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Published: December 1st 2016
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Hello folks. Well, after driving from our home in Colorado to Southern California and catching an overnight flight from L.A., we finally found ourselves in Auckland on NZ's North Island with boxed bicycles in tow. To backtrack a bit, it was great to see some old friends and neighbors in San Diego, and we really appreciate the hospitality of our friends Dennis and Xu for putting us up for a couple of days while we were there. So, we flew out of L.A. on a Tuesday and somehow arrived in New Zealand after a 13-hr flight on a Thursday. I've done the maths; it checks out, but still seems a little fishy to me. After spending a couple of peaceful days at a small hostel in the agricultural countryside south of the city, we set out on the bikes eastward on the North Island towards the Coromandel Peninsula. The star attraction on the Peninsula is the spectacular Cathedral Cove beach, which rivals any beach either of us has ever seen. Hopefully our pitiful photos will give you an idea of what it's like, but surely won't do justice to this very special place. We camped there, as we do most nights,
but especially enjoyed our spot which was about an 8-iron shot away from the wide, white sandy beach. We also met other long haul cyclists there including Jude, a fun and searingly honest Aussie police veteran from Perth, on a solo ride south. We've really enjoyed riding with her and Adriano, an easy-going journalist from Brazil, whose goal it is to ride around the globe and perhaps write a book of his travels. One of our favorite things about these bike expeditions is the people we meet. Perhaps we all have a few screws loose (not talking about the bikes) and connect on some deranged level. We parted company with Jude who headed west when it was time for us to turn southeast, but we reconnected with Adriano in Taupo and will probably ride with him south through the rolling wine country of Hawkes Bay to Wellington where we'll cross by ferry to the south island.
So far we've ridden a bit over 400 miles (645 km) along the northeastern coastal towns (which have all been idyllic and picturesque), into the central interior dairy farmlands with their green mountains and grassy hills, through Lake Taupo's hiikng/biking/rafting tourism hub, and
down the mountains into the art deco port town of Napier, on the southeastern coast. Although we've had some wet weather, it's been a great trip so far, and Fi was able to visit her paternal great aunt Joan during a rest day in Napier. The food has been fantastic, with numerous little country bakeries, pubs, and cafes along our route.
Kiwis are among the friendliest, most welcoming, and heartiest folks we've met. Even the Customs and Immigrations officers at the airport were a pleasure to chat with (take note, CBP!). For example, two days ago when Fi, Adriano, and I were slogging up an endless mountain road, a lady stopped her car to offer us a bag of fresh scones (which we could have devoured Cookie-Monster style in front of her eyes if we hadn't still possessed some degree of decorum and self-restraint). On another occasion while we were riding with Adriano and Jude and were caught out in heavy rain, we found a large hay shed that we wanted to shelter under until the rain passed. After knocking on the owner's front door, Mark and Jeri not only let us use their hay shed, but set their
truck up inside the shed so that we could sleep on a clean, dry, flat surface for the night (the photos do a better job illustrating this). But wait, it gets better: not only did they make sure that each one of us had a chance to take a hot shower, they even baked a cake for us that afternoon and shared their cold beers with us that evening! I'm convinced that there is no substitute for Kiwi hospitality! Enjoy the photos; there are a lot more at the bottom of the page.
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Karin
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Look forward to come to NZL
The photos look great!!