Day 11 - Thermal by bike

Headwind, but late reward with great campsite

The day at Mount Maunganui started slightly rainy. After packing up, I went to the beach for a short while before heading to the bus. Once there, the suspense started again, whether the bus driver would allow me to store my bike or not. Luckily, it went smoothly, just like two days ago. The route passed numerous fruit and avocado plantations, gradually gaining elevation. I was glad to be on the bus. Around noon, we arrived at Rotorua. The surrounding area and the city itself are home to several famous sulfur and thermal springs. To put it frankly, the city smells terribly like rotten eggs! I only made a short detour through the city as I wanted to ride the 'thermal by bike' trail. The first 25 kilometers of the trail followed alongside a highway. Unfortunately, I didn't take the wind into account when planning the stages, and it was blowing fiercely. Unfortunately, not in my direction! After a few hundred meters of elevation gain, the trail veered off from the highway and led through 'alpine-like' mountain passes through pastureland. After around 42 kilometers, I reached my minimum goal, a freedom camping site at Lake Okaro. Once there, I set up my tent next to two German campers. Over time, more campers joined us, and as it turned out, we formed a German community with around 4 campervans and 3 tents. (Which apparently is not uncommon here!) We spent the evening in a circle, exchanging stories about New Zealand and the world. Tomorrow, I will ride around 60 kilometers directly on the highway to Taupo. I received a tip that just outside Taupo, there is another freedom camping site directly on the Waikato River at 'Reids Farm'.