90 Mile Beach

 Another bucket list item was to ride the length of 90 Mile Beach. For this trip we teamed up with Tim and Beate again plus Jorg and Jutta, alias the German Bakers. The first day saw us have an uneventful ride to Whangarei where we spent a very pleasant evening with Jorg and Jutta. We were well wined and dined.

Tim and Beate arrived about 10 the next morning and with Tim and Jorg as tour leaders we set off on a very scenic back road trip to catch the Rawene ferry.

Regroup and check the map

 About 5kms before Rawene was a 30kph section of road works. Like 99% of motorists we ignored the sign and hit it about 50-60kph and wouldn't you know it, it was that 1 in 100 road works that they actually got the speed limit right and we all had an exciting few seconds when we hit the humps and hollows. We had a few laughs about it while waiting for the ferry.

All aboard the ferry

Off the ferry and a sharp left turn and we are on our way to Mitimiti. What a gorgeous spot to camp. We were lucky enough to see some wild horses enjoying the beach. I'm sure if we had a camper we would be re visiting this spot.

Beautiful Mitimiti Beach

Marty and I

Next stop is down a no exit road to the Te Karaka wharf. No one here but us and the "Terns".

Te Karaka Wharf

Mid afternoon so we push onto our destination. Ahipara Campground. We had a couple of cabins that were joined by a covered deck. Great setup.

Our trusty steads

We took a walk down to the beach to get a glimpse of the next days highway. Tide was out so we dug up a few pipis and took them back to cook up as a pre dinner snack. Yummy.

Marty digging for pipis

You had to be quick or you missed out

 
Went to the local fish and chip shop for tea.

We were on the bikes nice and early and headed down to the beach. The first challenge was a short stretch of soft sand to navigate then some exposed rocks to pick a path through. My choice wasn't the best one and I had a couple of exciting moments before exiting them. Plain sailing after that all the way to "The Bluff". This is a small rocky outcrop about 3/4 of the way up the beach. Marty and I spent a week here in our camper. The fishing was great. We stopped here to stretch our legs, clean the salt off our visors and have a drink.

The Bluff

It was here the first of the tour buses went past. I think we counted 12 in all.  We had to do over 120kph to pass them. They don't muck around. The buses all stop at Te Paki Stream as that is the exit point from the beach. We proved to be quite a tourist attraction as we rode passed.

Marty poses for the tourists

A few minutes later and we had reached the end of the beach. We lined the bikes up for the photo shoot

The End of the Road so to speak

 
then climbed the ladder to the lookout point which also happens to be a part of the NZ walkway trail.

Tima and Beate climb the stairs

 The views were spectacular.

We all made it to the top

Looking back from whence we came

Looking to west

 Back on the bikes and head back to Te Paki Stream which proved a little harder to find on the downward leg. I was kind of dreading this part of the ride as I imagined a stream with water and rocks and the thought of riding a km or so was rather daunting, but hello it was a sandy bottom stream. No problem! Jurg shot up ahead so he could get some footage of us riding up the stream. He parked his bike took a few steps away from it and then heard a big "thud" and turned to see his bike lying on his side and the contents of his top box strewn across the soft sand. Jutta was helping him get things back in order by the time we arrived.

Jutta finishes repacking the top box

  She got on her bike but it had sunk in the sand so much that once on the bike she couldn't get it upright so Marty parked his bike and got off to help. Almost at Jutta's bike and Tim yells to him that his bike is about to topple over, so Beate gets off her bike to save Marty's bike and her bike starts to fall as well. Luckily Jutta was pulled upright and Marty and Beate made it to their bikes before they hit the ground. Crisis over and we continue up the stream and finish the beach adventure. We parked up at the end of the stream, had a yak with a local guy who was selling boogie board rides down the sand dunes. I talked a car load of foreign tourists into having a go. Not sure if they would have thanked me or not as they would have baked their brains out walking to the top of the tune. Meanwhile Jorg had hijacked Jutta's bike and done another lap of the stream. He had a ball.

The last bend in the creek before dry land

Once Jorg had finished playing in the stream we headed off to find somewhere to get some lunch. That place was Houhora.. Great hamburger washed down by a beer - actually a milkshake but beer sounded better.

Bodies refuelled we made our way down SH 1, making a detour down Paua Road to check out Parengarenga Harbour. It is also where the worlds purest silica sand deposits can be found. It is a very pretty harbour. Another spot to visit when we get another camper.

The Silica sands

The team check out the local fishermen

We stopped at the supermarket in Kaitaia to get essential supplies as prices in Ahipara are off the richter.
Back at camp we unloaded had a cool drink then headed out to try and find the old gum diggers fields. Tim lead the way, up a narrow twisty gravel road that took us high up into the hills above Ahipara. We came to a halt when we reached a sign that said "Private Property, Trespassers Prosecuted". Well some of us stopped. Beate carried on in the mistaken belief that she was following Tim. He had in fact gone up to the owners house to see if we could have a look around. He was a local Maori whose Grandfather was the store owner of the very large settlement that used to be up there. He is immensely proud of his heritage and was more than happy to tell us all about  the history of the area. He then took us on a tour of the old gum fields. It was really interesting.

With our guide "Rangi"

One of the many trenches

The old Gumfields

Tim had to go in search of Beate and they eventually joined us in the gum fields. It was interesting to see that the gum fields seem to be in their own little micro climate and we saw many amazing plants that we hadn't expected to see.

One of the strange plants

And Another

Viewing the old dam structures and having their operation explained was really interesting. Those gum diggers were a hardy bunch that's for sure. After the tour we were all invited back to his house for a cuppa. After giving him some Koha we headed back down the hill to the camp.

We then headed to the beach. Jorg and I to have a swim. It was gorgeous. The others collected pipis. This time we had a bucket so were able to get a good feed.

You can't beat fresh pippis

Tea came with the arrival of friends Peter and Sue in their van. We had quite a feast that night, a few ales and lots of friendly banter.

Joerg gets treatment for his back - Sue can't bare to watch

The weather report wasn't so good in the morning so after breakfast Marty and I said our farewells and  headed for home. We stopped in Kawakawa to visit and elderly cousin of mine but deteriorating weather cut that short in the hope we would stay in front of the rain.

We arrived home just after 4pm, wet but not soaked. Another 1424kms of fun travelled.

Exploring the Wairarapa, and Riding the Molesworth and Rainbow Stations

First big adventure for 2102. 6 of us left Katikati in fine conditions for a change. First stop was Taupo for a cuppa with good friend Maree who was blobbing out at with her parents at their Time share Apartment. It was then onto Napier, stopping at the Rangataiki Pub for lunch. You just have to have try their "Bugger Burger". It is enormous and Sasha loved it.


Tim and Marty sped off after lunch leaving Beate and I to keep Sasha and Kirsten (friends from Germany on their world tour aboard a Honda Africa) company. We caught up with the boys at a layby about 10km out of Napier and all had a laugh over the fact that we had all probably been zapped by a hidden speed camera on a downhill just before Te Pohue. Just another example of revenue collecting by the Government!

We stayed the night at a motorcamp in Clive owned by friends we know through the bikes. We walked into town, bought fish and chips which we ate by the river then went for a walk along the riverbank walkway.


We left Clive about 10am after saying goodbye to Sasha and Kirsten who had to make their way back to Auckland to get ready for the next part of their trip - Thailand and beyond.

We had a lovely ride through Tukituki Valley then Kahuranaki and Kairakau Roads which took us to Kairakau Beach. A lovely little spot with quite a few people camping there. Onwards from there over some more gravel backroads which bought us to Pourere Beach. It was midday and very hot. we rode onto the beach to check out the access to Aramoana. Despite the tide being a bit high we decided we could do it. But Tim was in dire need of food so he and Beate headed back to Waipawa to get something to eat and we were to meet them at Aramoana.
Getting my bike off the centre stand was the first tricky job. It toppled over with me on it so Marty had to come and get us upright. Good start!! Next was a 10 metre obstacle course through seaweed, rocks and a slippery muddy channel. I watched where Marty went and followed only I got stuck in the seaweed so had to have a push or two to get unstuck. As the tide wasn't quite low enough we had to negotiate another rocky area and I managed to wedge myself on a rock. I think Marty was beginning to wish he had gone for food to as we were only 10 minutes into the ride.

Marty's bike watches as I check out the first obstacle

It was all plain sailing after that. We passed a seal who wasn't too pleased to see us. Didn't appreciate us disturbing his siesta. We made it to Aramoana (only I didn't realize that was where we were). The tide was too high to cross the river so we decided to head up a dry creek bed which we thought would lead us to the road. Wrong, but worse than that after Marty telling me to watch out for soft sand his bike disappeared into river mud and became firmly stuck. It was not the time to get the camera out. After several attempts at getting it out we had to give up. Have a rest , a think and some water. It was then off with the panniers and excess clothing and then between us we were able to drag it sideways and lift it out. well Marty did the lifting and I did the pulling. We spent the next half hour trying to get all the mud out of the back wheel.



A very muddy wheel

The tide had receeded a bit more and with the help of a very nice lady who walked through the river and found the shallowest point for us we crossed and headed on up the beach to Blackhead.


Marty riding the beach

Off the beach and onto the road again I discover that we have already passed Aramoana so tell Marty we will have to go back as Tim and Beate were meeting us there. No probs but just before we re-enter the beach he discovers a boat wash down area so he stops and spends the next 30 mins cleaning his bike. Just as he finishes Tim and Beate appear off the beach. Tim had done a bit of detective work on the beach when they arrived at Aramoana and spotted our tyre tracks. They had also bought us a couple of sandwiches which were very much appreciated.
We spent a bit of time yakking to some "holiday makers" then headed off towards Wimbledon via more backroads of course. We ended up on Ireland Road which was a road to nowhere and extremely windy at its summit. The views were pretty good though.



Beate at the end of the road.
We backtracked and eventually arrived at the Wimbledon pub about 4.30. We had only ridden 200km but it was a hard days work. We had a fun night in the pub getting thrashed on the round pool table by Tim and Beate. We had to concede they were King and Queen of the Round Table.


The infamous round table

A flock of sheep wandered down the road while we were having breakfast. A nice reminder of rural NZ.



After breaky of toast and jam we headed off to Herbertville. This can be a windy place.



Notice the trees?

We checked out the pub as a possible future rally Head quarters. We do like old pubs strange really as Marty is a non drinker these days.



We stopped at the Wimbledon Tennis Courts for a quick game of BMW doubles

Marty and I on Centre Court Wimbledon

 Lots of roly poly gravel roads to Pongaroa where we stopped for lunch and refuelled. Both Tim and I had gone onto reserve. I was surprised that I had and discovered the reason later in the day. My choke was partly on! Life is pretty laid back in this little town.

Locals come to collect their mail

After lunch and a wee stroll around the two shops we headed off to Alfredton and then onto Whakataku via some more very horrible roly poly gravel roads. We almost had mutton for dinner when 3 stupid sheep decided to run out in front of me! We booked into the pub for the night, unloaded all our gear and then rode a few kms down the road to Castlepoint. we had a wee ride along the beach, then climbed up to the lighthouse and had a walk around the rock cliffs. Amazing amount of fossils to be seen.




This part of the beach is unaccessible at high tide. There used to be a bridge here years ago so that the lighthouse keeper wasn't stranded.



The lighthouse



Beate ventured down the cliff but go shaky knees on the way back up



Our trusty steeds wait patiently on the beach below the lighthouse.



Castle Point in all its glory

Marty and I regained our pool title that night - playing on a normal table!

Next day was fairly leisurely just checking out more of the coastline and gravel roads before ending up in Martinborough for the night where we booked into a couple of cabins at the local campground. You need to have a very large wallet to stay in the pubs here!

The campground manager let us leave all our luggage in his lock up for the day and we headed off to Cape Palliser. We have all wanted to ride from here to White Rock but getting permission from the local farmer whose Station you have to pass through has become almost impossible as he has become more and more frustrated by people who have abused his property, but Marty sweet talked him and he gave us the green light and even some very valuable advise on which way we should tackle the ride.
It was a fairly challenging ride for me (and Beate) and at times the boys. Beate and I had horizontal bikes a couple of times but all at very low speed and caused more by stopping in the wrong place than anything else

                                                            Tim and Beate at Cape Palliser

  
                                                 The start of the track and first obstacles!

 
                                Tim, Beate and Marty take a break before tackling the scree slope

The dreaded scree slope with lots of traps for the novice

         

                                                    
                                           Great scenery when you had time to look at it!

                                   Tim brings Beate's bike up after a particularly tricky section

                                                           Tim rides up the last hill

View from the top

The  last downhill section was very very nasty! Not only was it steep, rutted and slippery but it had a tight 90degree turn half way down. Not for the faint hearted I can tell you. Marty and Tim went down first and even they were tested. They came back up and rode our bikes down. I started but was so tired by that point I felt I couldn't hold my bike up if it all went pear shaped, so poor old Marty had to struggle down with it and likewise Tim once he had recovered from his run up the hill as he was petrified Beate would attempt it and come to grief.

                                                      All at the bottom safe and sound

                                      It was a very easy ride out through farmland to the road. 

                       Lunch stop and everyone stripped off. We were all very hot and bothered.

It took us one and a half hours to ride 10kms. Bloody hard work but worth every bit of blood sweat and tears. Actually there was no blood or tears.

We arrived back in Martinborough about 2pm and as our accomodation plans for that night had fallen through we decided after much discussion to ride to Wellington and catch the ferry to the South Island and spend the next two days riding through the Molesworth  and Rainbow Stattions. We called our friends in Blenheim and hastily arranged beds for the night. Arrived there just after 10pm.

We were on the road by 9am. We rode to the start of the Molesworth via Taylors Pass and Awatere Valley.  

Nosey Cattle

Tim and Beate rode ahead while we just tickered along taking in the spectacular scenery. we met up with them again at the start of the Molelsworth Station.

We were so lucky to ride this road when we did as due to our wet summer the normally brown and dry Molesworth was alive with colour.

                                                             

 

 

We stopped for lunch on a grassy bank across a river - accessed by riding across the swing bridge.

Hanmer Springs from Jollies Pass

                                                          

I had a couple of exciting moments coming down Jollies Pass, the dreaded 3pm tiredness had set in and the last couple of corners were exciting to say the least. We discussed carrying on and doing the Rainbow as one of the DOC Officers had told us the weather was going to change for the worst but Beate and I dug our toes in as we were both buggered so we booked into the Hanmer Forestry Camp for the night. This is a great little camp and one we highly recommend. The boys cooked a yummy tea for us all much to the amusement of some of the other campers. We had a discussion and an inspection on my brake and gear levers and it was decided they both could do with a bit of bending and straightening to make them more accessible for me, but that would have to wait till we got home. Early night we were all pretty tired.

  

Marty, Beate and I ready for the day's adventure

                                           
The DOC Officer got it wrong and the weather was perfect. We headed up Jacks Pass and back onto the Molesworth Station. First detour was to Lake Tennyson. 

Marty and I at Lake Tennyson - looking a little dusty

                                      

There were a few river crossings and more stunning scenery as we travelled through the Rainbow Station.

You have to pay to go through the Rainbow!

                                                                                                              

The start of the Rainbow

                                                   

                                                     Beate tests the water as Marty and I wait our turn.

More magnificent scenery

                                                        

                                                                
 Riding through the Beech Forest I hit a large pothole which caused one of my panniers to spring open and all my clothes fell out onto the track. Reloaded with Marty's help and carried on.
The last water obstacle was quite a good one. Beate had a couple of problems getting out the other side but she managed it eventually without getting wet. Once we were all across we sat under the trees and had our lunch. Jam and cheese sandwiches again!!

It looks shallow and easy but don't let the clear water fool you. Me making the crossing.

Marty was the last to cross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Marty and I stayed with my brother Andrew and his wife Trish while Tim and Beate stayeed with friends Bob and Claire. We all met up at the local Indian Restaurant for tea along with some other friends who also live in Nelson. Was a fun night.

We had a lazy start to the day and eventually headed off about 11am and caught the ferry back to Wellington. We spent a couple of days with friends, Lynn and Dean at Makora and had a a great time. We went up to the wind farm and had a walk around the turbine reserve. It was windy and cold just as you would expect from a wind farm.

Marty, Dean and Tim stride it out

                                   

Love them or hate them they are an impressive sight

          

The rugged Wellington Coastline

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                      
       Of course there was a little shed time had by the boys.                           

                                               


Then it was time to head home.A 7.5hr ride home. More things ticked off the bucket list and a great time had by all. Time to plan the next trip.............................