Paekakariki to Peka Peka – again …

Another sunny day, another ride on the Kapiti Coast. On Tuesday 10 October, we again took ourselves to Paekakariki for a ride to Peka Peka. It is one of our favourite rides, when we want to do a good long one. As per usual, we rode on Te Ara O Whareroa towards the Kapiti Expressway track.

Finally, spring is springing out all over. The hills are green, and the woody dead-looking shrubs of winter are now clothed in green, a few trees with white flowers that I do not know the name of line the track, and the broom has started to flower. And to my relief, the first of the lupins are flowering too. During the winter, I had thought that the council had eradicated all the lupins. They did clear a lot of shrubbery, and put in new plantings of natives, but luckily they have left some lupins, which will be showing off their golden glory in the next few weeks.

The hills are green … (photo by John)

… and trees with white flowers and yellow broom line the track (photo by John)

Early flowering lupins

As we were riding up the Kapiti Expressway track, I noticed that the many wetlands seemed to have less water in them than the last time we were here. It surprised me as we had had heavy rain not too many days before, and it had not been particularly hot.

Somewhere between Mazengarb and Otaihanga Roads, we saw a pair of huge yellow gantries and a couple of large cranes on the other side of the Expressway. We couldn’t figure out what they were about. But when we returned that way after lunch, one of the cranes was gone.

We wondered what these gantries and cranes were for (photo by John)

There is a piece of land with a small lake or wetland before the Waikanae River bridge, that I think is particularly appealing. I believe this is part of the land that Patricia Grace’s whānau refused to give up for the Expressway – and who can blame them …

A particularly pleasing piece of land (photo by John)

Just before we got to Peka Peka, where we were heading for lunch, John suddenly stopped and said “I’ve reached my 6,000 km milestone!” So of course I had to record that moment. He’s about 500 km ahead of me, because not long after that I reached 5,500 km on my odometer.

John’s 6,000 km milestone

On the way back after lunch, I spotted some goats in the paddock just next to the track. I had not seen these here before. They were not particularly worried when I stopped to take a photo.

Goats enjoying the sun beside the track

Lots of these yellow daisies grew alongside the track

When we got back to our car, we had biked 51 km. Just then, I received a text from my sister inviting us to come and look at her mosaic work in progress, so we dropped by on our way home.

She has a concrete wall next to her pottery workshop which she decided to decorate with pieces of her own pots – “seconds” that she had deliberately broken up for the purpose. We were most impressed and we look forward to seeing the final result.

My sister’s mosaic wall (photo by John)

Paekakariki, Peka Peka, Waikanae River

On Tuesday 12 September we had a lovely day, biking 55 km on the Kapiti Coast. We started out from Paekakariki, having had coffee and a scone at the local café – of course. We rode up Te Ara o Whareroa, as we have done a number of times now. Along the way I stopped to take a photo of the scenery – I thought the gorgeous hills, the line of the fence, the blue sky and the cabbage tree would make a pretty shot. Then John came back to see what I was up to, and having him in the shot just completed the picture.

Te Ara o Whareroa on a perfect day

We biked on the Expressway cycle track, all the way to Peka Peka, where we had lunch at Harrisons Garden Centre Café. 

Coming up to the Makarini Street overbridge (photo by John)

Just before the Waikanae River Bridge (photo by John)

Waiting for our lunch at Harrisons (photo by John)

On the way back I stopped to take a photo of a crew of gardeners putting in more plants alongside the track. I had noticed earlier that crates of plants had been placed at intervals along the track, ready for planting. Spring time means planting time!

Lots of new plants are being put in

I like the starkness of the still bare trees against the blue sky (photo by John)

When we got back to the Waikanae River Bridge, we took the track down to the river, and rode along to the Otaihanga Domain.

Near the mouth of the Waikanae River, with Kapiti Island in the distance (photo by John)

We took the Estuary track, which meanders through the wetlands – sometimes on gravel and sometimes on boardwalks over water. John had to get off and walk several times on the boardwalks, as they are too narrow for his balance.

Taking a breather at the end of the Estuary Track

From Paraparaumu, we took the track that runs along the back of the airport, and along the way we stopped to say hello to a horse which came to the fence, apparently expecting some treat. He banged his front hoof on the bottom rung of the gate, as if to say “well, where is my treat?”.

The track along the back of the airport (photo by John)

“Where’s my treat?” (photo by John)

The last 10 km back to Paekakariki were a bit of a slog, as I was getting quite tired. I have to confess that I cranked the assist up to level 4 every so often to keep up with John. I felt pretty bushed by the time we got home. Still, it had been a very nice ride – all 55 km of it!

Waikanae to Peka Peka – and an exhibition of tapestries

Last week we had a run of four fine(-ish) days in a row, yay! – no rain, no wind. So nice to see the sun after several “weather bombs”. We had to make the most of the good weather before the next deluge, so we biked four days in a row. Admittedly, two of these rides were very short – one was a “café run”, a 7 km ride to down to our local café and back, and the other was the 8 km ride on the Wellington Waterfront to test the Bickerton (described in the previous blog post).

The other two rides were 20 km. One of them was a ride to the Gear Homestead Café, during which I reached my 5,000 km milestone on my e-bike.

5,000 km on the e-bike

We rode along Te Ara Tawa. However, this beautiful track, which was only completed just over a year ago, is now again inaccessible between Kenepuru and Porirua because of the impending construction of the Kenepuru on- or off-ramp for the Transmission Gully Highway. So cyclists now have to either ride on the road again, or use the footpath.

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On Tuesday 25 July we drove to Waikanae Beach, where we parked near the Waikanae River estuary. We biked on the Kapiti Coastal Cycle Route to Harrisons at Peka Peka. There we had lunch and a wander around the garden centre at Harrisons, then returned to Waikanae on the new Expressway cycle track.

A colourlful display at Harrisons Garden Centre (photo by John)

The junction of Peka Peka Road with the old SH1 is now all tidied up, including access to the cycle track.

Because of the heavy rain we had in the past week, there were areas beside the track that still had standing water, where they wouldn’t normally have, but the track itself was mostly dry – give or take a puddle or two.

Water around fence lines following heavy rain … (photo by John)

… but the track was mostly dry (photo by John)

Some way down the track, we diverted onto a path leading to Smithfield Road. I had sailed past it but John called me back by furiously ringing his bell. The track eventually led to a very lovely stretch of road which turned out to be Ngarara Road. A narrower road went off it and we would have liked to explore further, but it was a private road, so we desisted.

A lovely spot on Ngarara Road (photo by John)

Sadly, this was a private road so we could not explore further (photo by John)

While we were taking photos of the pretty scenery and the peaceful looking cattle, a farmer appeared on the brow of the hill – probably wondering what we were up to.

The steers stopped their grazing to check us out (photo by John)

Before long, Ngarara Road became a bridge over the Expressway, and we joined the cycle track again. The road sign pointed to Ngā Manu Nature Reserve, which I think we should visit some time, maybe on another ride. We have been there once, but that was years ago when our children were still young.

At the junction with Te Moana Road, we left the Expressway track, and pedalled back to our car. Though there are still roadworks going on near the junction as a result of the Expressway, most of Te Moana Road has a nice cycle lane.

Roadworks on Te Moana Road (photo by John)

We diverted off towards the river and the Waimanu Lagoon, and sat on a bench, enjoying the sun, the view and some chocolate! While we were sitting there, the time-lapse camera on John’s bike took a picture of us, which I am now using as a computer screen saver. I call it “Retirement Bliss”.

Between the river estuary and the Waimanu Lagoon (photo by John)

The Waikanae River Estuary (photo by John)

Retirement bliss (photo by John)

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On the way home, we stopped at the Pataka Gallery in Porirua to view an exhibition of tapestries by multiple award winning Peruvian master weaver Máximo Laura. It is a stunning exhibition. Ten large tapestries are on show, all of which made me “drool”! Máximo has an amazing use of colour and his colour blending is exquisite. I love the vibrant colours and the “clean” lines of his designs.

Fruto de Abundancia del Mar IV (Abundance of the Fruit of the Sea)

Hacia la Amada (Journey to my Beloved)

I love the vibrancy of the colours!

As well as his exhibition in Pataka, Máximo Laura has been conducting workshops for NZ tapestry weavers in Wellington and Hamilton. One of my weaving friends, Trish Armour, herself an award-winning tapestry weaver, spent several weeks studying with Máximo in his Lima studio last year. She alerted me to his works, which I have been following on Facebook.

I would dearly love to own one of his tapestries, but unfortunately they are well beyond my financial reach! So I will just have to make do with the photos on my screen saver.

Folding Goldies ride – Te Ara Kapiti

Last Wednesday 17 May we went on another Folding Goldies ride. Dubbed “Kapiti: Expressway and Espresso” by leader Alastair Smith, the plan was to take the train to Waikanae, bike to Peka Peka for coffee at Harrison’s, then ride the cycling and walking trail alongside the Kapiti Expressway to Raumati and Te Ara o Whareroa to Paekakariki, from where we would take the train back to Wellington.

During the week leading up to FG day, I was eyeing the weather forecast, and dreaded what was coming. On the day, we woke to pelting rain, and my reaction was “Forget it, I’m not going”. Several other people who had said they would be coming along, let the group know by email that they weren’t coming after all because of the weather. John and I argued back and forth about whether to go, but then, just before 9 am, the sky seemed to be clearing somewhat, so we headed to the train. “If it is really awful up there, we can just have a coffee and come straight back on the train” John said. There were five of us on the train, and a few more joined us at Waikanae.

At Waikanae station – I don’t know why everyone is looking at me … (photo by John)

Alastair suggested we could ride to Peka Peka on the “old” SH1, which does not have a lot of traffic on it now that the Expressway takes most of it. It wasn’t raining when we got to Waikakane, but by the time we had met everyone (several new people), chatted a bit, and started off, the rain really set in. Parka on, glasses off, hood on under the helmet, gloves on to stop my hands from sliding around on the wet handlebar. Within minutes we were saturated.

Fortunately it didn’t take terribly long to get to Peka Peka, less than half an hour. As expected, there was not a lot of traffic, but we did get doused by a big truck hurtling past.

At Harrison's, we all crowded into the small inside area for our coffee and eats – sitting outside was not an option today.

The rain had abated somewhat when we took to our bikes again, but had not stopped completely. John did instal his waterproof camera on his handlebar, so was able to get some photos.

The rain had abated, but it was still pretty miserable (photo by John)

The track between Peka Peka and Paraparaumu is not sealed, and it was quite muddy and riddled with puddles. Those people who did not have mudguards on their bikes got very mucky indeed, with mud spatters on their legs and all the way up their backs. Our bikes, which John had cleaned just a few days earlier, were all muddy again, despite having mudguards.

The track was rather muddy (photo by John)

By the time we got to Waikanae, the rain had stopped and soon after we even saw some blue sky.

The track diverts from the Expressway for a short distance near the Grace family wāhi tapu land

Waiting for others to catch up at the entrance to Te Ara o Whareroa (photo by John)

From here, where there is a side track overlooking the beach, we could hear the thunder
of the surf (photo by John)

Back at Paekakariki, we took the road along the waterfront to get back to the township. The surf was rolling in strongly. We stopped to take photos.

John waits while his rear-mounted time-lapse camera (under his saddle) takes a photo of Kapiti Island

Kapiti Island and the surf

We stopped at the Perching Parrot Café for lunch and/or more coffee. Lately this café, which used to be closed on Wednesdays, has been opening every day as demand has increased. It was pretty busy, and we moved an extra table to a spot right outside the post office, blocking the PO boxes. A couple of locals came to clear their boxes, and had to ask to be let through …

We scored a table right outside the post office … (photo by John)

… but had to get an extra table to make room for all nine of us (photo by John)

Tucking in to lunch (photo by John)

We took the 2:15 pm train back to Wellington, having biked 35 km – very satisfying, despite the rather wet start.

Paekakariki to Peka Peka

On Saturday 8 April, we biked from Paekakariki to Peka Peka – on dedicated cycle paths all the way – a distance of 25.5 km. It is great that cycling facilities are improving all the time – though perhaps not fast enough in the opinion of some.

John had had surgery to his lower eyelid a couple of weeks earlier, which meant that airflows and wind no longer bother him so much, as the eye can now (nearly) close. He is also feeling a bit more energetic.

Again, we drove to Paekakariki, and cycled on Te Ara o Whareroa through the sandhills of Queen Elizabeth II Park. Heading north, the scrub-covered sandhills are on the left, while on the right is a valley of lovely green pastures, dotted with sheep. During a “normal” summer, these pastures get to look quite dry and brown, but with the huge amount of rain we’ve had lately, it is now looking wonderfully lush.

Lush pasture dotted with sheep and wetlands

From the end of Te Ara o Whareroa at Raumati, there is a short distance to ride on a shared foot/cycle path along Poplar Avenue to the start of Te Ara Kapiti (the “unofficial” name, coined by Alastair Smith, for the cycle path alongside the Kapiti Expressway, which I will be using in this blog, until the track gets a proper name). This shared foot/cycle path comes to an abrupt end, where there is no sloping kerb to allow one to smoothly cross Leinster Road to the start of Te Ara Kapiti. That is a tad annoying, and possibly hazardous. It is something that the council – or NZTA, or whoever does these things – should attend to, we think.

Along the way on Te Ara Kapiti, we took photos of the wetlands and their vegetation. The planting is quite mature already, and very attractive.

I liked the reflections of the flaxes on the water

Reeds in the foreground and toetoe in the back ground

Amazing seedpods of a different variety of reed

A small flock of alpacas (photo by John)

Alpacas are farmed for their fibre, which is soft, durable and luxuriously silky

We came to the retaining wall with the stylised Māori patterns on it, and I took some more photos of it. The wall consists of two parts, one below the cycle track, and one alongside it. The two parts have different styles of decoration on them.

The lower part of the wall, with the cycle path running on top of it

The upper part of the wall, alongside the cycle track

Just before we got to Peka Peka, John reached his 5,000 km milestone. Of course that warranted a photo.

Five thousand kilometres since November 2014 (photo by John)

We stopped at Peka Peka to have a late lunch at Harrisons. There were two other SmartMotion electric bikes in the bike rack. John later talked to the owners, who said they had had theirs for a couple of years. We see quite a few of these bikes around the place now. E-bikes are definitely becoming more popular.

A gaggle of SmartMotion e-bikes at Harrisons (photo by John)

After lunch we took the same route back. From the corner of SH1 and Peka Peka Road, there seems to be a cycle track continuing along SH1, but time was getting on so we didn’t explore to see how far it went. We’ll have to do that another time.

The corner of SH1 and Peka Peka Road, where road alterations are still going on – (photo by John)

A pretty view off a bridge close to the Te Moana Road crossing

The Te Moana Road crossing (photo by John)

Special traffic lights for cyclists

Back on Te Ara o Whareroa – at 4:30 pm, the shadows are lengthening (photo by John)

The late afternoon sun on the water at Paekakariki (photo by John)

It was quite a long day, but very satisfying. It was not a hard ride, but we did cover a total distance of 51 km.