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14km Day : 185km Total
Today started with a 5km walk of gravel roads and forestry tracks with a large number of beehives along the way.  So there was a constant buzzing in the air as I walked.  At the turnoff to walk down to the stream the track notes mentioned a “rough” track to turn left on so I spent about ten minutes looking for a foot-wide trail similar to the rough tracks in Herekino.  But after getting out my GPS I realized they were referring to the wide but grass covered track I was already on.
When I reached the Mangapukahukahu stream I knew this was going to be a low mileage day because it was a beautiful stream and I decided to take full enjoyment of it and the perfect weather.  Before going further I stopped for a leisurely early lunch of ramen noodles with peanut butter and crackers for desert.
The track from this point is actually the bed of the stream so the day consisted of a lot of wading through water that was up to knee deep.  After about an hour I stopped at one of the stream’s side pools for a break and took a short swim.  Actually very short because the water was chilly.  But it was refreshing, and I sat in the warm sun to drip dry. (A beach towel was not something that I had considered including in my backpack 🙂 )
When I reached and crossed the Waipapa River shoals the intent was to continue wading the riverbed upstream, but at that point the river was above waist high so I found the alternative trail route above the river, which started out as good trail, but I soon regretted my decision to take the trail.  It is a very difficult and dangerous trail, at points only 6 inches wide with a shear drop to the left and a nearly vertical slope up to the right.  I was constantly looking for a safe way back down to the river, at this point willing to swim it if necessary.  After about an hour of this I finally got back down to the river and waded the final kilometer of the river which was now only knee deep.
I reached the start of the Pukatea Ridge at the edge of the Waipapa River in the early afternoon and set up my tent in a small camping area. 
Except for the short difficult trail above the river, this was my most enjoyable day so far.