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20km Day : 141km Total
I woke up just before dawn this morning to the sounds of various bird calls that I didn’t recognize.  They made for a unique combination of sounds.  It reminded me of the discordant but somehow enjoyable music made by an orchestra as they are tuning their instruments just before they begin a presentation.
I had high hopes this morning for an easier, high mileage day, since we only had 3km left of Herekino, and then onto forestry lands.  Although we were a little concerned about arriving at Raetea forest which rumores held was even more difficult than Herekino.
Fabi and I got started soon after 7:30 and quickly realized Herekino wasn’t going to release its hold on us easily.  The final 3km was downhill, which for me is more difficult than uphill on these steep muddy slopes.  I managed to fall twice; breaking one of my trekking poles and wrenching my knee a bit in the process.  And somewhere on this section I lost my cap.
After spending an hour and a half working our way out of the muddy forest it suddenly opened up with a panoramic view of rolling farm land.  It was almost like in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy gets her first view of Oz and the movie changes from black & white to color.   Fabi turned to me to say,  “I hope I never get so used to seeing such amazing views on the hike that I don’t stop to appreciate them.” I had to agree with this sentiment.
Another kilometer along the track we came to a stream.  I needed to refill my water, but Fabi didn’t.  And at this point it was clear we hiked at different paces. (The middle aged American could not keep up with the young German.) So as much as I enjoyed Fabi’s company, this was a natural point for us to continue on our own hikes separately. I still may catch up with him in Kerikeri when he stops for resupply there.
As I filtered and refilled my water supply I saw this as a good opportunity to clean the mud from my shoes and pants so ended up spending close to 45 minutes at the stream but felt much better (and cleaner) for the time spent.
In the forestry lands there is an unmarked minor fork you must take, and I missed it and stayed on the main track. I went 500m beyond it before realizing the mistake.  So between misadventures in Herekino and this wrong turn, this morning was a less than an ideal start to the day.  It was already 11am and I had only traveled 6km. (7km if you count the wrong turn). 
Raetea forest has not so far shown itself to be nearly as difficult as Herekino.  But it is still a challenging track and I expect to have a slow going tomorrow morning.  I’m camping tonight just to the side of the trail, about a mile west of Raetea summit.  I’m very pleased the rain has held off so far.  Looking forward to a real meal at the cafe in Mangamuka Bridge.