Day 8 - just keep moving forward!

Yesterday I had a glass of home brew awaiting me at my accommodation which went down a treat. I'm sitting at Mangapurua Landing up the Whanganui River awaiting for a jet boat to take me down to Pipiriki and another glass of something wouldn't go amiss on my arrival.

Today had four stages focused around the Kaiwhakauka and Mangapurua Tracks through to the Bridge to Nowhere and ultimately Pipiriki. I was riding alone today and haven't really come across anyone yet. My decision to push on last nght to Owhango has enabled me to get through tonight to the jet boat.

First up for the day was an approx 50km ride from Owhango to Whakahoro/Blue Duck Station along back roads to where I enjoyed some cooked breakfast.

One of the locals at Blue Duck

After Blue Duck I headed up the Kaiwhakauka Track. This was brutal. While the weather was good, it had rained overnight turning the road into a muddy mess in places. This is special Papa? mud that just clogs up your wheels to the point they don't rotate....  my bike ended up disturbing talking to me all day. It's had a good clean now so hopefully will ne a bit quieter tomorrow.  The track was ultimately a 17km / 500m climb slog with lots of pushing and clearing mud from the bike. I was working on the theory that if I just kept moving forward I would get there! I think it took me close on 3 hours. The scenery was spectacular though!

I was delighted to get up to the Mangapurua Track with it's much better track conditions and a downhill run to Bridge to Nowhere and Mangapurua Landing.

You can't miss the history of this place, of the failed settlement for returned soldiers. Place names mark all the farms and there's a memorial at the top of the hill. The bush has been slow to reclaim the land.

Last stage of the day was a 33km boat ride down strean.
Not sure what tomorrow holds as yet. Whanganui is about 80km down the road and Hunterville a further 60km.






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