Oturehua to Daisybank

Well, neither of us slept so well last night, even though the accomodation at the Crow's Nest was stellar. We shot off in the morning through the arid terrain with the smell of wild thyme whisping by. We climbed gently and slowly up to the saddle to Wedderburn where the slight wind and terrain turned in our favor. We stopped for a bite and a chat with Peter whom we caught up with in Ranfurly. Ranfurly burnt down during the art decco era and subsequently was rebuilt in that style. The buildings have a distinctive rounded edifice with bold elongated letters describing the wares that were once sold there. The towns along the trail are experiencing a resurge of interest since the days of gold fever came to an end long ago.

After filling our bellies with Ranfurly French fries we continued through the open countryside until we joined the river where trees began to appear. We wound our way to the Daisybank area, simply a nice spot along the river with a pit toilet, but charming. We floated nude down the bubbling rapids a couple of time and made camp for the night. We were joined later by another cycletourist from Germany.