Bushcamp to Puketi Campground
32.7 miles
Mile 127.4
At 7:00 AM I set off from my campground on the grassy hill towards Highway 1.
Before reaching the highway I passed a few houses, a campground setup by one of the landowners and stopped briefly to chat with a man out feeding his goats. I regret not pushing on last night so that I could have used the campsite…
While chatting with the man I learned that the that Raetae Forest was actually quite dry at the moment, since it hadn’t rained much lately. I can’t imagine how that trail would have looked during a wet time…I guess I lucked out!
Before long the dirt road led me down to the highway, which I followed for a few miles before stopping at Mangamuka Dairy for a drink. FYI, in New Zealand they call their convenience stores dairys.
Shortly after leaving the dairy it began to rain as I made my way from the highway down a dirt road. I didn’t mind the rain, as it gave me a chance to rock the fancy new poncho Zpacks hooked me up with.
In less than thirty minutes the rain subsided and the trail led me into the Puketi Forest.
I spent the remainder of the day walking through the forest via a dirt road.
Just before 7:00 PM I reached the Puketi Campground. After paying the $8 fee, I found a nice grassy spot near a picnic table to call home for the night.
Cheers!