Today we spent the morning rushing around, then saw Max and Rose to say goodbye and then set off just after lunchtime so that we could meet Lynne and Keith at our accommodation ready for cycling Day 1 of the Timber Trail (DOC map) the next day.
We stopped off at Taupo for a very late lunch. It was quite hazy so we couldn’t see Ruapehu or Ngauruhoe clearly – otherwise they would be visible in the background of this picture of Noel and Lake Taupo.
There were a lot of sparrows and they were friendly/hungry enough to take food from our hands.
About 5.30pm we arrived in Pureora, only just after Lynne and Keith.
There were a number of Tui feeding from the plants we could see from our hut. Their birdsong is amazing.
See that really high mountain in the background? Go on, squint a bit. The one whose top is covered in cloud? Well, that’s what we’re cycling up tomorrow. If only, like the Tui beer adverts, it was ‘Yeah, right’. Unfortunately for my muscles it was ‘Yeah.’
