Day 16, Desert Road

Woke to a beautiful misty view of lake Taupo from the Christian camp. We were all bleary eyed and tired after Akarana kept us all awake for most of the night with a irritating dry cough. Consequently we made a quick stop off in Turangi to the chemist for cough syrup then we hit the road.

The forecast for the Desert Road was for gale force winds on the straights. They forgot to include hail, sleet, snow and sunshine. It was freezing........ nearly froze my ears off without a hat and made the need for toileting facilities along the way more urgent. I was not sure whether the winds or the trucks with their turbulence were going to blow me off the roads. I had to rotate between my ski jacket, rain coat, hikoi jacket, tee shirt, then back to ski jacket. It was crazy I was changing coats, shoes and clothing every kilometer or so. I would get, hot, wet, cold, and back again. It was a very exhilarating experience.

We arrived in Waiouru military camp to find the main gates of old are no longer the main gates and had to go around past the museum to find Monique and our accommodations for the night. Following dinner of fish and chips Whaea Mate and Akarana returned to Palmerston North and I had Mike all to myself for 2 whole days.