Kodak

I left Otaki mid-morning.  First stop, the dump station......one of the less pleasurable but absolutely necessary joys of vanning.  On the way to this joy I was (easily!) distracted by this girl (extras) on the roadside.  She'd found herself an unfortunate roadkill Pukeko and was enjoying the snack so much I was able to pull over, get the camera, sneak out of the van and capture a few shots of her before she was scared away by one particularly crazy fast car racing past.  Darn.  She was beautiful though - you can't really see her big white, fluffy pantaloons, but they were impressive.

Slowly meandered my way to Levin where I tried to source some grey water fluids for my waste tank.  Took a few tries but got there in the end.  On then towards Palmerston North where fuel and food supplies were topped up before continuing the meander towards tonight's chosen stopping spot at Mangatainoka.  Kiwi readers will know it's significance.......Yea!  Right!!

Remember this?  No wonder the sign hasn't been painted for a few years!  Spotted as I drove through Shannon.

Have to say, I've been very pleasantly surprised by the countryside.  It's not South Island jaw-dropping, scenery but it's certainly beautiful, clean, green and friendly which makes for a very relaxing trip.