In New Zealand's Middle Earth

Matamata is famous in New Zealand as the town closest to Hobbiton but it also celebrates it's horse racing.

We walked around Cambridge admiring its many trees, lots starting to lose their leaves.

A view of the info centre in Matamata.

Next stop, Morrinsville, where they celebrate cows. There are at least 0. See the link below.

https://herdofcowsmorrinsville.co.nz/
 

The Hauraki Rail Trail

We took our bikes to the Firth Tower just outside Matamata and cycled the Hauraki Trail back to Te Aroha. This is the only part of the trail we haven't cycled before. It is mostly flat and goes through farmland.

The Firth Tower complex has overnight parking for motorhomes so when we got back to Te Aroha we drove the bus back and spent the night there.

We were glad of our e-bikes as it was windy and the wind was against us.

We passed some pretty buildings in the little settlements and had lunch at a roadside cafe.