Matamata to Rotorua

Left the fennel aromas and grassy hills of hobbit land behind this morning and with a warning of no civilisation until Rotorua, we cracked on into the headwind. 14miles in and we'd strayed off the route, so back we went.  Glad we did as some smashing quiet roads ensued. Highway 1 hadn't looked much fun and Steve's route is best adhered to! 

Then back into the headwind! No let up til 45miles, quite tough climbing in that too and even had my emergency gel as had run out of snacks. By now the others were further back with their own windy battles.

Once off the Highway 5 stretch it was great to enjoy some descent, my mood was high and caught a glimpse of Rotorua lake sparkling away.

Got to town and went for a little detour on the lake front, egg sandwich aroma everywhere.

At the motel, found another great size room (with hot tub!) got out of my cycling shorts and ambled off to the fruit shop. Plums here are rather moreish so ate too many.

The others arrived and after a little relax walked to the Redwood Forest, with a detour via the geothermal walk. Seeing the sulphur bubbling away and coming out of the ground was quite something ( especially with all the danger signs around). Strange how so many birds settle nearby out on the desolate stinky terrain. 

Great to see the huge Redwoods, one of the places I'd wanted to visit and yet another chance to be in awe of nature.

67miles banked.