Cycle: 82km

We managed to get up fairly early but after shopping and sorting ourselves out it was fairly late when we left nonetheless.

The day started with a flatish 30km, gently climbing up a pretty valley typical of the area. Next came the single "big" hill of the day. Our guide book profile made it look somewhat daunting but it wasn't too big: 180m in 2km. The road was already melting by the time we got there and yet again we were punishing ourselves in the heat of the day. At the very top there were roadworks and the workers kindly worked their signs in our favour - obviously thinking we were total lunatics!

The afternoon was spent criss-crossing a ~100m gorge with 4 steep descents and ascents. The gorge wasn't quite as difficult as we had anticipated but the views got better and better, including passing under an impressive railway viaduct. I had a flat tire at the bottom of the penultimate gorge crossing - the join of the tube simply melted in the heat!

We had a good rest after that ascent, preparing ourselves for the final traverse of the gorge. This was the most dramatic, with shear cliffs alongside the road and luckily most of this last climb was in the shade!

Our campsite was the DOC Lake Tutira site. This was at the far end of the lake, forcing us to cycle an extra 5 or 6km, but at least it was less to do the next day!

Today was my day to cook in the heat. There seems to be a corrolation between taking the lead up the hills and over heating...

The lake and campsite were stunning. On our way in we played (well, Claire mostly) with 4 dogs and 7 puppies with some friendly people in a caravan! We had a refreshing swim in the cool waters and even got our toes nibbled by the baby trout. There weren't many people there and it was very basic but a beautiful spot for a sunset dinner.