DAY FIFTEEN: FRIENDS, AND FRIENDS OF FRIENDS

Day 12 (Auckland to Ellerslie) Daily Distance: 23.12 kms

Day 13 (Ellerslie to Miranda) Daily Distance: 93.49 kms

Day 14 (Miranda to Athenree) Daily Distance: 91.31 kms
Day 15 (Athenree to Mount Maunganui) Daily Distance: 58.40 kms
Total Distance: 776.94 kms

Day Twelve was essentially another rest day given I only travelled 23 kilometres to Ellerslie, a suburb of Auckland, where my former colleagues Adam Jackson and Sara Rabone live in their newly purchased house (how grown up).

It took me ages to even leave the centre of the city for two reasons. Firstly, I saw a Contiki coach and so stalked it until I could see the Road Crew, and realised that the driver was a friend of mine from Europe, Adam Wicks. Thankfully he was about to start a break so we had a catch up over lunch.

Secondly, I was absolutely enthralled by the cricket games going on at the local Victoria Park. The plural nature of the word ‘games’ is crucial, since the enthralling factor was that five games were being played on an oval that at home would host two games at most. So how was such a feat possible, I hear you wonder? Well there is only one answer: all of the playing grounds overlapped. Amazingly, the main game being played on a proper turf pitch with uniformed players and seemingly professional umpires (Auckland first grade?) overlapped with not one but two other grounds. This country is crazy.

This was not a minor overlap: the guy in black was standing at deep fine leg in one game, but by default was fielding at mid-wicket in another, although in that position he unwisely had his back to the batsman!



Eventually, however, I drew myself away from this cricketing version of a shooting star and headed to Ellerslie. It was great to catch up on the latest news and they were kind enough to host me for the night, during which we had a barbecue with his Mum Isabel and her husband Iain.


With Jackson, aka "HL23A11 Dream Team"!

Exiting Auckland was simple enough: I followed the old highway, Great South Road, until I reached Bombay, ironically the location of the wedding I originally came to NZ for, when I turned east and headed for the Coromandel Peninsula. I got as far as Miranda Hot Springs and decided I’d had enough, especially since I was camping tonight (for the first time) and wanted daylight while I for the first time erected my newly purchased tent, plus the campsite had natural hot springs to relax my traumatised – but ever-growing – leg muscles in.

My setup. Not a lot of gear for two months, eh?!

Day Fourteen provided the highlight of the tour so far in terms of pure cycling. The NZ Government decided a few years back to create ‘Nga Haerenga’, or the ‘New Zealand Cycle Trail’, which is a series of 20 or so cycle trips ranging from one day to four or five. Great idea I think, although not ideal for me since the paths are unsealed and often run in loops rather than from A to B. Anyway, the Hauraki Rail Trail runs south of the Coromandel Peninsula, from Thames to Waihi via Paeroa and the Karangahake Gorge.

When I initially saw the trail I was very sceptical about the surface on a bike carrying lots of weight, so stuck to the roads until Paeroa. This is a cute little town that is most famous for kiwi soft drink L&P, meaning ‘Lemon & Paeroa’, which I find slightly confusing since lemon is a flavour and Paeroa is a place, but it tastes awesome all the same. Plus, it has a genius slogan: “world famous in New Zealand”!

Leaving Paeroa I followed the Hauraki Rail Trail through back country and farmland before riding through the wonderfully scenic Karangahake Gorge, which included several sections on or next to the old train tracks, several bridges (including one suspension bridge) and even a 1.5km tunnel which was an amazing experience I’ve not had on a bike before. Javier looked like he’d been rolling in the mud for half a day, coz he had been.

Adam had teed up his friends Karen and Wayne to host me in Athenree this night, and those two were SO welcoming, having prepared me a feast of a meal, PLUS accompanying beers, PLUS some well needed clothes washing. They had done a trip around Europe a year ago, so we looked through their photo albums (it’s good to know that some people still print out photos!) and Karen was even glad to have me help her fill in the gaps in her folder for buildings or sights that she couldn’t remember the names of!

Day Fifteen saw me trundle along the coast and into Mount Maunganui where I settled in the centre of the town before hiking up The Mount itself (I’m a sucker for pain) where I had a proper bird’s eye view of the coastline and surrounding area, including Tauranga. That evening I treated myself to the movies to see Les Miserables which I’d been long waiting to see. Russell Crowe sucked, although he may have shone during the bit that I slept through in the middle… if you’re reading this then you probably already know that that’s how I roll.

Relaxing at the top of The Mount



Looking back towards Mount Maunganui

Speaking of rolling, it’s depressing to look on a map and see that despite nearly 800 km's of 'rolling' so far, I’m still on the NORTHERN coast of the entire country. Thankfully, tomorrow I will leave the coast and head due south to try to raise the spirits!

DAY ELEVEN: BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BAA-HOLDER

Day 7 (Wellsford to Orewa) Daily Distance: 49.80 kms
Day 8 (Orewa to Auckland) Daily Distance: 47.96 kms
Days 9-11 (Auckland Rest Days)
Total Distance: 510.62 kms

This blog will explore pink sex symbols from around the world. In the US, sexy pink lovers may look like this:

               

Or for the ladies, maybe something like this:

In Japan they sometimes look like this:

And in the UK:

So on Day Seven I figured out the Kiwi equivalent. Yep, you guessed it:

Disclaimer: This is the only picture on the blog that was actually taken by me...

Seems like in this country beauty quite literally is in the eye of the baa-holder.

The only downside to this is that the highlight of my trip may have cum and gone early on Day Seven, when I greeted the fine ladies of Sheep World. Truth be told, I knew to expect them, having read Jim and Irene’s blog from their 2011 touring journey featuring Sheep World, and most certainly sought them out. And then I sorted them out, too ;) ... "when in Rome"!

The first half of the day, from Wellsford to Warkworth and on to Waiwera, was spent on State Highway 1 (there was no other option) and so little happened other than the sheep. Once I reached Waiwera, however, I was forced off the highway when it became a motorway, and was sent up and down several big hills and through some lovely scenic beaches. The fourth or so that I reached, Orewa, was so nice that I decided I would stay. I’d only done 50 k’s but wasn’t due into Auckland until the following day and it was only a further 48 k’s down the road.

I found a bike shop to fix my constantly slipping seat post and sell me a water bottle to replace the one that I lost somewhere near the glow worms, and had some quality time with the beach. That night, Kurt and Rebecca Shirley came up from Whangaparoa for dinner, also with their young baby Drew (babies everywhere). I’d been their Tour Manager on  a European trip over winter some years ago. We reminisced about all the funny stories, including the famous one of an over-zealous client who, while volunteering at a sex show in Amsterdam, tried to “sit” on THE banana instead of eating it, if you know what I mean…

On Day Eight I followed my nose towards Auckland, although had to be careful not to head for their dodgy version of the harbour bridge since cyclists aren’t allowed on it. Instead, I made my way to Devonport and caught a 10-minute ferry across the harbour right into the centre of the city.



View of Auckland City from the Devonport ferry

I had no time to be a tourist today, however, as I was picked up almost immediately and swept out to Lou Ludbrook’s house (funnily enough she lives north of the harbour, although no ferry was required this time!) where we had a few drinks before going to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers!! It was a great – if not life changing – concert, especially because they sang most of their hits, Anthony Kiedis is still way too energetic at 50 years of age, and I met another super tall guy who I instantly bonded with. We shared comebacks for the stupid things that ‘you’ short people regularly say to us. My favourite, which I have now adopted, is this:

Short Person: Do you play basketball?
Me: Do you play mini-golf?

During the concert I had the pleasure of sitting next to Alex and Olivia, who weren’t married at the time, but will be now. If that sounds weird, it’s not really: their bridesmaids gave them tickets to see the concert just days before their wedding. Unfortunately they and I are not as close as we could be, however, since it was established even before the concert began that Olivia drove past me during the peak rain-hammering after the Brynderwyns that I previously mentioned getting caught in. She recalled seeing a cyclist in bright yellow with bright orange panniers almost drowning in the rain while driving down from their hometown Whangarei the day before. She also recalled feeling sorry for him but since she didn’t stop to offer assistance I’m not so sure!

The rest of my time in Auckland was pretty jam packed. I had a job interview the following morning (which, before you ask, was for the position of Contiki Sales Executive for NZ North Island, although I have since withdrawn my interest for it), followed by a BBQ with Lou, her housemate Chloe, and Chloe’s 5 year old son, Bodhi, who became my BFF when we spent quality time jumping on the trampoline, and also had dinner and drinks with Maico, plus a comedy show on the Friday night with Lou and her buddies.

All in all, a great stay in the largest city in the country, and so onwards it was, knowing that the real cycling was about to start, even though the highlight was now behind me. Or was I behind it? Baaaa-hahaha!!! (Sorry but I had to go there!)

DAY SIX: TOILETS, GLOW WORMS AND A HOLE IN A ROCK

Day 4 (Paihia Rest Day)
Day 5 (Paihia to Whangarei) Daily Distance: 78.92 kms
Day 6 (Whangarei to Wellsford) Daily Distance: 84.26 kms
Total Distance: 412.86 kms

Sorry I’m a bit behind with the blog … I’ve been having too much fun!

Even though it was so early in the journey, I felt that I had to have a day off in Paihia given the beauty of the area. I woke up early enough to catch a jet boat out to the famous ‘Hole in the Rock’, which is as beautiful as they say, but also as popular with the tourists.

 

Not so busy was 'Camp Gregory', which for a moment I thought may have been run by long lost relatives of mine. And then I saw the sign and realised that it can't possibly by the case:

"Camp Gregory: Enjoyment guaranteed... Hangovers optional"

I spent the afternoon tending to my bike and then returned to the water for a beachside reading session. That night I found a sports bar full of, let’s say, the not-so-upper-class citizens of Paihia, but it was worth hanging around for a while to see the Aus v SL cricket game that they were televising. I returned to the hostel to be greeted by a Scottish couple (the hostel managers) and an Irish couple (blind drunk – did I say that they were Irish?) trying to drop coins from their buttocks (clothes still on) into empty cups. Despite what you’d think, it was surprisingly entertaining.

The next day started with some big climbs up and out of the coastal bays, before I turned inland to visit the toilet. But this wasn’t just any toilet, this one was made famous by its designer, Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

If any exist, avid PPFP blog followers will recognise that name from a previous blog (Day Eighteen: No Room At The Rainy Gasthof). So it seems every touring trip I take must at some stage include some of Hundtwasser’s work. A quick Google search tells me that he designed a shack somewhere in the middle of Malawi, so I think it’s a sign … anyone keen?

Not long after that I saw a roadside sign advertising caves with glow worms, and given that I’m on holiday and can do as I please, plus the fact that I knew my route wouldn’t take me to Waitomo where the famous version is found, I turned off the road and paid the little suckers a visit. And wasn’t I glad that I did – it was probably the highlight of the trip to that point. It’s an amazing sight, seeing thousands of them trying to out-glow each other to attract the mozzies (i.e. dinner) as they weave hundreds of strings that hang below them to catch the insects before reeling them in – their version of a spider web, I guess?

What this all meant was that my arrival into Whangarei was slightly later than planned, but good friend Jason Milich still happily gave me the grand tour of the city, complete with an introduction to the breath testing procedures of Whangarei police and some good Kiwi beer (unfortunately those events happened in the reverse order; fortunately Jason was on light beer!). The following morning Jason returned to pick me up but this time he brought with him his wife, Hannah, and their very cute 7-month old, Isla, who didn’t wail when I held her for a photo. Winner! (I think she only likes me because she knows her Dad is the one person that sticks it to me EVERY SINGLE time Australia loses in some sport. Which is all too often these days.)

 

From Whangarei I continued south to Wellsford, but in between these two are the rather large Brynderwyn Range, rising 850m above sea level, and therefore 850m above my preferred climbing height. Immediately following the horrendous climb, two generally well accepted rules were proven: one, that very steep climbs are soon followed by very steep descents; and two, that very steep climbs are highly correlated with the number of empty water bottles being carried. Thankfully a third (admittedly not so well accepted) rule was also proven to be true: that when all water bottles become empty, it starts hammering down with rain.

You see, given many cyclists complain endlessly about their encounters with pouring rain, you can tell I’m a glass half-full kind of guy – even if I am a bottle fully-empty one.

Wellsford deserves no space on this blog. Unbelievably shitty hotel. Boring main street. Random hobo inspecting my bike (i.e. establishing thievery potential).

DAY THREE: TE RERENGA WAIRUA / DEPARTING FROM THE CAPE

Day 1 (Cape Reinga to Kaitaia) Daily Distance: 111.07 kms
Day 2 (Kaitaia to Whangaroa) Daily Distance: 75.33 kms
Day 3 (Whangaroa to Paihia) Daily Distance: 63.28 kms
Total Distance: 249.68 kms

Looking back on Europe, Day One was a leisurely stroll from Poynton to Sheffield. In New Zealand, however, Day One was not nice. Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun – in the first half of the day.
First thing, I was shuttled from Kaitaia to Cape Reinga on a tourist bus. We stopped to see some giant Kauri trees, travelled north up 90 mile beach, went sand boarding on the giant 140 metre high Te Paki Dunes and finally reached Te Rerenga Wairua, the Maori name for Cape Reinga, which means “the departure place of spirits” from Aotearoa (New Zealand). Fascinatingly, the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet with a loud thud here at the northern tip of this southern country.

Te Paki Sand Dunes

So that was the first half of the day done.

The Kiwi adventure was about to begin. And as it happened, the cape was also the departure place for me, although I did the reverse of those spirits. While they rose gracefully from the cape and into the sky, I was plummeting back to where they had departed from, complete with loud thud. Just like the sea meeting the ocean.

I hadn’t eaten enough, didn’t think through the fact that I wouldn’t be departing until 1pm (meaning peak-heat and a very late arrival), and then had to ride over 100kms into a very strong wind (the peninsula is only 10km wide so is very exposed), in high temperatures (it was about this day that Sydney was sweltering in 43 degree heat). I arrived back in Kaitaia, where the day had begun, just before 9pm, just before the sun disappeared, but long after my enthusiasm had evaporated like the spirits from the cape.

Cape Reinga to Bluff

 

I didn’t spend that whole eight hours riding: in fact, two were spent having a siesta on the grass at shops that marked the first sign of civilization from the cape. On the plus side, I had become an instant celebrity given that every single car or bus that passed me heading north towards the cape then passed me a few hours later when they were heading back south. One very friendly Dutch family that I had met at the Cape just prior to my departure even stopped for a catch up on their way back.

Day Two was a dramatic improvement: I had decided to make it a shorter day to the quaint seaside town of Mangonui, but in the end continued on to the even more quaint harbour side Whangaroa, which meant that already I had gained time and distance on my schedule. The roads were quiet, wind behind my back and the short distance allowed me another lunchtime siesta, although this time it was by choice rather than necessity.

Whangaroa Harbour

Whangaroa Pier

 On arrival in Whangaroa I discovered that my fame stretched beyond the Opononi Peninsula, as four other touring cyclists had seen me a few days earlier and were anticipating my arrival in Whangaroa (they knew that I was coming because someone had called ahead on my behalf to book the hostel and mentioned that I was a cyclist). Those four are from USA, and are undoubtedly crazier than me. You can follow them on Facebook – search for ‘Left Side Ride’.

Firstly, they plan on not only covering NZ tip to toe, but then continuing to Australia where they hope to ride from Melbourne to Cairns. More notable, however, is that they are each carrying at least twice as much as myself – and I think that I have too much gear! Between the four of them they have: 4 GoPro Cameras, 3 SLR cameras, 4 laptops, 4 bike pumps (including one that is nearly the size of my leg and could probably pump up a jumping castle in less than 10 minutes), 3 tents, 3 camping stoves, fishing gear, diving gear (snorkels and flippers), 3 types of sauce for rice, 5 avocados that haven’t ripened since their purchase four days ago, but yet – wait for it – 0 mobile phones. They each have four panniers (two front and two rear), plus at least one bag on top of the rear panniers, and a handlebar bag.

Since the Left Side Ride boys and I were all heading to the same place the following day, Paihia – we toyed with the idea of riding together, although I ended up getting a hefty head start since it took them several hours to pack up their campsite. I’d liked the idea of having company on Day Three given that we knew a 6km hill faced us (according to Lonely Planet’s ‘Cycling in New Zealand’ guide book – thanks T&S – it was a “6km hard climb”). But I figured that if I keeled over halfway up they’d soon find me anyway. If they could see me over their panniers, that is.

Having had a long lunch in Waipapa, a photo stop at Haruru Falls, and a 1.5 hour tour of the (Waitangi) Treaty House and its grounds, I arrived in Paihia. This may not sound remarkable, but actually I did question whether my arrival would ever eventuate when shortly after lunch I suffered severe stabbing pain in my left knee on every rotation. This was remarkably similar to the achilles pain I had early on in Europe except that, well, it wasn’t my achilles. Like on that occasion, I am sure that it is just overuse and my body adjusting to the daily grind of cycle touring.

It was interesting to see the site where in 1840 the Waitangi Treaty was signed by Maori chiefs and British representatives, meaning a unified nation for the first time since Polynesians settled here in 1250ish.

Waitangi Treaty Grounds

There was no sign of Team LSR until shortly before 8pm they rocked into town having been severely delayed by a flat tyre and a broken pannier rack – no idea how that could have occurred?! (I jest, but actually they’re lovely guys with a hugely impressive trip planned that I am very keen to now follow.)

After a couple of ciders and some nice beachside live music, I crawled into my bed feeling happy that my leg was still in one piece and a rest day awaited.

TOURING TAKE TWO: CYCLING WITH SHEEP AND BAD CRICKETERS

Welcome back! Either you've been occasionally checking this blog even after the European Adventure concluded (if so, I feel sorry for you!), or more likely you have heard that I'm well and truly back on the bike.

And so I introduce:

Touring Take Two: Cycling with Sheep and Bad Cricketers

Right now I am in a motel in Kaitaia in Northland, some 310km north of Auckland. I caught the bus here from Auckland today, having been there for the wedding of my good friends Monique Hearnden and Nick Browne. (Monique of the Mission Heights 'Parri Pedals for Parkinson's Fan Club' fame...see comments at Day 23: 2000kms = Civic Reception).

If I learnt one thing today (on top of the fact that there even IS 300km of land north of Auckland - hands up who honestly knew that was the case?!), it was that Northland, as this area is officially known, is incredibly hilly. Mountainous even. My schedule gives me seven days to get back to Auckland, and I have a feeling that I will need every hour of each of those seven days to do it. The only bonus (and it is a big one) is that this part of the world is STUNNING.

Anyway tomorrow, Tuesday 8th January, I will depart the northernmost point of 'New Zulland', Cape Reinga, bound for the southernmost point, Bluff. Actually, if you want me to get all technical on you, Cape Reinga and Bluff are not the northernmost OR southernmost points of the country: that would be Surville Cliffs and Slope Point respectively, although neither are easily accessible on sealed roads so I ruled them out early on in planning (i.e. a couple of hours ago...). Surville Cliffs is 3km further north than Cape Reinga, and 30km further East, while Slope Point, 5km further south than Bluff, is not connected even with unsealed roads, meaning you have to hike, and it is apparently not even accessible to the public. So do you forgive me for (technically) cheating you out of 8kms?

For those interested, my rough plan is outlined below. However, with no SatNav Dan (and, in fact, no companions at all this time!) this itinerary is going to change more often than my underwear, I think. So maybe once or twice on the trip... ;)

#	Date	From	To	Distance (kms)	Cumulative Distance (kms)
0	Jan-07	Auckland	Kaitaia	-	-
1	8	Cape Reinga	Kaitaia	111.07	111.07
2	9	Kaitaia	Whangaroa	75.33	186.40
3	10	Whangaroa	Paihia	63.28	249.68
4	11	Paihia	Paihia	0.00	249.68
5	12	Paihia	Whangarei	78.92	328.60
6	13	Whangarei	Wellsford	84.26	412.86
7	14	Wellsford	Orewa	49.80	462.66
8	15	Orewa	Auckland	47.96	510.62
9	16	Auckland	Auckland	0.00	510.62
10	17	Auckland	Auckland	0.00	510.62
11	18	Auckland	Auckland	0.00	510.62
12	19	Auckland	Ellerslie	23.12	533.74
13	20	Ellerslie	Miranda	93.49	627.23
14	21	Miranda	Athenree	91.31	718.54
15	22	Athenree	Mount Maunganui	58.40	776.94
16	23	Mount Maunganui	Rotorua	71.09	848.03
17	24	Rotorua	Rotorua	0.00	848.03
18	25	Rotorua	Taupo	101.72	949.75
19	26	Taupo	Taupo	0.00	949.75
20	27	Taupo	National Park Village	113.65	1063.40
21	28	National Park Village	National Park Village	0.00	1063.40
22	29	National Park Village	John Coull Campsite (Whanganui River)	44.50	1107.90
23	30	John Coull Campsite (Whanganui River)	Tieke Campsite (Whanganui River)	27.50	1135.40
24	31	Tieke Campsite (Whanganui River)	Wanganui	97.06	1232.46
25	Feb-01	Wanganui	Wanganui	0.00	1232.46
26	2	Wanganui	Himitangi	76.06	1308.52
27	3	Himitangi	Wellington	139.42	1447.94
28	4	Wellington	Wellington	0.00	1447.94
29	5	Wellington	Wellington	0.00	1447.94
30	6	Wellington	Mouteka	0.00	1447.94
31	7	Mouteka	Takaka	0.00	1447.94
32	8	Takaka	Picton	0.00	1447.94
33	9	Picton	Blenheim	58.65	1506.59
34	10	Blenheim	Kaikoura	132.37	1638.96
35	11	Kaikoura	Greta Valley	107.47	1746.43
36	12	Greta Valley	Springfield	126.94	1873.37
37	13	Springfield	Arthurs Pass	86.82	1960.19
38	14	Arthurs Pass	Hokitika	120.00	2080.19
39	15	Hokitika	Franz Josef Glacier	140.00	2220.19
40	16	Franz Josef Glacier	Fox Glacier	50.00	2270.19
41	17	Fox Glacier	Haast	121.00	2391.19
42	18	Haast	Haast	0.00	2391.19
43	19	Haast	Makarora	79.00	2470.19
44	20	Makarora	Wanaka	64.00	2534.19
45	21	Wanaka	Queenstown	69.00	2603.19
46	22	Queenstown	Queenstown	0.00	2603.19
47	23	Queenstown	Queenstown	0.00	2603.19
48	24	Queenstown	Lumsden	65.00	2668.19
49	25	Lumsden	Invercargill	96.00	2764.19
50	26	Invercargill	Invercargill via Bluff	60.00	2824.19
51	27	Invercargill	Christchurch	0.00	2824.19
52	28	Christchurch	Christchurch	-	-
53	Mar-01	Christchurch	Sydney	-	-