December 30 Gisborne to Gentle Annie reserve campground 23 km - Oh boy the first thing the YHA manager said to Tim today was you have to leave. He did not want any tents at the hostel and he was making everyone leave. It turns out he didn’t make everyone leave just the ones that said ok like Tim and I. I really don’t understand why but sometimes you just don’t know why so we packed up and headed to the internet, extremely expensive at 8 NZ 6 US an hour and very slow.
We stopped at the Pak -n -Save, love this store it has the best prices in New Zealand and picked up supplies to head out of town. We were all ready to go at 4 pm, hmm what a late start, on the road we fought off the racer boy traffic, the town is packed and about to erupt into a huge party, for the Rhythm and Vines Music Festival on New Years Eve, ah the days of youth. Anyway we are out of here and off to find a quiet place to camp. We traveled through vineyards and cornfields and started climbing through pine forest and we came to the Gentle Annie Reserve, a native forest, it had a great place to camp with a picnic table. The bird life was plentiful and we saw Tui and Kingfishers.
December 31 Gentle Annie Reserve to Tiniroto 39 km - The road is quiet and the whole reason we chose to ride this way rather than down Hwy 2. The traffic will be pouring into Gisborne today and we just did not want to hear it. We climbed for 3 km to Gentle Annie Lookout at 360 m, it looked like a nice place to camp. The weather was already unsettled when we started riding. we do have a bale out at Tiniroto. Turns out it started raining two hours into our ride while we were climbing and a breathtaking pace of 5 km per hour. It came down and we kept riding, if we want to get anywhere in New Zealand we have to ride in the rain.
We pulled into the Tiniroto Pub soaked to the bone, either I need a new rain jacket or I must change my ways and stop riding in the rain because it does not keep me dry anymore. I asked the bartender where the caravan park was and he said that we could put up a tent in a paddock, ok that is better than nothing, we had lunch and after lunch he told us we could stay in the community center for a donation of NZ $10 US$7.50 and so here I sit in a dry room watching it rain outside. New Zealand has been one pleasant adventure after another, the hospitality has been awesome and to top it off I really like their beer, it must be the water ah.
January 1 Tiniroto to Wiarou 50 km - Another day of hilly riding but oh so quiet roads and pleasant scenery. The clouds started breaking up at noon but I was glad to have my tights, wool jersey and neoprene socks on, when the sun is out in New Zealand it is hot, when it is cloudy it is cold and we woke to a cloudy damp cold morning.
We arrived in Wiarou about 2 in the afternoon and being it was a holiday everything was closed, drat, we have the worst timing sometimes. I don’t think there is a much of store from here to Napier 118 km away. We will probably break the ride into two days and stay at Lake Tutira a bird sanctuary.
January 2 Wiarou to Lake Tutira 77 km. Our timing continues to be bad. I woke this morning and realized that traffic would be bad today because the Rhythm and Vines concert in Gisborne would be over and people would be streaming back to Wellington. The assault started on our first climb and continued for the entire day, it was awful. At the top of the first hill Tim was hit in the back with a bottle, this really made Tim angry and he chased the van down on the down hill, almost caught them in a turn and they passed a car in front of them on the dangerous curve to get away from Tim on his bike. I could see all this as I was trying to keep up. What a cowardly act and it did not stop there. I have traveled on a bike for years and have always held the belief that drivers do not want to hit me intentionally. That belief was challenged today, we were yelled at, honked at, had more bottles thrown at us and people passed us in areas where they should have waited the two seconds for us to get to a safer spot. Honestly, we should not have been on the road but we had no choice because we did not have any food with us because the stores have been closed when we arrived in town. So we pushed on and after 5 and half hours in the saddle and we arrived at Lake Tutira a beautiful quiet place to camp. I was physically and mentally exhausted and glad to be off the road. I would like to stress that this is not a normal occurrence in New Zealand, normally the drivers give us room on the road, it was just the wrong day and the wrong group of drivers on the road.
A black swan and her baby swan who is still covered in white feathers
January 3 Lake Titura to West Shore near Napier 40km - One big climb today and then we were back at sea level and town in no time. We are both tired and will take a few days off in Napier and decide what to do next, we are discussing taking a bus to Wellington or riding more.
Update on Tim’s battle with parasites - Tim stopped taking the parasite medicine about 4 days ago and I have really seen a transformation in Tim, his riding jersey has loosened up over night, the past couple of days he seems to have dropped quite a bit of weight, more like swelling really and he is feeling better than ever. I am having trouble keeping up with him over the hills, now that is the Tim I know and I couldn’t be happier. Someday when I get near an internet that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg I will try and track down what kind of worm Tim had. In the mean time life is good and I am not as worried about Tim as I have been for over the last year. A big thanks to Katharina, the German doctor we met in National Park.
January 4 - 5 Napier. Stayed at the West shore Motor camp about 5 km out of town. The town of Napier had an earthquake around 1931 and the entire town was leveled. When they rebuilt the town the building were designed in the art deco style. The town may have the largest number of art deco building in the world. It certainly is a nice looking town. The Hawks Bay area where Napier is located is also the bread basket of New Zealand, and it is harvest season so fruits and vegetables are plentiful and some are cheap.
While in the campground we met a German couple near by and when they realized we were on bikes the first thing he said was, “Aren’t you afraid to ride your bike here?” I was shocked at his question and answered “no I am not afraid.” What is it with all the fear lately.
January 6 Napier to Waipawa 77 km. Tim has persuaded me to ride to Masterton but the back. Both our cycling books, Peddlers’ Paradise and Cycling New Zealand go down Highway 2. Traffic is high on this road so we will detour off. Today’s ride was relatively flat with one climb just before Waipawa. In hindsight we should have taken the middle road through Havenlock to Waipawa, it follows the river and would have less traffic. Stayed in a motor camp by the river. It was a warm boarding on hot day, 31 C, about 90 F and the locals were wilting. We did not find it that hot, a bit humid but we could ride through the day.
The arch at Napier, oh and the right style of car too.
January 7 Waipawa to Porangahau beach area 63 km We will finally get off of Hwy 2 today it had been busy and I will be glad to get away from the noise. Everyone asks how we find the Kiwi drivers, and I have found them not too bad except for the day the Rhythm and Vines concert let out from Gisborne. If there is room for us then there is not a problem. A few times I was surprised where a driver decided to pass, like on a narrow bridge or through a blind corner, other than that it really hasn’t been bad.
The town of Waipukurau is the last town with a regular grocery store for the next 4 or 5 days of riding so we picked up a few supplies. All we will find over the next few riding days is pubs and what they call a diary, what we call a convenience store. Prices are usually high for the most basic provisions, so I have Tim pretty loaded up.
We stopped for lunch at a rest area near the town of Wallingford and we met the local sheep farmer. What a different way of life, herding sheep and such, his farm is 1200 acres, 1700 sheep, he calls them ewes, 1700 lamb, 500 cattle. That is a normal size farm in this area.
At the town of Porangahau we thought we would pick up water but decided to go to the free council campground at the beach 7 km away. It was a flat ride just follow the signs to the beach and when you get into the settlement take your first left and it takes you to the free camping place. It has a clean water tap and flush toilets, Bonus.
January 8 Porangahau rain We woke to drizzle that turned to rain and we knew we were in for a day in the tent. No worries, I have plenty of work to do and it can be done anywhere. We met Glen who lives in what he calls a House truck and has lived in it for over 14 years. Now this is what I call Minimalist living. The truck was awesome and he is quite a handy man, the bus was beautiful and had everything a house would have, except it was on wheels.
Glen and his House Truck, he has lived in for 14 years, now that is minimalist living.
As we were sitting in the tent, in the rain we heard a car pull up and out came a women saying hello hello. She said, “I am the cyclist you passed on the road today.” Her name is Dia and she had here children Nicholas and Brooklyn with her. She invited us over for a fish dinner, we had flounder caught fresh that day, she made Tim a nice steak, fresh veggies from the garden too. We were in heaven.
January 9 Porangahau to Akitio 66 km Today’s ride is not for the faint of heart. Stopped at the worlds largest place name here goes - Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu. I wonder if that makes it into New Zealands spelling bee.
It was a nice rolling ride through farm country until Wimbledon where we stopped for a pub lunch and a good thing we did because the hills that followed required a lot of fuel to get over. About 5 km from Wimbledon the road went up and straight up for the first km or so and then rolling steep hills afterwards. A work out to say the least but the scenery was stunning.
The ride - Here are the directions if you want to come this way. Ride back to the town of Porangahau and turn onto Wimbledon road, turn left on Esdaile road about 12 km past the pub, the road is gravel for 16 km, they call it Midle which sound like Metal to me but it means unsealed either way. Stay on Esdaile that turns into Glendora and then to Akitio River Rd. basically stay on the main road. A wonderful but hilly ride.
January 10 Akitio Gale force winds. We woke to a cloudy day and the winds picked up quickly. Drat, we wanted to check out the reef today. I went out to the reef at low tide and the wind was so strong all the little ponds had white caps on it and it made me really sad. We did have a camp kitchen to hang out it and we worked on various projects. We met some interesting travelers and I know if we lived in New Zealand this is a place I would return to because it is remote and pristine. People were catching crayfish, what we would call rock lobster, paua or abalone, and lots of different fish.
January 11 Akitio to Alferdton Domain 77 km. The ride back to highway 52 was easier than on the way in probably because the road was partially sealed, the hills were rolling rather than steep and the nice tailwind helped too.
Just before we came to Pongaroa we passed a sheep shearing shed and we heard the shearers going. We stopped and talked about walking up and asking if we could watch the shearers do their work. I volunteered to go up and ask and when I got to the top of stairs and I said, “Hello, I am from Arizona and can I watch the sheep shearers.” The man’s perplexed look turned to a smile and I smiled back. Sure he said but don’t get in the way of the shearers. Tim came in, took photos and watched too. The music was going and the wool was flying. Interesting to see since I love to wear wool and this is where it all starts. Unfortunately for the farmers the price of wool is going down but it seems to me that the price of wool clothing is going up, must be the drop in the dollar.
The sheep is pulled from the shoot to the left and then the shearing begins.
The road from Pongaroa was rolling with three of four good climbs but the grade was gentler and not as tough. We picked up some water in Alferdton and camped at the domain area.
January 12 Alferdton to Masterton 44 km. The ride today was a dream, relatively flat with a tailwind and we made Masterton in not time at all.
Read all of Cindie’s North Island New Zealand Journal Here
See index of all (several years) Cindie’s Journals here
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