The morning was clear and cool with another heavy dew. Quin said he'd been sick in the night with a crook guts so I was glad to have been cautious about drinking the water; although that wasn't necessarily the cause of Quin's sickness.
Battleship Bluff.
There was plenty of time to get to the jet boat by mid morning so I took it easy and was passed by a few others who were from a later start wave than me. At the Bridge to Nowhere a boat load of bikers assembled by 10 o’clock including John R, Katie and Steph who always seemed to appear out of nowhere. I had time to dry my tent and have some morning tea.
Bridge to Nowhere.
The boat was on time and the trip uneventful. It was nice to be moving under someone else's steam for a change. The jet boat base in Pipiriki was an old primary school built in the same style as the one I attended many years ago, which made me feel quite at home. The staff were also very welcoming and had super burgers for a good price and a place to wash the mud off our bikes.
It was now early afternoon and blistering hot. I was a little concerned to be riding in such heat but so far had managed my hydration very well. I find Nunn electrolyte tablets work for me and still had a good many left. The Whanganui River road is hilly with little traffic. I stopped a couple of times to refill water and dunk my head under a tap to cool off. With a combo of suncreme, sweat and two days of dirt I had a good undercoat of grime. The top coat was applied at some roadworks where the stop go man said I could follow a dump truck through once it had finished being loaded. As it moved off I followed at a reasonable distance but into a large plume of dust produced by the truck. At some point the roadworks ended at the tar seal began and I emerged back into daylight.
I was pleased to get to Whanganui after another full day. I had thought I'd stay in the campground but I couldn't face the detour so stopped at a convenient motel. The manager was very friendly and gave me a discount despite my disgusting appearance.
