Last night was great! For $8 I got a room intended for camper-van share use. It had a private bath, hot water kettle and TV & radio. I slept well on a bed, watched a movie, it was luxury. Tonight I'm at the Waipoua Forest info center. It's like a ghost town. There is ONE other person here and he works here. I've set up camp in a deserted dining hall. Spider webs everywhere & sand flies outside. It does have a nice, clean shower and toilet.

Shirt off by 8:30 today but it never got hot.

Today I saw the largest Kauri tree (Lord of the Forest), the second largest (Father of the Forest), a sign pointing towards the seventh largest and a cluster of four big ones called the "four Sisters". These trees are HUGE! It's just an enormous trunk with no branches (they shed them) which ends in a big 'tuft' of leaves and branches. The big one was about 1,200 years old.

I was wrong. There are three people here besides me. I'm lonely again. I finished my book, there's no TV...

It's 7:50 PM and I'm thinking of turning in just so I won't be bored. Instead I'll write in this.

If I were to tour again, just about the only thing I would change is the amount of time I took. I packed VERY well and haven't needed anything. I went too fast to really take in the country. It would have been nice to be able to spend about two more days in each city and a few more rest days here and there. Mechanically, all that has happened is:

• One flat (my own fault)
• The clamp on one side of my Low Riders broke
• My rear derailleur is freezing up (I'm not sure why because I oiled the cable un Thames and it didn't help)

Next time I need to take water purification tablets and something for my stomach in case I DO drink bad water. Maybe more aspirin. Maybe different tires [mine were just wearing out, they were performing fine]. Although I don't know how long these are supposed to last and they really have worked well. They're very quiet on the roads and have enough traction off most of the time. Enough of the time I think. Actually I like these tires. My shoes took about three-four weeks of cycling to break in and aren't the best for hiking but now they're very comfy and they are VERY good for riding with [toe] clips. Probably I should have a better raincoat [I just took my cheap Burley cycling jacket which is fine on the bike but kinda skimpy off], some hi-tech fabric so I won't sweat too much on the bike and something I can throw in the wash. ALL clothes must be able to be thrown in the washer. I have to keep reminding myself to eat right. Not anymore but for a while I wasn't having any fruits or veggies. Putting money on the Visa BEFORE the trip is a good idea [now they have debit cards…]. No stove over here has been okay if you have money for motor camps. But I should have had a pot for noodles, rice, potatoes, etc. One would be fine.

When I first got here, the sun was going down at 9:20, now it's gone by 8:15.

I'm almost out of food. I'm down to one 'meal', some things you have to cook and a couple of snacks. It's the least I've been with since my marathon on the south island trying to get to the north tip.

I wonder if I'll be able to read [my journal] this when I pick it up in the future.

I keep hearing a pitter-patter above me. I wonder if there is a possum family living in the attic.

I'm really running out of things to write about.

Training Diary Comments: Sun & some wind. 5:30. Felt fine. I tend to get lazy, not shift and thus end up pushing too big of a gear on occasion.

Walpoua Forest
Kauri trees
'big tree' sign	Tane Mahuta
another 'big tree' sign	Matua Ngahere (father of the forest)