To Wairoa, Hawes Bay

Took a walk round the camp before leaving, bit of an odd sort of a place really, with it's own hot springs. The whole area is famous for it's geothermal springs and it is not unusual to see plumes of steam rising out of a field and the smell of sulphur is everywhere.
We turn off the Rotorua road east towards Wairoa, a distance of 225K. Initially fairly boring through tall forrests but we can see the mountains ahead which we have to go over. Just as we start to climb there is a sign saying unsealed road for the next 100K unsealed is not how we would have decribed the road. The first range of mountains peaks at 1252M and the road is appalling. it's a cross between the drive up to Shipston rugby clubhouse and the rough end of the Scoor track on the Isle of Mull, and we have it for the next 100K! Mostly singlr track with hairpin after hairpin, mountain one side sheer drop the other. after a couple of hours Peter noticed the navigators white knuckles and tightly clenched eyes...... the blind navigator.......great! but there isn't anywhere else to go so we shouldn't get lost. having negotiated the first lot of mountains( it was just as scary coming down) we reach a flat bit and travel through a couple of Maori villages with their fantastically carved meeting houses. Fabulous scenery, with he mountains all around, the only trouble is we have to go over the next range, up the mountain,down the mountain one more time. The road was equally as nerve wracking except by now we are so high up, it started to rain making the track a little slippery. We peak at 1403M the start down to Lake Waikaremoana which is a marvellous sight. The whole length of this road has had the WOW factor, particularly a huge waterfall (pictures to follow). Eventually we get to a tarmac road and it's then that we realise that for the last 4 and a half hours we seem to have been riding over Wriggly tin! ( corrugated iron) it's been a real boneshaker of a journey not to be repeated!
At our camp site which seems quite nice by the river, we discover there is no wifi which was promised in the brochure.