Theres not much to say about the road bash along motu road to the Pakihi track. Starting in farmland it enters bush with a 400m accent and decent. Its boring and seems to take forever. Theres a reasonable view over the endless forested hills of Urutawa from the summit, and a shelter for cyclists. Theres more deteriorating farmland on the other side and beekeeping seems to be the most profitable activity. With all the kanuka flowering it should be a good month for Manuka honey.
You can't miss the start of the Pakihi track. There's a large doc sighn, a shelter and a longdrop. Once a historic pack track, its been recently recut as part of the Motu cycleway. Its been cut into the steep hillside and keeps a consistent gradient all the way to the hut, dropping just enough to give you a spring in your step, but not enough to feel like a downhill walk. There's 12 new bridges built for cyclists, and for the first time I've got dry feet. All in all its a pleasant 11 kms. Its also the start of the Urutawa's- the next stage of my trip
Pakikhi hut is the tidiest yet. A former nzfs hut underneath with a recent deck added, surrounded by plastic on 3 sides. There's 6 bunks, a woodburner and a tank. According to the book, it gets a lot of visitors tho most of them cyclists passing by and not many stay the night. I get the place to myself.
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