Day 42: Rest Day in Waitomo

Rest days are so short it seems. We slept in, did laundry, repaired things as best as possible. Emily’s shoe toebox has a hole big enough to easily see her foot through and she sewed that up. 

The day itself was cool and rainy. We didn’t get to dry things out. And since we were so far outside of town there was nothing much to do. So the blog was updated, websites were browsed, naps were taken.

In the evening, a $10 all-you-can-eat buffet was advertised with free rides. It sounded good to us. The free ride backed out because they were hosting a wedding that night. The hostel host drove instead. The 4.5 km ride was thrilling in that we haven’t done more than 5 km for over month. The boats were faster, but the sense of speed is diminished relative to a car speeding along on a forest road.

The buffet ended up being beef stew, potatoes, and rice. No drink. The rest of the menu was closed due to the wedding. They said it's normally got a lot more options. We made do, talked at length with a German at our table, and then got another thrilling ride back to the hostel.

Tomorrow we head on out towards Te Kuiti to resupply for a big seven day section. It will be one of the longest unsuppliable sections of the entire trail.