After a windy night we were first to leave the campsite this morning. We immediately got onto the beach and began an 8km track along the sand. It was a nice break from the road and a good warm up to the day but we both were limping pretty bad out the gate. The beach was black sand and covered in drift wood so there was at least some entertainment for this part.

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e exited the beach onto a forestry road and from there our next 18km to Bulls was literally walking to the end of whatever road we were on and then turning onto a new road. Unfortunately it was just the end of that particular road and not actually the end of the road walking. There was an RNZAF base near by and we did get to see what looked like a brief airshow rehearsal with some cool formation flying.

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e arrived in Bulls a little after lunch with high hopes of a second lunch at many of the cafes listed. Highway 1 passes right through town so we figured there’d be a good amount of options. There were a good amount of options, unfortunately they were all closed. We ended up finding an ice cream bar that was open and getting a couple of thick shakes. At this point on the road we could pretty clearly make out the Tararuas in the distance, where we’ll be in a few days time.

We continued on another 9km to the Mt Lee’s Reserve and our camping spot for the night. It was a draining and slow 9km again on road but totally worth it to get to the reserve. The place was very sheltered and had a nice open house to use with a kitchen and table set up. About halfway through setting up our tent the host came out to say hello and offered to let us use the spa (hot tub) since there were no other guests. We obviously took him up on the after and spent the evening unwinding and relaxing in the hot tub getting ready for what should be the last day of road tomorrow.