(1075-1400km) Down by the river

In Lord of the Rings they had canoes, right? So I can do the same. 8 days food, a German girl, Anna, plus my friends Rob&Tris. No more sore legs. Leaving Taumarunui the rapids are quite exiting. White water squirting into the boat. Some would call it rafting. Campsite on a meadow. Rabbit chews through my tent and through four more layers of plastic - firstly to piss me off and secondly to eat my peanut butter. Bastard!

Scenic waterfalls. Car in the water. Steep rocky shores. A wild goat trapped inbetween walls of rock. Out of the boat. Grab it by the neck, pull it down. Kill it and grill it. Nice smoky meat. Finally get over ditching my bow.

River gets calmer. Impressive rock formations. Logs in the water. More goats, strong wind. We tie canoes together and let us float. Glowworms in a little cave next to the campsite.

Bridge to nowhere. Short walk off the river. Jetboat, guided tour. High walls of rocks. Few sidearms cutting through them. Camp at Tieke Kainga, Maori place. Hongi, no Hangi.

Jerusalem. Few more rapids in the river. One of them is called 50:50. Team Germany and team England pass. The Dutch and the French capsize. Haha! Then the end of the fellowship of the ring: Anna gets her bike back in Pipiriki. Canoe goes back to Taumarunui. So I hop onto the British canoe. The three of us are deep in the water. Every rapid is a 50:50 now. We stay in a village called Jerusalem. I knew it's a pilgrimage.

Day 50 since Cape Reinga. I stuff my mat into my t-shirt to use it as a life-jacket. No more rapids after Pipiriki they say. That's wrong. Massive whitewater almost fills the whole canoe. So close to capsizing! I bail out water as fast as I can. More rapids ahead. Lunchbreak at flying fox homestead. Avocado trees, pomelos, almonds, vegie garden, chicken. They have a car on a cable 10m above the river. It connects them to civilization on the other side of the river. We get a free ride. More paddling in bright sun until Downes hut. Five bunks just for us. Fire in the hut's hearth. Best day ever since yesterday!

More sun, more paddling. Ducks, geese, goats, horses. More and more boats, people. Finally Whanganui holiday park. Good bye to the Brits. Endless shower. I'm reborn!

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