Northward

I had a quick coffee with Amy and then got on the road shortly after 10am. I split up the journey with quite a few little stops and picked up a hitchhiker from the UK. After over 30 lifts in the last few months, I was his first British driver. He was in his early 20s and had been travelling for about six months. He was recovering from an accident on Christmas day when he dived in to the sea at the beach in Australia and hit the sand and broke his neck! He was very lucky to not have any permanent damage.

I stopped off at this really lovely rock-face and river, then continued driving north to a free campsite in Tongariro National Park. It was a bit crowded but I just parked up, cooked and slept. Mostly due to the altitude, it was the coldest night of the whole trip. My nose almost froze off in the night!