Today was a tough day, not necessarily physically, although the 55kms included steep climbs and occasional big hills, and not because of the early morning downpour either, but it was because today would’ve been my lovely Mum’s 86th birthday that made it an emotional day for me. It has been almost three months since she passed away, and there is not a single day goes by when I don’t think of her and miss her.
Between the rain drops and my tear drops it was a hard day to get through, but I believe I owe my determination to my Mum. I am forever thankful that despite not always approving of my antics, she never held me back from going on my life’s adventures. And today was one of those adventures I would relish the chance to tell her about.
Rain drops
We had our campsite and bags pretty much packed up by 8am when the heavens opened without warning! No drizzle or soft rain, just a bit of a grey sky morning, then all of a sudden it was lashing. We ran for cover under the amenities block and could do nothing but wait it out. We watched as the spray from the passing traffic, and in particular the logging trucks, got heavier and heavier – there was no way it was safe for us to be on the road.
Waiting for the rain to pass!
We’d almost resigned ourselves to the fact that we would have to stay another day at the Waihau Bay campsite (not that appealing as the shop/café had next to no supplies), when the rain stopped as suddenly as it had started. Within moments the surface water miraculously dried up so we fuelled up and by midday we were on our first steep climb.
The ride today, for the most part, took us inland and as much as we have absolutely loved the coastal route, it was great to have a change of scenery. With the potential risk of more rain it was heads down and full steam ahead, stopping way less than normal.
We got caught in only one 10-15 minute light shower, but by the time we rode into Hicks Bay for a late lunch we’d dried off. And as we reached the holiday park at Te Araroa (NZ$30 per night) the sun was back on our side.
It was time to crack out our collapsible wine glasses for a celebratory drink, and to toast my late Mum.
Reluctantly we moved on from Maraehako today, but not far, only about 25kms. We are definitely taking it easy on this New Zealand cycling tour! We cycled to the next bay, Waihau Bay, and yet another deserted beach. It is on Oruaiti beach where we once again tried to learn how to fly our drone! Practice will make perfect eventually.
Drone practice on Oruaiti Beach
The idea was to stay here two nights and stock up on supplies, but the shelves in the holiday park shop are practically empty, so much so that tonight we cycled the couple of kilometres back to Waihau Bay Lodge for dinner – scallops and steak washed down with a glass of red before making a dash back to the campsite in the dark. We had our head lights and tail lights on, and thankfully there was no traffic to worry about.
Waihau Bay campsite NZ$28 for the night. Waihau Bay Lodge dinner for two NZ$84.
Pitched upBlogging in the tent
Tomorrow we’ll move on again in the hope that the motor camp at Te Araroa will be better stocked.
It was a short, scenic ride today, about 16kms from Te Kaha to the Maraehako camping ground – our new happy place! We had the usual irresistible stops for photos, and a stop at one random roadside corner when the phone picked up reception for the first time in a few days.
Put simply this place is idyllic. We feel like we are in a Kathmandu camping advert! This could be our top camping spot of all time and is going to take some beating. We are metres from the beach with Olive pitched under a pohutukawa tree, three other campers are in the paddock, we have hot showers, and a camp shop to buy ice creams! We’re all set for a day or two. The cost is NZ$30 per night.
We have fresh fish to cook for tonight’s dinner thanks to a kind fisherman sharing his catch, followed by toasted marshmallows. Life doesn’t get much better than this.
We all have our ups and downs in life, and this year has certainly been testament to that for us, but if ever there was a metaphor that suits today then this is it.
The 55km ride today, hugging the coastline from the little hamlet of Opape to the not much bigger village of Te Kaha, was a rollercoaster of hills. From a steep, slow 210 metre winding climb up Maraenui Hill, to rolling down to a perfect lunch and swim stop by the sea at Omaio.
Looking back at the coastal road we rodeSwim stop at Omaio
All the while the vantage points from our bikes were unbeatable – uninterrupted panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, and beautiful blooming pohutukawa trees lining the beaches and roadside.
The difference to life is that today the “ups” were the hard parts, while the “downs” were the fun bits. Both were rewarding in their own way, and the sense of accomplishment we feel when we can look back and see where we’ve come from is really satisfying. Looking forward to the next stage of the road is both daunting and exciting in equal measures, and is what makes us feel alive, although our bodies may not agree!
Surprisingly it is not our backsides that are suffering on the saddle, as we thought they would, but rather our hands, arms and shoulders that are taking the strain. Regular stops to straighten up help ease the discomfort, and a glass of wine or a cold beer at the end of the day soothes the aches and pains away!
Another well equipped campsite to ourselves for a couple of nights – Te Kaha campsite NZ$28 per night.
A really solid day of riding today clocking up another 55kms. The majority was on State Highway 35 which as we travel further out east the traffic is certainly thinning out. We have been warned by friends, and strangers alike, to be aware of the logging trucks on this road. There are many, but at the moment we seem to be travelling against the fully loaded trucks that are en route from Hicks Bay to Tauranga. It is the empty ones who are passing us on their return trip.
Traffic on State Highway 35 New Zealand
Coincidentally we met a logging truck driver on the Hauraki Rail Trail the other day while he was on a works Christmas Day out, and already we’ve met him twice on the road, waving and blowing his air horn at us!
Motu Dunes Trail
The last 10-12kms of today’s ride was out of Opotiki on the Motu Dunes Trail. Opotiki is the last biggish town we’ll see for a while so we stocked up on supplies. We had one of the best lunches of the trip so far at the Two Fish café, and we did some forward trip planning at the iSite office. We caught up with some of our Shola B&B business using the local library’s internet.
What a fantastic ride on trails and boardwalks through the sand dunes along the coast, but with a major design fault! Our touring bikes with their panniers would not fit through the access gateways. The gateways are designed to stop motorbikes and vehicles from accessing the trails, but boy did it make it hard work for us. We had to stop about a dozen times and lift the bikes over the gateways. We did get help on one occasion by two strapping Maori men who made it look easy!
First gate that we couldn’t fit through!The dunes trailHandlebars don’t fit through!Local to the rescue!Helping hands to lift the bikes over the gatewaysKiwi helpers!
By the time we rode into the little traditional Kiwi motor camp at Opape (NZ$20) we were cream crackered. The cold beers we’d carried from Opitiki were well shaken up, but all was not lost as once we had Olive pitched only metres from the sea, the campsite owner pulled up on his quad with a couple of ice cold ones for us. Time to relax, do a little drone practice on the deserted beach, and just enough phone signal to be able to ring Dad on his 94th birthday before crashing out under another starry night sky.
At only 23kms, today’s ride is our shortest to date. All thanks to Dawn for loading us in the car and dropping us north of Whakatane so that we could avoid the busy State Highway route around Tauranga.
Only one hefty hill to get out of Whakatane then dropping down into beautiful Ohope where we pitched up at the Top 10 campsite for the night (NZ$42). Our bbq dinner was thanks to Dawn & Adrian as we cooked up delicious beef sausages from their very own hand reared cattle. Dinner was only topped by a romantic walk on the 11kms of beach and watching the massive super moon rise.
Hi, we're Sharon & Dave an active and adventurous Irish & English couple who've been travelling together for more than 20 years. These posts are our travel stories and personal journeys. Follow our adventures to see where we've been and where we're going next!
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