By Elliot

Distance: 27km

It's interesting how your definition of luxury can change depending on your situation. Last night we set up our tent on the clubhouse veranda, under a roof. it was such a sweet luxury to hear a violent storm hitting the clubhouse roof, while our tent stayed completely dry. And we didn't have to put away a wet tent, which is not fun.

After a leisurely breakfast, we tried hitching the 20km to Mangamuka. There weren't many cars going by. In the end, we got a hitch from an older lady who was a teacher and beef farmer who had been living in the region for the last 40 years. But she could only give us a ride for the first 11km. So we walked the remaining 9km.

In Mangamuka, which is a town with about 4 buildings, there was a shop where we got some fries to go along with lunch. We also tried a New Zealand classic soft drink: L&P. It tasted like Sprite.

After lunch, we continued walking. The path in the morning took us next to farms with cows, the most beautiful green grass I've ever seen, and small streams that snaked through the landscape. The afternoon started with the same landscape, but at a certain point turned into a gravel road walled in on both sides by trees.

And that road took us all the way to our campsite, which we are sharing with a German girl, an American couple, and the man from yesterday whose origin would be best described as Commonwealth. It was a social evening: I think we are being more social in the depths of the forests of Northern New Zealand than we were back in Vancouver.