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Published: August 23rd 2015
After much needed rest and recuperation at our friend's house in Birkenhead following our cycle ride around Northlands, we commenced the second leg of our New Zealand cycle journey, this time from Auckland to Wellington. Setting off on a fine winter's day we took the ferry to the Central Business District from where we headed east along the northern coast line witnessing what appeared to be the whole of the city out running, cycling or walking their dogs.
It was fascinating cycling through the affluent neighbourhoods and I wondered how many of the properties belonged to Kiwis. Recent news coverage has spoken of the number of Auckland apartments and houses being bought up by foreign investors for investment purposes and it appears to be ruffling some feathers. As we started heading inland we were quite surprised to see a huge Chinese temple built amongst a sprawling suburbia.
As we continued on our way the inevitable happened and Noushin's pannier rack gave way (one side had already broken on the way up north)and we were forced to detour to a cycle shop to have a new one fitted.
It wasn't long before we left the metropolis behind and began
to tackle the gentle rolling hills. We finally ended up in Clevedon, a small village to the south-west of Auckland where we stopped off at a Cafe for refreshments. It was closing time so we only had 20 minutes to devour our coffee and Afghan slice, but during this short break we were offered a couple of pies for free by the owner. This has happened to me on a couple of occasions in New Zealand with a bakery recently handing me over a couple of artisan loaves of bread at closing time. This begs me to question what happens to all of the waste food in the UK?
The owner Sarah asked us where we were heading to and we said we were looking for somewhere to camp. She invited us back to her property where she had a converted barn adjacent to her house and allowed us to stay there for the night. Here we also met her parter Alison who had just returned from Mongolia where she had taken part in a horse race lasting 10 days and costing a staggering £15000. Although a costly adventure, the photos of her horse journey through the Mongolian plains
Alison the intrepid and brave adventurer
Alison took part in a 10 day horse race across Mongolia. were truly stunning.
Our journey took us further south to Miranda where we were fortunate again to be allowed to camp on someones front lawn for the night before we picked up the Hauraki Cycle trail and followed an old railway path through a 1000 metre tunnel to a place called Waihi on the east coast.
New Zealand has really embraced the notion of cycling during the past 10 years and is building an entire network of cycle paths running along former railway lines in both the North and South Island. The Hauraki Railway Trail was formerly used for transporting gold, mined in the Waihi region and taken to Waikino's Victoria battery to be stamped (crushed).
In Tauranga we visited an old friend of mine Beverley from a previous Dragoman overlanding trip and when she wasn't around on the first night (due to my bad organisation!), her neighbours Graham and Jeanette kindly invited us into their home. Their living room was adorned with a stag's head and various other antlers and horns and when I asked Graham if he was a huntsman he replied that it was actually his Canadian wife Jeannette who had hunted all of
her life. He himself was a black belt in judo and played the bagpipes which he demonstrated to Noushin and I the following morning. And so we spent a couple of nights in Tauranga taking the opportunity to walk around Mount Manganui with my friend Beverley before setting off for Putaruru to visit my Uncle and Auntie.
Living in New Zealand definitely appears to promote longevity. Whether it's the fresh air or the 'relaxed' vibe, it was hilarious listening to my 94 year old Auntie singing a song about sniffing cocaine.
From Putaruru we headed further south to Rotorua or 'Rottenrua' as many people call it due to the sulphuric smell emanating from the thermal pools. A tourist haven, people come here from all over the world to take a dip in the thermal baths and take advantage of the health benefits. Cycling around the urban sprawl it was a wonderful sight seeing steam plumes emerging from all quarters of the city.
The great thing about New Zealand is that you can participate in many free activities around the country. To the south of Rotorua is Kerosene Creek where you can take a dip in naturally heated
water in the middle of the countryside with few if any tourists. Situated a few kilometres down the road at Waiotapu are also the largest mud pools in New Zealand which although not my cup of tea were nevertheless impressive.
As we continued our cycle journey, we saw further signs of Kiwi eccentricity with one New Zealander having a Jet in his garden which he apparently had converted into a house.
Spending many days in the saddle, we often talked to the cows and sheep en route and here in New Zealand the cows started running after us, with only an electric fence keeping them at bay. It was only a short time later having spoken to a farmer that we realised that the young Bulls are notoriously frisky and can even inflict some harm if you get too close.
On our way to Lake Taupo we camped out overnight in the grounds of a pub in the vicinity of Reporoa. This was one of the coldest nights for us in New Zealand with temperatures plummeting to -5 degrees C. Fortunately we spent most of the evening in the pub being entertained by the landlord and his
beer swilling dog.
In Taupo we stopped off in a Hostel being exhausted from both the cold temperatures and the strong southerly headwind. The following day our journey took us on Highway 5 from Lake Taupo to Napier a road which is closed off several times in the winter due to snow and icy conditions. It took me a long time to find my rhythm and I wasn't really enjoying the start of the day, however as the day wore on the road between Taupo and Napier turned out to be one of the best rides I had done on this leg with fantastic scenery and great conditions. Halfway along we stopped off at some waterfalls which were simply breathtaking yet there was nobody else there.
That evening as darkness fell we managed to reach the summit on Highway 5 but hadn't found anywhere to camp. As luck always turned out, we knocked on a stranger's door who offered up their Bach for the night with a fire and plenty of firewood to warm up our frozen bodies.
Entering the art deco city of Napier was a real pleasure, with fantastic cycle trails winding their way around
the marina and the parade. Here we were hosted by an ex-pat Dutchman called Peter who invited us to stay in his caravan for 3 nights and plied us with numerous bottles of his excellent homemade wine. Another eccentric person who enjoyed naturism and wasn't shy about displaying one of his naked cycling photos in his living room, he told us that he always stripped down to his underpants, whenever Jehovah Witnesses or Mormons were doing the rounds of his neighbourhood. He told me that they rarely knocked on his door nowadays.
The following day, Noushin and I attended a church service in the Cathedral where we met up with an interesting Guy called Kendall, whom we had met the previous day and who was about to temporarily give up his life in in New Zealand and embark on a journey to Ethiopia as a volunteer for an NGO.
Leaving behind the City of Napier we traveled through my namesake town of 'Clive' and onwards to Waipawa, where we were introduced to the lovely Zimbabwean couple Jim and Anne who own a clock repair shop. Again we were hosted for the night and were surprised to find out
that Terry Waite who was kidnapped in Lebanon in the 1980s was a regular visitor to this small NZ town and a good acquaintance of theirs.
On the subject of clock repairs I was amazed how busy Jim's shop was, with work currently booked out until early next year. If anyone is keen to learn the trade of clock and watch repair and would like to manage the shop in Waipawa in New Zealand, Jim is keen to find a successor who will take over his business.
From Waipawa we continued south avoiding Highway 2 and instead opted for a route passing through small towns and villages. On one evening when we were cycling in torrential rain a Farmer by the name of Dave stopped us in the vicinity of Alfredston and allowed us to sleep in his wool shed overnight. He had 4 dogs on his quad and told us that he looked after 2700 sheep in one area, 2000 sheep elsewhere, as well as cattle. A character dressed in a Dryzabone coat and hat who looked like he hadn't had a shower for the past two weeks with most of his teeth missing, he proudly showed
off his dogs rounding up his cattle from about 3/4 Km away which was a fabulous experience.
As we got to the southern part of the North Island, we opted to follow the Rimutaka cycle trail, where Fell locomotives once ran up an incline of 15 degrees. An off-road cycle path, it was quite challenging with our fully laden panniers and at times we had to get off and push the bicycles through streams and up sharp inclines.
The weather deteriorated towards the end of the ride, and in typical fashion I sustained two punctures in two days, the last one being 7.5 Km outside of Wellington along a busy stretch of road in the pouring rain.
On reaching Wellington, after cycling a total of 1997 Km in the North Island we celebrated with a beer and a burger along the waterfront and then met up with a friend of mine Stacey who hosted us for the night before we caught the Cook Straits ferry across to Picton the following morning.
On the South Island we opted to go without our bicycles due to time constraints and hired out a Camper van in Christchurch instead. From
At Victoria Battery
Gold was mined here right up until the late 1950s here we drove as far down as Bluff taking in the Moeraki Boulders, sea lions on Otago peninsular and the Cadbury Chocolate factory in Dunedin along the way, before heading up to Queenstown and returning to Christchurch via the inland scenic route.
In Christchurch we briefly wandered around the centre to see the regeneration of the city after the earthquake but were also surprised to see some properties left exactly in the same state as they were on the day of the natural disaster. In total we drove 1600 Km in 4 days nearly equalling the same amount we had cycled around the North Island.
A further bus journey and boat trip brought us back to Wellington where we stayed with Stacey for a further night before we embarked on the Northern Explorer train journey between Wellington and Auckland, which was absolutely amazing and the best and most scenic train journey I have ever undertaken.
Staying in an Auckland hostel for a couple of days to sort out administrative matters and get our bicycles serviced nearby, we stayed the final couple of days with our friends Sharon and Yvonne and their dog Dennis in Birkenhead who kindly
allowed us to stay with them for the 3rd time during our visit to New Zealand and treated us to a great Italian pizza in their nearby restaurant.
And so our journey of New Zealand has sadly come to an end. It has been the highlight of my trip around the World, where people still thank the driver when getting off the bus, think nothing of inviting strangers into their homes and are proud of their country and what it has to offer. If you haven't been yet, put it on your bucket list as it truly has an enormous amount to offer, with breathtaking scenery and warm and welcoming people. The journey continues...........
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Jo Trouble
Jo McCarthy
Adventurers
I remember reading about Alison's upcoming adventure in the paper a while back! Great to know it went well, please pass on my congratulations. Congrats to you and Noushin also for the ride to Wellington. I'm glad you both enjoyed your time down in this corner of the world!