Karapiro
I left Mangakino ridiculously early and arrived at the Maraetai boom at 6am. This proved to be the horriblest!!! dam to negotiate on the whole river. Took 2 trips through two tight bush gorges to get everything to the road then 2 hours walk to get to where I could put in again. The day was stunning and really enjoyed the gorge down to the Waipapa dam which was easily traversed thank goodness. Mike (eeler) had offered me his hut on Arapuni to stay in and it turned out perfectly as I got there 5'ish. What a great place - rustic with running water AND a flushing loo! Was great to crank the pot belly stove up and dry/warm everything up.
This morning the catabatic wind was rocking down the valley making for quite choppy water until about 9 when it abated and spent the rest of the day in glassy smooth conditions.
The Arapuni dam was another easy obstacle and the sun shone so stopped a little early at the freedom camping spot at Horahora and socialized 😊