My campsite neighbors were very noisy till late last night and from the wee hours of this morning: they bleated ceaselessly, hundreds of them. Apart from sheep, no one showed up at this place.
Soon after I left Rangiwahia I saw a road sign: “Manawatu Scenic Route “. I am wary of scenic routes; more often than not they meander through plentiful uphill climbs. But it was either that or a gravel road. Since Timber Trail, I somehow got more attached to pavement, even a coarse one.
There wasn’t anything special about today. I stopped at the Totara Reserve to take a control photo (who knows why am I doing this) and shortly after, I arrived at my destination, Ashhurst.
It wasn’t even noon. So I continued to pedal on. Near Ashhurst, I saw a big wind farm on the other side of the river, a clear warning sign, and rather soon after, I felt the wind effects. Luckily, the wind wasn’t strong and I only had 15km to go.
Even with going further than planned, I was at Palmerston North by 1pm. I had plenty of time to settle down in a hostel, have lunch, shop for food, eat ice cream, and spend some time in the city‘s main park basking in the sun.
Today in numbers:
102 km – distance cycled
2L – size of tub of ice cream I can eat in one go