Days 46-48: Ohakune to Turangi, Turangi to Taupo

Us with breakfast at Powderhorn Hotel

Since we had such a long day on the way to Ohakune, we decided to take a day to rest and recuperate, and we might as well do it in a place as nice and beautiful as Ohakune. We looked into doing an impromptu fundraiser there, but with the amount of people out and about on a Monday, it didn't seem worth it. So we just took some of the scenic walks around town and by the hotel, and then we went back to the wonderful Powderhorn Hotel, where they put us up for two nights to support us on our journey! THANKS SO MUCH! The staff were incredible, the heated pool was a heaven for our sore muscles, the food was more than we could eat (and we can eat A LOT!) and it was just so nice to live in a bit of luxury before heading back on the bikes.

Saying goodbye to my World!

We got back on the road on Tuesday morning, heading to Turangi, and we had quite a nice ride with lots of sun and not so many hills! The only sad thing that happened was that my world, which I was unable to let go of since the lantern parade, got ruined by the wind as a big truck wizzed on by! I guess it was for the best though, because there was no point in me carrying it around...

Cycling around Mt. Doom!

When we got to Turangi, we were greeted by another wonderful Couch Surfing host named Johanna.  She was one of those seems like professional hosts, as she had hosted hundreds of couch surfers, and was very good at making us feel comfortable and welcomed us with an amazing vegetarian meal.  It was perfect!  She also hosted a couple from Slovenia, so the 5 of us had a nice tea and conversation, sharing lots of Couch Surfing stories!

Couch Surfing with Johanna

In the morning we took the opportunity to go white water rafting, and since it was a beautiful day, we decided to take up that opportunity!  It was one of the most beautiful things we had seen on our trip.  The water on the river was so clear, and the walls along the gorge were green and flowing with water dripping down, and the sky was blue and the company was great!  We even jumped out over a waterfall into a freezing cold pool, where I almost hyperventilated because of the cold, but they warmed us up with some hot chocolate.  It was great.  After that, we had some lunch with Johanna, and hit the road again.

Arriving at Lake Taupo

We got into Taupo pretty quickly, as it was one of our shorter days.  We had a nice ride, and arrived full of energy.  50km days are great!  We stayed with another Couch Surfer named Terence.  He was preparing for a 100km bike race from Rotorua to Taupo called the 100k flyer.  So we had lots in common with him, and we chatted about bikes all night after sharing a nice dinner, and brainstormed about how to do our next fundraiser...