After drinking some last night I didn't quite get enough sleep. I didn't feel bad at all this morning, just tired. Figured I'd take a lighter day due to that and the gloomy weather and only ride to Whakatane (pronounced f*** uh tah knee). That provided a lot of confusion when I was trying to figure out what city people were talking about..

I'm glad my last two days were during the weekend because apparently I'm in the line of fire of logging trucks now. Had about a dozen pass me in the 10km I spent on the main highway before I got off for a shorter scenic route via Ohope to Whakatane. The weather was gloomy but I enjoyed a cool day with no heat from the sun.

Found that it was another $20 camp in Whakatane so strolled around the backpackers like last night and found one that does tent sites for $14. I really like tenting at backpackers. It's usually cheaper than motorcamps and I get the social aspects and nice kitchen/public area of a hostel. The tent sites are often in a garden with only enough space for 1-4 tents so it tends to feel pretty cozy.

I spent my night talking to an Irish guy here traveling and working on planes named Paul. He seemed to know the north island in and out and gave me tons of tips on where to stay and all kinds of cool stuff to do on my route. Unfortunately given my short time frame I can't do much of that but oh well.