10/02/2015 - Cycle Touring New Zealand - Day 28 - Bad day for Marlieke.

Distance cycled: 54km from Turangi to National Park, north island, New Zealand.
Average speed: 12.9km/h
Moving Time: 4h10m
Elevation Ascended: 1281m
Total Distance on Current trip: 1835km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 6572km
Money spent: $34

After that day of rest yesterday I assumed we were all good to tackle the mountains to the south of lake Taupo.
Marlieke was still in pain from hiking the Tongariro crossing but it was time to move on.
It was a steep climb out of Turangi offering beautiful views of lake Taupo and mount Tongariro standing strong in the opposite direction but it was grueling for Marlieke.
Suffering from both leg and knee pain she wasn't in the best of moods and despite some strong language being shared with not only me but anything in the surrounding vicinity she pushed on.
Eventually we made it to the small town of National Park were we immediately met a young local working for the department of conservation who offered us his yard to pitch our tent.
Ed, lived alone in this tiny village just around the corner from where we met him, it is a very small town and his past time included hunting. Although he had only just met us he was keen to get his hunting gear out to see what he could find in the nearby forest with his pup. Oddly, despite showing us his hunting rifle within just 30 minutes of meeting him we did not feel intimidated by him. He was a very friendly character who often helped people out with a place to stay using couch-surfing.
He returned an hour or two later unfortunately not having shot anything but we chatted away till it was time to go to bed.. At 10:15.
It was an exhausting day in many ways.