Franz Josef to Lake Mahinapua
19.–21. Juni 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ 🌧 11 °C
19 June - Franz Josef. Heavy rain thundered on the roof all night and continued through the day: it can really rain here! Perfect day to visit an indoor attraction: the West Coast Wildlife Centre. Happily watched two Rowi kiwi snuffling about in the dim light of the nocturnal house. We were enchanted - the smallest kiwi is much larger than we were both expecting the birds to be, with an earthy mushroomy smell, and an eerie call that we realised we’d heard before whilst camping. They sound like the stabbing shower scene music in Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’. So glad we cleared that sound up!
20 June - Cycled to Hari Hari. Rain came down hard in the night - woke listening to it snug amongst the warm covers. There is nothing like feeling safe and warm in bed with the elements being elemental outside. As we cycled today, the rain came and went. As it eased off we climbed a brutal switchback hill before Hari Hari. Reaching Hari Hari we enjoyed the community mosaic art in the local park, and info boards on Guy Menzies, the Australian 21-year-old aviator who made the first solo flight across the Tasman Sea to NZ in 1931, crash landing in a swamp near Hari Hari.
We pulled into Hari Hari Hotel, a no-nonsense, no-frills place, with little welcome as the proprietor silently took us down back corridors of the run down hotel to show us the shower/toilet we could use (in an old disused room) and where we could camp (effectively the pub car park). Setting up camp on the sodden grass was very depressing - but the upside was hot food in the warm bar and an unusual ‘veggie burger’ experience (fried egg, tinned pineapple slice, pickled beetroot, lettuce). The place was packed with a hunting party and a handful of locals. The tent when we went to bed was dripping with moisture and starting to freeze.
21 June - Hari Hari to Lake Mahinapua. Was grim packing up as the tent and bikes were covered in a hard icy frost. We both wrestled with frozen fingers and being dispirited. Once on the bikes the mood lifted and greeted the warm sunshine, with a long panorama of mountains with their white peaks stretching out behind us. Cycling through tall thick bush was made magical with the sun piercing through the foliage. Had lunch on the beach. We enjoyed the quirky gold rush town of Ross when we reached it - a front garden full of teapots, a colourful historic pub, closed motorcycle museum, and closed gold mining visitor centre. Amazing to see old photos of Ross as it grew in the gold rush, with a peak of 3000 people in its heyday. Now a sleepy village of 300 people there are still some employed at the (much smaller) gold mine, with most people in farming and moss-picking (for Japanese orchid growers!).
10 more miles to the DoC campsite on the coast at Lake Mahinapua. We met Matt, who came over bearing cup-a-soup and told us of his 4-week holiday travelling with his family - wife and two girls - from most northerly to most southerly lighthouse. He’s not had an easy life, with experience of the army in Afghanistan, a death of a son, and discrimination for the colour of his skin. A very spiritual man he told Lilz he had good energy and gave him a stone. Beautiful encounters like this are very special.
Before bed we went down the to lakeshore and the water was so inky and still that the Milky Way was reflected in the water. I was looking down at the stars! Was totally bewitching and I was spellbound by the beauty of it. What a place.Weiterlesen
Hokitika - ‘The Cool Little Town’
22.–24. Juni 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
“There was only a narrow corridor of flat land between the coastline and the sudden alps, battered by the endless surf that turned to smoke on the sand..” – Eleanor Catton, The Luminaries.
Lying between the sea and mountains at the mouth of a river on a flat coastal plain is Hokitika, a town we had been looking forward to passing through.
The land where Hokitika lies was purchased by the Crown in 1860 from a Māori principal Tribe (iwi) by the signing of Arahura Deed. This was the sale of the whole of the West Coast region, apart from small areas reserved for Māori. Almost 7 million acres sold to the Crown for around 300 quid (1 old penny per 100 acre)
Later buyback of some land by the Māori from the Crown was at inflated value (12,000 times as expensive as the acres bought) and deemed by tribunal that the Crown failed to act with the degree of good faith required of one Treaty partner to the other. Same old story of exploitation and profiteering that seems to have been common the world over. On discovery of gold in the Taramakau valley in 1864, prospectors started arriving at the Hokitika River mouth. In 1865, a glut of gold prospectors and traders arrived, and the town was occupied and bouncing within a year. Many miners lived close to their diggings where they worked but Hokitika was the town they went to for supplies, recreation and to sell gold. For a short period, the town had a population of over 4,000 becoming one of NZ’s most populous centres. It’s about the same today. The river port at Hokitika was hazardous, and many ships were grounded or wrecked entering the river mouth to dock, due to the sandbar, tides and reduced depth, making it hard to navigate. Ships and boats at the wharf in some places appeared three and four deep. The port of ranked 1st in New Zealand circa 1870 in both the number of vessels entered inwards and in the total value of exports; mainly gold. Often, when a ship was due in or spotted, the word would go out and locals would gather at the spit, to place bets on whether a boat or ship would make it into the the river. Early sports betting with a touch of schadenfreude!
We discovered that Hokitika is the location of The Luminaries, a Booker Prize novel by Eleanor Catton - the story set in 1866, and follows Walter Moody, a prospector who travels to Hokitika to make his fortune on the goldfields. He stumbles into a tense meeting between twelve local men, and resulting involvement in a complex mystery involving a series of unsolved crimes. Sounds intriguing and has been added to our audio book library!
A hive of galleries encompassing wood, glass and greenstone (Pounamu) jewellery and sculptural art, many using traditional Māori motives and cultural influences. Pounamu is a term for several types of hard and durable stone (type of jade) found in the South Island, and highly valued here. Carvings made from pounamu play an important role in Māori culture.
We explored a bit by bike on arrival, heading out to Sunset Point and along the beach promenade and checked out the Heritage Trail and various historical buildings.
We browsed in some of the galleries that were open. The greenstone is truly beautiful and can vary in shade and appearance from dark green to a more milky green and can be solid or translucent.
We called in to Bonz ‘n’ Stonz so Lilz could book a slot to have a go at stone cutting and polishing for the following day, to work up a stone of Serpentine kindly gifted by Matt, who me met the evening before at the Lake.
A brief coffee stop at Cafe 39 and then we checked into our stay for the next two nights. The usual unpacking, washing and drying ensued, taking up the rest of day one, other than a visit to the Supermarket (New World) which seems to be our go to for provisions and was just over the road.
On Day 2 of Hokitika, and off to The Wild Outdoorsman (Lilz fave type of shop) to pick up our stove parts ordered a while back in Wānaka. The helpful guys in the shop let us check the parts were right and worked, which was nice.
Popped into Bonz ‘n’ Stonz - Lilz enjoyed his hour of zen like calm, working up a stone on the grinding wheels helped out by Steve and the friendly staff, whilst Amanda pottered around town.
After, we walked along the beach taking in the huge amount of gnarly driftwood, shaped by the sea and washed up. They have a Festival in January each year at Hokitika Beach, participants are invited to express themselves using beach-finds. Artists and public work side by side with professionals turning driftwood and other materials they find on the beach into sculptural pieces.
Some of these remained albeit in a dilapidated condition with some still recognisable and others returning to be a pile of sticks. We had a go and created a sort of dog.
Leaving Hokitika:
Up early, Amanda visited the Glow Worm Dell at dawn where she witnessed the undergrowth lit by these little luminous creatures. We packed, shopped, made a packed lunch with some hard-boiled eggs to take with us. The ride will be around 34 miles and we identified a spot in mind to wild camp for the evening, to split the ride and try to avoid the upcoming weather front due to arrive in the next couple of days.
A nice place, Hokitika.Weiterlesen
Hokitika to Pancake Rocks
24. Juni 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C
24 June - Sloggy day on the highway from Hokitika through Greymouth and on to Rapahoe, with more traffic than we’re used to, but sunny. Highlights: a Weka joining us for lunch, a wee sit on the pebbly seashore, and a great wild camp spot near Point Elizabeth overlooking the bay with the sun setting and the flax rustling in the breeze.
25 June - Weka poked its head under the porch tent flap to wish us good morning. The air was balmy and humid, different to the cold bite we’ve been used to, the foliage more tropical and lush. High limestone cliffs and karst sea stacks accompanied us all along the coastal road. Amanda was high all morning, loving having the sea immediately to our left, giving up new views as the road rose, or in reach of turquoise grey waves as it dropped low. Lilz was struggling more today, finding it difficult to find his rhythm and battered by the hills, squally rain and headwinds. A grumpy day for him! The conditions eventually ground Amanda down too and we were both very glad to reach Pancake Rocks.
The walk was spectacular, looking over the sculpted limestone rock stacks with vast coastal views. The pancake rocks are made up of thin seams of mudstone between harder limestone layers. The mudstone is more vulnerable to weathering and erosion, creating the banded appearance.
Stayed in a motel in Punakaiki village to shelter from the storm coming in: 46mph winds and heavy rain. Night was very wild: extremely glad to be indoors.
26 June - Went up to the seafront and was exhilarated by the energy of the stormy waves and crashing white surf. Rested up in our cabin as the rain came down, planning the route ahead for the next week. In the afternoon we went across the road to Punakaiki cavern. Following the wooden stairway up into the darkness we explored the 130m of passages and subtle stalactites. Turned off our head torches at points, surrounded by utter darkness. Back in our cabin we felt safe and homey as we curled up in bed to watch Dept Q on Netflix (it was comforting seeing Edinburgh on screen!)
27 June - Taking our friend’s recommendation (thanks again Angus!) to explore the Paparoa Track, we took our (unladen!) bikes to meander through nikau palms and tree ferns alongside the Pororari river up the limestone gorge. We very much enjoyed seeing the nikau, the only native palm tree in Aotearoa. They are slow growers, taking 40-50 years to form a trunk and 200 years to reach 10m tall. Looking at the map we thought we’d do the Punakaiki loop, starting with the Paparoa Track and then joining the Waikori Road to take us back to the main road further south. The track at first was ok but then became unsuitable for bikes, and we found ourselves doing quite a bit of hike-a-bike. The route also took us up and over a ridge, so not so much of a rest day! Wonderful however being amongst all the green undergrowth and under the forest canopy!Weiterlesen
Punakaiki to Murchison
28. Juni–1. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
Note:
Apologies for this lengthy War and Peace like missive! Much to remember and lack of time and mobile data for a while.
Sat 28 June…
Leaving Punakaiki we stopped at the Truman Track which took us along the path through a subtropical forest of podocarp trees, nīkau palms, and towering Northern Rata. (Rata are a cunning tree that starts life as an epiphyte on its host tree and sends down aerial roots which eventually entomb its host). The track opened out into a band of coastal flax, which initially concealed a surprise small cove, beach and waterfall. The beach was beautiful and very atmospheric, with waves crashing against rocks, and breaking at the top of the beach.
The coast road north hugged the sea providing great views: we tried not to get too distracted and plummet over the edge. The linger of clouds in the trees and sea spray added to the feeling of riding through the fictional Isla Nublar of Jurassic Park.
At Irimahuwhero Lookout we met a couple from Christchurch on a long weekend break. We really enjoy these friendly meetings, learning about local people, their thoughts and insight. They helpfully told us about the wet weather up north where we were heading. Rainfall of 150-200mm had caused rivers to burst and severe local flooding, causing several road closures due to land slips, collapsed roads, and damaged bridges. At the same lookout, we also met Ken, who was on a day-trip driving down the coast. An easy going and chatty gent, we riffed on biking, his love of tramping (hiking), and the outdoors.
Blue skies and sun accompanied us as we turned inland. Coming the other way was another fellow traveller! Skyler, a cycle tourer and Canadian teacher from Ontario (he lives 25 hours north of Toronto!). His 5-week tour on his summer break started in the North Isle and he was heading to Bluff on the far south coast. An experienced traveller, Skyler has visited 31 of 50 US states and cycled the length of Canada, west to east! He recently had a failed brake, a fall on his bike resulting in cuts and grazes to his arms, and needed a replacement wheel. He seemed so relaxed about this, in good spirits and not at all fazed. He also recommended his experience of ‘Warmshowers’ (a world community of resident cycle tourers who host other fellow cyclists) - something we’re looking to try.
Reaching the small hamlet of Charleston we grabbed a coffee and bumped into Ken again on his way home to Westport. He gave us some tips about back routes to Westport and asked us where we were staying. When we replied that our aim was to pitch at the campsite he kindly said we could stay with him and gave us his address! It was lovely to meet someone like Ken who was a like minded person with similar interests and who also enjoyed meeting new people.
We chose to take the longer off-road Kawatiri Coastal Trail from Charleston to Westport. This trail was initially interesting, and by a river, through woods - not too troubling. It then developed into a twisty track through dense bush for miles, ‘wiggly woo’, back and forth, switchback and bend, up and down: definitely not direct and a bit hard on our laden bikes. Progress was very slow and we joked we had been down sections of the path before and were going in circles as it all looked the same! Eventually the ‘Heart of Darkness’ section, as Amanda coined it, ended and we rode out into arable fields with cattle and down to the sea. All the while, the heavens greyed and weather turned wet from ‘mizzle’ to drizzle, then full blown hard rain. In darkness and with heads down we ploughed along a wet road for the last 10 miles into Westport - so delighted to have a welcoming dry house to head to and friendly welcome by Ken. Thanks to him, a luxurious night in his spare room.
Arriving at Ken’s we parked bikes in his garage and decanted wet waterproofs. Ken showed us around his lovely house (us leaving wet footprints) that he had refurbished himself.
Before settling we nipped out to a local pub for tea and had a good hearty meal and allowed ourselves a drink too.
Chatting to Ken that evening we learnt about his interesting life. First a bit of a bad boy in his youth (his words) he entered the military and became a tailor. Later he got into boat building, which led to upholstering boats as bespoke orders for clients with money to spend! He told us about his love of tramping and showed us photos of many of the NZ Great Walks. He also motorbikes and his latest project is a camper van build! A man of many talents and skills he really inspired us!
Sun 29 June…
After a great nights sleep, we bade Ken farewell. He said for us to get in touch when we reach Picton where he lives, which was lovely and we hope to meet him for a coffee.
The next section of our route followed the Buller gorge, aiming for Berlins campground. The river meandered through a wooded valley, narrowing at points as the river cut through the steep slopes. We passed the T-Rex tree (dinosaur, not Marc Bolan’s band) and outside the campground found a huge sculpture of a sandfly (NZ’s version of the Scottish midge).
We met Dean the owner who offered us a deal on a cabin, better than a tent pitch on a chilly damp evening. Chatting to Dean his face lit up as he recalled following his heart and being convinced to buy a push bike by a French lady and cycle from Croatia, via Montenegro, to Greece. After 11 years running the campsite he’d like to travel again, saying the business rates in NZ are getting too high, it was too hard to run a profit, and he wanted to sell the business. What next for Dean, who knows but we wished him well.
Mon 30 June…
Awake eat and with no tent to pack away, we breakfasted and hit the road. Today we followed the Buller River for the majority of the day winding through tree covered hillsides. It was a day of many hills (14 climbs) and Amanda’s knee suffered, nagging her most of the day. We clocked 42 miles as we pulled into Murchiston mid-afternoon.
Before cycling a mile or so out of town to the campsite, we visited the Post Office where Robin the helpful and friendly ex-pat postmaster helped us navigate the process of international post. After popping to the supermarket for our evening dinner, we cycled to the Riverside Camp where the lovely lady said we could camp under the outside sheltered seating area, right by the shared kitchen and toilet. Little luxuries! In our sleeping bags we could hear the sound of the river running by and had a very peaceful sleep!Weiterlesen
ReisenderWhat a fantastic part of NZ - and also fantastic people which helps! Glad you have posted was a little worried I must admit🤭xx
Murchison to North coast
1.–5. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
1 July - Murchison to Kawatiri…
We spent a sunny ☀️ happy morning in Murchison. A rural service town for the surrounding farming district it is halfway on our route between west and north coasts. With a big population of 650 it felt hip and happening.
Everyone we met was extremely friendly, and unbidden offered help and useful information. As we were standing by our bikes a man came over to say we could stay at his tonight if needed (!), the local shop staff volunteered news the Braeburn Track we intended to take up to Kawatiri had been swept away by the floods, and ladies in the museum phoned a helpline on our behalf to find out about road closures.
In the Rivers Cafe we made new plans to negotiate flooding/road detours over excellent coffee - Amanda having hers ‘tulip size’ (small medium cup) - and with the best biscuits we’ve ever tasted: almond and orange chewy mouth-watering brilliance.
Plans made, we wandered across the road to the village museum which was a total treat, a treasure trove of interesting artifacts, suspect taxidermy, and information.
Some museum snippets:
• The manual Telephone Exchange only closed in Dec 1987 when the people in Murchison said goodbye to the sociable party line, for automatic individual lines. When it closed, nine staff were made unemployed with little prospects. “I might get my old gold pan out and try my luck down the river," one ex-operator said.
• Murchison experienced a major earthquake in 1929 measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. Seventeen people lost their lives: 3rd deadliest earthquake in NZ’s history.
• The world's earliest suicide bomber is believed to have occurred in Murchison in 1905. A long-standing dispute between two farmers over cattle stealing resulted in a court case. The accused became so angry at the whole proceedings, he tied explosives to himself and threatened to blow up the judge: “I'll blow the devil to hell, and I have enough dynamite to do just that". Luckily, he was persuaded outside before he could detonate the charge. “The farmer appearing to be here one moment and completely disappearing the next.”
It was a joy to cycle in the sun when we finally took leave of lovely Murchison. The road itself though was not fun, being narrow with cars that gave little quarter, a sore knee, and a constant ascent. Still, not too far, only 22 miles today. Unfortunately Kawatiri was not a great DoC campsite, being next to the busy highway. So we hid behind the only tree-cover and made do, feeling like the thundering trucks going past were coming right through the tent. Cold bright frosty starry night: Milky Way arcing above.
2 July - Weds. Kawatiri to Tapawera…
Cold start - 1 degree - but once on the road the sun came out and burnt off the damp low cloud making the mist swirl amongst the trees. We were both glad to get off highway 6 onto the ‘Dry Weather Track’ a long downhill all the way into Tapawera. Tapawera is becoming known as the ‘Hops Capital of NZ,’ with a significant hop growing industry evident in all the large fields roundabouts.
Forecasts of heavy rain falling on already saturated ground spurred anxiety about more flooding/road closures, so we’d booked an Airbnb for two nights giving us a welcome ‘day off’ after 6 days of cycling. Met Rachel (from Shropshire) at the Airbnb which had been built by her husband David’s parents. David is a sculptor and Amanda went to look around their Hidden Sculpture Garden. Sadly the flood had put the garden completely underwater, with many of the sculptures - David’s and other NZ artists - washed away. Luckily one piece worth $8000 they’d managed to salvage!
3 July - Thurs. Tapawera Airbnb...
So nice to wake to hear the rain - outside! - and have coffee in bed. Little luxuries. Planning day and drying clothes, tent, etc.
4 July - Fri. Tapawera to Mārahau…
A day cycling in the rain beside the still raging Motueka River we witnessed significant flood damage. Sobering to see the aftermath of the brute force of nature’s strength. At Tapawera bridge huge uprooted tree debris had been dropped by the receding waters on the exposed riverbed. Trees snapped along the riverbanks like matchsticks, one house’s entire drowned possessions piled in a ruined heap outside their home, a large shed having been swept along by the power of the water now left incongruously in an open field. With all the devastation we were impressed how quickly the road had been reopened: in a matter of days the road had been cleared of landslides, fallen trees, and silt where it had been flooded.
After cycling through a lot of commercial orchards, reaching the north coast felt like a real milestone! Even when we couldn’t really see the sea through the rainy murk 😆. Arriving at dusk in Mārahau, soaked through, we were delighted to check into our accommodation and peel off wet clothes into warm dry ones. We were looking forward to our walks in Abel Tasman National Park in the next couple of days!Weiterlesen
Nz pies are the best - mince and cheese all the way! Washed down with a milkshake in a giraffe cup [Jen]
Mārahau
4.–8. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ 🌧 13 °C
We loved Mārahau. We lucked out with our booking: a cabin up on the hillside with wonderful views and lovely owners, and the place was so peaceful. We stayed 3 days we liked it so much.
Mārahau translates to the windy garden: Māra - garden and hau - wind, and is pronounced: Maaaa-ra-ho. (We learnt that without the macron the meaning/pronunciation changes: Marahau - scrap wind). Easy to see how the name came about with the large sand flats providing a bountiful source of shellfish, and with the daily sea breezes.
We’d come to walk some of the ‘Coast Track’ in Abel Tasman National Park. To walk the entire track (37miles/60 kms) takes 3-5 days from Mārahau in the south to Wainui in the north. It is the most popular of NZ DoC’s Great Walks, with most of the NP’s 200,000 visitors walking at least part of the track. Like us, many do a single-day walk, as many points are accessible by boat from beaches along the track.
We opted to get a water taxi up to Torrent Bay and to walk the 10 miles/16kms back to Mārahau. The water taxi was fun - you get on the boat on land and a tractor rolls the boat out to sea until it can float and then we were off at speed! First detouring south to see Split Apple Rock, across to Adele Island (a pest-free bird sanctuary) to see the fur seal pups and then north for half hour to Torrent Bay.
We arrived at low tide so got to walk across the tidal flats watching the tiny tiny crabs scoot into their burrows in the sand and the thousands of shells that littered the floor.
The track took us over to Anchorage Bay - a beautiful sweep of golden beach - before turning inland. Along the way the track offered views out to Fisherman Island and there were bays you could dip down to from the bush track - Watering Cove, Akersten Bay, Observation Beach (climbing down we were accompanied by birds loudly singing), Apple Tree Bay (we dipped down to), Coquille Bay, and lastly Tinline Bay before crossing the estuary of the Mārahau River.
Durmont d’Urville, the French explorer, named a lot of the coves in the 1870s. He named Observation Beach as this was where an observatory was set up to view the transit of Venus across the sky. Tinline was named after John Tinline, who acquired a block of land from Marahau to the stream in 1857 and was a much respected local figure who devoted his life to government service, farming and philanthropy. Best of all, Tinlin was commonly known as 'Old Fizzlebilly' because of his long flowing beard.
At the end of the track we saw an amazing cage-like structure - which we later found out is the basket fungus native to New Zealand, Australia, and Chile. In New Zealand, this fungus holds cultural significance for Māori, who have numerous names for it, such as tūtae kēhua (ghost droppings). Some names, like tūtaewhatitiri, relate to its appearance after thunderstorms, linking it to Whatitiri, the god of thunder.
We were also impressed to learn of Mārahau’s zero-carbon pledge that all businesses operating in the area have signed up to. A portion of every paid experience ticket (water taxi, kayaking, guides, camping, etc) goes directly into local projects. Last season, the Pledge raised around $790,000 to invest locally: that’s not pocket change for a small village. Investments have included trapping and pest eradication, track enhancement and signage, wetlands restoration and native plantings establishing kai gardens and a native nursery, funding practical local improvements, and backing a local sculptural project.Weiterlesen
Mārahau to Nelson - Great Taste Trail
8. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C
We left Mārahau and followed the coast south. First following the coastal windy road to Kaiteriteri and then picking up the Great Taste Trail cycle route - a mix of dedicated cycle trail, back roads and paths to Motueka. Today we had clear skies and sun accompanying our ride. Joyous!!
A quick stop in Motueka for some bread rolls and off again through a wetland reserve and lagoon before we were back on the highway for a while. Down a back road through the small hamlet of Tasman we stopped at the general store, where we enjoyed the warmth of the sun, sitting outside. Sharing a coffee, we had a lovey chat with two older gentleman, out for a recreational day ride and lycra’d up. They kindly let us know that part of our road route ahead was closed due to the recent heavy rain and told us where to detour - much appreciated. A short climb provided expansive views to Nelson in the far distance, where we were heading.
A lovely descent into Māpua where we planned to catch the short ferry hop to Rabbit Island. The lady who ran the ferry told us that the trail route ahead had flooded and that we would need to divert onto the highway once we left the island. We paid our fare and rolled the bikes on accompanied by two families out for a day ride.
Reaching Rabbit Island - we saw no rabbits - and after a slog up the soft sand, bikes ploughing deep furrows (hardest bit of the day so far), we rode through the forest trails of what looked like an artificially planted forest of evergreen pine or spruce trees, dotted with picnic sites.
Across the causeway to the mainland we navigated around bits closed off due to standing water (post flooding) and cycled on the highway to Richmond. Now late afternoon, traffic was picking up and we clung to the narrow shoulder as the cars sped past. Constant traffic at ‘going home’ time, we both hurried to get to the off-road trail to Nelson.
That was until Lilz experienced a large popping noise on the highway which turned out to be a puncture! First of the trip! It turned out to be a 2 inch nail, most of which was inside the tyre. Fortunately, this happens just as we passed a side road and meant we didn’t have to repair it on the side of the busy highway. After 15-20 mins and some swearing, inner tube inserted, we were off and after a short while were back onto the Taste Trail which snaked around the bay on the outskirts of Nelson.
Now dark, we followed cycle paths into the city, being overtaken by commuter cyclists. It was quite nice to be amongst other bikes, having not seen many on our travels so far.
One last hill and a nice old railway path down into Nelson, we made our way to our first Warmshowers host, who we had contacted and who kindly let us use her house for two nights, even though she was away in Sardinia! Such trust and kindness is wonderful! Her son was visiting NZ with his girlfriend but was away on a camping trip and so we found Melanie’s house and instructions to let ourselves in and looked forward to no tent, having a dry refuge and a hot shower. However, Melanie’s son returned unexpectedly late in the evening when we were tucked up - we thought someone was breaking in at first! A bit awkward, for all concerned, so we planned to stay one Warmshowers night only.Weiterlesen
Nelson
8.–10. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C
Leaving our Warmshower host’s house we decamped to a Backpacker’s before heading out for our Nelson day!
A perfect cold grey day to enjoy The Suter Art Gallery - it was first on our list. On route we popped into a bike shop to get some tyre sealant. Talking to the bike mechanic we learned he had heard of Richard and Shona - the couple who own ‘Keep Pedalling’ in Manchester where we bought our bikes. They regularly race together in out-of-the-way-places on their tandem and he had listened to their blog about The Silk Road Mountain Race, which he is racing this August. It’s a toughie and we wished him well!
When reaching the Art Gallery we made friends with the resident gnome, and then really enjoyed the Suter’s three brilliant exhibitions (so much so we’ve given it a separate Footprint).
Inspired by the art we thought we’d explore Nelson’s Art Trail. Following a trail map gave us direction and orientated us in the city, looking at outdoor art as we went. Nelson has lots of wee galleries and we popped into a few - especially Craig Potton’s, a renowned landscape photographer from Nelson whose work we both like.
We also visited the Nelson Provincial Museum which was full of random local histories and artifacts. Of note… “Wanted: One Dead Canary!” In 1973 the museum director at the time crowd-sourced a replacement canary to be displayed in a cage showcased at the opening of the 'new' museum. The advert at the time read: “A dead canary is wanted by the Nelson Provincial Museum, but the director does not want you to ‘put down’ yours. A stuffed canary in mechanical music box at the museum stands forlorn and denuded. The passage of years has taken its toll and the feathers have dropped off one by one. But with some judicious borrowing, the canary will be ready to burst into song again.” Sadly the canary didn’t sing for us. I also realised afterwards that the poor bird’s head is cut off in the photo.
We walked up the steps to the Anglican Church that towers above Nelson on a wee hill and loved the small cacti garden in the grounds. Heading back down off the hill we also liked the restored historic settlers homes in Nelson’s oldest street.
In the evening we went out to The Free House bar, recommended to us by the lady we chatted to in Craig Potton’s gallery. Tucked away in a converted church it had the same cosy warm feel as The Cloisters back home. Entering we were immediately greeted by the music from a group of musicians, all sat round a table. The folk music they played reminded us of home and what could pass for a similar impromptu jam in an Edinburgh pub. Had a warm fuzzy feeling end to a good day.Weiterlesen
Suter Art Gallery, Nelson
9. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ 🌧 11 °C
One of the first things we wanted to do whilst in Nelson was visit The Suter Art Gallery, the public contemporary art gallery for the Nelson Tasman region. We were so impressed it gets a ‘footprint’ of its own.
Located beside the Queens Gardens on the edge of downtown Nelson, The Suter Art Gallery is one of the oldest galleries in New Zealand. Whilst we were there, there were three exhibitions - all free - Wayne Youle, Michael Dell, and Diane Prince, excerpts of which we’ve shared below to give insight into the photos.
WAYNE YOULE - ‘BACK IN FIVE’
We both found this local artist very thought provoking and the exhibition really well curated with great explanations.
Growing up in the 1970s and 80s, Wayne Youle saw a kindred spirit in The Karate Kid - the scrappy outsider who, under the calm guidance of Mr Miyagi, learns to channel cheek into discipline, and raw energy into mastery.
His ‘Back in Five’ exhibition surveys twenty years of Youle's sculptural practice. With playfulness and wit, Youle tackles big ideas - masculinity, fatherhood, colonial legacy and bicultural identity - while drawing on the humour and irreverence of his younger self. What looks like a joke at first glance often contains a sting - a challenge to the tidy black-and-white narratives of history and identity. In his work, Youle is both Karate Kid and Mr Miyagi - still throwing punches, but now from both corners of the ring.
Of Similar Or Equal Weight, 2017
(Punch bag)
At first glance, it's a punching bag painted with a face that echoes a racist golliwog caricature. Suspended beside it is a smiling counterweight, painted in a pale tone that subtly references whiteness. Together, they form a tense visual duet, heavy with commentary on race, power and cultural pressure. The punching bag isn't just gym equipment - it's a symbol of resilience and repeated impact, suggesting the toll of being seen, stereotyped and scrutinised. Is it a metaphor for navigating the art world? A reflection on bicultural identity in a settler-colonial context? Maybe. But it also asks sharper questions: Who carries the weight?
Who lands the blows? And who, in the end, gets to keep smiling?
Genius, 2012
(Walking sticks)
This chain of interlocking walking sticks, was inspired by Wayne Youle's eldest son, Kupa, who was diagnosed on the autism spectrum at a young age. The piece is a meditation on how society defines ability and worth. Who gets labelled a genius? Who gets dismissed?
The continuous chain also acts as a sculptural lineage of care, connection and inherited strength. It is a touching reminder of witnessing someone learning to walk and taking their final steps. It's a father's reflection on the values we pass down, the labels we push back on, and the complex beauty of minds that don't follow the expected patterns.
Piece of String, 2006
(Long orange knit)
For this work, Wayne Youle asked his mother Jacqui to knit for him for a whole year. She began on his great-grandmother's birthday, weaving a literal and symbolic thread through their shared maternal hakapapa. There were no instructions, no end goal - just an open invitation and a steady supply of bright orange yarn. The result - 28 metres of knitted time - is less about the object than the relationship it maps. Regular phone calls became part of the process, with his mum offering updates and small apologies. A mother doing her best; a son gently reassuring her that she was already enough. What emerges is a soft archive of time and love, measured in stitches, persistence and quiet devotion.
Speaks Softly, 2012
(Suspended cannonball)
This work speaks to the quiet strength of those asked to carry more than their share - especially women. Here, a cannonball from the Taranaki land wars sits uneasily within the delicate curves of fishnet stockings, creating a charged tension between violence and allure. The “sexy” silhouette becomes a sharp commentary on the weight women are asked to bear - not just historically and physically, but emotionally and aesthetically. Carry the load, but make it look effortless. For Mãori wahine, that burden is even heavier, shaped by generations of cultural, political and personal expectation. The work distils these contradictions into a potent symbol - a fierce and graceful embodiment of the old saying "Speak softly and carry a big stick."
Taniwha DNA, 2024-2025
(Snooker balls)
This trio of DNA helixes were made in tribute to Wayne Youle's three sons. Perched on a mirrored plinth that reflects them like water, the structures echo the glinting scales of taniwha - mythological Mãori water creatures known for being both fierce and deeply protective. There's playfulness in the materials, but beneath the surface, the work dives deeper. Snooker, a game with colonial roots and links to British imperial history, becomes a subtle metaphor for inherited legacy. The DNA strands wind together like whakapapa itself: Mãori and Pakehã bloodlines interlaced, complicated, inseparable.
Easy/Peasy, 2017
(Stone and happy faces)
Ballast stones, originally used to steady European ships on their long voyages, were later dumped and repurposed by settlers to shore up the foundations of colonial buildings in NZ. In Wayne Youle's reimagining, the same stones are inscribed with the phrase EASY PEASY as they press down on a grinning yellow stress ball. The result is a darkly funny meditation on the weight of empire: colonial burden rendered literal, with manic optimism squashed beneath it. The work plays with the absurdity of resilience, of smiling through inherited trauma, and the strain of keeping things intact when the foundations themselves are loaded.
MICHAEL DELL - ‘ABOVE BELOW / TEMPELHOFER FELD’
Michael Dell’s work was in stark contrast. A local Nelson artist Dell's artworks are more like memories than traditional landscapes. This exhibition has its genesis in conversations Dell has with his daughter April, who lives near Tempelhofer Feld in Berlin and maintains a garden plot at the park's community gardens. On Dell’s visits to Europe in 2023 and 2024, he photographed these gardens and the grounds at Tempelhofer Feld and the resulting artwork led to this exhibition.
Michael Dell’s was inspired by Tempelhofer’s transformation from airfield to public park; a single site that embodies an ever-changing and complex city. It's a public space where the force of nature is slowly engulfing the sprawling empty landscape and all its histories. Grasses grow in the cracks of the tarmac and concrete runways, roads are dead ended by overgrowth, sections of the fields have been roped off for bird and insect life, as the seasonal cycles of the community gardens continue to turn. The paintings reference this nature and the vast number of garden beds, plants, and secluded areas that the artist witnessed.
DIANE PRINCE - ‘ACTIVIST ARTIST’
Diane Prince’s exhibition was very powerful, emphasizing her work over the decades highlighting Māori rights and women's activism. Diane Prince has experienced many years of protesting for Māori land rights during the 1970s and 1980s, and over four decades Prince’s art has portrayed the impacts of colonisation and is an inroad to discussing complex and uncomfortable histories. This exhibition underlines Prince's assertion that "art is a reflection of life and political beliefs, a vehicle for politics: politics always comes first."Weiterlesen
ReisenderWow, no way! Wish we’d known. It was one of our total highlights. Such a great gallery. Really thought provoking.
Nelson to Picton
10.–11. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ 🌧 13 °C
An early start required, we rustled up some eggs in the Hostel’s kitchen. Checking the weather forecast, we discovered the day was going to be a rainy one and still very wet from overnight rain and due to continue all day. Setting off clad in full waterproofs, we cycled along the commuter path out of Nelson up to Atawhai, where we joined Highway 6 (which we would follow for the next 35 miles to Pelorus Bridge). To say we had some trepidation for the days ride would be true, from our experience of highways and this was a main trunk road to the ferry to Wellington on North Island via Picton and also south to Blenheim.
Lack of engaging photographs for this leg are the result of crappy weather and a reluctance to stop as we cycled single file, pulling into the road side where we could to allow the big trucks to pass. Some vehicle drivers seemed not to take account of the conditions, or adjust their speed and driving style accordingly, and there were some scary moments where there was just a handspans distance between us and zooming metal.
The day’s two big climbs were hard. The first consisted of 6 miles of very windy wiggly road with tight bends and blind corners. Rain persisted, the road gutters became streams and the lying water made progress seem slow, wheels flinging up water droplets. The descent coincided with a heavier shower and the rain drops pummelled hard and stingy on our faces as we sped downhill.
We stopped to have a damp sandwich in the first and only covered place we spotted for miles. This was a small wooden shack offering bagged lemons for five dollars (via the honesty box). The ‘lemon shack’ just about big enough to provide us a refuge. “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” goes the saying. We skulked beneath the tin roof listening to the raindrops drum away, feeling ever so damp and procrastinating for as long as possible. Not really in the mould of the above proverb!
Post nosebag and back on the bikes, we headed into climb number two, pedalling slowly up and over Rai Saddle with a bit of extra gusto from the egg mayonnaise.
Approaching the small hamlet of Rai Valley, signs for a cafe boosted our mood. At The Brick Oven Cafe, we leant our bikes under the awning, peeled off wet waterproofs and went inside to dry off. A hot pie, some chips and a couple of coffees served by the friendly lasses were most welcome and after filling our boots, we felt a bit cheerier.
The last few miles riding alongside the densely forested Tin Line Reserve, the afternoon now getting greyer with dimming light, we passed the sign for Pelorus Bridge where we were due to camp. Riding across the bridge spanning the gushing blue water of the Te Hoiere river, the entrance to the DoC Campsite was very welcome.
We went to the office to register and rang the bell to speak to the ranger to check if we could take a pitch that was dry or camp undercover somewhere, and if the wet weather had caused any issues. A man appeared (who seemed not to be expecting campers and garbled some info to us - kitchen block open 👍, showers working 👍 - and acknowledged that we could camp on the decking next to the kitchen.
Cycling down the gravel road, towards the river, and with the knowledge that the site had been flooded the week before, we were glad we could camp up on the kitchen decking. We hoped with all the rain that the river below wouldn’t flood again while we were there.
As it was quiet, we both agreed to camp inside the kitchen (instead of outside on the decking) and set up our tent between two benches, happy in knowing our tent would be dry at least. Checking out the ablutions, we found the showers were a no go, as they were being refurbished after the floods and had a strong unpleasant smell of adhesive. Dust covered everything. As darkness fell outside, we prepared our tea and then some folks appeared at the door - a young French couple had arrived in a camper van. They came in to make a meal and we exchanged a few words whilst eating and it was very pleasant to chat. They retired to their van and we wished each other well and to take care in the horrible weather. Settling down in our sleeping bags, the rain still falling, Amanda made a call to set our alarm for 1am and 3am to get up and go and check the river level with a head torch (just to be safe).
After a broken nights sleep and relieved to see the river was still where it should be (higher and muddier than yesterday) we breakfasted and were on the road by 8am keen to complete the next bit of highway before the heavier rain forecast later in the day.
Cycling along the highway, the river valley opened up as the river flowed into an open plain and finally into Pelorus Sound. We reached the town of Havelock. where we would get off the highway and follow a quieter scenic road around the coast all the way to Picton.
Havelock is the home of the green mussel and little sculptures and pictures of them are everywhere - on signs, on buildings and even on the police station. There is an annual mussel festival and the green shelled mussel is unique to New Zealand. The only muscles for us were leg muscles! Stopping at the Sneaky Beach Cafe, Amanda read in a paper of further devastation from extreme weather in the Tasman region, where we had cycled only a few days ago. With many roads including the main highway flooded and impassable, and villages cut-off, we thought about the people in the places we visited and also that we had been lucky to travel when we did.
We turned onto the scenic Queen Charlotte Drive and climbed to get great views as the road rose high above Pelorus Sound on our left. Twisting and turning for the next 20 miles or so, we enjoyed this section enormously - the rain had subsided a wee bit and the steep sided hills covered with trees and foliage dropped into the sound. The road wound its way around the coast, and we cycled above sandy bays - Okiwa Bay, Momorangi Bay, Ngaguta Bay and Whenuanui Bay, some with houses peppering the hill side, some clinging to the steep slopes and others nestled in the small coves. Looking exclusive and pricy, some had boats moored offshore and a few of them had smoke rising from their chimneys - what a beautiful place to live.
We cycled through several stop and go road repair sections where the road had slipped and fallen away or the bank had collapsed and was under repair. The maintenance of this road is some doing and must take a lot of work.
Reaching Shakespeare Bay, we had one last major hill and we could now see a view of Picton harbour in the distance. 6 miles to go and a short rise over the final crest we stopped at the scenic overlook to Picton, the large logging yard with piles and piles of stacked tree trunks ready for transport, the Cook Strait Ferries in their docks (we would be catching the Bluebridge Ferry in couple of days) and the town beyond. We paused only briefly, as the rain was now bouncing down and getting harder. Keen to get to our accommodation for the night, we headed into town with the strange sensation of this being our last port of call on South Island.Weiterlesen
Picton
11.–13. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ 🌧 12 °C
Woke to a sunny clean morning, soft warm light bathing the harbour and surrounding green hills. Totally different to the day before, and nice being our last full day on the South Island before we catch the ferry to Wellington tomorrow.
We wandered into town and along the waterfront in the sun, enjoying the palm trees big and bold against the blue sky, and the accompanying excellent tunes blaring across the harbour from someone’s sound system.
In Le Cafe we enjoyed a coffee with Ken (who we’d met on the west coast and stayed with in Westport). It was lovely to see him again! After coffee, Ken took us back to his car to kindly show us around his 'hood.
Ken took us up steep Victoria Domain Road that climbed up onto the top of a promontory called the Snout providing an eyeful of views down the Sound. It was beautiful. And a view we never would have seen had it not been for Ken.
Onwards to Waikawa Marina where Ken works (making bespoke boat upholstery for those with vessels moored there) - the third-largest floating marina in New Zealand. Lots of large shiny white boats! And also fur seals! Lolling about on the jetties and relaxing and playing in the water. As a contractor Ken has access to the locked jetties and took us down so we could get a closer look. And they weren’t shy: made our day seeing them so up close. Boat owners don’t like them too much however as sometimes they climb onto boats and use the awnings as hammocks and their poo makes a mess of things.
Ken lives very near the marina and he took us back to his place and showed us around. We were astounded by how much he’d achieved renovating the house: he’s a very skilled can-do man! He also showed us his workshop where he works, stuffed full of industrial sewing machines set into huge large platforms to manage the large material he and his co-worker use to do the upholstery and sail making.
Back in Picton we went to the Oxley Hotel’s Bar to watch the rugby, All Blacks and France test series playing in the Sky Stadium just over the water in Wellington.
Next morning we checked out of our motel and went to Seabreeze cafe and sat outside - in the sun! And to celebrate our last day in the South Island we ate a huge carrot cake slice that was as big as Amanda’s head. Was beautifully relaxing sitting there catching up with FindPenguins and watching the world go by.
It was soon time to catch the ferry and we cycled down to the terminal, checked in, and loaded our bikes onto the van that takes them down to be loaded onto the ferry whilst we go on as foot passengers. One last South Island downpour to wave us off and we were at sea!
Was very atmospheric gliding through the Sound and islands on our way to Wellington and for most of the four hour journey we were ‘top-side’ watching the world go by and waiting for a leaping whale. No leaping whale.
Was dusk as we approached the North Island and another downpour on our arrival mirrored that of our departure. Wonderfully, we didn’t have to cycle in the dark and rain as Steph and Don were there to meet us off the ferry and take us in their car back to their home!! We’d met Steph and Don at the start of our trip about two months ago, when we were cycling between Queenstown and Dunedin. They had very kindly said to look them up when we reached Welly: and here we were! It was great to see them both again. Their house in Island Bay is a beautiful home and we were overwhelmed by their generous hospitality. Over a tasty dinner (thanks Steph for the recipe!) we chatted and caught up and had a lovely time. That night we had the sleep of the dead, safe and warm under a friendly roof.Weiterlesen
ReisenderAfter the dreadful weather conditions for cycling 🚴 I’m sure the sight of your hosts welcoming you for a warm dry stay (with catering!)was a huge relief. How lovely of them. Also local knowledge for your stay in Wellington will help hugely! We are in awe of your stamina and perseverance amongst the challenging conditions. Take care of each other - sending love ❤️ Xx
ReisenderHi Julie. Yes, we were very appreciative of their hospitality. Steph and Don were extremely kind and thoughtful and we enjoyed getting to know them. We arrived in Wellington to a downpour and as it went dark. Being picked up and driven to their home was most welcome.
Wellington
13.–16. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ 🌧 13 °C
14 July
With our North Island plans a bit undecided Steph arranged for us to meet their cycling friends Helen and Mandy who could advise on routes north. Over coffee and cheese scones in the cafe of the local art house cinema, The Empire, lovely Helen and Mandy told us about their recent trip cycling in Slovenia and Croatia, including bears, heat stroke, rolling hills, and picturesque towns, that kept them grinning. It was really great talking to fellow cyclists and their tips about onward trails gave us food for thought.
Don took us up narrow twisty-turny roads up Mount Victoria to show us the spectacular 360 views of Wellington. What a fantastic city location! The centre is on the waterfront, with suburbs nestled in the hills and valleys around the large circular bay, with large corridors of protected green belt trees and the sea beyond. It was great to see this expansive perspective of Welly, a view we’d never have seen had Don not shared it with us.
Don dropped us at Te Papa, NZ’s national museum, which houses Māori and Pacific cultural treasures, interactive natural history, the powerful ‘Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War’ exhibition, and art galleries.
The Gallipoli exhibition we found to be a profoundly moving experience. Both of us were moved to tears. Designed by the Wētā Workshop - known for their work on Lord of the Rings and Avatar - the exhibition was the best we’ve ever seen. Walking through, you encounter the sights, sensations and sounds (a haunting score punctuated by gunfire and shouts of soldiers) which summons the horror of the war. Its real emotional power however comes from telling the story of the WWI campaign through the eyes and words of eight New Zealanders on the front line. Each individual is introduced as a hyper-realistic figure captured frozen in a moment of time, on a monumental scale: 2.4 times human size. The detail is remarkable - every pore visible, thousands of human hairs inserted by hand, each stitch exactingly to scale. These larger-than-life figures provide a strangely super-charged experience, so life-like we could almost imagine them breathing. The tactile 3D aspect runs throughout the exhibition, with digital maps, scale models, videos, hearing soldier’s letters, and seeing the photos they took, all bringing history to life.
In the evening we joined Steph and Don and their neighbours Polly and Pete for sausages - a wonderful decades old tradition they share, both taking it in turns to host each other every Monday. We felt warmly welcomed into this tradition and had a very enjoyable evening chatting round the table.
15 July
Getting the bus into the city centre we rummaged in a second hand bookshop, returned to Te Papa, before exploring town - walking up quirky Cuba Street and getting a cheese toastie in West Two Espresso cafe. Pottered about getting closing-time pastries (half price!) from Aurora Argentinian bakery and topped up our refills at Commonsense. Back in Island Bay we had a very tasty dinner in ‘Parla’ - a new Mediterranean restaurant that has just opened - spending a lovely last evening with Steph and Don.
16 July
Our generous new friends not only welcomed us into their home, introduced us to their friends, but also offered to give us a lift out of Wellington and up to Whanganui! A journey that would take us three days to cycle. Accepting their kind offer helped us enormously by avoiding busy highways along this stretch and gained us valuable time we plan to use to explore the beautiful Northlands, where Don is from, before our flight to Australia on 14 August. Don drove us up on a sunny morning arriving into Whanganui early afternoon. It felt strange waving Don goodbye: I wonder if our paths will cross again?Weiterlesen
Whanganui
16.–19. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ 🌬 13 °C
Suddenly finding ourselves miraculously in Whanganui we immediately took to the place. We poked our noses into an old wooden tram shed to find lovingly restored trams, over on the river we found Whanganui’s paddle steamer ‘Waimarie’, we drifted into the ‘Boring Gallery’, and skipped excitedly into ‘New Zealand Glassworks’ which showcases the work of top glass artists. One, Mike Crawford - who specialises in cast glass sculptural birds - we had come to recognise from speaking to a collector we randomly met in Wanaka when we were in the South Island. This collector had showed us photos of many of Mike’s pieces in his collection so it was interesting to see a beautiful solitary piece in the glassworks here, priced at $15,000 (£7,500).
To get to our Airbnb that night involved a very fun thing: taking the Durie Hill Elevator! Serving Whanganui since 1919 the 66m elevator is set into the hill with a 213m tunnel to reach it, and enables residents (and excitable visiting cyclists) to easily access the suburb of Durie Hill that sits up on the cliff overlooking Whanganui. Staffed by an operator, the service is on demand - you ring the bell and the very friendly operator is right with you - and the trip is $2 a ticket, affordable as a bus ride. LOVED IT.
From wandering around this afternoon we had liked Whanganui so much - probably one of our favourite cities in NZ so far - that we decided to stay an extra day.
We liked Whanganui’s eclectic mix of heritage architecture - 1920/30s Art Deco and later 1980s brutalist buildings.
There is also a lively arts scene - for a small riverside city, Whanganui has a disproportionate number of creative residents, crafting in studios and galleries dotted throughout its streets. The city was named as NZ’s only UNESCO City of Design. The rest of our time in Whanganui was spent dipping into the many galleries and museums in town, notably…
• Quartz Museum of Ceramics - Rick Rudd’s personal collection of pottery and ceramics. Talking to Rick we were amazed to learn he was in his mid-70s and wanting to retire but could get no funding to continue running the collection which he said was nationally significant.
• ‘Art by the River’ - lovely gallery showcasing local artists and international names (such as Picasso, Hirst, Warhol, Dali, Banksy…) next to each other
• Whanganui Regional Museum - particularly liked the moas, butterfly collection and Māori instruments
• Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery - bit meh. Cake very expensive.
• Katie Brown’s gallery - glass artist specialising in blown lamp shades that are stunning.
In the evening we followed the Durie Hill Elevator operator’s recommendation and had a drink in the tiny ‘Teal Lounge’, closely adhering to his directions to search for the door that would take us through a closed bakery and up the back stairs! The locals took us under their wing and told us many a story.
Leaving Whanganui to follow the river north we had the Saturday riverside market as a final farewell treat.Weiterlesen
Whanganui River Road
19.–20. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C
“E rere kau mai te Awa nui, mai i te Kahui
Maunga ki Tangaroa. Ko au te Awa, ko te Awa ko au.”
"The river flows from the mountains to the sea. I am the river and the river is me."
The Whanganui River holds deep significance to the Māori who for more than 800 years have built marae (meeting grounds) and käinga (villages) alongside it, relied on it for food, and hold a deep spiritual connection with it. The river is seen as a living being from mountains to sea and - I love this - in 2017 the passing of the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act accorded the river the same rights and protections as a living person.
Our experience of the river included a 75 mile journey of two halves, with a surprise stay in a convent midway! Day 1 mostly wet and flat following the weave of the river from the sea at Whanganui, through beautiful forested Whanganui National Park, to remote Jerusalem, a small riverside settlement beside the river. Day 2 sunny and all-day uphill as we headed west away from the river at Pipiriki up to Ohakune at the edge of the mountains.
The convent stay at Jerusalem (Hiruharama) was a highlight. The century-old Catholic church - St. Joseph’s - and convent built in the 1890’s still stands, now empty of the Sisters of Compassion nuns who once lived there. We’d heard that you could stay in the old nun’s dormitories and so cycled up to the convent to try our luck. Unfortunately the dormitory had been booked, but when we asked if we could camp in the grounds, a lady called Baba kindly suggested we set up in the community hut communal room. Perfect, as it saved us from rain and frost that night. In the morning the very polite and beautiful convent cat came to say hello.Weiterlesen
ReisenderThat looks amazing. What a beautiful part of the trip - please don’t get into the habit, we’ll have nun of that.
Ohakune Old Coach Road
21.–22. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C
Leaving the campsite at Ohakune, the next section of our route followed the Old Coach Road - a former all weather coach link route between now disused rail lines. We rode the trail for about 15km, ascending to Horopito, 170m higher than Ohakune, where we visited an auto wreckers. The Old Coach Road is one part of the longer Mountains To Sea Great Ride. This would take us some of the way to Waimarino on unsealed tracks, with the last bit along highway 4.
Located in Tongariro National Park, the trail winds through a volcanic landscape of sub alpine flora, peppered with old viaducts rising over the native forest of rimu, rātā and tawa trees.
Starting off on a gravel road through farmland down in the basin, the track climbed quickly giving us a clear view of Mt. Taranaki on the far west coast of North Island. Lush forest quickly surrounded us and giant Dicksonia ferns, stood high, often in groups, wearing their ‘skirts’, We followed the old dray road, cobbled in sections with set stones and laid in the 1880’s to provide a surface for horses and coach. A massive endeavour to create through this terrain.
The trail is dotted with remnants of the railway infrastructure - an old tunnel (impassible), bridges (old and new) and bush workers camps - where workers and their families lived in canvas covered houses in the middle of the rainforest. The trail has many information boards, describing the history and heritage of the route - connecting past to present.
Winding our way up on the single track we arrived at a marvellous viewpoint taking in both old historic Hapuawhenua Viaduct and new viaduct for the modern rail line. We paused under the new viaduct at the same time a freight train was passing over. Feeling the rumble and vibration, we wondered how much weight was overhead. A short detour at a T-Junction allowed us to get up close to the old viaduct and actually ride across it, which was terrifying and wonderful in equal amounts. The old Hāpuawhenua viaduct, is one of New Zealand’s oldest and tallest curved viaducts at 45m high and 245m long. In the early 1900’s it was the largest wooden curved railway bridge in the world.
Climbing to the highest point of the trail we passed the old quarry which supplied much of the rock for the coach road, saw a few more grand but derelict viaducts - rusting hulks of vintage meccano, striding high above valleys - and also had the new railway for company much of the time. We pedalled through swathes of mountain cabbage trees and then popped out into farmland. A clear afternoon and cloudless sky made Mt. Ruapehu’s white upper slopes and summit pop against the blue. The final section of trail took us along gravel road to the junction at Horopito.
Here we visited ‘Smash Palace’ Motor Wreckers - a large auto wreckers yard, part museum and homage to the motor vehicle, part salvage and vintage parts supplier. It was amazing! The wreckers was the location for the film ‘Smash Palace’, released in 1982 and directed by Roger Donaldson. The story involves an ex-race car driver, and the break-up of his marriage. He sets out to get back his daughter at any cost, and this results in him becoming a fugitive whilst trying to establish their relationship. The finale takes part in the wreckers yard. We have never see the film but are now curious to do so! What a fantastic location.
The real Smash Palace, or Horopito Motor Wreckers is a family business, started by Bill Cole and taken over by his daughter Barbara and family. Spread over about 12 acres, the outdoor lots and indoor warehouses contain stripped parts from and carcasses of, vehicles decades old - some pre-WWI. Part mausoleum and part homage to the motor car, we read that Bill’s philosophy was that any car entering the yard would remain and be kept in case of need of parts and never disposed of. As such the cars remain, slowly decaying and being reclaimed by the vegetation and foliage. A tree springs out of a bonnet. A bramble strangles an engine block and shrubs creep through many cars interior. It is a photographer’s dream as well as a ‘pistonheads’ paradise.
As the sun lowered and mountain tops turned pink in the failing light, we pressed on by joining Highway 4 for the last 20km to Waimarino, where we were spending the night. Our minds were now firmly set on getting to our hostel and resulted in a mundane part of the ride, due to weariness, a highway busy with traffic ‘going home’ for the day, and temperatures dropping. We rode up hill to the plateau upon which Waimarino sits and cycled the last few miles in the dark, stopping briefly to pick up some food from the store for the nights dinner, before arriving at the lodge.Weiterlesen
The Timber Trail (Instagram version)
23.–25. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
We spent a day cycling from Waimarino to near Ongarue where we began the ‘Timber Trail’, emerging from forest two days later in Pureora.
The Timber Trail utilises old logging tramways and signs all along the route explain the various historic marvels of engineering and remnants of pioneering past. One of NZ’s ‘Great Rides’ the website says the Timber Trail is “Widely regarded as New Zealand's Number One multi day ride - traversing awe-inspiring forests, teeming with cacophonous bird life, incredible suspension bridges and so much more.” We were excited.
We set off a bit later than planned from Waimarino due to excessive faffing. The sun was out and warm and a lot of the day was downhill: we felt light and breezy. From the highway two prominent volcanoes accompanied us on our right: Mt Ngauruhoe (2290m) and Mt Ruapehu (2797m) - where people will have been enjoying a great day skiing.
Turning off Highway 4 onto back-country gravel roads we were surrounded by rolling green hills and had the place to ourselves - only coming across a random ostrich (!) for most of the day. Pulling into the only town of size - Taumarunui, mainly to get food supplies for the next 3 days - felt very busy.
We were so lucky the sunshine held for the next few days. The sunlight made delving deep into the ancient heart of Pureora Forest, surrounded by towering trees, all the more beautiful. We caught glimpses of the bright blue sky through gaps in the foliage and the sun lit up the leaves, edging them in golden colours as the day progressed. And there were indeed many birds. A few times we stopped to listen. A favourite was hearing the complex song of the Tui, a wonderfully colourful mix of musical notes and offbeat grunts, wheezes and clicks.
The highlight however were the eight large suspension bridges, including the longest and highest on the NZ Cycle Trail network, the 141-meter-long and 55-metre-high Maramataha Bridge. So much fun to cycle over and offered a break from the enclosed tree canopy, and provided endless green, green views of the surrounding forest accompanied by noisy cascades far below. Each crossing gave us a rare chance to feel the sun and enjoy the blue skies! The only other time we’d see the expanse of sky was when we camped at Piropiro clearing halfway along, the night sky filled with the bright glimmer of the Milky Way.Weiterlesen
Great to see you guys actually having fun :-) Kat forwarded me a link [Jon E]
The Timber Trail (Realities version)
24.–26. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Lilz said this to Amanda on the trail and it made her laugh. The Timbertrail is beautiful and we experienced amazing Instagrammable moments, but I think it’s the toughest thing we’ve done in NZ so far…
• Tired beginnings - To get to the Timbertrail start point at Ongarue we had a 45 mile day, including fitting in essential chores at the only town. However Maybe Thom got a puncture - glass fragment in tyre - that took ages to locate, remove and fix. Losing this time, on top of an ambitious day for us, meant we fell 5 miles short of reaching Ongarue and had to set up a less-than-ideal wild camp beside the edge of the road as it got dark. Neither of us slept well.
• Unable to cook food - We ran out of liquid fuel. Luckily we had a spare gas canister, but this meant converting the stove ‘in the field’, whilst very tired, in the dark, having only once done it before, and it’s quite tricky. Lilz managed it with minimal swearing 🤗. Disaster happily averted and eventually we were ‘cooking on gas!’
• Tough track conditions - Due to rock-falls, large stoney gravel, ice crystals, mud, fallen trees, and water channelled/uneven ground. We concluded the Timbertrail is not really suitable for heavily laden touring bikes! mountain bike and electric fat bike territory only.
• Predominantly uphill - We cycled the Timbertrail the ‘wrong’ way! 😆 The majority of riders ride east to west, but our route meant we were bucking the trend and cycling the 50 mile (85km) trail west to east. Doing it this way means the trail takes you UP the western flanks of the Hauhungaroa Ranges and the southern side of Mt. Pureora with a total ascent of 5790 feet (1765m) - the highest point on the trail is a Munro (3185ft/971m above sea level). The ups are steep.
• Miscalculating all of the above - The length of the Timbertrail is not a problem being split into manageable mileage across two days - 28 miles on day one (+5 to get to the start) and 23 miles on day two. However finding the track much tougher than we’d anticipated we were very very slow. On day one we spent 8hrs completing the 33 miles to get to the half-way camp at Pureora, and had to ‘cycle’ the last 3 miles in the dark - tricky navigating narrow tracks and precipitous drops in the pitch black guided by bike lights and head torches alone.
• Cold cold nights - With beautiful clear days come star-studded clear nights and the temperature overnight dropped to -2 and -4 on the respective nights we camped. This just makes things a bit harder. Our cooking oil solidified, water in our water bottles froze, the tent was crispy to pack up, fingers are numb and cumbersome.
• No way out - Once you’re on the Timbertrail you’re in remote forested wilds and trees as far as the eye can see with no reception and no real routes off the trail. Just gotta keep going!
Reaching our booked cabin at the end of the trail was truly bliss. Beautiful route, glad we did it, but perhaps Type 3 fun? Lots learnt too!Weiterlesen
ReisenderWhat a marathon! Can’t believe the two of you are keeping going in sub zero conditions but thankfully no rain. Fantastic scenery and experiences xx
Just amazing to see what you've done so far. Testing to say the least! [Ruth D]
ReisenderJesus guys! This sounds rough as. Sending you overdue cups of sugary tea to recover.
Pureora to Rotorua
26.–29. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
After the Timbertrail, we left the cabin early, heading for the highway to make Mangakino by mid afternoon and a welcome rest from cycling, after 7 consecutive days in the saddle.
We rode in the morning sunshine along the short gravel road to the highway. Tarmac and downhill trend for the rest of the day meant we ate up the miles. The rolling landscape afforded views of the distant hills as we passed firstly through close forest, which opened up into rolling hills. Looking back, it was quite satisfying to see Pureora Forest and Mt. Pureora in the distance, where, the day before, we had cycled up, around and down from, on our memorable Timber Trail experience.
We arrived in Mangakino around 12:30, in time for lunch and decided to stop as we passed a nice looking cafe, Ata’s Bar and Eatery, which had tables outside. We sat and ate in the warmth of the sun!
Our mood was up and for once we would be arriving early at our digs. We’d booked a room in a new hostel (shared bathroom and kitchen). As it turned out, no-one else was staying, so we had it all to ourselves! After checking in, we caught up on a few chores and then settled down in the communal lounge to plan the following days, enjoying the afternoon sun which made the room cosy and warm, followed by dinner and a film on a TV. What a treat.
The following day was a fairly relaxing one, some admin and visit to the local shop to get supplies for our journey onward. The evening highlight for Lilz was watching the British & Irish Lions Test rugby against the Wallabies resulting in a late bed time as the NZ kick off time was 11pm!
Heading off early the following day after Amanda’s Facetime catch up with her mum and sisters, we joined the Waikato River Trail at the Whakamaru Dam and followed the trail along the Lake and reserve, to Durham’s Point. Negotiating the winding, lumpy track and motorbike prevention barriers (badly designed) led to slow progress on laden bikes, and a bit tedious - so much so that we ended up re-joining the highway for the 10 miles to Atiamuri Dam. After a short horrible plod along the shoulder of Highway 1, we thankfully turned off onto a backroad through rolling farm land, that kindly provided us a 7 mile climb with great views over green pastures. A challenging gravel section with large loose horrible stones followed until relief after a couple of miles when the good old tarmac returned. Not too far now until the road brought us to our campsite and geothermal springs at Waikite Valley Hot Pools as the sun was setting.
After a longish day - almost 50 miles - we were looking forward to soaking our bones (our tent pitch allowed us free entry to the pools)! Clouds of steam billowed as we set up the tent. We grabbed our cosies and headed for a dip in several of the hot pools, starting with the cooler 37 degree plunge and then onto the slightly hotter. Total bliss after cycling and eased the aches and sore muscles. Steam rose in the cold night air, ethereal, illuminated by the lights and swirling around the palms and ferns.
We awoke ready for a short day of twenty odd miles, diverting to ‘Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland’ before making for Rotorua.
The geothermal wonderland is the result of thousand of years of volcanic activity that has made a landscape of hot springs, steaming craters, hissing fissures and bubbling mud. The overwhelming pungent smell of sulphur was evident and the earth was pockmarked with yellow, red and orange pigments of the oxidised minerals. We wandered around the looped trails for a couple of hours taking in the strange sights and otherworldly ambience of the geothermal area thought to be created by a large eruption about 900 years ago.
A highlight was witnessing the Lady Knox Geyser erupt. Discovered by prisoners clearing the native bush for forestry, the geyser’s natural cycle occurs irregularly, so the staff feed it soap to induce an eruption - a chemical reaction that breaks the ‘seal’ and forces it to blow on demand. Sort of cheating but means the tour groups are satisfied with a guaranteed spectacle!
Another treat was the Champagne Pool. Steam created by the hot water meeting the cold air clouded the pool but as the wind changed and steam drifted, the vibrant colours revealed themselves. The Champagne Pool is a large hot water pool filling a 700-year-old crater at a temperature of 230 degrees C, before cooling toward the surface to a balmy 74’C! It bubbles (like Champagne) due to the Carbon Dioxide gas. The orange rim around the edge of the Champagne Pool contains the minerals arsenic and antimony sulphur.
We returned to the bikes and set off on the final leg up and over the caldera lip into Rotorua. A case of getting ‘from A to B’, we rode along the busy highway - which was unpleasant due to dubious driving by some. We had no choice for an alternate route and had to suck it up for several miles and were happy when a cycle path ‘appeared’ for a local trail which led us right into town and the neighbourhood where we were staying. We arrived at our accommodation tired but looking forward to the couple of nights stay and hope to avoid the heavy rain and wind that was forecast for the following days.
We planned to stay inside to catch up with a few of the usual admin tasks and we booked a mud spa experience at Hells Gate. Hell’s Gate lies out of town and in a geothermal area. It has walking trails, hot pools and bubbling mud. We caught the free shuttle from town out to the park.
Aotearoa’s only mud bath experience, it was once bathed in by Māori warriors. The mud and waters have soothed bodies for hundreds of years. The nutrient-rich water relaxes the body, and mud gently provides exfoliation for the skin. We dipped into the sulphur pool and slathered the thick grey (and smelly) mud onto our torsos. What made the experience more memorable was that the pools, outdoors and partly covered by a mesh to protect from the sun were being battered by the wet and windy weather. The day we visited the weather was terrible. It was blowing with gusty winds, and squalls of rain pouring down. After our 20 mins allowed in the sulphur, we withdrew to the hot pools for a soak under the warm waterfall and then a plunge into the cold pool (and back into the warm). Our bodies felt rejuvenated and fresh, although we were to discover that the smell of sulphur lingers for many days, as it slowly exits the pores of the skin (which left our clothes with a slight eggy smell ), adding to the other bike related odours - making for a fragrant mix!
Getting back to the cottage, we whacked the fire on whilst the rain continued, hoping for better weather the following day, to cycle north to Matamata, to visit ‘The Shire’!Weiterlesen
Corrugated capital
30. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
We cycled up and over the caldera ridge leaving steamy smelly Rotorua behind. Well almost… our skin and clothes still have a whiff of sulphur.
36 miles later we rolled into Tirau - a surprise little place of about 1000 people where corrugated iron has taken on a life of its own. The classic construction material has been used to create merino wool shops shaped like sheep (visitors enter through a door tucked beneath the cheerful creature’s chin), a huge dog, shepherd, and other smaller creations throughout town. Amanda was rather fond of them.
We stayed the night in a motel directly opposite the dog, before cycling the 12 miles to Matamata in the morning to catch our Hobbiton tour bus.Weiterlesen
Reisender
A sculpture lovers dream……could happily spend a day just looking at them all🥰
Hobbiton
31. Juli 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
We couldn’t cycle past the Hobbits!
From Matamata the Movie Set tour bus takes you to Hobbiton, where they filmed scenes in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, which can only be accessed by guided tour.
My (AP’s) expectations were not high for Hobbiton tbh, fearing it would be a bit plastic and tacky - but I was very happily proved wrong. From the start our guide Sam was excellent, and guided our group of about 15 people through the village, pointing out key locations and movie interest. We went up to
Bag End (Bilbo’s house), at the top of the hill, down to Bagshot Row where we went inside a hobbit hole, past the Millhouse, and on to the Green Dragon Inn where we enjoyed a complimentary drink from the Hobbit Southfarthing range.
Walking through Hobbiton your eye continually finds delightful details that make it feel like the hobbits have just left for a moment, and are just out of sight. Curling wisps of smoke from chimneys, a little wheelbarrow full of gardening tools left in the allotment, gently flapping clothes on the line, an unfinished game of chess. The creativeness all about is charming: beautifully painted post boxes, bespoke ironmongery in the shape of leaves, inventive toys in the children’s room; and often showcases who lives behind each hobbit hole. Beehives and honey jars outside the Beekeeper’s; willow, twine and incomplete wickerwork outside the Basket weaver’s; and a watercolour in progress on the easel outside the Painter’s.
Going into one of the snug cosy hobbit holes was just as Tolkien describes. “Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it a was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.” Everything in the interiors was homely, inviting, and meticulously crafted.
We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and were touched by the magic of the place, leaving feeling warm and hobbity. Probably helped by the very yummy cider I had.
Below are some interesting titbits from the tour…
• In 1998 location scouts used a helicopter to search for a place resembling Tolkien's Shire for the Hobbiton movie set. They immediately knew they found it when they flew over the family Alexander’s 1250 acre farm, with its rolling hills, a large lake, and a prominent hill. The farm was untouched by modern development, with no power lines, buildings, or roads visible: just 500 Angus cattle and sheep.
• Knocking on the Alexander family’s door to ask for permission to scout the property for a movie set, they were initially told to ‘f-off’ and come back another time as the family were watching a rugby match.
• When they built the first Hobbiton set for the LOTR trilogy it wasn’t made to be permanent and was made of polystyrene, plywood and untreated timber. The New Zealand Army helped to bring in the heavy equipment needed to make a mile of access road into the site and initial ground works.
• The oak tree above Bag End is not real but made from a 26-tonne oak cut down near Matamata and recreated on site, fibreglass and artificial silk leaves made in Taiwan individually wired on. Sam told us it is reputed to have cost $7.5m to create.
• On the other hand, all the fruit and veg currently growing in Hobbiton is seasonal with eight gardeners tending to it. Gardeners have free rein with what they plant in hobbit gardens as long as they follow a colour code set for each garden, e.g. the Beekeeper’s cottage garden flowers must be purple, blue and yellow only.
• The lower down the hill you live in Hobbiton, the poorer you are. The higher up the hill you go, the more manicured the gardens become. Bilbo is one of the richest hobbits.
• There are 44 hobbit holes on set, but most are just façades. For the film the interiors were filmed off-site in special sets. There are two homes you can now go into, that were added for tours in 2023 - the homes of the Proudfoots and Twofoots – on Bagshot Row.
• All the Hobbit hole doors are different sizes to help with scaling in the filming. Called ‘forced perspective’ a smaller door (60% scale) would be used to film tall Gandalf, whereas smaller hobbits hung around doors that were 90% scale. The interior holes that we went into were built to 80% scale.
• 2500 people auditioned to be a hobbit. To be cast as a hobbit, you had to be five-foot-two and ‘round of face’. Catering was made available for up to 400 cast and crew and visitors per day.
• At the end of filming LOTR the set was all but dismantled. In the film, Samwise Gangee has a vision of the Green Dragon pub being burnt down by a flying dragon - the pub was actually burnt down for these 2-seconds of film.
• With the success of LOTR films, tourists came to see Hobbiton, even though it had been dismantled. With the filming of The Hobbit it was decided to make Hobbiton again, but this time out of permanent materials. Quite a big undertaking as the stone steps leading up to Bag End were the only original thing left from the first films. Whilst we were there there was maintenance work going on: the same guys refurbishing Hobbiton were those that built the original set.
• Hobbiton received 500,000 visitors last year, and each year it grows in popularity. They limit tours to 40 people with ten minute gaps between. Peter Jackson receives a % of profits for his investment in the building of Hobbiton.Weiterlesen
Matamata to Papakura
1.–3. Aug. 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Leaving Matamata, and ‘The Shire of Middle Earth’ behind, we rode the Haurauki Rail Trail north. Another of NZ’s Great Rides, passing through Te Aroha, then overnighting in Paeroa and onto Kaiau, to camp one final time, before riding over to Clevedon and into Papakura, where we planned to catch a train to travel into the outskirts of Auckland city.
Heading out of Matamata via a lesser highway on a sunny morning provided enjoyable riding on quiet roads, with the miles passing easily and giving great views of the range of hills, which run like a spine along this east part of North Island all the way up to the Coromandel peninsula.
Up and down through green landscapes, the road ran alongside the Waihou River, which had burst its banks by the look of the lakes of water lying in the waterlogged fields. We grabbed a glimpse of the famous Wairere Falls (highest in North Island) high up in the foliage covered hills, where its water tumbled out of the green canopy as if being poured from a giant invisible jug.
Joining the Hauraki trail as it met the road, we cycled alongside the highway on a gravel track into Te Aroha, a small town with lots of character. Nestling below the Kamai range and Mt. Te Aroha, over 900m high, the rural town grew to provide services for the surrounding farms and later became a spa town with baths and hotels to accommodate the increase in tourists using the new train line to visit the town for leisure and health. We stopped in the Victorian park, in which a former bathhouse sits. Wheeling our bikes up to the small cafe on the hill, we rested for a while before rejoining the rail trail at the old Te Aroha station, passing a giant penny farthing sculpture. Riding along the line of the old track was really enjoyable as it diverted away from the highway to pass through farmland, over creeks and alongside streams and wetland areas. The surrounding fields were heavily flooded from recent heavy rain and we arrived at a point where the trail was impassable and had to backtrack to join the road to get past the flooded section.
Every now and again we passed small ‘stations’ in the middle of nowhere. Stops on the old line that ran from Matamata to Thames, each with its own information sign telling of its place in the history of the line.
We reached Paeroa late afternoon and passed alongside the river and through town to the RV Park just outside. The RV park catered for long term residents with semi permanent motor home campers and caravans. We were checked in by the lovely resident caretaker who showed us a patch of grass where we could pitch our tent. The park had a shower and toilets and we were allowed to use the outdoor ‘kitchen’ - a bench, sink and gas hob. It was going to be a chilly night so we set about setting up our tent
Another tent was set up already and as we unpacked, our neighbour and fellow camper came over and introduced herself. She was camping here because she was doing a training walk (the full length of the Hauraki Rail Trail and a number of side trips, around 200-250Km) as part of a longer challenge of walking around New Zealand and the Te Araroa Trail (a walk the full length of Aotearoa). A very humble and nonchalant person, Damiana Day, turned out to be a very inspiring and we ended up chatting for over an hour.
Damiana told us about herself, her life and her challenges. Once confined to a wheelchair, she taught herself to walk again, and last year she set out on a goal to complete the Te Araroa trail, not just once but twice, down the length of the islands and back again via a different route! Her love of tramping came from going on walks with her mum she explained and she has cycled (over 100,000Km) and walked in many areas of the country and this was evident by her knowledge of its walks, geography and topography. She humbled us by telling us that she completed the Timber Trail on her folding bike, towing a trailer, which carried her folded up wheelchair! Incredible.
She spoke candidly about her autism, dyspraxia, dyslexia, cerebral palsy and her neurological condition that causes temporary paralysis, resulting in the failure of her legs ‘to work’. She has spent much of the last 20 years on the road, and recounted with modesty, good humour and without regret, tales of injury and accidents, of help by strangers and evacuation by helicopter (more than once). She is raising money for charity and aims to spread awareness of living with disabilities, the challenges and perceptions of how people with disabilities are treated, and to show what is possible, when often being told the opposite. From learning to walk again, bouncing back from injury, being in a car accident, being beaten up or taking on challenges, her positivity, determination and resilience made an impression on us both! She has several links on social media, if you want to know more and where she is on her travels.
After a cold icy covering in the night, the morning started cold. Packing up the tent and wiping off the thawing wet ice, made fingers cold and tempers short.
Placating ourselves with a visit to a cafe for breakfast before another 40 odd mile day meant we only remained grumpy for the short ride into town and sanctuary of The Refinery Cafe. A warm haven of tranquility, pastries and hot coffee, we sat and warmed up.
Another town on the old rail line. Paeroa has its share of old buildings and several antique/vintage/bric-a-brac shops with lots of old items for sale, making for interesting window browsing. The shops were choc full of shelves with all sorts of memorabilia, household items and nic nacs from the past.
Following the rail trail out of town using the cycle, we crossed the Waihou River via the new Kopu Bridge. Riding the stoney track following the cycle trail around the coast and the prevailing wind in our faces meant our progress slowed. Recreational cyclists passed us on their chunky tyres mountain bikes, (mostly electric) and they seemed to float over the loose stones.
Turning north again we took the highway for 10 miles to save some distance and time, rather than stick to the coastal track and longer loop. Turning off at Waitakaruru, we stopped to make a sandwich in the afternoon sun. The final section of the day, along a quiet road and then track by the side of the mangroves and wetlands was lovely. As the sun started to set the trail passed through several wildlife refuges. The birdlife, including herons, kingfishers, waders and ducks busied themselves before roosting. The empty beaches and views over the Firth of Thames to the Coromandel peninsula took on a painterly feel with mauve and lilac palette. Arriving in Kaiaua as darkness fell, we looked for somewhere to camp. Low on options and with darkness upon us, we chose to stay away from the large areas mostly occupied by RV’s on the exposed sea front and opted to tuck our tent under a tree by the public toilets next to a play park. After pitching the tent we sat out on a picnic table under a clear sky and made our dinner. It was the first time we have not been cold after dark and able to sit out and eat our meal while listening to the sound of the waves and the karaoke drifting over from the local pub (it was a Saturday night).
Up early with lovely sunrise and after quickly packing up the dry tent on the beautiful morning, we called at the Pink Shop Cafe for a breakfast roll before setting off. Only then noticing the ‘No Camping’ sign on the way (we arrived in the dark and practice leave no trace so you’d never know we’d been there). On the road by 8:30 and knowing we had hills to come later it didn’t dampen our mood as the sun shone and setting out early meant the traffic was very sporadic and allowed us to take in the views and enjoy the peace. We climbed up and over hills with views of the forested hills of the Hunua Range and through Tapapakanga Regional Park. Descending back down to sea level, providing views out to sea and islands, we stopped at Kawakawa Bay for a sandwich. With the day trippers and weekender traffic picking up (Auckland is not that far away) we didn’t linger. Back in the road with frequent cars, cars with trailers, classic cars, sports cars and motorbikes, the quiet Sunday was now turning into a busy one, on this beautiful sunny, warm winters day. Stopping in Clevedon, we browsed the local market in the community hall and bought some veggies for our evening meal. A quick coffee stop too! The road had been up and down but finally flattened out as we reached Papakura, at the southern end of the urban sprawl of Auckland. Arriving late afternoon, we navigated our way to the motel for the night. We bumped into a lovely elderly lady in her 70’s, riding her bike back from the shops and stopped to chat. A bike tourer herself, she had been around the UK and Europe by bike with her sister. As she remembered, her face lit up at recalling her travels. We talked for a half an hour about travel by bike, how’s her sister broke a leg whilst cycling in the UK doing the Lands End to John O’Groats and they ended up having to stay for several months, curtailing their trip (they continued and still travel together to this day - their next stop, hiking in Vietnam). Such a warm, enthusiastic and positive person, she was a treat and the exchange put us in a great mood.
We checked into the motel and promptly turned our room and porch into a large airing rack, hanging up our clothes and tent to air in the evening sun. Tomorrow we will be catching the train into Auckland, a destination that seemed far away a couple of months ago. We aim to catch up with Amanda’s former work colleague - our friend Kiri and also drop our bikes into the shop for a service. Auckland marks the end of our cycling time in Aotearoa.Weiterlesen
ReisenderI love the amazing and inspirational people you are meeting on your travels.
I’m glad to see cake eating, you’re both looking very very thin these days! Not surprising the energy you’re burning through but keep those calories up! [Jen]
(Ps Said from a place of love ❤️! Realise after said that might have sounded cheeky which didn’t mean it too !) [Jen]
Auckland (Pt. I)
3.–5. Aug. 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
At last…we finally arrived in Auckland - so long our destination! - and will see some friends, get our bikes serviced, and hire a car to spend a few days travelling around Northland, the top bit of New Zealand.
We stayed one night in Papakura, a neighbourhood on the edge of Auckland and caught the train into the city, getting off at Greenlane to cycle to our friend Kiri’s house in Mount Eden. Riding through Cornwall Park, high up on One Tree Hill, an old volcanic peak gave panoramic views of the city. In Mount Eden, traditional wooden houses sat next to more contemporary designs in amongst lots of trees. We arrived late morning at Kiri’s and loved her home that she shares with her partner Dan and four friends in a quiet and lovely spot. The house and garden are up on a hill, looking southwest with a fine view over the city and is full of plants and light. It was great to see Kiri again and she treated us to a lovely warm welcome - a cuppa and toasties and it was so nice to catch up.
Kiri kindly offered to store some of our stuff so we could leave what we don’t need for our short trip to visit Northland (we ran out of time to visit by bike). Bidding goodbye, we cycled 25mins toward the city to drop our bikes into Benny’s Bike Shop, to have our bikes serviced. The issues we were having - mainly brakes, gears and ‘strange noises’ would hopefully be nothing serious. Benny seemed confident the issues were pretty common and normal and that the bikes looked ok (and better than some he’s seen). We chatted with Benny about NZ, the trails, places he has cycled and we gained some useful knowledge and tips. Benny also has a tremendous moustache (which he rocks), and it is also the logo of his shop.
Free of panniers and bikes, we headed off down the hill into the city. The central business district (CBD) of the city is much like other cities, populated with high rise office buildings, mixed with older buildings, some heritage architecture and chain stores. Much of the central area of city is laid out on a block system, easy to navigate and leads to the quay/harbour, where commuter passenger ferries leave to travel to other parts of the city. The iconic Sky Tower always looms overhead. We noted how large the roads were often several lanes deep, and how they dominate the city.
We walked about - now approaching early evening - and happened upon a bar called ‘Andrew Andrew’. As it was calling to Lilz (whose name is Andrew), and it was Happy Hour, it seemed like we were meant to stop in. Best of all, after getting our celebratory-we’ve-reached-Auckland drinks, we found they had an old table style arcade machine by the fire with Pac Man and Donkey Kong! It was free! We were lost for an hour or so in nostalgia. Lack of youthful finger dexterity and slightly sticky controls meant no high scores were achieved but our level of fun exceeded!
Afterward, we wandered through the quayside area, filled with many eateries and lit by creative outdoor architectural lighting, before heading uphill to the Karangahape Road to find somewhere to eat. The Karangahape or ‘K-Road’ is a vibrant mix of dive bars, convenience stores, cafes, fast food outlets and eateries punctuated by other shops and stores. The international cuisine, mainly Asian and Indian, provides a large choice. We stopped at a small Thai place and had a red curry and a pad Thai. Both excellent. We’d enjoyed our first wander in Auckland.
We awoke to a sunny day. After checking out we walked through the city to the car rental place to collect our hire car at 10am. As the city bustled with people heading into work, we stopped at Scratch Bakery for breakfast, which was busy with commuters having their morning hit of coffee before heading into their offices. Most of the cafes in the CBD had queues, so seemingly a popular routine for many Auckland folk before work.
Once we had wheels, getting on to the nearby freeway was simple enough and Amanda navigated us onto the Highway north, aiming for Whangārei (pronounced Fan-ga-ray: we’d learned a ‘Wh’ is a phonetic F sound, a bit like the ‘Ph’ in philosophy).
A temporary farewell to Auckland, we will be returning in a week, before leaving the country.Weiterlesen
Northland - Whangarei
5.–7. Aug. 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ 🌬 14 °C
After nearly 3 months cycling 1670 miles (2700kms) around New Zealand’s South and North Islands, our Australia flight deadline of 14 August loomed large. Sadly we admitted to ourselves we didn’t have time to cycle Northland, the thinning tropical tip of the North Island. However there were still places we were keen to visit - Hundertwasser’s colourful buildings, Waitangi Treaty grounds, the giant father of the forest, glowworms, and the beautiful coastlines the area is renowned for. The FoMO is strong in us.
So we decided we needed to hire a car to have one final Kiwi adventure. With feelings of cheating, we set out from Auckland for a last trip along NZ’s bendy, bumpy, beautiful roads. It was a good move. This ‘footprint’ covers our Northland trip as far as Whangarei on the east coast, with two further footprints to cover the rest - so much to see!
Driving in a car at first felt strange. What speed! What ease! You would have been bored to tears with our observations on vast distances covered in a blink of an eye (vast to us: one hour in a car = one day on a bike), the hard shoulder conditions, and hill gradients which now routinely occupy our bike-tuned minds.
We briefly stopped for chocolate at Waipu - our Whittakers chocolate habit is out of control and in need of regular fixes. Waipu is a wee town with a proud Scottish heritage, evident with lion rampant statues, pictures of dashing men in kilts, and tartan trimmings. We perhaps should have investigated the Scottish Migration Museum, but felt more excited about having time for Hundertwasser treats in Whangarei.
I’ve (AP) loved Hundertwasser’s work for a long time, after I first discovered a book on him when working in the art history section at Blackwell’s in Edinburgh. His vibrancy, practical environmental leanings, and nonconformist creativity is fab. I learnt he’d emigrated to NZ from his native Austria only when we were looking at cycling NZ, which firmly put his Kawakawa public toilet unconventionally in my top ten kiwi places to visit!
In his early life Hundertwasser and his Jewish mother Elsa experienced Austria's annexation to Nazi-Germany in WWII and managed to survive Vienna under the worst of conditions. At the end of the war Hundertwasser decided to become a painter: it wasn’t until the 1970’s that his architectural works got recognition. He had no studio and spontaneously painted wherever he was, spreading his sheet of paper flat in front of him. His work is varied - he painted (mixing his own paints), printed, designed stamps, tapestries, flags, coins and posters - but his buildings are best known. Hundertwasser realised 30+ architectural projects all over the world in his lifetime. All have his signature irregularity, lack of tight angles, colour, decorative elements, uneven floors, plants on the roof, and ‘tree tenants’ (trees integrated into the building, essentially living within the structure).
“We must build houses where nature is above us. It is our duty to put the nature, which we destroy by building the house, back onto the roof … Grass roofs also have ecological, health and insusaltion advantages ... Natural roofs create quiet and peace.” Hundertwasser, April 1991
He was known to ‘reject the straight line’. In his lectures in 1968 he demanded architectural creative freedom, saying mainstream building, in its deadly monotony and sterile spirit, is responsible for human misery. We found being in this building an utter joy.
His home in NZ (1970’s - 2000) was largely self-sufficient using solar panels, a water wheel and a biological water purification plant. His first grass roof experiments took place there. In a time when the green movement was only first coming into being, Hundertwasser led nature-conservation initiatives, wrote numerous manifestos, spoke about environmental protection on TV and in conferences, and designed posters in support of behaviour change. Mankind for him was the most dangerous pest ever to devastate the earth. “Paradise is here, only we are destroying it. I want to show how simple it is to have paradise on earth!"
Once reaching Whangarei we walked along the pleasant river waterfront towards Hundertwasser’s designed Art Centre in the ‘Town Basin’ (yachting marina). We spent the afternoon looking around the exhibition on Hundertwasser which gave us an insight into him as a person, his artistic work, his ecological commitment and his roots in NZ.
Filled with inspiration we went to check into another unconventional building: our accommodation for the night was situated on the opposite bank in a boat shed!
In the morning we explored a bit more in Whangarei, visiting first Botanica - a council run free garden complex where the public can enjoy a wide range of plants; second the Quarry Arts Centre - an old quarry now a bohemian space, home to a number of artist studios; and lastly Whangarei waterfall on our way out of town. This last took us by surprise in its idyllicness, the water a mix of beautiful swirling greens that echoed spiritual pounamu stone qualities.Weiterlesen
Northland - Russell, Bay of Islands
6. August 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ 🌬 15 °C
“Refreshing Rascals and Reprobates since 1827”. A statement by the oldest pub in NZ, based in Russell, which was once described by a Victorian observer as the centre of a “population addicted to drunkenness. This little village is the very stronghold of vice.” Russell is a small seaside village with a big historical footprint: it was the country's first seaport, its first European settlement and first capital. Once, it was a lawless town, where the sailors from the whaling ships enjoyed drinking, brawling, and prostitution, giving the town the nickname of ‘the hellhole of the Pacific’. “The town is a Gomorrah, the scourge of the Pacific, and should be struck down by the ravages of disease for its depravity.”
To reach this ‘Hellhole’ we took the narrow winding road along the coast from the highway after leaving Whangarei. Far from a stronghold of vice, Russell exudes middle class historic charm. Many of its historic buildings remain today from the 1840s, including NZ’s first licensed hotel and bar, ‘The Duke of Marlborough’. This we headed to, caving into temptation on route as we passed an ice cream parlour with delicious flavours - ‘Fig manuka honey’, ‘Black doris plum and crème fraiche’, ‘Boysenberry ambrosia yoghurt’, ‘Maple walnut’, ‘Gumdrops’ 😋.
Ice-cream in hand, we drifted along the tree-lined waterfront, the whole place diffused with a watery opal light. This is the life! After marvelling at a majestic 150yr old Morton Bay Fig Tree we went inside the Duke of Marlborough, under the white wooden canopy of its porch and balconies.
Sadly no rascals in sight, we felt we were now amongst the privileged, as Lilz sipped his coffee listening to the comforting crackle of the fire and the genteel hubbub of the company next to us. The pink walls and oddment selection of pictures wrapped us in a serene soft glow. This was only sustained outside as the sun slowly set above the pearly waters.
Our good fortune continued as we took the 10min Okiato to Opua ferry to Paihia, with the ferryman never coming to our car to ask for the $18 fare. Free ferry for us! We’d base ourselves in seaside Paihia for the next three nights and visit some of Northland’s attractions.Weiterlesen
Northland - Waitangi Treaty Grounds
7.–8. Aug. 2025 in Neuseeland ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
We left our Paihia motel to visit the nearby Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Here we met Ben, who had recently quit his job in London to travel NZ and further afield. We all joined a guided tour which helped us understand the Treaty’s part in NZ’s history, and a half hour Māori cultural experience.
I found our Māori guide extraordinary in his calm way of being, and his ability to describe both sides of a triggering history of inequalities, challenges and conflict that supported an understanding of ‘why’ events played out. On such a blue-skied day, walking across bright green grass with the beautiful Bay of Islands panorama behind us, it was hard to evoke the true significance of this historical place, the ‘birthplace of a nation’, where through the aim of unity instead seeds were sown for decades of disagreement and injustice.
Our guide transported us back in time to the lead-up to the treaty. Describing the Māori desire to trade internationally, this led tribal leaders to come together at Waitangi in 1834 to choose a flag - a Flag of the United Tribes - for use by their trading ships. This would enable them to enter foreign harbours (and avoid being regarded as pirates). It was a first step towards tribal unity and NZ’s recognition as a nation in its own right.
In 1840 chiefs came together again to sign what became NZ’s founding document, a Treaty between Māori chiefs and representatives of the British Crown, which aimed to establish British sovereignty while also guaranteeing Māori rights to their land. The Treaty was written in both English and Māori, but the document’s hasty translations resulted in differences in the Treaty meaning in each language. For instance, 'kawanatanga' in the Mãori version is usually translated as 'government’, but in the English version is translated as absolute sovereignty - supreme rule over the entire country. This idea was alien to most Mãori. Also, 'tino rangatiratanga' - chiefly authority or chieftainship - is promised in the Mãori but not the English. These differences - largely around the concepts of sovereignty and chieftainship - have led to years of dispute.
Our guide then led us up to the old Governor-General’s house where the treaty was signed. Opposite, Te Whare Rūnanga, a more recent carved house representing all iwi Mãori (tribal groups) was built on the centenary of the signing of the Treaty in 1940. The two buildings facing each other expresses the ongoing conversation between the Treaty parties. I liked the importance of physical symbolism in this historical place - a visual solidity of the working conversations between two co-habiting peoples.
Our guide left us at Te Whare Rūnanga. Here we were invited to be part of an pōwhiri (welcome) that begins in front of the building and involves a peace offering being laid down by Māori and accepted by our nominated ‘chief’. Once accepted, we moved inside for a cultural performance including songs, dances, and a traditional haka (war dance). I found this exchange highlighted the cultural differences so strongly; to my eyes the pōwhiri was confrontationally terrifying and not at all welcoming! Without guides and helpful translators, I wonder how the welcome was understood and received by those in the past?
Afterwards we spent a bit of time in the museum. Here we learned a lot about the dispossession of Māori land. The signing of the Treaty brought two cultures of land ownership into a head-on clash - communal and individual. Two peoples spoke of becoming unified, but the land they agreed to occupy together would become a source of deep division between them. By the 1860s Europeans outnumbered Māori and governments used the strength of this majority to make laws and exercise power with scant regard for the Treaty relationship. Within a few years lands held communally by Mãori had now diminished to small and scattered pockets.
In 1867 Mãori got a foothold in Parliament with a token four members and they used every strategy to keep Treaty promises to the fore. It was a test of endurance that finally bore fruit with the 1975 Treaty of Waitangi Act which put the Treaty relationship on firmer legal ground. Mãori now had access to tools of law that the Crown had so often used to their disadvantage.
From the 1970s the general public gradually came to know more about the Treaty, through various protest movements. Notably in 1975 the Māori land march created by Whina Cooper started in Northland and travelled the length of the North Island, arriving in Wellington to protest the loss of Māori rights and land. Over the 680 mile march it grew from 50 to 5,000 people. In 1977, members of Auckland tribe Ngãti Whatua occupied prime real estate at Bastion Point to resist a housing development on their former reserve. Their forcible eviction in a glare of media publicity shocked fair-minded New Zealanders. Efforts to honour the treaty and its principles expanded.
“Today, we are strong enough and honest enough to admit that the Treaty has been imperfectly observed. I look upon it as a legacy of promise. It cain be a guide to all those whose collective sense of justice, fairness and tolerance will shape the future.”
Queen Elizabeth II, Waitangi, February 1990
THE TAPESTRY OF UNDERSTANDING
The tapestry of understanding cannot be woven by one strand alone.
Only by the working together of strands and the working together of weavers will such a tapestry be completed.
When it is complete let us look at the good that comes from it,
and in time we should also look at those dropped stitches
because they also have a message.
Whilst at the Treaty Grounds our guide also took us to see the largest Māori canoe or ‘waka’ - built to mark the centenary of the Treaty of Waitangi’s signing in 1940. We were overwhelmed by its sheer size and impressive stats - at 38m it can carry up to 150 people, when dry it weighs 6 tonnes, once wet and coming out of the water this doubles to 12 tonnes. What I liked most however was the story about Kupe, the legendary discoverer of NZ who also sailed a waka, from his homeland in Eastern Polynesia. Aotearoa, one of this country's modern names, is said to come from the words of Kuramärotini, Kupe's wife, when she first saw the land: 'He ao, he ao tea, he ao tea roa!' (A cloud, a white cloud, a long white cloud).Weiterlesen
ReisenderThank you for sharing all that history. It was fascinating and moving to read and has given me a much clearer understanding of NZ's past
Reisender
‘Twas a foggy and cold morn. Frozen fingers and a bit of swearing when trying pack tent and load bikes. Frozen zips but tempers thawing.
Reisender
Suits you sir.
Reisender
The Lost World!