Te Araroa Trail Waikato and Waitomo
We woke at 5.30am and started walking at 6.15am. It was another cloudless day and beautifully cool in the woodland sun. Today’s track began with a bit of mud again but nothing too serious. We found a stream and filtered our water for the day and continued on through some really nice tracks across farmland and forests.
Today was pretty hilly, and there were lots of what we’ve termed ‘pointless ups and downs’. However some of the ‘ups’ gave us some splendid views! North to the Hakarimatas and Bombays, across to Ruapehu and Tongariro and down to Taranaki.
It was super hot today – 26 degrees, with added heat from the direct sun. My eyes suffered and hayfever was terrible 🙁
Waitomo Village
We got into Waitomo around 3pm and celebrated with ice-cream and a ginger beer. Home for the night was the Waitomo Top 10 Holiday Park.. a bit more expensive than the usual accommodation but it was wonderful, and had a pool and a spa – Yay!! It was amazing!! Ben and Natalie (UK) and Luzia and Jan also stayed.
In the evening Anja and Markus and I went to the Huhu Cafe and unexpectedly indulged in a 3 course dinner, with wine… which was magnificent!