TA Day 7 - Paeroa to Arapuni

 61.7 miles, 1594’ climbing

Lodging:  Arapuni Backpackers Lodge

Weather:  Cool and overcast, turning to hot and muggy

After walking around to find an open breakfast place we settled for McDonald’s, then we pedaled out of Paeroa on a gravel rail trail, well used by cyclists. It was part singletrack and part double track, very pleasant in the morning coolness. Every 100 meters or so there were wooden traps set along the side with an egg used as bait. We saw the same yesterday. Finally we saw one with a brindle-coated critter in it, but we couldn’t tell what it was. A local said they trap possums, rats, ferrets… anything that endangers the local birds and plants. We saw a bunch of pukekos and what appeared to be hawks and a heron.

We rolled into the town of Te Aroha, larger than Paeroa, in time for a coffee and pastry along the main street. The town was full of motorcycles, and a local told us that there was a poker ride today. We headed out across a bridge where three local e-bikers chatted with us about riding trails. The next 25 or so miles to Matamata were on a paved bike trail that was separated from the busy road. 

Matamata is home to Hobbiton, where the Lord of the Rings movie was filmed. There were signs for tours, a tower, and movie sets, but no mention of hobbits having hairy toes. The homes were large and landscaped, and the main street was full of shops and restaurants, a bigger place than we’ve been thru in a while. We stopped for lunch, ice cream, and the requisite hobbit home pictures with our bikes. 

Leaving Matamata, we soon found ourselves on the shoulder of a very busy highway with big trucks blowing us around periodically, not the most fun riding of the day. We were happy to turn off onto the Waikato River Trails next to Lake Karapiro. The narrow trails swooped along the shoreline with ferns and dense trees in the humid afternoon. To our surprise, we spotted 8-10 black swans swimming in the lake, and a covey of quail scurried across the road. Finally we turned off for Arapuni, a small town beside the lake where we got a room at Arapuni Backpackers, which offers rooms, camping, showers in a beautiful garden behind a home.  There were a number of other riders there as well.  The owner has a lovely garden and offered us tomatoes.

TA Day 6 - Auckland to Paeroa

 83.5 miles, 2398’ climbing

Lodging:  Pedlar’s Hotel, Paeroa

Weather:  Overcast / light rain

We woke up early and had a great breakfast at our Auckland hotel, but getting out of town was stressful. We were headed directly into the sun, so our tail lights wouldn’t be visible, and there was a lot of traffic with no bike lane. Also there seem to be a lot of dump trucks, many pulling a trailer. Thankfully we turned onto a gravel trail through a park after a while, and soon we were out of town.

The Hunua Traverse route is currently closed, so we headed for the coastal alternate, only making one wrong turn. The cycling was all on pavement, humid and warm but with breezes and few climbs. We stopped for a coffee after Clevedon, then followed a short section on gravel trails thru tidal flats. In Kaiaua we had been recommended to get fish and chips, a great lunch break. As we continued onwards, it rained lightly. We followed some canals away from the coast, all paved until we got on a gravel trail for the last couple miles into Paeroa where we booked into the Pedlar’s hotel. We saw fellow brevet rider, Andy, on the main street.

It’s sometimes hard to remember we are in NZ, cycling through rural farm areas it often feels like we could be in a lot of similar places in the US.

TA Day 5 - Karapai to Auckland

 53 miles, 2733’ climbing

Lodging:  Sebel hotel, south Auckland 

Weather:  Overcast and cool, turning sunny and warm

We woke up to a drizzle, grabbed a coffee and breakfast before heading out of Karapai. The rain lifted, and we opted to ride the longer but safer highway 16 to Auckland.  There was a small shoulder for most of the ride. After about 15 miles we merged with the official route, passing in and out of busy areas. In the city, our route put us onto a separated bike path which was great since navigating traffic would have been extremely difficult. 

In the morning, we saw a number of pukeko birds, including one with chicks, looking a little like dark chickens with red beaks. Crossing a marine reserve, we saw herons. We soon we happened upon 4 people with large nets capturing something adjacent to the bike path. A delightful woman explained that they were capturing and relocating endangered, endemic copper butterflies, and she showed some to us in small containers. The butterflies only breed in muehlenbeckia bushes, and they were being moved to a better location to help aid their survival, pretty cool.

We pedaled to the top of Mount Eden, took in the view. Stopping for a break in a park, we saw 4 bikepackers go by, and we hollered and waved. It was Quintin (Nelson), Dom and Lisa, and Nuttert. They stopped, and we all rode off together thru traffic and continued south past the airport somewhat hectic.  After another 10 miles or so we were ready for a hotel. The first hotel we tried wasn’t open, and we ended up at the very nice Sebel hotel near a grocery store and everything else we may need. It feels good to have an early night and take care of chores. The others continued on. Maybe we will see them again down the road.

TA Day 4 - Dargaville to Karapai

 74 miles, 3054’ climbing

Lodging:  Parakai Geothermal Motel

Weather:  Sunny and hot

There were at least 16 tents for TA riders at the Dargaville camp site, and most of the people planned to catch the ferry at Poutu Point today. About half were getting up as we packed our tent and made breakfast. Last night was the perfect temperature for sleeping. We pedaled out in the cool air with the sun rising on our left, and misty fog over the fields and water. 

The route was paved at first, then a gravel road. The gravel roads have been well maintained but with a loose surface of gravel at times, very dusty when cars pass. We saw wild turkeys in some of the fields, and we leapfrogged with several other riders as we rode over the hills.

The landscape is beautiful, but it’s less wild and far more cleared of natural trees than we expected. Of course there’s still so much to see.

By 12:30 the day was heating up and we arrived at Poutu Point. The ferry wasn’t due until 5, so we spent several hours at a small community center, cleaned drive trains, had a soda and ice cream, walked on the beach. 

When the ferry arrived, it nosed straight up onto the sand. The ferry operators are experienced at transporting riders, and organized us into a brigade to pass our unloaded bikes onto the ferry for the journey. It was then 3 hours across the large Kaipara Harbor to Parakai and another 30 minutes to unload the bikes.

Since we were arriving in the dark, we booked a hotel near the landing site, a small hotel with geothermal baths. The road to Auckland is known to be dangerous during morning rush hour due to no shoulder and commuter traffic into Auckland. A bunch of people planned to ride in at night to avoid commuter traffic, and some debated the value of an alternate road. For us, that’s a matter for tomorrow. We reached our hotel around 9pm, met with Andy (Sidney Australia) and Nuttert (Netherlands) for dinner, then enjoyed a mineral soak before bed. It was a long day, but a great one for camaraderie since we had time with so many other TA riders (~65 cyclists on the ferry).

TA Day 3 - Omapere to Dargaville

 51.5 miles, 4377’ elevation gain 

Lodging:  Tent site at Dargaville Holiday Park

Weather:  Sunny and hot

When you’re at sea level, you can pretty much expect to start your ride with a climb, but the first steep hill out of town was a tough wake up call. We had a coffee and breakfast sandwich at the local cafe, then started our hilly ride south. After about a dozen miles we entered the shady Kauri Forest of tall trees, tall ferns, dense vegetation, and the persistent sounds of birds and insects that we’ve heard everywhere but along the beach. We stopped to see Tane Marita, the largest Kauri tree, after carefully disinfecting our shoes. The tree is 2000-2500 years old. Only 3% of the kauri forest is left after it was clear cut in the 1950s. 

We then had a long descent thru the cool shady forest, then back to the hot and humid hills, farm country on gravel roads and a rail trail. A road worker topped up our water bottles when our expected refill spot was closed, wishing us that our uphills be like our downhills. A young woman met us and asked to ride along. It turned out that she and her two brothers were trail angels, offering cold slices of melon and ice water to TA riders. She introduced us to their two horses and told us that we were on the last hill before Dargaville.

In town, we took a camp site at the holiday park with several other cyclists. It’s sunny and warm, and showers and laundry are welcome. Tomorrow we need to make it to Poutu Point by 5pm to get the ferry we booked to Helensville, and were told not to underestimate the ride though mileage isn’t too long.

From the holiday park, we walked into Dargaville with Quintin, the school teacher, and met a few other cyclists, for dinner and a beer. It was longer than we anticipated, but good dinner. We bought food for tomorrow at Woolworth’s a popular NZ grocery store and headed back to the holiday park to finish laundry. There are quite a few more cyclists here now, and it’s finally cooling off.

Some bits of knowledge gathered along the way…a defunct microwave is a suitable mailbox for more than one rural property owner.  Also a possum has virtually no evasive measures from autos as sadly their carcasses litter the road.

TA Day 2 - Apihara to Omapere

 57 miles, 4751 ‘

Lodging:  The Sands Hotel, Omapere

Weather:  Sunny and hot

We had coffee and a quick bite, then left the Apihara Holiday Park around 8am. Today we turned inland and rode through the hills with lots of ups and downs past rural farms. It was humid and very green with large trees and ferns at times. We are starting to see which other riders are on the same pace as us.  After about 20 miles, about 10 of us stopped for meat pies, cold drinks, and hot coffee in the tiny town of Broadwood. After a ride over some hills on gravel, about a dozen of us regrouped for the two o’clock ferry to Rawene. We decided to have an ice cream and a Coke from the market while most of the others stopped at a cafe. 

As we turned back to the coast, we had headwinds again, sometimes blocked by hills. Riding into Omapere, we saw people rowing longish boats off shore. Behind them was an island that looks like a huge sand dune.

Tonight we are staying at The Sands Hotel, a somewhat upscale establishment for this tiny town.  There is a nice restaurant with amazing views of the water.  We enjoyed a nice dinner with a glass of wine in the patio. A relaxing way to end the day.

TA Day 1 - Cape Reinga to Apihara

 56.9 miles, 2283’

Lodging:  Apihara Holiday Park cabin

Weather:  Sunny and hot

We woke early and packed up, heading up the steep road to the cape Reinga lighthouse. Leaving our bikes, we walked out to the lighthouse at the northern tip of New Zealand, captured the requisite photos, and chatted with other brevet riders. After a short briefing, we were off down the hilly road on our way to 90 mile beach.

When we hit the stream bed next to the sand dunes, it felt surprising. We took a few photos and continued down to the beach which had a lot of surf. There was a head wind and a marine layer keeping us cool, but we made reasonably good time down the coast. After a while, it became clear that 50 miles of beach riding in a headwind was going to be a challenge. Besides the ~60 cyclists in the brevet, we saw people who drove their cars down to fish or recreate.

By mid day the winds were increasing. Cyclists were really spread out. For a while we hopped on an echelon and rode with a German couple among others, but soon we were on our own in the headwind, passing the occasional cyclist. By the time we reached Apihara, we were beat. Fortunately we got there before the tide rolled all the way in and stranded us. The sand blowning towards us looked like fog from a machine, covering the ground in swirls.

Apihara is pretty and small, and we welcomed the chance to clean our drive chains, shower, and do laundry. Many people had arrived there ahead of us, and many after. Our « cabin » was very hot in the sun, so we opened all the doors and windows, heading down to the common area.

Market options were extremely limited, and there were no restaurants, but the local bait and tackle shop was selling fish and chips. The meal was enormous, wrapped in several layers of newspaper, forming a mound the size of a throw pillow. Ed balanced it on his handlebars to bring it back to the holiday park, and it made a good dinner.

Tour Aotearoa - the Journey to the Start

 Our journey to the start of the Tour Aotearoa  brevet included 3 flights, a shuttle, and a short bike ride. Because flight times changed after we booked them, we had longish layovers, but this helped us adjust to the time zone and make sure none our bags went astray. It was comforting to have apple air tags on our bikes so we could see that they appeared to be on our planes.

Ed made wheels for our bike boxes to roll on as he did last summer, and while the boxes came off a couple times over cracks and bumps, they were great for moving thru the airport, between terminals, thru long lines in customs. We carried the wheels in our carry-on during flights and tossed them when we arrived in Kerikeri and assembled our bikes.

New Zealand customs was very particular. We had to open our bike boxes to inspect for dirt on the bikes (washed well before packing)  with specific questions about the tires. They also took our tent to a lab for quick testing, checked a freeze-dried meal that contained meat. Other travelers had their hiking boots inspected. It was impressive how much care the kiwis take to keep pests out of their country.

Our airport hotel (Heartland) was comfortable and had good food. We will be riding past it on our route in about a week. We had a long day free, so we ubered downtown to spend time outdoors and see the city. Auckland seems very cosmopolitan though a lot of restaurants appeared to be shuttered. We saw the harbor and some public art with lots of references to the Māori culture. The trees and bushes look very lush in contrast to the Sonoran desert. 

For the domestic flight from Auckland to Kerikeri, we didn’t need to show ID or go thru security. On arrival, however, Sarah’s bike box had been opened, frame bag unzipped, tire pump (formerly in the frame bag) was loose in the box, and the frame was scratched. We assembled our bikes outside the airport paying NZ$5 for the cardboard disposal. Another brevet rider, Mark Bradley from Wellington, was doing the same. We followed him into town to the local bike shop where we aired up tires and got chain lube and air cartridges. There are two days for the grand depart of the brevet, based on low tides so we can go down 90 mile beach on the firm sand. Mark departs on Saturday and we are on Sunday.

Kerikeri is beautiful and green, looking like a resort town. Our hotel had a swimming pool and green lawns. We had a swim, dinner, and bought groceries for the next two days. Our driver, Talz, picked us up Saturday morning. We took the front wheel off each bike and managed to get them both in her car. Much of landscape looks like it could be the west coast of the US but with large exotic trees and drivers on the other side of the road. We stopped once for a break on a beach, and after ~3 hours we made it to Tapotupotu camp site. It will be a big climb up to the lighthouse for the departure in the morning. 

There were 2 other cyclists when we arrived just after noon, but the campground filled with more cyclists and campers. The cove was gorgeous with a small wave break and one person out surfing. It was very windy, hard to cook, and doubtless tough for the day 1 brevet riders. 

Talz pointed out Tea Trees to us, the same ones used for Tea Tree Oil in cosmetics in the states. She said the wood is used to heat rocks and cook hangi, literally « food in the ground ». Meat is wrapped in tin foil with potatoes and sweet potatoes and cooked in the ground for hours. If we see a sign for hangi we must try it.