Marakopa to Te Kuiti

Tuesday March 6, 2018, 44 miles (71 km) - Total so far: 4,031 miles

(6,488 km)

A couple of people had scared us about the ascent we’d encounter today! Riding back out of Marakopa is completely flat, and it was nice to get a second chance to appreciate the scenery as I was far too tired yesterday. The climb begins fairly soon after Te Anga (note the coffee shop was closed, despite numerous adverts so don’t get your hopes up!). It’s pretty tough at the bottom

steep for a reasonable distance. Then the profile flattens significantly…..BUT there are many, many undulations superimposed on the overall climb. This does make it feel pretty relenentless, but it means the downhill is all the sweeter! I definitely think the climb is easier in this direction - coming from Waitomo would be a much longer steep drag, and you would undulate all the way down, with few opportunities for really coasting.

Waitomo village came as a complete culture shock to us! Tourists everywhere, buses parked along the side of the road. There isn’t much there - we were hoping to stop for a coffee but it wasn’t very appealling. The campsite (Top

looks alright though. There’s also a sign advertising camping at the junction with highway 3. We pressed on to Te Kuiti along the backroad (warning
it’s pretty hilly!) and were dismayed to discover that the campsite there has closed!! Some random people in a house next to the old site said we could still camp and use their toilet, but it was just a bit too random for us. We tried calling Casera Mesa backpackers (3km away) but that seems to be changing hands, anyway no one answered.

A guy in one of the campers who WERE choosing to stay told us about free camping at nearby Mangoakewa reserve, so we went for that option. It is on Campermate etc, but I’d overlooked it. It’s a lovely spot, and was really busy

I counted 17 vehicles! It was a tad random as a guy kept driving round the site (albeit slowly) all night long…..but didn’t appear to be doing any harm. I might have felt a bit uncomfortable on my own though. It’s a basic site with flush toilets and a sink for washing up, and you can swim in the river. A good bet.