Kawakawa Bay to Miranda

I went from Kawakawa Bay to Miranda today so I am now about 110 miles from Auckland. Again today was a wet misty ride that pretty much eliminated a lot of the views I could have had. The rain actually felt good on me as it kept me cooler. Visibility for drivers to see me was good enough plus on the winding hills I always pulled off the road on the blind curves when I heard a vehicle coming. There were big tandem logging trucks on the narrow road today so my caution was not unfounded because they have to cut the corners short or risk hitting oncoming traffic.

I stopped at a pottery shop and talked to the owners that make dragon and abstract fish pottery. Their daughter is going to Austin on a full boat scholarship and they were very proud of her. We talked about a half an hour and I got back on the road. I also met a Kiwi couple on a tandem bike that live in an RV and ride their tandem almost everyday. They were fun to talk to because they were complaining about how the cost of accommodation has skyrocketed here in New Zealand which I have discovered first hand. My hotel last night was $130 and that is not in my budget but it was an emergency hotel stay due to the cold heavy rain.

Today I am staying in Miranda Holiday park which has a hot springs pool, TV lounge, full kitchen, nice bathrooms with hot showers and laundry. I am going to kick back in the pool when I am done with this post.

Not much for pics today because the misty rain obliterated the views. I was impressed with the density of the forest I rode past today. It looked primordial. I have expected dinosaurs to step out of the bush. There were lots of dead opossums and hedgehogs on the road today. The possums here are cute not the ugly things we have in the states. The

hedgehogs are small and cute also but there must be a ton of them both cause there was so much roadkill.