Te Araroa, Day 34

There are 40 km to walk to Kaniwhaniwha Campsite before crossing Pirognia Mountain. We won't do it in one day since there are some parts that are not on the road and take more time per km.

Since in between there is no useful accommodation, we start walking today at 6:25 just with daypacks. We walk until Whatawhata and cover 16 kilometers of those 40 km. From Whatawhata, we take the bus back to Hamilton at around 10:30 after getting some refreshments at the village café.

The walk to Whatawhata is easy, with nice views once we leave the outskirts of Hamilton behind. At some point, we cross through pastures again; one of them has two bulls grazing. They stay peaceful.

Back in Hamilton, I do some shopping to replace the lost shirts and get some freeze-dried food for the next few days of walking, as well as some other supplies.

We have two zero days planned in Hamilton, hoping to avoid starting in the rain when walking up Pirognia Mountain.