Oh Mahia a change of plan

Not perfect weather this morning, but safe enough to get back in the saddle for the planned 40km flat ride to Wairoa, where as it turned out we never reached!

Morere – Mahia

We had a change of plan after about 8kms when we stopped at Nuhako for a drink. 

Chatting to the locals in the shop, and going on what we’d heard from previous people, it sounded like the side trip to the Mahia Penninsula was a must-do, so who were we to argue!  And we were not disappointed – a quiet scenic road passing isolated beaches with a few moderate hills and great viewpoints.

Mahia Beach is like a little holiday resort with a pub and a dairy, and lots of holiday homes (mostly still empty, but that will change in a few days time).  Plus the campsite (with its new owners who took over just 4 weeks ago) has a nice café on site, and for the moment we have the place to ourselves! It is NZ$40 per night.

Running out of time

Now how long we stay here at Mahia remains to be seen. Time is moving so fast and we are moving so slowly, and that’s what we’re really loving about this trip. That said we have a wedding to get to in Nelson, and our ferry out of Wellington is on the 28th December. At this rate we know we will never make it there by pedal power alone so we have called in the services of Intercity bus and have booked a bus from Napier to Wellington on the 27th December.