbed by some people out counting Kiwis so we thought we might see some at last, but unfortunately we did not.
The next day we continued and joined the main road again at Owhango, a bit of a shock to be back on the road, with lots of fast cars and logging trucks speeding past us. We started to hate logging trucks and got the impression the feeling was mutual. We sped on past Taumarunui and came to a nice (we thought so at the time) picnic area just as it was getting dark. During the night we heard some rustling in the porch and discovered a rat (or some kind of rat-like rodent) trying to bite through a plastic bag to get at our big sweaty block of cheese. We were not too bothered about it, Kiki would have done the same. We brought the bag inside and put it at our feet hoping that would disguise the smell. At 6.30am we were woken with the damn thing poking its head through a hole it had chewed through our inner tent! It was like having our house broken into. Since we were up already we packed and left towards Waitomo. The road was still very busy most of the way. We checked into a backpackers, the tent having lost its ability to provide us with the feeling of sanctuary it used to give us.
The next morning we went to see the Glow Worm Caves which was pretty cool, boating through a dark cave with a galaxy of glow worms stuck to the ceiling. (the reason Bea came to New Zealand)
Setting off at lunchtime we made it as far as Mangeokewa Scenic Reserve which was a few kilometers past the town of Te Kuiti. We slept in our tent again all past mistakes forgotten. It was a beautiful spot next to a river with a cliff and a great echo and we had no unwanted visitors this time. The road the following day was much less busy than the previous few days, which was a relief as it was much more pleasant to cycle. We made it to Pureora and camped at a DOC campsite.
From there to Waikite Valley was a long day, but mainly off the main roads through hilly steaming countryside and with the added incentive of a soak in some hot pools at the end. The campsite was next to a boiling river sending steam into the air, originating from the largest source of boiling water in New Zealand.
In the morning after another bath in the pools we cycled off to the Waio-tapu Thermal Area, and spent the next few hours walking around looking at the cool smoking multi coloured volcanic wonderland. We left there and cycled 10km further to another thermal hot spot, a naturally hot river, in which one can bathe for free. It was like something out of a fairytale, sitting in a hot river in the middle of a forest, the only thing missing was snow (although we would not really have wanted it to snow). We cycled on to Rotorua that afternoon and checked ourselves into a hostel for two nights.
somewhere on the '42 Traverse' with Mt Ngauruhoe in the background
one of the many river crossings
the moment the camera landed after falling 7 meters off a bridge
the view up to the bridge from where the camera landed, yep it's still just about working
rat attack picnic site
the Shire
camping at Waikite Thermal (boiling) river
Waio-tapu Thermal Wonderland
Lady Knox Geysir
natural hot river
black swans at Rotorua Lake
