• Helene Rimberg
Atual
  • Helene Rimberg

The Grand Adventure

A bike trip with no end Leia mais
  • Wellington: Day 1

    14 de janeiro de 2025, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Sunny day for a tour of Wellington. Meandering up for good views and then down through the Botanical Gardens. Downtown seems very slick and modern. Even their government buildings are sleek (beehive). Walk along waterfront and hang out at a bit of sand for a moment. Water is very chilly. Back through town for a beer stop. After 9 miles of walking opt to take bus back up to our flat. Nice touristy day.Leia mais

  • To Wellington we go

    13 de janeiro de 2025, Nova Zelândia ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    And yes, more wind is forecasted. However, hit a cycle path almost immediately and enjoy quieter and safer riding. Though at times it is right next to the highway it is much better. Ride into small towns and lovely parks. Follow the beautiful coastline up until we hit the suburbs of Wellington. Struggle up the last climbs to our Airbnb. But we made it.Leia mais

  • Into the wind

    11 de janeiro de 2025, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Chilly morning but need to move on. Ride along the river and use the tunnel and elevator to top the hill out of the city. Great view and no sweating. Enjoy a quiet ride until we hit the main highway. Carefully continue on. Stop in Bulls for lunch and though we consider a bus, push on into the wind. Take a circuitous path to keep us off the highway but the wind is formidable. Opt to stop at Himitangi beach.Leia mais

  • Whanganui river road

    9 de janeiro de 2025, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Begin ride along beautiful and quiet river. A few bigger rollers keeps us working. Stop to investigate historical sites like the flour mill. After having lunch in the free campground (not much there) opt to continue on to Whanganui. Check into another Top10, overrun with teenage rowers.Leia mais

  • Whanganui River

    8 de janeiro de 2025, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Relatively quiet road as we head south and away from the mountains. Opt to ride on, first stopping at Raetihi for a snack. A woman in the cafe asks if she can buy us coffee - we graciously accept. Very long and very windy downhill to Pipiriki and Whanganui river and lovely, bike friendly campground. Spend the afternoon hanging out in the cozy reading room and kitchen.Leia mais

  • Tongarino Alpine crossing

    7 de janeiro de 2025, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Early morning wake up to catch the 6 am shuttle to the start of the hike. Quite cool out, especially with wind. Arrive at the trailhead with many other hikers and head up and into the fierce wind. Sun tries to come out but we climb into a cloud. Difficult to see much of anything. Pretty brutal conditions but press on. Make it to Red Crater - the top - and quickly slide down the scree with hordes of others. Nice views of alpine lakes. As we descend it gets clearer and less windy. Nice, warm lunch spot looking out to Taupo lake. Hike through forest to the trail end (19 km later) and hop on our shuttle. Relax in the sunshine for the rest of the day.Leia mais

  • Waterfall walks

    6 de janeiro de 2025, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Amazingly sleep in until 9 - we must have been very tired! Head off on unloaded bikes toward Whakapapa Village. Stop along the way for short walk to an impressive waterfall. At the village do a longer walk to Taranaki falls. Nice views of the mountains as well. Skies cloud up as zip back down again. An active “rest day “.Leia mais

  • Timber Trail: Day 1

    3 de janeiro de 2025, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Got an early start which was helpful as we had the trail to ourselves for quite awhile. I would consider this a hiking trail which made for challenging riding with a fully loaded bike. Eventually other riders caught up with us and zoomed ahead on e-bikes or mountain bikes. Rain began making the trail muddy. Add a few terrifying suspension bridges and it was a banner day. Made it to our campground and set up before more rain. Ate nice dinner at nearby lodge.Leia mais

  • Happy 2025

    1 de janeiro de 2025, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Beautiful morning though the chill is still in the air. Pack up and head once more towards town and then out along relatively quiet HWY 30. Pass through rolling farmland and small mountain ranges. Hop on Waikato cycle trail - a windy and undulating cycle trail along the river. Stop at free campground - Dunham reserve.Leia mais

  • Whakarewarewa Maori village

    30 de dezembro de 2024, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Slept in after yesterday’s ride. Short ride to town to Whakarewarewa - a living
    Māori villlage and thermal
    Reserve. Get a guided tour and then explore steaming lakes, budding mud and steam vents on our own. Fascinating- they cook in the thermal pools! After head to town and Government gardens. Unexpected rain dampens us a bit. Pick up groceries and head backLeia mais

  • A long day to Rotorua

    29 de dezembro de 2024, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Did not manage to get an early start and a few stops before leaving town caused delays. Did travel on another nice cycleway out of town - though it did get detoured. After advice from an Italian cyclist, opt for quieter (longer) road to Rotorua. Good choice though very. Interesting landscape as we head up into the hills. Finally get to Okere falls. Doug has a flat. Push on alone to campground while he fixes it. Exhausted!Leia mais

  • Tauranga

    28 de dezembro de 2024, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Get an early start to try and get off busy 2 before too much traffic. Generally a solid plan. Turn off and hit cycle path through estuaries, kiwi and avo farms and quiet neighborhoods leading into Tauranga. Check in to campground early, do some bike cleaning (lots of tar and embedded rocks) and then take the bus to the city for pizza dinner.Leia mais

  • Bowentown Beach

    27 de dezembro de 2024, Nova Zelândia ⋅ 🌬 24 °C

    Soggy night but lovely morning. Head out of town on Hauraki cycle trail heading for the Karangahake Gorge. Very nice converted rail trail. Lots of people out and about. Very busy road down to Waihi Beach. Very crowded. As stopped by the side of the road, a bike shop guy helped us in finding us a place to stay. Very crowded but pleasant Bowertown beach campground. Welcome to Kiwi summer holidays.Leia mais

  • Into the Hauraki plains

    26 de dezembro de 2024, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    After a stormy night, the skies cleared and dried us out before departing. A few hills before cruising down to coastline. Lovely rising. Duck into a bird reserve just as clouds open up. Continue onward and turn inland. Lots of traffic - summer vacation had begun. A few more big bursts of rain before arriving in Paeora. Manage to stay dry amongst a lot of rain.Leia mais

  • A bus, a ferry and a wee bike ride

    23 de dezembro de 2024, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Make our departure from our WS stay, and head to catch our bus in Kerikeri. Stop first to see a few historic sites. After a little bit of a kerfuffle (likely my fault) load our bikes and gear on the bus and head to Auckland. Arrive a mere 5 hours later and hop on a ferry to Beachlands - making a hassle free escape from Auckland. Set up camp at Omana cliff top campground.Leia mais

  • Kerikeri

    22 de dezembro de 2024, Nova Zelândia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Beautiful morning light over much calmer bay. Relatively short day to get to Kerikeri and our warm showers stay. Nice flatish section before stopping for lunch before big hill. Pretty poor shoulder as we make our way up and cruise back down to the coast. Stop at Rainbow falls before heading to Bruce and Barb’s lovely home. Very nice evening.Leia mais

  • Hihi

    21 de dezembro de 2024, Nova Zelândia ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    Early morning rain showers delays our departure. But manage to dry out and head out into the sunshine. A lovely flatish section with a generally favorable wind keeps us moving right along. After chatting with a local, backtrack to visit a lovely Kauri gallery. Fuel up with pastries and continue along the northern coast. Windy lunch stop by the bay and make final push to Hihi beach. Lovely, isolated campground.Leia mais