The fog was thick, too thick to cycle in. We waited until 12pm for it to clear before heading off. We have 30km to do today but we know we will be slow. It is uphill and we haven’t been on our bikes for far too long.

Rowan is struggling. He hasn’t had much sleep and is not 100%. We carry on and try to push ourselves a bit. My lowest gear is making the chain rub against the tyre. I avoid the lowest gear for most of the day. This meant I had to walk parts.

Rowan picked up a new mascot. This is Timothy. He now rides shotgun

When we got to camp it was before 4pm but of course it started raining. We hurried to get pitched and once we were done the rain stopped. There is a tiny stream that we walked down to for a quick wash. By the time Rowan cooked dinner we were eating in near dark. Now all washed up and in bed. Hopefully Rowan gets some sleep tonight.

We are heading south and finally getting back on the trail. We have enjoyed our time with the family. Kindly they offer to drop us off. We get to Lake Mareatai in the afternoon. There is a freedom camping area right on the lake. You are allowed here 2 nights.

We say our goodbyes and set our tent up. Rowan confesses he is feeling like crap. Eek we thought we got away with not getting sick, but it looks like he caught something. We meet a lovely couple in a camper and they make me a cup of tea complete with a gingernut biscuit.

The next day Rowan is full of the flu. We achieve precisely nothing. The fog is incredibly thick and lifts around lunchtime. We have breakfast at the local cafe and get some supplies for dinner. My camper friend makes me another tea!

Still unwell and about to be here a third night. I suggest we go stay somewhere like a lodge. Rowan doesn’t want to, but I find a cute airbnb and book it for two nights. I achieved finishing my book. I must say it has been rather cold here. I have been sleeping with socks to stay warm.

I am looking forward to comfort, a fireplace, a hot shower. Loosing those comforts we come to expect has been quite liberating. I appreciate a lot of different aspects of life we just take for granted. Look at this arty, quirky, cosy cottage.

The place feels like home. Deb is a great host and the property is meticulously clean. I relax straight away and cosy up by the fire.

That bed is amazing. Staying here turns into 4 nights. Rowan finally starts feeling better and we enjoy our stay. Mangakino has a really good vibe. The community look out for one another. It has seen a lot of growth property wise in the last 5 years. My curiosity gets the better of me and we go check out a house. The agent unintentionally talks us out of buying here. The market has risen x5 in the last 5 years. The agents here have decided with the downturn market not to drop the prices of properties in the area. There has been one sale in the past 6 months and that is because the owner was desperate and took $200k less than advertised. The agents have successfully cornered the market and would rather sell no houses than let the property prices drop. There are roughly 40 properties for sale and some have nearly been on the market for two years. A subdivision was put in and available from October, yet not one section has sold. In saying all this, we wouldn’t say no to buying here. It would just need to be at a lot less than the agents are telling their vendors to wait for.

Our last day here is super relaxing, I potter around and get us organised for the trip ahead. Rowan prepares our meals. I am just about to hop into a hot shower (won’t have one for a few days) read my book and aim for an early night.

We have been here with the family over two weeks. We have helped (I hope) with some packing, organising and cooking. Rowan’s automatic job whenever we stay somewhere. We have op shopped and found some goodies that are needed. Aunty Deb needed a new desk, we got rid of her old one on the marketplace and picked up the new one on the same day. Rowan found us a few more bits of gold to add to our collection. We went back to a Hospice Op Shop where we had found a gold bangle 6 months ago and gave them a $50 donation.

The kids had a teacher only day. Rowan and I took all 4 out to Raglan. We fossicked on the beach, found a crab and lots of mussels. The boys want to eat them so we took them all home. Preston found a fish stuck on the end of a hook. It looked okay, but not knowing how old it is we took it home for bait.

I built a sandcastle complete with a moat. Then had fun destroying it. Before heading home we got fish and chips for lunch. The kids played on the playground. Then we headed to Bridal Falls on the way back. The walk was longer than I remembered. Especially with 3 boys with no shoes. Karstan in particular moaned the whole way there and back.

We got some new smoke detectors for the house and got some screws to fix up an electrical fitting. It was taken off to paint some time ago and was never done up again.

I found Anita a brand new Mathew’s at the Sallies for $250. She just needs a king base now.

Aunty Deb told us about a Lions Club op shop only open twice a week. This place is my favourite shop in the North Island. Really well run, super cheap. It makes me want to live near Cambridge. Rowan got a bunch of fishing rods from them. Which he sold 1 for $60 to help pay for them. He also got a $10 tent that was new and I sold it for $100.

Rowan ended up with a really bad staph infection on his finger. It got so bad that he started a course of antibiotics. It is too sore to cycle with.

Nellie has gotten a year older. Rowan cooked her burgers for dinner as per her request. I made two cheesecakes. Nellie and I went to Okoroire Hot Pools for a dip. It was really relaxing, I did wish it was a little warmer. It is a bit of a hike to get there, nice bush scenery and the river is next to the pools.

Nellie had a soccer game in Papamoa on Sunday. We headed there with two boys and took them fishing in Tauranga. No luck there so we headed to Maketu where we ended up beach combing.

My mum lives in Papamoa, we got invited to have lunch. Which was perfect timing. It all happened very fast as she had other friends arrive too. On our way back from Papamoa, we stopped at McLaren Falls. Rowan convinced Preston and Karstan to get in with him. On the way home, the car in front of us chucked some kids toys out the window. We turned around and picked them up. Kiah, the middle child loves soft toys.

Two weeks went rather fast. There are a lot of bugs going around with 50% of the house hold sick. So far, we have avoided it. I did get a sore throat, but that was it.

A very easy day ahead. We need to be in Matamata around lunchtime for my cousin to pick us up. Nellie lives in Cambridge, we will wait out some weather with her. The day is really flat and rather boring. A trail follows the road for 95% of the way. We pass a nice looking cafe not long into our ride, we are good and keep moving. There isn’t much to look at with just farms around us. I do have a chat with a farmer as I go by.

As we got closer to Matamata, we started seeing a lot more people on the trail. Rowan stopped to point out to me a waterfall in the distance. As we were discussing it an elderly gentleman stopped to chat to us. 30min later we parted ways. He was telling us all about how much he loves his e-bike, makes me just want one more. The falls we can see are Wairere Falls. He tells us it is a bit of a hike to get to. I have added it to my list of walks I will do.

We arrive on the outskirts of Matamata at Firth Tower. Last night I researched a Geyser we had heard about on a sign coming into Te Aroha. This is the world’s only natural soda geyser. This geyser makes bubbly water and I wanted to know if we can drink it. Turns out it is bottled. Lemon & Te Aroha! By the time I got all the information while soaking up in the hot pool I thought I better find out where I can buy the stuff. Turns out Firth Tower has it. So as we came in we got a bottle to quench our thirst. It is sweeter than I would like. I will have to try the plain water next.

We hung around Matamata waiting for our ride and ended up in the visitor centre. Which of course is hobbit themed.

When Nellie arrived we took her out for a late lunch.

We arrived in Cambridge later afternoon to all the kids saying hello. Nellie has 3 boisterous boys. Also living with her are her parents, sister and nephew. My aunty and uncle have a new house in Te Awamutu they are moving too next month with my cousin Anita and son Kortez. It is really cool seeing all the kids. We always love visiting them. They all call us Aunty & Uncle as is the Māori way.

Roughly 70km today!

We got moving fairly early with a coffee to move us along. The pool called for me to jump in, they open it at 6.30am. A fairly big day ahead, but she is pretty flat. A few minor up and downs but flat and boring. It really did get boring. We stopped in Ngatea for Subway, it was still early 10am so we got a foot long each and had half now and we will have half later. There was two op shops that we may have looked at while our food settled.

From there we followed a canal. I tried to get a shot of Rowan reflecting in the water but I was too slow.

Honestly, it was a pretty boring day these cows are the most exciting thing I saw all day and it was just before Te Aroha

We did get to follow on some tracks, which was good. Most of the ride from Tirohia was on the Hauraki Rail Trail. We did do a lot on back roads with farm after farm to look at.

We arrived in Te Aroha just before 3pm and we went op shopping, so predictable. After that we went to the holiday park, about 3km from the town centre.

Once we were set up we hopped into the spring spa. It is not as hot as last night, I wish it was hotter but Rowan was happy.

36km today!

We headed off at a good time and went back the way we came in. Our first hill was right there. It took a couple of breaks to make it up, but we did it all on the bikes. Then it was downhill to Tapapakanga Regional Park, then back uphill. This hill wasn’t bad at all. There was a nice view at the top where we had a snack.

From here we stuck next to the coastline all the way to Miranda. We stopped at Kaiaua for lunch. It was a good hour before we got back on our bikes. Only 13km to go.

There is a cycle trail next to the road, which was a bit haphazard in parts from recent storms. But we followed it in parts and ended up at the Miranda Springs Holiday Park at 2pm. Nice and early. After set up we got into the pool which is pretty hot. We lasted 40min before needing to get out. After dinner, we hopped into bed to read our books. Then we decided to hop back in the spa

I woke up feeling tired but ready to go. I would love to make it to Miranda Springs but we will see how the day goes. Rowan had a leak in his mat and it went down several times in the night. We better try find the issue tonight.

The day was hard, everything hurt. A couple of weeks off and our bums are not used to the cycle anymore. The morning was quite scenic following the coastline.

Then you turn inland to get to Clevedon. 17km of the day done. We had a bite to eat in Clevedon, just some sandwiches Rowan made. At this point when I hoped back on I really felt achy and tired. We slogged it up then a fun down to Kawakawa Bay.

There is a big up from there and it was hard. I sweated a lot. It felt like it took forever. The ride down was quite fun. The ride all the way to Ōrere Point was actually quite good. Very rewarding with short bursts up and long downs.

I was attempting a selfie with this sign and the owner invited us in for a cuppa. We ended up staying there for an hour. Janine & Ruddy live 50% here and 50% in West Auckland. Ruddy did the Tour Aotearoa last year and they often cycle. It is a real eclectic Bach. They save everything and they love to op shop. It was really cool seeing all their collections. Janine said they usually would invite us to stay and are trail angels but they are on their way back to Auckland. Ruddy noticed Rowan’s rear tyre going down and he showed Rowan how to replace the inner tube. The tube was damaged at the valve because a washer had gone which holds it in place.

Once we said our goodbyes we had a short ride to the top10 holiday park. Feeling quite tired now that we had had dinner. I don’t think I will get far with my book tonight.

We planned to get moving fairly early, but the rain came and demotivated us. Really we could have left yesterday, but the weather forecast was horrid. It turned out okay, which was rather annoying. Anyway it gave me heaps of time to make the beds and clean up properly after ourselves. We got on the bikes and got back off them. Ahh a hill to Gulf Harbour! Once we slogged up that it was easy breezy. I tell you what, my legs are asking what the heck I am doing?! Obviously our time off has made them think that my crazy days of cycling are over. Well I have news for you cupcake.

We got to the ferry terminal and got our tickets. Nana & GPA came down to see us off. Annoyingly the ferry isn’t running and we have to jump on a bus. Very lame, I was looking forward to the trip.

We made it to the downtown ferry terminal and waited for the next boat to Pine Harbour. This time was broken up by a random evacuation test, which we had to comply with. The weather really fined up and made the journey really nice.

Once we arrived, we had a short bike ride to my dads house in Beachlands. Dad looks good and we had a good few hours catching up. We also had a chance to grab a few things and leave a few things. NANA, you will be pleased. I left behind my wholly merino jarmie tip and replaced it with a good one. We also picked up a go pro thingy so maybe I can experiment with some vloging.

We said goodbye to Dad and headed to the Mitre10 for some gas for our cooker and then to the supermarket for a few supplies. Then cycled out to Ōmana Regional Park which allows camping if you book it online and pay. $16pp.

A cold shower and eating as fast as we can before the sun sets. We need to get used to eating early again.

A bit of a rush to catch the plane. It turns out our bikes are heavier than I thought. Rowan’s bike is right on 22.5kg in the bike box. We got my bike and ended up loading it up to 31.5kg. This incurred an extra $20 cost but it was worth it. Our raincoat pockets loaded up with heavy items. Luckily Air NZ doesn’t way its passengers. I kept worrying I put the wrong items checked in. I really didn’t want to lose any more electronics like last time. It all worked out well but the flight was a little delayed. The lovely Liz took us to the airport, we are really lucky to have such nice friends. We must have been fairly good house guests, we got an invitation to come again.

My mum flew in an hour before us from Queenstown and picked us up. The bikes fitted easily on her roof racks. I should have taken a photo of them on Liz’s roof, the little Honda Jazz looked funny. The traffic was pretty bad and we got to Whangaparāoa at 5.30pm. It is great to see my Nana & Grandpa. They are my number one fan on the blog.

The weather up here is pretty crap. I mean the rain hasn’t really stopped much since January. Everything looks very lush and green. Nana got a new vegepod for mothers day. We had instructions on how to set it all up. It is a pretty neat set up and it means we dont need to worry about Nana trying to bend down or walk on uneven ground to do her vegies. There was a few more jobs to do around the house which we got done pretty fast. My Aunty Tissy came over for dinner. It was good to catch up her.

My lovely mum gave me a much needed hair cut. I haven’t cut it since December, it was well overdue. We spent the whole morning on Saturday out doing jobs and a bit of shopping. I found some art for my niece’s bedroom. It will be her first birthday soon. I had a chance to catch up with my sister Clare, it was just the two of us which was quite nice. Rowan cooked a curry for dinner. On Sunday and Monday we just potted around. Getting the bikes and our gear all ready. Rowan got out and scrubbed the fence. It ended up raining while he finished the job. Feeling ready to go, just hoping for some good weather for the next few weeks.

We are very lucky to have such great friends who can put up with us for a week. Liz & Rick are awesome friends, we have missed them. The week went really fast. We both got to see our doctors. We got a good load of op shopping in. A quick check of the container, it is looking just like we left it. We put more dehumidifier stuff in and set off a borer bomb. Rowan had left his guns to be sold on behalf when we left Christchurch. The company he left them with sold up and Gun City took their stock. Rowan had to go see them and get them to buy them off him.

Mother Day, Rowan cooked a big breakfast for Liz. I found some awesome handmade ceramic placemats, a woolly scarf and some chocolate. It is a thank you for having us, and why not make Liz feel a bit more special on Mother Day. She has definitely been a good mother at timea for us! We went for a walk with the dogs in Bottle Lake Forest. The kids took Liz out in the afternoon.

Tuesday night we went to a pub to participate in a quiz. We were a team of 6 with Rick & Liz’s friends and we ended up coming third. We were only a few points from first. Rowan really enjoyed cooking every night and we all appreciated it. We gave Billy some more money, he is down the road where we left our house truck.

We had a successful op shop around. We ended up with a fair bit of gold to add to the collection. I found some more porcelain cubes that I had displayed in our old house. Now I have more to make it even bigger.

There are two spokes that need replacing on our bikes. It turns out we need new chains too. Obviously all those miles has caused some wear and tear. My bike isn’t ready to pick up, talk about leave it to last minute. We will have to pick it up tomorrow morning before we go to the airport. The guys at Evo cycles give us a couple of bike boxes so that we can dismantle and get them on the plane.