new zealand 2003 - day 6

I woke to a brilliant sunrise. So much for weather forecasting in New Zealand - there was not a cloud in the sky. Once Nougat was warm enough to move, we drove down past Minginui to the Whirinaki Forest Park. We also took a long detour through logging country just for kicks. Not really - we missed the turn off due to the only poorly signed road we encountered. Walking the Whirinaki Track is quite special. The forest had that other worldly feeling to it. Giant tree ferns, towering podocarps (Kahikatea, Matai, Miro, Rimu, and Totara) and bromeliads were some of the residents in this verdant virgin lowland rainforest. Some of the plant species date back to the Mesozoic. I kept expecting to see T-Rex come crashing through the woods! We passed a couple of tour groups on the trail and heard the Maori guide say things like, "these waters are tapu (sacred) to my tribe" and explain myths about their gods and the land. It was dark and cool under the forest canopy despite the sunny day and by the time we reached the Whirinaki Falls, I felt drained. Back at the car, we decided to drive to Turangi and find out if the Tongariro Crossing shuttle would be running the next day.

Where would we be without our Lonely Planet New Zealand book? We drove straight to a fishing lodge described in the book and got the last room for the night. It wasn't a room, it was another little cottage with full kitchen, bath, and sitting room in addition to the bedroom. The whole place was cozy and happy. We went ahead and booked the next night too and got an upgrade because it was also the last room available. A couple passed by while walking their chubby black lab. I ran out to greet him and he was very waggy and happy to say hello. I missed my pup! Jeremy called the shuttle (I had lost my voice) and they were on for the next day. We rambled through the grocery store to get snacks and dinner ingredients discussing the crossing and my health. We decided to commit to the crossing and hoped that the weather would hold. I felt that I would be better soon - how can a person stay sick in a town that sells one kilo of live green lip mussels for NZ$5?!? We also reached consensus on another important issue: we preferred Chit Chat cookies to Tim Tams.