Saturday 30th January - 31 kms, 8.25 hours
An early start because of forecast rain saw me heading off from Moumoukai into the Mangatawhiri valley on a crisp sunny morning. As it happened the rain did not arrive, and my 4 crossings of the Mangatawhiri river were not much more than ankle deep. A steady climb up to the ridge on leaving the valley included a crawl through a large tree fall, but good to see track work is in progress with the construction of new steps on the steeper sections.
The ridge tramping track that followed was well marked and as promised had a very steep downhill section at the end - could be a great slide after rain ! The track out leads past what used to be the smart Hotel Du Vin - now part of Dilworth College. Road walk down to the junction with what is now the Old SH2 - great now that it has only 1 vehicle every 5 minutes, rather than the continuous stream before the new expressway opened. Then a pleasant road to follow over to Mercer on the Waikato River to prove that I am now into Te Araroa's Waikato section.
The picture is the Mangatawhiri river after my descent - the dry summer view
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