Whakapapa - National Park (19km)

A cup of coffee, a chicken, Brie and cranberry panini, and a Crunchie bar later we started off for an easy day of only 19km ... walking two long days in a row left us with four days left before our canoes would be delivered so we could have some slow days.

The first part of the walk was good track along boardwalk and over bridges until the TA turnoff where the whole path was flooded. The rain had stopped and was holding off so thankfully spirits were high and wet shoes didn't dampen the mood entirely.

We ploughed through the water and the mud and chatted the whole way to the hostel at National Park (staying in a hostel did contribute slightly to not minding the wet feet ... especially since they had a drying room!)

We went to the local shop and stocked up on snacks before showering and cooking, and then headed for the bar opposite.

The whole bar was filled with Christmas lights with Christmas music playing and stocking by the fire place which was lush and got my once again in the Christmas spirit and made having three glasses of wine slightly more acceptable!

We were with Olli and Renee and we almost had a stand off with the bar owner when Renee was asked for ID and then denied a drink because she didn't have a passport or New Zealand driving licence.. if I haven't said before, Renee is 40! The owner came out and decided she'd better serve the angry hiker her gin and tonic quickly or face assassination, so we drank away, had a game of pool (Luke and I lost) and sang along to the Christmas music before being kicked out at closing time (10pm).

Lush day!