By Elliot

We skipped 26km of walking on asphalt today. We got a ride from Taumaranui to Owhango.

The canoe outfitter we are using to paddle the Whanganui river in a few days met us at the supermarket in Taumaranui. The idea is that you do your grocery shop for your canoe trip, and the outfitter keeps your food until you meet them at Whakahoro, where they also bring the canoe. Since they were already coming to get our food, we asked for a ride as well. It worked perfectly!

Well, sort of. We ended up in Owhango at noon, and while there is nothing to do in Taumaranui, there is even less to do is Owhango. There is a single cafe, and we went there for tea and smoothies, but that only occupied us for half an hour. The afternoon felt like it stretched out interminably.

Luckily, it’s evening now and the sun has gone down, so we can go to bed. Good night!