Raglan

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Heading off this morning the weather was overcaste on the Whangaparaoa Peninsular. A quick stop off in the suburbs of Auckland near the zoo to get fitted out for a bike at a hire outlet proved to be a waste of time. The premisles comprised of a shack, a couple of tarps strung out between the shack and a chain link fence and a yard covered covered with bikes in various states of repair. Believe it or not this place was recommended by a Triathelete! Stick it out I thought, might not be as bad as it looks.

An older man asks if I've come to be fitted out for a large touring bike and then asks another member of staff to get the blue bike off the rack. The kid looks pretty clueless as he reaches for a tiny mountain bike with a chain that looks as if its rusted solid at the opposite end of the rack to the one his boss pointed at. He looks several times between me and the bike as he is beginning to realise that this is probably not the right bike. He is steered in the right direction by the boss and gets a large antiquated racing bike that looks as if its predecessor was the penny farthing. It's not looking good. I must be relaxed as my patience has not yet run out. The tyres are totally flat and as the kid wheels it to a rack it's on the rims. However the kid doesn't want to believe his own eyes and tests how flat each tyre is with his hand. After pumping up the tyres I'm trying figure out where a rear or front reach will go as there are no points on the frame to fix it to. Time is getting on and we really want to be on the road to make the most of the day. This was supposed to be a ten minute sit on and position saddle, handlebars etc. The kid then asks me if I want pedals on the bike! On his third attempt to fit pedals and after having searched the yard for something, I can see that the thread clearly needs grease which he eventually finds in the boot of a car parked out in the road. At this point I walk, he's still probably trying to put the pedals on!

Just after passing through Huntly we take to minor roads and travel through the boonies. Shortly we are travelling through subtropical, steeply wooded slopes. A mixture of firs and a cross between palm trees and giant ferns. Later the slopes become spartan, rugged and sheep covered. It reminds me of Scotland or Wales. Eventually ending up in Raglan, a really beautiful small town on the west coast, and set up camp at Kopua. A fantastic campsite with great facilities. The site is on the southern bank of an estuary leading into Whaingaroa Harbour, edged with sandy beaches.

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