Our intended early start faltered briefly when the temperature of the outside air became apparent. However, we were soon on our feet, bravely donning shorts and stout footwear for the day ahead. Our challenge was the 17km Ruapani circuit through the dense bush of Te Urewera, passing numerous lakes and trying not to get shot by the various bands of hunters. The route was certainly remote and we battled along the narrow track, having to forge new paths at points where trees had inconveniently fallen obliterating the track. After 3 hours we ended up in a clearing very similar to the first hunger games, and we almost expected the cornucopia to appear. Fortunately we did not have to fight to the death, instead we had a banana.

Eventually we felt the thick forest dissipating and we joined a larger track which lead us to a white sand beach and the crystal clear waters of the idyllic Lake Waikareiti. We had lunch overlooking the adventurers paradise and continued back to the car, passing purple mushrooms, impossibly old trees and a spray of Amber fungi which was supporting perfect droplets of rain like crystal balls. We arrived back at the car and after refuelling with icecream we took a deep breath and starting back down the gravel road. We only diced with death twice, firstly by being squashed into the cliff by a very shiney boat towed by NZ's worst driver and then nearly run off the road by a grader, who seemed determined to turn the originally flat surface of the road into a significant slant away from the centre line.

We survived, and in celebration took a small detour out to see the Mahia peninsula enjoying a quick stomp along the beautiful arc of sand before continuing to Gisborne. The campsite was right on the beach and after showering I enjoyed a Gin and Tonic whilst writing this in the evening sun, sat on the beach looking out over the bay. There were people surfing, a container ship loading with lumber and even an outrigger rowing race cruised by me before Bob appeared, meaning it was time to wander into town and find some food. This proved harder than it should have been. Having dodged the skate park the town centre was dead and the restaurants we had planned on choosing from were nowhere to be found. We ended up eating takeaway pizza in the front of the Enema and passing out in a food coma to the sound of the lumbar ship loading and the waves crashing.