I slept solid until 7.30am and woke up full of energy, ready to sit around and do nothing all day. After breakfast I did a stocktake of my food supplies. It was not enough to last me today plus three days hiking to the Foursquare at National Park. I have been eating heaps in the last few days. Maybe because I have been cold. Yesterday we had talked about hitching into Turangi. We decided to have a go at it with nothing better to do. I wrote a small sign with Turangi on it and we stood outside the holiday park on SH47 with our thumbs out. It was no longer than five minutes before, a polish lady called Jo, pulled up and gave us a ride. She lives in National Park and was on her way to Turangi for an appointment and a soak at the thermal pools before starting work. I asked if she could take us back on her way home when she finished and she was more than happy to do this. We had three hours in town starting with a coffee, then a shop at New World and a big feed of Burger King.

The weather is overcast but not raining and the sun is coming out from time to time so when we got back we laid all our gear outside our room to dry. Time to sit back and eat as much as I can before the big climb tomorrow up to 1700m asl (from 700m). I will drop back down to the Oturere hut at 1300m to stay the night. The next day I will go back up to rejoin the trail and the crossing. There is a side track up to the Tongariro summit at 1967m asl which I must do if the weather allows it and the Mt Ngauruhoe summit (Mt Doom on Lord of the Rings) after that which is at 2287m. That is the plan anyway. Will see how fit I am feeling. Maybe I could leave my bag at the bottom.