Early morning at Rangiriri was enveloped in river fog as I started along the flood bank, enjoying the river experience. Only one small section along the river was still flooded and only thigh deep. But it was a very hot afternoon and early evening and it felt like a very long day by the time I'd reached Mercer. I'd passed around 15 TA'ers going south. One I'd not seen since the second day on the trail at 90 mile beach. He had developed tendonitis and was off the trail for 12 days. I enjoyed that the trail passed historical areas from the Waikato wars that I'd become familiar with from the podcast I'd listened to after Kerikeri. Camped at the back of the closed Mercer Motel.
