1026km - Tauramanui Holiday Park (30km)

Not much to say about the walk itself today- it was fairly flat road the whole way from camp to town with not much to see aside for the rolling hills and occasional old car. We did pass a 'Te Araroa Time Out' shelter though- a wooden shelter decorated with a map of the world for TA walkers to mark where they have come from, and free sweets and water for hikers funded by the eggs it's 12 year old entrepreneur has sold. 

It really is the support and little perks like these we get from the locals that keep us going sometimes! 

After lunch we had an hour and a half left to go and I was struggling to find the motivation to carry on so I put on Micheal Buble's Christmas album and sang to Christmas songs the whole way (which I'm sure drove Luke absolutely nuts but he put up with it nonetheless.) 

When we got to town we realised it was still another 4km to the holiday park so had to do all of our bits and bobs before camping up. We went to the information centre to book our canoes and bikes for the Whanganuii river section but Luke and I had forgotten we had needed to find wifi to pay the credit card off first (the dentist treatment had taken us to our limit already). So Luke spent 20 minutes trying to find a strong enough wifi to ring up cost free, and then another 30minites on the phone after he realised New Zealand wifi is poo and not strong enough to call for free - god knows how much that call is going to have cost!) 

Nonetheless, after almost an hour, we were able to book it up with Ollie and Renee and do a restock for the next 6days at New World. 

We carried our rucksacks and teatered wih shopping bags in either hand when THANK GOD someone pulled over and offered to take us to the holiday park where we sorted all of the food, pitched up our tents, and showered for the first time in just under a week - lush! 

We cooked chicken risotto for our tea and washed our clothes but the best part of the whole day (besides for the excitement on Ollie's face when he supposedly saw a spider 'spit' on his tent and run away) was getting a call from Mum and Dad. It was the first time I spoke to them on the phone since leaving home and hearing their voices, though very poorly sounding, almost made me cry! 

We're so busy here all the time and always have each others company no matter what we're doing that its sometimes hard to have time to think about home but when I do I realise how much I appreciate everything about it - my bed, my car, the ease of walking to the toilet at night without having to shimmy over luke, out of a tent and through wet grass in my flip flops.. there are lots of things. But mostly I miss Sunday nights watching a film or Mum's weekly drama on the telly while everyone's huddled in one room practically sweating because the fires on and all the windows and doors are shut. Ahh what Id do to give them all a big cuddle! (Even if you siblings hate cuddles!) 

Anyway, hoping to get a call while everyone's around tomorrow morning so am going to get my head down for that! (It's 9.50 here now and for us, that is way past our bed time!!)