A fairly easy 42km today. We left the beautiful views of Braemar Station to get even more scenic views. There is a definite bite in the wind today and forecast for snow down to 800m burrr. It is a fairly flat ride with some small ups and downs.
We take our time as there is no rush. It is harder work on the gravel road. Only a few cars come past us.
It is a bit windy and the wind doesn’t work in our favour but it also is coming mostly sideways. We reach the area where you go off the road onto a cycle track along the rest of the lake. We cycle to the Salmon Shop and get a few goodies before heading off to Twizel. This is actually part of the Te Araroa track.
The part to Twizel is quite desolate and at one point we get some slushy snow on us. Not enough to settle but man it is cold. That makes us want to get there even faster. We settle into our little chalet, eat our lovely salmon and look at options for dinner. There is a good looking place called Poppies that we decide on. We aim for an early dinner so we don’t have a late night.
After our night of camping we got up and packed up. Today we are going up river a bit, we decided it wasn’t worth $750 each to catch a helicopter to the start. We took the ute down as far as we could go and then cycled up a few kilometres. We didn’t go all the way to the start. Joanne took a lot of bird photos and on our way back we cycled all the way to the car park where Rowan had to drive the ute back. Joanne wasn’t up for cycling with all the trucks on the road and I don’t blame her, I wasn’t enthused either. The good thing about this trip I don’t need to excuse myself. If I don’t want to do it I don’t have to.
I call the Braemar Station to see when we can check in, not for another hour or so but she will let me know. So we have a picky plate of all sorts down by the lake as we wait. It doesn’t take long and we are okay to check in.
The cottage has a lovely view. We unpack the car, do a few loads of washing. Joanne washes the bikes down and we start to get organised. From here we have no car we just have us and our bikes. Joanne has booked two nights here so we have plenty of time to relax. The evening sunset is really good. We start the fire even though it really isn’t cold enough.
The next day is chill, we don’t do much at all. Today would have been Peter (Rowans grandpa) birthday. I spend a lot of time catching up on the blogs! I have gotten far behind. The internet is awful so I can’t upload any photos. So these will all have a further delay.
We make sure the bicycles are all ready to go. the weather is pretty rough and we head down to the lake for a beer as the storm comes in. A cheers to Peter for his birthday.
I missed packing our raincoats eek. The plan is to head in to Ashburton to op shop for them. Jack, the manager takes us up to look at the hydro electric generator they use for the property. The old building that it used to be in is going to be converted into accommodation. Jack has a lot of plans and there is going to be a lot of changes done on the property. The views are spectacular from higher up.
After that little excursion we head off towards Ashburton. Along the way we do some exploring, looking at the history of the area.
We head backwards a little to go to a cafe in Stravely for brunch. When we arrive in Ashburton it doesn’t take us long to find one jacket. It is a mere $2 and high vis. We don’t get much more success, but we do have another jacket that will work for Rowan. This cycle trip will be quite different as we don’t need any of our sleeping gear or shelter etc. however we will bring a few things just in case we need them.
Now off towards Geraldine, we may stay in Tekapo tonight. When we reach Tekapo everything is pretty booked out and they want to charge us $90 to camp. Well f&@k that. We head to Lake Pukaki where we know several places we can camp for free. We take the dirt road in, following the land for the defence force. We come across this cool hut which is probably built for mustering shelter. Looks like anyone can stay there, it is better than a lot of DOC huts.
It doesn’t take us long to find a good spot to camp. Rowan gets into the lake for a wash, I am not keen to get into that cold of water. Especially with the wind up. I have a wipe down instead. It takes a long time for Rowan to warm up again.
We decide to stay here another night and explore the area. It takes a while to get Joanne’s bike back together before we head off.
We enjoy looking around but decide to go back and bike down to Mt Sunday (Edoras, Lord Of The Rings), then walk as far as we can. The manager here gives us permission to fly the drone. Mt Sunday is on their station land but they have given it to DOC to maintain and allow public access.
The bike ride gives us a chance to see if something goes wrong before we set off on the Alps to Ocean. It all runs smoothly. My shoelace gets wound around my pedal and I try to come off but fall into some matagouri. Luckily I don’t get too spiked. We also see a rare bird called a Wrybill or Ngutuparore. It is endemic to NZ and it is the only species in the world for have a bent beak sideways in one direction. Always to the right. Unfortunately they are not showing off their beaks but we get a few photos. There is a tour group ahead of us and we can see them coming back down the hill, swords glistening from the sun. Turns out four fans are here to take photos with their LOTR swords. We puff our way up to the summit and enjoy the expanse. Rowan got a lot of good drone footage earlier when no one was here. So we only put the drone up very briefly as we don’t want to disturb others.
Our bikes are all working as they should, we head back as it is definitely wine o clock. We have an addition, a man from Melbourne. Callum is here to see all of the LOTR sights he can. He is really nice and we enjoy the rest of the evening with him.
Here is a photo of Joanne getting caught for the second time today. We are going to take a pic each time she gets tangled up haha.
Monday morning and we are feeling rather relaxed, there is only a few things to do before picking up Joanne. The wind is really bad, but she is flying in on one of those big Emirates flights.
First job is to get the camper to the rust man, he should have it all fixed by the time we return. We get back and I take a chance to do some last minute emails and blog catch up. I also finish off cleaning the pantry for Liz.
The car is packed and now we are twiddling our thumbs waiting to pick up Joanne. Her flight is a little delayed but it doesn’t take her long to get through customs. It is 3.20pm, we do a quick supermarket shop and head for Mt Potts Lodge.
The drive is lovely and scenic. We arrive just before sunset. The staff are really friendly and we have the place to ourselves. They let us use their commercial kitchen and Rowan finds a 3kg can of beans haha. The place is in a great location, but it is quite dated. It doesn’t look like it has had anything but basic maintenance since the 70s. It is clean, comfortable and we quite like it here. They used to have a lot of business pre Covid with lots of people coming to Mt Sunday to see the site for Edoras for all the Lord Of The Rings fans.
They let us use their commercial kitchen to cook dinner. We had a picky plate of cheese and crackers and ended up too full for dinner. Around 9.30pm we had dinner. By then I was knackered and ready for sleep.
My fans keep asking when I will next be putting up a blog. It has been niggling me in the background that I haven’t written anything in a very long time! So come along and see what we have been doing.
From Nans house we headed to Dad’s where we had an awesome time. Dad & Sue met us for lunch in Manurewa at the Hill House Cafe. Very French, very yummy! A lot of good art around and they have lessons here and all sorts. Another really cool council owned initiative. While there we happened to have a roof box for the car just around the corner. Then we headed to Beachlands. Dad invited us to stay the night, which we gratefully accepted. As you may have read we have a few things here at Dad’s house. We make sure we pick everything up and pack the car well. Sue does pizza for us for dinner. Dad stokes up the pizza oven and it is delicious. That night we have a totally of 4 fires lit, we burned off some rubbish, then the pizza oven, then the outside fire, finishing with the inside fire. Sue made us a lovely frittata for breakfast and we said our goodbyes.
We took the scenic route to Papamoa stopping many times along the way. A quick look at Hunua Falls, which I remember visiting as a girl on one of our surprise adventures with Nana & Grandpa in the camper. When we got down to Paeroa, we had a good stretch and checked out some of the antique shops. You then pass through the Karangahake Gorge, it looks like a beautiful cycle. We both say let’s ask if Mum wants to do it with us. Around Katikati I see a sign for a nudist campground, I wonder if this is the one I have seen up for sale on trade me. I tell Rowan to turn right so I can check it out. We have a chat to the manager and I end up emailing the agent for more information. It has a lovely location but you are just buying a lease for the business and the business has not been doing well for the past 5 or so years. We arrive in Papamoa planning to stay a few nights. It is good to see mum. We get a chance to get on our bikes and do the Karangahake Gorge, it is not as nice and blue as it was a few days ago. The rain has caused a stir. It is still a nice ride. At one point we nearly get frozen wet to our bikes. It ends up only being 7km, not much of a slog. We wanted to take the train up further then ride down. The train doesn’t run on a Wednesday. A must have coffee at the train station when we get back.
Mum’s friend Bernie who I have known all my life had a clear out of clothes that she didn’t fit. I now have a lot of new to me clothes that are really nice quality. Thanks Bernie!
I really am drawing a blank on how long and what exactly we did for the rest of our stay. We did get some op shopping in. Oh I remember we got another big purchase. A camper van! Another unseen purchase this one a fair more expensive. Let’s hope we haven’t made a huge mistake! I try to organise the mechanics to start work thinking we are heading to Australia soon. It has been a year since Peter & Graham passed away. We really want to make it but the logistics are getting harder and harder. With the Alps to Ocean Cycle booked in, it is a more hectic schedule than we are used to. My theory with this camper is it has failed its warrant for rust issues and a few other consumable things. But it has had a WOF (warrant of fitness) a year ago. So surely the rust can’t be that bad… Famous last words…
From Papamoa we head to Cambridge to see Nellie and the boys. A detour to Reporoa to see my sister Sarah for lunch. It was nice to see her and the very cheeky Blaise. A good catch up and we got to see her and Mum’s project of a horse float being done up. You can follow her progress on instagram loosescrewtrailercrew. Blaise is naughty as ever and gets herself into mischief. They have a new family member Marshmallow, a wee lamb that was rejected by its mum. They are looking after it and training it up for pet day for Lucian.
Almost a week at Nellies house, we did get to go to our favourite shop twice! Honestly if you are passing through Cambridge on a Thursday or Saturday you must go to the Lions Club. They have amazing stuff for super cheap prices.
We got some organising done at Nellie’s she has all this space now. We moved the beds and set up the boys room. The garage still has stuff that needed to go. Like two old washing machines, which we found a whiteware guy to pick up. One of the boys pull a sicky and it is a day where we have a lot of balls to start rolling. We bore him out of his brains by not letting him use any screens and just talk about property all day. Rowan and I got to catch up with Aunty Deb when we had dinner at her new place in Te Awamutu. The place is fantastic for them.
Going South, we get down to Wellington today. On the way we pick up our new home in Waikanae. Now nothing has happened to it, so we are driving it carefully to the ferry terminal then hoping on a early morning ferry to Picton. The lady shows us about and and it is even cooler than in the photos. Rowan is going to drive it and I will follow in the Toyota.
Rowan gets it down to Blue Bridge terminal without a hitch. We book our ferry then and there. We didn’t want to do it earlier just in case we had trouble getting it there. We park it up and leave it. We head to Michaela & Gareth’s place for a late dinner. We don’t stay long but enjoy a quick catch up. Michaela kicks us out and heads for bed. We get down to the terminal to check in. We get parked up and I jump in with Rowan to catch a few hours of sleep before they load us on. We spent the extra $40 to have a cabin. It is worth it to have a good nap and a shower. It was really windy in Wellington and I thought it would be rough but the straight is flat as a pancake.
Wake up call from the staff and all I want to do is sleep. The sun is coming up soon. We head into the outskirts of Blenheim to get to Nelson. The drive goes relatively quick. We pick up a much needed coffee before Havelock. We arrive at Kelvin & Paula’s around 10am. Kelvin is out, so we head to the op shops to waste some time. I already have a million ideas on what I want to change in the camper. The next few days go by fast, we stay in our camper but use their bathroom. When we headed out to Motueka, we ran over a oven grill at the dump and put 4 good punctures in the tyre. Rowan finds a trailer we may use as a trailer or just on sell as it is set up with a canvas top which works as a camper. We made the decision not to go to Australia, we just have too much to do and it is near impossible.
When getting the trailer a warrant we eat an amazing croque monsieur. We say our goodbyes and head to our friends Liz & Rick in Christchurch. We arrive in the afternoon.
We end up being there for a week, there is a lot to do. Our silver cars battery is stuffed so we replace that. The AA guy gets our old hilux going. We drive it straight to the mechanic to start the WOF process. It fails on the speedo being out and some small rust bits they want us to fix. It takes till Thursday to sort the whole thing out but once done it is back to being our most reliable vehicle. on Friday we race down to Oamaru to chat to the council about consents and what the planning team allows. We also see a few block of land while we are there. That takes all day and we end up at Formosa in Ashburton for dinner
Our camper needs more rust repair then we thought. Turns out someone dodgy must have given it a wof last time. As the rust man points out there is no way it gets like that in a year. So we book that in for while we are away on our cycle. We try to sell the Toyota before we leave but it doesn’t quite work out like that. We have a good sort of what to bring and what to leave behind. It takes us a while to sort it all out. I give the hilux a clean as it is pretty dirty now. All this organising and running around leads us up to doing the Alps to Ocean.
Yes it is impressive, we made it all the way to Nanas house.
We attempted to wake early but it didn’t happen. The music and drinks kept going around the campground and kept us from a restful night. They didn’t stay up too late, but late enough for us. We finally got moving with the power of coffee.
I thought we were being so smart. Going south so the sun is not in our eyes. I didn’t really think about the journey going east, doh. We waited for the sun to get a little higher before setting off. I was really enjoying the ride. Rowan was struggling more, it was not his day.
The traffic is pretty bad here and a lot of people don’t give you enough space. It is far worse when a big truck doesn’t. Highway 1 is closed and so everyone is using this road. The traffic is constant and it does bring a level of anxiety to the ride. When we reached Taipa we stopped to Google if we could fix Rowans bike. The squeak started again. We ended up chatting to the local council garden guy. We chatted for long enough that he said if he saw us stranded on his way home he would pick us up. Arriving in Cable Bay we took a good rest on the park bench.
Not sure what we will do about the bike but we thought we will keep going. When we reached the car park for Coopers Beach we took a quick rest just before the driveway. We had some dickhead yell abuse at us because he said it was dangerous to slow right down and turn in. That it was illegal for us to stop where we were. Even though legally you can park right here and I am sure people do in the busy season. Anyway I told him to read the road rules and he called me an idiot. Great now I have to worry about that wanker running me off the road.
When we got to the top of the hill at Mangonui I was happy to see the downhill. We carried on for a while and Rowans bike was getting worse. In the end we stopped and realised we have done all the scenic part. From here on it is just going to be asshole drivers as we head inland. Because we had been offered a ride to Paihia we decided stuff this. Tomorrow is Saturday, the traffic will be worse. The bike is not happy, we won’t be happy let’s get out of here. So we hop back on our bikes to find a good place to hitch. Well lucky for us it isn’t far. We put our bikes in the shade and go back to the bridge to put a thumb out. We had decided that one of us stay with the bikes one of us get the car. If it’s a bit of a skody fella Rowan will go haha. So I just put my thumb up and Rowan says “let’s take bets on how long it will take us, I reckon 30min.” I reply, “I reckon 5 seconds.” Literally the 5th car pulls over. Crack up!
Te Oikau, a lovely northland man pulls over on his way home from working in Coopers Beach. We tell him we don’t need both of us or the bikes and he says he can fit it all in and get us to Kerikeri. Perfect, we can stay together. After a shuffle with is plaster gear we hop in. He hands us a gin each. “Have a drink my friends”
Well we have a great yarn the whole way, absolute salt of the earth. As we approach Kerikeri he says I am not going to drop you off I will take you to Paihia. Wow that is super kind, but first we must pop into his whare (house). There we meet one of his kids. He tells us we are welcome to stay here if we want, which is very generous of him to ask. We make our way to Waitangi Campground and when we arrive we say our goodbyes. After an exchange of details I try to give Oikau a koha but he won’t accept it. We will just need to come back and visit!
We are here so early, the plan was to stay a few nights but why? We can just get moving south. So I call my Nan up and see if she would like fish for dinner. We have two great big fillets we can eat. Off like a rocket we head for Whangaparāoa.
A bit of a late dinner, but the fish is delicious. It is great having some time with Nana. She is doing very well. Incredibly strong. I get a few jobs to help her out around the house and she asks me to fuel up her car. Easy as, I can do that. I have a few valuables to pick up that I didn’t want left in the car. Camera, laptop etc. Nana always says yes to things like that! I greatly appreciate it. It was nice having a wee catch up with her. Nana is keeping busy, which should be easy to do with a tribe this big. I think it will be a long time before it no longer feels strange that Grandpa isn’t there too.
We left about 6.30am later than we had aimed for, but that often happens with us. We did 2.2km stints before having a quick breather and pushing on. The sand felt softer and it was a lot more bumpy than the day before. It felt like there was a lot more resistance. It really was a push to beat the tide. We normally average 10km an hour including all our breaks here we were between 7km and 8km. So not great going.
At 23km we needed some food. We sat and ate some noodles. We haven’t had them since we first started hiking!
By the time we had food I was well over it. I just wanted to be there already. We had no wind, which is better than a head wind but it was just hard slog. I definitely prefer mud walking haha. Our bikes are certainly being hammered with the sand. Rowan starts sounding like a screeching gull.
The great sights bus came along, I had a chat to the bus driver. He offered to put our bikes in. I appreciated the offer and was sorely tempted but decided to get it done. I came to regret it as I went but once I reached the finish line I was glad to have done it. I will not do it again though. Possibly with an e-bike hehe
The last run Rowan was way ahead and I stopped, where I thought the road was didn’t look like it was there. I was worried we had to go a few more kilometres. Just as I paused Rowan started turning. Thank god for that, I started peddling again. We collapsed at the beach entrance and didn’t move for 10 minutes. We had a small Whittakers chocolate as a treat, it tasted great.
Eventually we found the will to move and headed inland to the campground. It is only 12.30pm but man it was a big push. Those two months off has hit us hard. It took ages to get set up and have a shower, we were running on fumes. There is a really nice community here and one of the guys offered us snapper racks and heads to have with our dinner. Some of the other campers have been fishing. Rowan said they are not very good at filleting and have left heaps behind. For dinner we had satay snapper with a lot of vegetables it was great. Along with fried bread Aunty made. She said she will teach Rowan how to make it. Yummy! It sure was a treat!
I gave our bikes a quick wash down to remove the sand. They need a proper clean and oil tomorrow. We chatted for ages with all the locals. But around 6.30pm we went off to bed, I could barely keep my eyes open!
Thursday, rest day. Rowan slept for 12 hours, he must have needed it. I didn’t sleep that long but was out like a log. I have given the bikes a good clean and oil. A few of the old boys went out fishing again and brought back a heap of snapper. They gave us two fillets! That is dinner sorted! We already have lemon.
Just been trying to catch up with blog, email and Eddy who has been trying to call me for a few days.
We started early, with no idea what to expect. We couldn’t really cycle the 3km down the stream to 90 mile beach. It was a mix but mostly walking. There was too many soft parts that made it too difficult. Once we reached the beach we were feeling tired already.
We took it at 2km at a time taking a quick couple of minute break then carrying on. The sand is pretty good. A bit hard in places but for the most part similar to a gravel road.
Once we were getting closer to the bluff I started getting over it. We really need water and food. We have been trying to ration the water we have. I really hope there is water once we get there.
A car drives past us. When we get to the edge of the Bluff we just make it past in about a foot of water. The tide is coming in pretty fast. Somewhere on this side there is a camp. Thank goodness for maps it made it easy to locate. Only 23km today but I am glad to have the afternoon to chill. Tomorrow will be closer to 50km.
The campground is in need of love. The water has run out so the toilets have been used with no flushing. I am not sure if the iwi know but it is pretty rank. Luckily there is a shelter where the rainwater from the roof is collected. We filter it all just in case. I check out both big tanks which a totally empty. There is a spot to wash dishes and fillet fish. We get hydrated before we can do much else. I get the tent set up while Rowan filters water. Just as I finished the rain begins. Good timing. the rest of the day is off and on again showers. Once our water bottles are all full we have a bottle wash ourselves. Very cool but refreshing.
I potter for the rest of the afternoon and decide it is worthwhile giving the bikes a quick rinse. I know they need a full clean tomorrow but it is nice to get some sand off. We eat dinner/lunch at 3pm. We plan to be asleep not long after dark. High tide is 2pm tomorrow so we have a bit more time on our hands for cycling. But to make sure we make it all the way we must move early.
Twenty so kilometres doesn’t sound like much. However we had a mission on a bus before we started. The bus picked us up near our holiday park and we headed north. Now we had been told by the bus driver that he could drop us off at Te Paki. We were very tempted but thought the hilly slog was going to be worth it. It was in a way because we can say we have done it. But I don’t feel the need to do it again haha.
Our first stop is Mangonui, for a 30min break and a chance to get a coffee. We end up buying some broccoli at the 4square.
Just around the corner at Coopers Beach we had three add ons. From there we headed straight up to the Cape. We arrived at 11.25am. Rowan and I raced down to the lighthouse then slogged back.
Once we got back, we got our bikes off to get going. A bit of food for energy and we were good to go. It took longer than I wanted as people were up for a chat. I didn’t really mind as it is nice to chat away. We finally hit the tarmac at 12.30pm. My front bike wheel is a bit dicky, I can’t work out what is wrong with it. It feels a bit loose and makes a noise. We stop for a bit but still can’t work it out. I just pay close attention to it as the day goes. We have a hill to slog up over 2km. It takes us a while to conquer it. At the near top we have the other half of our lunch. This is to keep us going. Now for my favourite bit downhill. What a sad down it was, I had to slow right down so the wind didn’t make me come off. The wind was so strong on my left that it nearly bowled me over. It was rather unpleasant. The good thing was the worst hill was over. There are more ups and downs but not that high.
When we reach the Te Paki turn off we take a quick rest. It is a few kilometres down to the stream and sand dunes. We get stopped in the middle of the road chatting to a South American couple. They asked for advice about cycling and hiking. We talk for a while and say our goodbyes quickly as another car is coming. We make it fairly early to the dunes around 3.30pm. The next spot is another 20km from here to camp. I decide I don’t want to. Plus there are so many unknowns. How easy is it to cycle through the stream for a few km. Also what is it like cycling on the sand. I really don’t want to set up in the dark.
You are not supposed to camp here but there are composting toilets and sheltered picnic tables. Perfect for us! A quick wash in the stream and some dinner and it was off to bed!
Kiwi Hobos 