Matata Beach to Ohope Beach NZ

It was raining overnight and in the morning today. I was bummed but it looked like it might stop for a while and when it did I took off on my bike hoping not to get soaked in a big downpour from the very black sky. It only sprinkled a few times on me and I made it as far as Ohope before the clouds just looked like they were going to open up on me so I stopped. The ride today was mostly through rural farmland on flat roads. Near the end I did have to pedal up a big steep hill but it wasn’t too bad. The forecast is for heavy rain for the next two or three days so I am going to just sit tight here in the campground until the weather gives me a break. In fifteen days here in New Zealand it has rained for 12 of them. Lucky me.

Yesterday I had sun screen on all day while riding and I got no burn but when I got to my camp yesterday I took a shower and washed it off without putting more on. I ended up only being in the sun for 10 to 15 minutes after the shower but I got a good burn on my face and arms in that short time. There is a huge hole in the ozone layer here in New Zealand and over in Australia. I hope I learned my lesson.

My campground today is on the tip of a peninsula with very nice ocean beaches on one side and a quiet bay on the other side. If it stops raining I will try to get some decent pics of the place. At least they have decent wifi here so even though I will be stuck here for a couple days I will have something to do.

Te Puke to Matata Beach NZ

I got an early start today at about 7am. New Zealand is not a country of early birds any more. Back in the 70s here people all seemed to get up at 4 am and go to bed by 7:30 pm. Today most places do not open until 8 or 9 in the morning so I frequently have to wait for my coffee. I found a cafe open in town and ate a big breakfast of sausages, bacon, eggs, multigrain toast, fried tomato and some mushrooms. I had my usual long black coffee with that. It felt good to eat a hearty breakfast then hit the road.

The road was mostly flat today. I was told by someone that I could ride along a trail to get past a large estuary along the coast and the info was wrong so I had to backtrack about 8 miles to go around it. Such is life. I did not mind. So most of the day I was riding on the main highway 2 which carries lots of big trucks. There was enough room for me most of the time except for at bridges where all shoulder disappears. I would stop and wait for a clear time to cross the bridges because I do not feel like getting squished by a pair of logging trucks or something like that crossing the bridge at the same time. I stopped a couple of times just to rest and look around. It was mostly overcast so pics were tough of scenery but when the clouds cleared I took a few beach pics and of the birds around my camp. Otherwise just a good cycle day without problems and without rain so far today. Plus my campground was only $5 today. I went out and ordered fish and chips and the pic below is of the part I was not able to finish. It was a huge platter of fish and chips and tasty. The birds are mud ducks and they are all over NZ it seems like.

I met and talked with a lot of Kiwis in the camp and met one French guy hitch hiking around the country. They are all friendly but they all tell me I am crazy. It did rain by nightfall and more early the next morning.

Mount Maunganui to Te Puke NZ

Today it was raining from about 4am until 11 am. I went out in the fog and rain for coffee and found some half decent wifi so I caught up on that while I waited for the rain to stop. It didn’t stop so I went to the hot pools again and soaked for an hour. The rain started to let up then so I packed my tent up and took off hoping to get a few miles in. I went about 4 miles and the rain started up again. Not a hard rain just a constant drizzling grey mist that soaked me to the bone. I gave up after only about 30 miles and stopped at a campground to try to dry out. I just can’t seem to get away from the rain. No pics in the rain. Not a lot to take pics of in the overcast foggy weather but I did take a couple when the sun peeked its head out for a few minutes. Maybe tomorrow will be a nicer day.

Te Puna to Mount Maunganui

Today I did not really ride, all I did was go to the other side of town to a new campground on the beach. It was a total of about 15 miles of riding. I wandered around Tauranga city for a while checking out the marina and things. Kiwis sure like their boats. There were yachts and power boats of every size and description in the marina. This is a major port for New Zealand so there was lots of action loading and unloading boats. New Zealand exports a lot of timber. Most of it goes to China or Japan for chipping into paper. It is a shame really because the wood seems to be a good quality softwood but almost a hardwood type that I would think would be worth more as lumber but then again I am just an ignorant observer.

The area my new camp is in is a very popular tourist spot with beautiful ocean beaches or beaches in the bay. Lots of wind surfing going on, rental boats, rental sail boats, rental bikes, harbor and fishing tours. Lots of people and action. I think I will spend the day people watching and just have a lazy day. If I could walk there are a lot of good hiking trails in this area. Everybody says the views from up on top of the mount here are to die for. Unfortunately for me that is just what would happen if I tried to walk up there, I would die.

If I had the money I would go fishing but that is out of my budget. My costs here in NZ are way higher than I expected. The campground was NZ$26 plus $7 for use of the hot pools, food is almost always $20 a meal and tea coffee etc are about $5. I get 5 NZ dollars for 4 US dollars but still I am spending more than I have available to me here. It may hit the fan before it is time to go home from Australia. Such is life. I do not worry. Only a few pics today.

Waihi to Te Puna NZ

Today I packed up my camp and hit the road to the beach. On the way through the town of Waihi I stopped to check my wifi. I got bad news that upset me for the rest of the day. My friend went on a fishing trip in Indonesia and the boat did not return to port. That was two weeks ago. We were hoping that he was kidnapped for ransom but no ransom demands came that I ever heard about. Yesterday the boat washed up on a small island with two decomposed bodies in it. One was identified as his girlfriend and the other was buried without identification. There is still a very slim chance that he did not perish but my heart tells me he is gone now. I have known him for many years and fished with him many times. I will miss him.

I carried on with my ride today from there to the beach which took about an hour. My first stop was the gold mine pit in Waihi as I was leaving town. Big ass pit for sure. Down the road I did not have my heart into exploring the beautiful Waihi Beach today and just took a cursory look around before heading on down the road which was mostly rural with lots of kiwi fruit farms, cows, horses, and of course sheep. I ended up in Te Puna just north of Tauranga which was about a fifty mile ride after my double back at the beach. It was a lot of hills today. They weren't real high but they came one after another and were fairly steep. The heavy traffic and narrow shoulder kept me from enjoying the views because staying alive was a full time job.

I am cooking a dinner of curried shrimp in my campground at the moment and just watched New Zealand win another cricket match in the World Cup of Cricket. I am starving so can't wait to eat. Here are the few meager pics I took today.

Weekend off

I took the weekend off from riding due to heavy weekend traffic around the coastal resort area I am heading to next. I have enjoyed my time off. I did my laundry and repacked my stuff then lubed the bike and made sure things were tight on it. The rest of the time I went into town and hung out at the cafes and pubs. Not drinking a lot but rather just hanging out and talking to locals. Tonight I am having dinner with one of them at their home.

There was a group of antique tractor fans at my campground here in Waihi. They drove their tractors here to camp and then all just sat around having fun. They were entertaining. They fed me twice with their huge piles of food they had that they could not begin to finish. SO I ate well.

Now I am rested up for hitting the road again on Monday. I do not plan on a long ride just over to the coast and have a look around and when I feel like it I will stop in a campground which there are a lot around. This beach is one of the most popular in the country everybody tells me. I shall see tomorrow.