Day 38 - farming carbon

Kaimango Road —-> Waitomo Holiday park 32km

With a big day ahead of me, I was saying goodbye to Casey & Jon by 7.45am. I headed off down the road making a morning phone call to Mum in the UK until my signal inevitably got too rubbish to continue. I had the road all to myself as I looked out over the rolling hills beyond.

After a few hours I turned into some farmland and the sheep led along a track until I reached a stile directing me into the forest.

I was getting pretty bored of the forest sections by now. The same plants, the same tree rooted floor, the same branches and vines to trip over. This forest was no different - mud included.

At the end of the forest however was something I hadn’t seen before, or even heard called this before - a carbon farm. Newly planted trees stretching in every direction I could see. Trees big corps can rent to offset their CO2 emissions.

The route took me through the farm, where apparently I was on camera the whole time…?! I climbed up and down several large hills full of saplings, then over an airstrip where I plonked myself down for lunch, looking out over the valley below me.

As the heat ramped up I headed out of the carbon farm and through the bush scrub alongside it. I bished and bashed my way through, trying my best but never quite avoiding the gorse, and stopping to find the one ripe berry on the mounds of blackberry bushes - I blame Steph for eating all the good ones a few days before ;)

It was then back down into the forest, this one more open than the mornings which made the heat quite unbearable. A wonderfully cool stream in the middle was a welcome relief. Seems the goats thought so too - a couple scarpered out of the water as I started crossing.

After what felt like an endless climb up out of the forest, I reached the road and lay on the grass for a while mustering up the energy to walk the final few km into Waitomo. I headed straight to The General Store for a chocolate ice cream before setting up my tent across the road at the holiday park.

Knowing that I had a fairly short day planned for tomorrow, I spent the evening at the local pub, with a few drinks and all the deliciousness I could order.