That is the luckiest cow in the world.

I thought I had felt cold before. I was wrong. 

Last night was about as close to unbearably cold as a human can get. The entire night I remained in a sort of semi-slumber, somewhere in between asleep and awake, fully aware of how freezing my feet were. When I awoke (officially) after having fallen off the bed into the crack between the floorboard and the door, in a mummy sleeping bag no less (I should have been named “Grace”), my feet were completely numb until I started my morning run through the most beautiful rainforest trails. 

I started my run by crossing the Paetahi stream and merged into some glorious trails that wound around ferns and moss-covered trees. The entire first portion of my run I constantly wondered when I was going to see Mt. Egmont. I kept trying to orient myself, wondering which way I should look when all of the sudden the trail opened up next to a cow pasture. In the distance was Mt. Egmont, a clear view. The mountain absolutely commands attention, it’s impossible to miss.

Continuing my run, I provided some serious entertainment for the cattle in the adjacent pasture that curiously looked on as I hopped from grass patch to grass patch, avoiding the mud that the late rains had brought. I also stopped to cross a lovely sketchy swinging bridge which was erected in 1902 to honor King Edward VII. What a glorious way to start the day!

Leaving Stratford, Annie and I went on a wild goose chase to find the perfect location to snap pictures of Mt. Egmont. Luck presided and we snapped some great ones before heading southwards toward Hawera. Checking in at a local McDonalds for an internet fix, we pressed on as fast as possible to squeeze in as much as we could. Don’t fret Mom, I’m only going 100 km/hr. 

After passing breathtaking view after view we made another stop in Wanganui which was an absolutely delightful little town. We quickly ran in to the Park n’ Save which had ALL kinds of candies, dried fruits, chocolates… fruits, vegetables… heaven. Like Costco… but better. 

Pressing onwards we finally made it to Waitarere, a teeny tiny little town, another one easily missed by an excessively long yawn or possibly blinking. We pulled off the side of the read to hop a fence, completely legal I’m sure, and enter into the plantation forest where many shots of the Trollshaw and Arwen walking through the trees took place. Taking a few last-minute photos of Nintendo mushrooms, we headed back out again racing the daylight to make it to Otaki Gorge. 

Fortunately we made it to the Gorge on time, passing sheep and cattle, where they had filmed leaving of the Shire in the first of the trio of Lord of the Rings movies. This was the area where they filmed the It was quite easy to picture Frodo, Sam and Gandalf tramping around the wooded area before bidding one another adieu as the place was rugged and full of lush greenery and trees. We also drove by mountains, waterfalls and even crossing a ford before we hit the really difficult part of the trail. The road was gravel, narrow, and consisted of many sheer drop offs- each time put Annie into a near heart attack. The child part of me took each turn with a bit of excitement, not allowing myself to dream of the consequences.

That's a road, I promise.

Finally we reached the gorge itself, well really we drove alongside it the entire way, but this location had a great bridge for us to cross where we could go play in the creek! The water was crystal clear, and consisted of a large pebble bottom, offering glorious views of the underlying streambed. The river itself looked like a shot out of the movies and for all we know it certainly could have been.

No fear!

Gorgeous waterfall into the Otaki river.

 Leaving the gorge we were again racing the sun for a spectacular sunset. I’d say we made it.

You can't see him, but there's a cow there.

In need of somewhere to stay, Annie and I stopped again at a McDonald’s (the third one today) to check the internet. We decided to wing it, heading to Porirua to stop for the night. By happy mistake we found some signs for the Aotea Campgrounds where Annie managed to talk the excessively nice owner down from a $27 fee for our van to a $15 fee. She has a new job on this trip.

The campground owner is possibly the nicest person yet, and that’s say a lot for the Kiwis. We have yet to meet an unfriendly person here, they all seem to want to stop and chat! 

Annie and I wasted no time in using our stove to cook a wonderful spaghetti dinner (hooray! It’s hot!) and settled down to watch Shorthand Street, on the only channel (of three) that was playing a TV show rather than TV noise or an infomercial. That program was terrible. The acting was so laughable that it was hard to follow the storyline. It was more or less a terrible form of Private Practice (which I already don’t favor) or Grey’s Anatomy. Just plain painful.

 

So now, here I sit enjoying the semi-indoors and watching a local play darts while hearing information about (another) horrendous earthquake in Christchurch. I got the opportunity to talk to a local about his family who is now moving to Welly due to the quakes! It’s a tight knit community on the campgrounds, everyone seems so friendly. They even have a little dart "league" in the community, the youngest player being about 12 or so. He was practicing while I was eating dinner- just adorable.

As usual tomorrow is up in the air- all part of the adventure!