I’m sure the Aussies might have something to say about Te Kuiti’s self-prolaimed title of sheep shearing capital of the world. However, we’ve learnt that the Kiwis are good at forgetting other parts of the world, the “most easterly point” and “see the sunrise first” claims of East Cape conveniently forget about Fiji and Siberia that straddle the international date line. Te Kuiti does have a quite impressive 7 metre tall statue of a sheap shearer, which must be hard to match.
Our journey today took us to a remnant forest of kahikatea, New Zealands tallest tree. Most have been chopped down to make butter boxes which is a shame as their moss covered buttress roots make for an enchanted forest feel. There was also a stop at Karangahake, an old gold mining town, topped off by the 1km disused railway tunnel walk, that’s a long way to go in the dark!