We headed back on trail for Christmas eve but were stopped by a huge storm that rolled in. Trying to find cover at a dairy, some locals came over and invited us to their house until the weather turned around. We got there to find a high school like house party but were excited to get out of the rain. We stayed there until later that night when anot her local woman invited us to her much nicer and quieter house. The next morning we woke up to spend Christmas morning with our tramily (trail family). We did a small gift exchange which included safety vests, Santa hats, parachute men, and lots of candy bars. The weather was much better so we headed off to spend Christmas on trail. We hiked to a dam nearby and set up camp for the evening and spent it chatting around the fire. We got up the next day and moved on. Unable to find much good water for the day, we knocked on a farmhouse door and a wonderful young women let the seven of us smelly hikers into her house to fill up our bottles and then let us set up camp on her land. Though we were attacked by sand flies that evening, it was great to have clean water and a place to sleep. The next day we started with some road walking and then a nice river track before stopping at a small settlement where we tried to celebrate our friend, Spirit's, birthday. From there we walked along the highway until someone picked us up and drove us to the town of Hamilton, where we got a hotel for the night to shower and do some laundry. The next day we moved to a friend of mines apartment where he said we could relax and recover from all of the walking. He was out on holiday but he made us feel very welcome and right at home. One of the most generous people I have ever experienced andwho I really hope to meet one day. The next few days were full of relaxing, running errands, and visiting hobbiton(where they filmed The Hobbit). We celebrated a wonderful New Years with incredible friends before reluctantly leaving Hamilton. It rained on us as we walked out but we were lucky to find an empty barn that night where we could sleep through the pouring rain. The next morning we hiked up into some of the most beautiful hills I have ever seen. It was like we were walking through a Lord of the Rings movie. Even when the rain returned we were full of awe in our surroundings. That night we climbed a large mountain in the muddy rain which tested a bit of our patience before getting to our first hut at the summit. It was incredibly nice and we dried out our wet gear and our cold bodies with card games and food. The next day we woke up to another large storm and decided to take an extra day at the hut to avoid the rain. The morning after, it had finally cleared up and we ventured out of the hut. One of my best days on trail by far, was filled with lots of breaks, beautiful scenery, and great company. We hiked about 40k before setting up camp and falling asleep to the stars. The next morning we woke up with everything completely soaked with dew so we spent some time drying out in the sun before pushing on to a town. There we met up with the rest of the group and hiked out to another town just 15km down the trail. It was an incredibly hot and sunny day and we were in exposed farmland for most of it. As we passed through an electric farm gate, I grabbed part of the handle and was unpleasantly suprised when a hard shock passed up through my wrist and up my arm. I didn't gave enough water and was starting to feel the effects as we descended down into town. My skin was burning and my mouth was dryer than I thought it could get. When my head began to ache, I asked a friend for some water, which he was more than happy to give what he had left. Slightly delirious, I made it into town and drank so much water, I felt sick. We resupplied and set up camp just outside of town. I bought some lotion to sooth my terrible sunburn but was taken back when my skin began to sear with pain and hives began to pop up all over my legs. As I sprinted to a public bathroom to wash it off, I cursed myself for buying that type of lotion. The next day we hiked out of town and found a gorgeous river spot complete with inner tubes, benches, and sunscreen. We spent the day there and as I was making my lunch, I took a sip of water. After I felt something hard in my mouth. Thinking it was a bit of plastic I took it out of my mouth and tossed it aside before realizing it was a small bit of my front tooth that had chipped off. Luckily we found the piece and hiked on after a few hours of resting. We camped in a large pasture last night and got up to do a bit of road walking today. While on the road, a man covered in tatoos, including his face, stopped and asked if we'd like some water or maybe a coffee. Never turning down a cup of coffee, we got in his car and he took us up to his house where he made us coffee and steak sandwiches. He told us of the history of the surrounding land and some great Maori cultural tid bits before taking us back to the trail. Manaki is the Maori term for treat others how you'd like to be treated and he went above and beyond for us. We will not forget the Manaki he gave to us on our Hikoi (journey). We head up a mountain with some bad weather in the forecast but high spirits. I don't thing it can get worse than sunburned, covered in hives, and missing a bit of my tooth but I won't tempt fate. 958km