Cycle: 73.7km

We decided we needed to start cycling earlier in the day so we got up at 7am and left by 9am (there were less people to talk to earlier in the day!). The cycle took us straight up a hill but only to about 100m so no real problem, although this was our first hill for a couple of days.

This was our first day in padded shorts and we were expecting a miracle so they had much to live up to. They were pretty good, weird to walk in, but good on the bike. Maybe they'll come in to their own when we spend longer on the saddle.

The scenery was nice today: more hilly and woody with less farmland. We were overtaken by 3 ladies in lycra and on road bikes.

We stopped in Opotiki for lunch. This was a bit of a sleepy town with a funny vibe, and we were glad we stayed an extra day in Whakatane instead of here. We got the blog up to date after eating a supermarket lunch on the bench opposite the Opotiki toilet (20c!) The lady running the toilet had her baby with her and it reminded me of the secretary in the Brittas Empire!

We cycled on to Hawai Bay as the drizzle set in. It was a nice cycle, though, through rain-forest clad hills. The bay was beautiful but the campsite was all that existed in Hawai. The redeeming feature of a rather basic campsite was the menagerie of animals, including pregnant Pippy (a Jack Russell), Spook (a massive white cat) and the friendly cat Hobo. There were also 3 other cats on the campsite that belonged to permanent campers including ginger Barny.

We cooked dinner in the rather kitsch kitchen and chatted to the locals before an early night.