25th April (74km cycled)

We had run out of breakfast food, so it was time to pack up and find a small corner shop. On Anzac Day all supermarkets (four squares exempt) are closed til 1pm. Excellent. We found an open bakery and ate a slice of bacon and egg quiche.

Another reason for setting off today was that we had a long way to go on highways and thought it would be easier on a bank holiday where trucks wouldn’t be around.

We started out on the highway and as per usual it was busy. Andy found a side route! Hurrah! Of course side routes are generally hillier, but the road was narrower too so any cars coming along were slower. It was a nice ride.

We were overtaken by around 100 motorbikes along a road into Okoroire – scary.. we caught up with them all at a golf course hotel, where we thought we might have lunch. Not to be when there are 100 burly bikers in the restaurant, all ordering at the same time! Alright, the band stand down the road would do!

We cycled on to a farm 2 km down the hill from Hobbiton. The campsite farm was $10 each and another $2 for hot showers! There was nobody else there when we arrived but by the end of the evening there were lots of vans.

What a view!

We were in the tent by 6.15pm, thanks to an early sun set. We watched David Attenborough on Andy’s phone, to make sure we didn’t fall asleep by 7! It worked out well because we would get up early to get to Hobbiton for a tour!