Wed 21 March - Otorohanga to Urenui

We stopped for lunch at Tongaporutu beside the river and arrived at Mike's Brewery in Urenui about 2pm. There was a lot of roadworks as we've been travelling south. We parked beside a motorhoming couple from Southland who were going on to do the Forgotten Highway. We went over to have a beer and cider tasting ($15 a tray) later in the afternoon. The apple cider was quite pleasant; one beer smelled of old socks but apparently had a good flavour. We shared a table with yet another Southland couple who had also stopped at Tongaporutu for lunch. Andrew and Shaleigh have a lifestyle block and business just out of Invercargill. They continued on to New Plymouth and we were Nigel No Friends for the night. Even though it was quite close to the road we had a quiet night and did not feel unsafe at all on our own.