Hawkes bay's legendary sunrise was curtailed by a low bank of cloud but I was lucky enough to be out running on the beach's narrow high tide margin before it disappeared. My quiet morning surroundings were briefly illuminated and the cliffs above me suddenly started swarming with small nesting birds making the most of its brief warmth.

On my return I passed a tribe of quail with amazing little headdresses, which picked around us as we drank tea and had breakfast overlooking the bay, sunny again, the cloud bank having passed.

We tootled into Napier and it was easy to recognise why it is dubbed the Art Deco Capital. We mooched around the slightly surreal surroundings, wandered through an incredible homewares shop and had coffee on the front before continuing our journey North.

Signs along the winding valley roads warned us of wild goats who fortunately seemed naturally wary of cars, sadly the small birds that flitted in the surrounding bush were less keen on life preservation and Bob granted several high speed death wishes. After lunch, and a change of driver, the Tarmac turned to gravel and we had to concentrate very hard on staying alive ourselves, only narrowly dodging a convoy of heavy trucks and trailers which slid past us as Bob tried not to focus on the precipitous drop to our left.

At the end of the rally stage we arrived at Waikaremoana lake, a serenely calm, remote expanse of water surrounded by dense forest. We checked in and after a cup of tea, to calm our jangled nerves, we designed an afternoon run to take in 3 of the surrounding waterfalls. We saw no one else and it was an excellent antidote to the journey here.

On our return to our picturesque campsite which was nestled between the towering forested hillside and the lake shore, we noticed the huge cadaver swinging from the rafters next to one of the cabins... A group of hunters looked particularly pleased with themselves and it was clear that this remote location made this camp a hunter's dream.

We were swiftly reacquainted with Sargent Sandfly so Bob donned full body cover after showering including the obligatory flip flops and socks. In order for me to achieve this I had to reach for needle and thread, spending the early evening fighting the invisible man whilst re-hemming my trousers before finally being able to insect-proof myself.

Supper was fajitas, initially sharing the room with a testosterone fuelled group of hunters who had rather overdone the authentic eau D'homme in their camouflage efforts.