I've been writing regularly, just in a Word document because internet is so spotty. In Cambodia, every where you go (including every cafe, restaurant and gas station) has wi-fi. Not so in NZ!
Here it goes.
Tutukaka to Russell (100+km!)
Saturday, 11 October, 2014
We did not plan to bike this far, but as we got going we
just, well, kept going! (Ewoud told me later he didn’t think I would make it.
He obviously didn’t know me at all at that point… lol). ;)
We had a last cup of coffee with Nicky and Greg in the
morning and they sent us on our way around 10. We rode up the coast and inland
a bit – perfect day for riding, and the countryside and coast alike made for
great scenery.
At about the 35 or 40km mark (out of the original goal of 60
for the day), Ewoud said he thought we could make it to Russell that day. It
made sense that we should just go, so after having a think about it (yes,
riding these hills takes more mental strength than, at times it seems, the
other kind of strength…) I agreed to do it. We can always stop anywhere, that’s the good
thing…
We map out all our rides using Google maps (above is from Strava.com though, not google). On my phone I
can see the highlighted route, distance, and elevation along the way. So I
could see in advance that just before arriving in Russell (at about the 85km
mark – right when my legs start feeling like jelly) a massive hill stood in the
way. When we came to it, I was mentally prepared for it. It was a shortcut
(10km shorter than the road) but also a very rocky gravel road. Since I have a
mountain bike and Ewoud’s tires are a bit more delicate than mine, I went
straight for that hill with no turning back. Ewoud decided to take the proper
paved road even though it was 10kms longer. I figured there would still be
hills on that road, so just went for the shorter distance and the giant back
road hill. Ewoud rides much faster than me, but we met on the other end minutes
apart. Perfect timing.
Another 10 or 15kms in to town – feeling tired, yes, but
still pushing! We arrived at a campsite as night was falling. Didn’t have much
to cook up and so I made the call: set up the tent, shower, and then going out
for dinner!!!
Now Russell is a quaint little town. A miniature Saugatuck
(miniature!!) for those of you from West MI (dad and Jane you’d love it). And
things close early there! Even the local tavern didn’t want to cook us food at
9:30pm, so we walked down to the waterfront and found an old hotel and
restaurant that gave us three options – we took the fish and chips x2, an
incredible clam chowder soup to share and cold NZ beers to go with it. Amazing.
Really good end to the day!!!!
Russell to Paihia
Sunday, 12 October, 2014
Left the campsite today, got groceries, stopped by Sue's (friend in PP) aunt's bookshop to see if she was in (it was closed - Sunday) and made our way
over to the ferry on yet another gorgeous day.
We decided not to hop on the first ferry but to instead sit by the sea and take in 20 minutes of sun, but the next ferry came and went, and so did the next, and the next…
We ended up spending a large part of the late morning and early afternoon relaxing in the sun and me sipping tea… no rush and no reason to be anywhere! Finally we loaded our bikes on the ferry and crossed over to Paihia. It’s a quiet, quaint little town that I could spend more time in.
We biked about 10km to a beautiful campsite right on a river overlooking a
waterfall. We set up tent, cooked rice and stir-fry and then lit the huge pile
of wood conveniently set up for us by the river. Andy, a cool 50-year old or so British man who has been
traveling by campervan through NZ for the past 5 weeks joined us.
Paihia to Ngawha Springs – I still smell sulfur a week later…
Monday, 13 October, 2014
Today began our second full week of cycling since we left
Simon and Michelle’s house last Monday morning. From the campsite in Paihia,
Ewoud and I went separate ways for the day, and then met up at the hot Ngawha
Springs later in the evening.
Ewoud wanted to do a longer scenic ride, and I thought I’d
be more direct and scenic at the same time. J
I did a nice ride through the countryside and stopped at a little historic site
for a tour of an old mission house along the way.
Was the site of one of the first sites of the Church Mission Society (?) – English Anglican mission group. They settled there before there were horses, cows, and wheels on the island with the goal to teach the native Maori people agriculture and the Bible. It was a nice break.
I rode into the small town of Kaikohe to do some banking and purchase some groceries and then met Ewoud in Ngawha Springs at an old and rustic hot springs site.
By rustic, I mean it felt like nothing had been changed for 70 years… and it really hadn’t. Carol, the say-it-like-it-is no fluff manager and care-taker of the place (who was very kind and, I think, took a liking to us) told us the owners want to keep it just like it is – rustic, accessible and open to all. It was only $5 to use the pools.
Now the pools… well the pictures will explain it. No chemicals added, just the real deal black sand bottom with sulfur water (high in Boran, Carol assured us) which gave it a pleasant black appearance. The water was SO nice after a week of cycling! Temps ranged from 29 (cool) to 47 degrees (too hot for my foot to go in!).
Ngawha Springs to Rawene – A good 80km+ day
Tuesday 14 October, 2014
We left the sulfur-smell site today and hit the road after a
nice long breakfast. It takes so long because I eat so much…
It did make for a long day though. We thought we would come along a place to buy groceries at some point so didn’t stock up that morning as usual, but none of the small towns had shops so we had to keep going. I felt tired but what can you do? So we kept going hard! We came to a turnoff by Rawene and saw they had a veggie shop and a campsite there, so that’s where we went. Only 6 km more (almost all uphill, of course).
The scenery along the way was stunning – Hokianga Harbour. The town was tiny, but had a good campsite with an excellent view. It was an 80km+ day that started with not so many hills, but ended with quite a bit of elevation.
We treated ourselves to a good dinner (which consisted of
potatoes, Kumara NZ sweet potatoes – so good! – broccoli and steak along with
the leftover wine and a cup of hot tea), and as we cooked we chatted with a
French couple who are touring around in a camper van. After the girl apologized
to us for not speaking much cause her English isn’t so good, I told her I
understood because I live in Cambodia and have the same problem… and turns out
she is Cambodian! Small world J
Beautiful sunsets while cooking dinner…
The camera was a good buy! The photos are stunning. (Loved the bottle of Montana in the holder on the bike ��)
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