Well, here I am, really on the north island now. I took a bus up to Taupo this morning (7 hours). I'm skipping half of the north island [the south half] but where I'm going there should be beaches, Mauris, beaches, sun, beaches, warm water, beaches...

All the road kills I saw on the south island were:

• Possums
• Hawks
• Hedgehogs (small porcupines)
• Cats
• Sparrows
• Butterflies
• Sheep
• Rabbits
• Crickets

There were so many, but I guess my speed [riding, not driving] contributed to how many I saw.

I went 2 km out of Taupo to this free campsite by the river. There is an EXTENSIVE kayak course set up here and I got to watch Dad & his four sons shred the course. There's also a GREAT swimming hole and the water here is warmer than in Wanaka.

I ate a lot again today.

Tomorrow I start touring again.

kayak course	sons #4 & 2
son #1	son #1
son #1	son #1
son #1	son #2
sons #1 & 3	son #3
Dad