Day 38

The day started with a shuttle ride to Pureora. We passed Waimiha another mill town that died. We went through Benneydale. Interesting it was the only town in the King County to have a non Maori name. It has now been renamed Maniaiti/Benneydale. We got views of Pureora with it's sheild volcanic shape and Titi Raupunga with it's distinctive volcanic plug. We climbed that as children when we lived at Maraetai/ Mangakino. The timber trail is a delight. An amazing surface of rock and pumice and good signage, toilets, shelters. I was pleased to catch up with Rampage, Jodie, Bree,Elena who were biking and Marcel and Bridgette who were trying E bikes. I felt safer taking the time to walk. The bird song was joyful and the best I think I have ever heard in NZ bush . I thought the sign saying you could see Lake Taupo was a bit ambitious. Eventually I came to Bog Inn hut which is a km off the trail. It is a classic old school bush but with slab walls and floor. I took a photo of the sign for Waihaha hut as it was the first hut we tramped to as a family back in 1975 and I remember we all kept asking the perennial question - are we nearly there. Obviously we took a different route as it only took a couple of hours

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