Worth the wait?

Miranda hot springs to Paeroa
57.7km
Today we climbed a total of 152m. Nearly all of it up and over bridges. I don't know how much higher we are at Paeroa than at the campground, but it's not much.
We got away (just) before 8 this morning, having paused in the kitchen chatting to Penny & Nigel, an English couple following the TA for a couple of months, with pauses and side trips to see more of the country.
We'd taken an extra day at the hot springs so we could ride the Hauraki Rail Trail rather than the road detour. Apart from a 10km stretch on SH25 from Pipiroa to Kopu, the HRT is open Thursday to Sunday. The 'temporary' track they've put in is as good as some permanent trails we've been on. From Kopu, after a small geographical embarrassment that reminded us we had the original route instructions in the old book - but which also led us to a great sossy roll and flat white - we turned South toward Paeroa. The wind was mostly Westerly, but with a welcome touch of North until about 1PM. The Hauraki Plains are, flat, productive, dairy country but vulnerable to flooding. We noticed a lot of newer homes were built with all the accommodation on the first floor or above, with a 'sacrificial' ground level.
Which topography explains all the bridges, as the land is criss-crossed by drains, some clear and fragrant, some stagnant and rank. I think it's generally naturally drained but we did see a couple of small pump stations. If Abel Tasman had stuck around, it would be a polder studded with windmills. It was also interesting to see a number of boats (including a couple of gracious old ketches) nestled into mud-berths such as we see in East Anglia & the Isle of Sheppy.
The route touches SH26 (for reasons best known only to the HRT Trust and the landowners) at Hikutaia, where an ice cream from the Convenient Cow beckoned. Back on the trail for the last 10km into Paeroa, against a building headwind. The weather forecasts are proving depressingly accurate, so we expect to get wet tomorrow... The observant watching the Relive video may be wondering why there was a little hiccup along this stretch. Well, Marg dropped the mouthpiece off her drinking tube somewhere along the way, first evidenced by a splash of cold water on her leg, under a cloudless blue sky. Fortunately I didn't need to go far back to recover the bright blue blob of plastic from the middle of the trail.  We cut off the route to our base for tonight, in a traditional NZ motel unit, full kitchen, dining space, etc: big enough to bring our bikes inside (at the proprietor's suggestion!). A bit over one km into the bright spots (or Countdown at least) of Paeroa, and the obligatory control photo of the giant L&P bottle.
https://www.relive.cc/view/vNOP7QJY92v

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