We really weren’t ready to leave Auckland and ‘our’ (Mary’s) house when we set off a couple days after Christmas. It had been a long time since we had been settled somewhere for longer than a few days. And having a house to ‘live’ in was just what we needed after nearly nine months on the road.
However, as tempting as it was to stay a little longer, we were also a little bit excited about re-exploring the rest of New Zealand, starting with crossing the North Island in a general North-South direction, with the aim of Wellington – NZ’s capital city.
‘General’ direction is definitely the word for it as we definitely haven’t gone in a straight line! Instead we’ve explored some of the North Island’s most beautiful spots and some proper off-road terrain as well as seeing everything from stunning coastline, to dense native forest, to volcanic peaks, classic rural NZ (lots of sheep) as well as vineyards. As I write, on the ferry from Wellington to the South Island, I’m glad we left Auckland when we did as the time has meant we’ve ben able to properly explore and see this beautiful island in a different way to before.
But I’m getting ahead of myself! We left nearly three weeks ago so rather than bore you all with an extra long post this one will go as far as completing the Timber Trail and a couple of nights in Taumarunui before we pick up from there in the next post.
So what have been the highlights?
Heading out the back door
Having spent a fair amount of time cycling around Auckland for our stay there (and directly into the city a couple of days after our arrival in NZ) we decided to take the shortcut out of town via the Downtown-Pine Harbour (Beachlands) ferry which plonked us directly in a part of the wider Auckland region where we had spent many weekends in our campervan . The ferry itself was a very fast boat. Having started the journey thinking it would be a great commute into the CBD, by the time we got off I was reconsidering (luckily breakfast was just about intact).
Our first day of riding was nearly all familiar before previous rides (a novelty on this trip!) We hugged the coastline for a lot of the day – admiring the pohutakawa and the sandy beaches before heading into the Hunua Ranges for the ‘big’ climb – Snake Pass. Turns out I had remembered wrongly and it wasn’t that big!
Our destination for the night was Miranda – a very crowded holiday park (what did we expect in the time between Christmas and New Year!) – complete with hot springs. These ones were unisex and you had to wear your cozzie (actually felt strange after so much onsen-ing in Japan).
The other thing I can’t help but mention is Matt’s bee sting. For those who follow Matt on Strava, you will have already seen what happens when a bee flies into the underside of your lip when cycling at speed. For those who don’t – here you are:
World famous (in NZ)
Onwards and our next stop was Paeroa, hope of Lemon and Paeroa (L&P) – a delicious lemony fizzy drink, and two enormous replica bottles. Just because. We made our way there in pretty heavy rain via some of the Hauraki Rail Trail – our first of the NZ ‘Great Rides’. That night we were treated to a proper thunderstorm and another downpour. But we were completely fine! The new tent outer did its job well.
By this point though, we were missing being in a house (Mary’s to be specific) so we headed east and a bit south to Tauranga – where we found Mary’s second house and Mary herself who hosted us for a lovely evening and night! The ride over was long and hot with a bracing mix of pretty wet and muddy trail combined with pretty busy highway. We were ready for creature comforts already (we’ve obviously gone soft!)
Roto-Vegas
We had decided not to over-stay our welcome (this time) so departed the next morning (after discovering my first flat of the trip!) I had obviously ripped my rear tyre somehow on the trail – so as well as replacing the inner tube we were on the hunt for a new tyre for me.
Lucikily this could wait though as we had another longer ride planned, along the coast via Mount Maunganui and Papamoa (with a stop off at Kieran’s house for bacon butties and brews).
And then up into the hills on some gravel roads and then a single track trail before dropping down into Rotorua. The weather managed not to break quite as early as forecast that day, but when it did (somewhere on a gravel road/trail in the hills) we got really really wet. It was a bit of a slog to finally get to our destination for the night – thankfully an inside destination!
We had arranged to spend two nights at Pete’s house – a host on Warm Showers. Pete was living the bachelor life (with Pippet the dog) for a few weeks whilst his wife and kids were visiting family in Germany – so we think our company was welcome, maybe. At any rate – he made us feel incredibly welcome. We put the tent up inside, enjoyed freshly made bread, company until midnight (somehow we all stayed awake – New Year’s Eve after all!), delicious freshly caught and smoked trout and lots of tips, ideas and conversation to get us excited about the next bit of our trip.
We also took the opportunity to explore Rotorua on our bikes – another popular weekend destination when we lived over here, including visiting the famous volcanic area and the Whakarewarewa Forest Park – home to some awesome mountain biking trails. We attempted one (and succeeded) albeit I was glad to be free of luggage for the day (and jealous of all the people riding actual mountain bikes!) We also squeezed in a catch up with Charlotte (another friend) and her dog Honey – not a bad way to spend New Year’s Day!
Tearing up the trails
Having conquered a few bits of off road riding, Matt had very much found the green light and was excitedly plotting our route onwards via the Waikato River Trail and then onwards to the Timber Trail. Both feature in NZ’s collection of Great Rides and both promised to be beautiful. BUT, I was a little nervous as I’m not known for my gnarliness and we really aren’t set up for mountain biking.
As it turned out, I was right to be a little nervous – but I’m also really glad we did (parts of) the Waikato and the full Timber Trail from tip to toe. The Timber Trail in particular has to be one of the most stunning cycle routes anywhere – traversing the Pureroa forest park on a combination of dedicated single track, old tram lines, over epic suspension bridges and even through a tunnel. It was stunning and well worth the physical effort and endless concentration!
Plus we were lucky enough to meet lots of people on our way. Quite a few people doing the trail on electric mountain bikes as part of a couple of days trip with a stopover in the lodge halfway, as well as a handful of other cycle tourers/bikepackers at the Department of Conservation (DOC) campsites at the start and middle of the trail.
It’s been a while since we’ve connected with people doing something a bit similar to us so this was a real treat. It was lovely to meet Jan and Fabi, and Benjamin and Amelia in particular. Amelia is not only tri-lingual and only in Year 6 – but she cycled all the way from Cape Reinga to Wellington on the back of a tandem with her Dad. What a little star!
NZ’s forgotten corner
All too soon and we had popped out back into civilisation at Taumarunui – the biggest town in this part of NZ and the starting point for the Forgotten World Highway.
We had driven the highway before and were tempted to cycle it this time – but instead we enjoyed two nights in a motel, cycling a tiny section of it and plotting our next moves…
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