Going to Waitangi and the rain arrived by Joanna

Total steps : 28,776, 20.43 km for the day.  

We knew rain was coming so we left early. It was a short drive to a really beautiful walk past five waterfalls. The pine-needle strewn path wound around massive totara trees and gorgeous kauri's. It was obvious that it was a favourite path as we were passed by a flurry of joggers in both directions. The weather was ideal at the time, and the 10 km track was over rather quickly. 

We stopped for a coffee at McCafe and then went to the next track which would take us almost to Waitangi via Mt Bledisloe. This was through a pine forest so followed a gravel road that was completely unmarked on any online map, including the Te Araroa one. 

Having dismissed Ross we turned to read the Do Not Enter sign, Logging in progress. A hurried call to Ross was not answered (of course, he was driving), so Bruce rang the forestry help line and sweet talked the lady into letting us through. We had to hit the ditch almost immediately for a logging truck coming through, but shortly thereafter passed the logging operation and consequently had the forest to ourselves....oh except for a live pig and some dead possums.

I (Joanna) was more concerned than anyone that we were walking into the great unknown, but hey presto, we came out at the end exactly where Jenny predicted we would, purely because Bruce guided us by his ever handy phone. We were delighted to finish ahead of schedule so took the detour, which  was a 5 minute walk to the lookout, though we had to duck under the rope holding the sign saying that the track was damaged by the weather and not passable. The path was indeed subject to a couple of tiny slips which we simply stepped around. When we got to the top a few fat drops fell from the sky and looking upward we saw very angry clouds. We turned around and raced as quickly as possible back down the path to the waiting van. By then we were pretty well drenched in the torrential rain. Yeah for Ross arriving so much ahead of when we were expected, we might have drowned.

Driving to Waitangi we decided to take advantage of the inside displays and spent the afternoon in the museums and watching a Maori cultural show, plus a guided tour around Waitangi. 

We left at 5 and drove back for the last night at Kerikeri, ate the leftover Indian takeaways and that's the end of another day.












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