Being woken early is not my idea of fun and it never will be. This morning was no different as I was woken up at 5 am by the Waipoura Avian Operatic Chorus. Once I'd got over how early it was, it was quite incredible to listen to the variety of noises. A bit like listening to opera blindfolded... I would have loved to see the costumes the singers were wearing. There were arias that would rival Dame Kiri Te Kanawa!

There is something about breaking camp that is quite grounding. Packing up all your belongings, making sure you've left no tell tale signs and moving on.

My first move was a drive north to see the (allegedly) tallest and broadest Kauri trees in NZ. The broadest one was incredible. The tallest was tall! Walking through the forest alone was lovely, I'd forgotten quite how much I like walking.

Driving on to Hokianga Harbour I got the ferry across to Rawene and then did an interesting drive to Puketi Forest (predominantly on gravel roads... Note to self: check to see if car insurance covers driving on unsealed roads!), which is where I now lie in my tent. I've spent another 3ish hours walking through the forest looking at all the plants and trees. To be honest the signs carefully placed at the base of the trees were not particularly useful as the tree tops were so high in the canopy you could hardly see them and the trunks all looked similar, even to someone who has an interest in bark!

Having had a cold outdoor shower, I'm in bed early in anticipation of an early bird awakening again!