I woke up at about 8am and got out to visit the toilet. As I did, I noticed a sheet of paper under our wipers - a note telling us we weren't allowed to camp there and if we weren't gone in the morning we'd be issued with a tresspassing notice! So we thought we'd better get going! We packed up quickly and hit the road - no time for breakfast!

We drove south to Hastings and parked up. We visited the library to use the internet then went off to explore Hastings...there's not much there! In the I-site we'd picked up a leaflet about a visitors centre / musuem at Arataki Honey factory in Havelock North which was free so we decided to visit there. The centre was quite interesting and we got to taste the honey, really good considering it was free!

Afterwards we decided we'd better make a start on the long drive to Lake Taupo. We arrived in Taupo in the late afternoon and parked up at the Taupo bungy centre to take a look at their 'Cliff Hanger' ride which wasn't as extreme (or expensive) as a bungy jump! After talking to a staff memeber and watching a video I knew it wasn't for me so decided not to do it. Dave, however, booked his for the next morning! Then it was time to find a campsite. We tried, and failed, to find an unofficial site marked on the roadmap, but in the end gave up and checked in at the local kiwi holiday park for a bit of luxury (powered site!) and a TV! We spent the night shivering in the very cold kitchen / lounge area, then went to bed in our very cold van, but with our heater blasting! Dave kept thinking about his swing the next day and I kept thinking how glad I was that I wasn't doing it!