Rotorua to Taupo to Ohakune

November 18 and 19, the first of four days on the bike to our next rest day in Napier.

Before leaving Rotorua, a visit to the Tamaki Maori village for displays of the Maori culture and their traditional 'Hangi' dinner.

Welcoming committee after we got off the bus.

some entertainment after seeing some of the village displays

The way they prepare the hangi is to put hot stones in a pit and put the food in layers above it, covering it with cloth and earth and allowing everything to slow-cook for the appropriate time. The pits are now permanent fixtures rather than digging new ones every time. The meal really was delicious. 

The next morning it was back on the bikes in good weather and onto a trail - more a non-technical mountain bike trail than for road bikes - not a trail for everyone especially if they had narrow road tyres.

Then back on the road heading towards Taupo. It's a geothermal area with mudpools along the way and some geysers that blow from time to time.

Australian magpies seem to be everywhere. Nesting season - one dove at Ursula. No physical contact but the people who rode the Australia leg of this tour had all had their helmets pecked at.

Overnight in the tent in Taupo. Weather was threatening but dry in the morning, then southbound into the hills to Ohakune, a ski town in NZ wintertime. Got stopped at a contraflow for a little while, but they let us on the bikes go through ahead of the two big transport trucks since the speed limit was essentially what we could ride, but it felt funny to have the trucks behind us and not pushing anxiously to get by.

 Sheep country and some nice quiet pastoral views...

 ...and somewhat noisier times when we got passed by about a hundred motorbikers.

Looking dark ahead... the wind was about 40 km/hr on the nose, and it started to rain at lunch. We figured that discretion was the better part of valour, so we took a ride into camp from lunch and got a cabin for the night.