We had originally planned to just go to Taumarunui, but in the end pushed on through to the start of the Timber trail.

The day started off quite wet. We were cycling up a gravel route, which felt wonderful after yesterday’s single track. We had rolling hills throughout and one massive climb in the middle.

At Taumarunui, we resupplied, picking up groceries for the next few days. From there, it was a quite country road, first paved, then gravel. It went alongside the rail line, which goes all the way to Auckland!

The campsite was empty and nicely equipped. There was a shelter and flushing toilets. We set up camp and Elise made a lovely curry with Paneer for dinner.