My Danish friends Ulrik and Leslie camped with me at the old , but nice and relaxed , campgrounds and Kāwhia and after an early morning pack up we said our final goodbyes as I headed south towards Mokau and they to Waitomo .

The road south from Kāwhia turned out to be a delight as after 20 km or thereabouts it turns off to the Harbour road which skirts the extensive octopus like tentacles of the picturesque Kāwhia harbour . The lack of cars made for another great ride , lots of hills along the route making ample vindication the Ebike choice .

Finally got back to the coast at a coastal settlement of Marokopa and had a lunch break at the campground there and was able to take a charge which helped me as the day was long , topping out at 138 km , not helped by a wrong turn up some dusty no exit road.

The rest of the day involved equally spectacular climbs with fast plunging descents . Had a minor issue with miscalculation of H2o requirements that left me somewhat dehydrated.

The road eventually popped out very near Awakino in the outrageously busy SH3 with lots of heavy traffic and mad motorists in aggressive clusters reminding me of why the backroads route was so magic by comparison . By now I was seriously thirsty , and was thankful to pull into the Awakino pub for necessary rehydration . The barmaid even filled my water bottle with added ice and a sweet smile .

Was only a couple more kms of traffic before I reached my campsite at Seaview Holiday Park . Felt totally drained after the 138 km day and it was with plodding methodical effort that I set up camp , cooked up a huge steak for dinner and hit the fart sack with the sounds of thundering surf as I drifted towards sleep .

With ominously dark cloud banks and rain threatening I packed up my camp all in the dry , and departed the few kms into Mokau , the home of the whitebait fritter , perhaps the most overrated kiwi delicacy there exits .The rains had started as I left the camp and I had a good drenching before I settled into the cafe ordering a big carnivores breakfast. Was a good move as the rain did stop and eventually I was off , contending with heavy traffic for 35 km before again turning off into the backroads . Destination Whangamomona the self proclaimed independent republic .

I ignored the whitebait in favour of buying a half kg of the local bacon and what was a good choice that was !

After 35 km of the SH3 and all the traffic I finally turned off onto the backroads , my entry towards what’s described as the “ Forgotten Highway “ A very enjoyable ride , a section of loose metal but superb scenery .

The absence of cars etc made for an exhilarating ride

Had a very interesting section up an extraordinarily long and very steep climb . The Mt Dampier climb . No idea the % gradient but well in excess of the normal steep of 8. 9. Or 10 % . So steep I had to take serveral bites of the cherry , stopping to let heart the breathe settle .

Took a walk to see the interesting Dampier waterfalls . Pretty sheer .

Was pleased to eye their sign , only 22 km to go and just a few more hills .

Whangamomona has an interesting old campsite managed by the eccentric Richard . Everything there and wild blackberries that demanded picking to supplement my 500 gm steak .

The run into Stratford was always going to be a breeze , a mere 63 km and only a couple of very long climbs to enjoy . Enjoyable on both the climbs and the fast descents . Easy compared to the heart palpitating Mt Dampier climb of yesterday .

Arrived at Stratford before midday and set up the tent , with rain on the way . My cousin Ross with incredible generosity travelled all the way up from New Plymouth to pick me up and run me back to NP to visit Torpedo 7 where I needed to get an essential bit of safety kit replaced . My LED rear reds , all three of them had failed . My thought is that these are vital safety assets and it is essential to have them on the busy sections .

Margy fed , watered and nursed me … tended to my toe which had a foreign object removed , then Ross drove me all the way back to me tent at Stratford . The rains fell thru the night , but I remained dry .

Today ….. Sunday is my first full rest day .