Plimmerton

On Monday 8 January, we went for a short-ish ride from Mana to Plimmerton and back. We parked at Ngatitoa Domain, and biked to Plimmerton, where we had a delicious pizza lunch at The Big Salami. It's a tiny place, but it serves good coffee and great pizzas.

Lunch at The Big Salami (photo by John)

After lunch I escaped a long conversation on meteorology with a man at a neighbouring table, by leaving first. I waited for John a short distance away, at the beachfront, while he extricated himself. 

The tide was in, and a couple of dozen screeching and squabbling seagulls were on the beach, hoping for tidbits from some people enjoying their fish and chips on a nearby seat. We were amused at one very aggressive seagull patrolling the space in front of the seats to prevent any other gulls coming near.

Seagulls hoping for fish and chips offerings (photo by John)

Enjoying fish and chips in the sun. Note the bossy seagull patrolling the edge,
while another gull is trying the stealth approach from the rear (photo by John)

We biked along the waterfront, to the end of the road, then decided to explore some of the hillside streets. We climbed up Gordon Road and Ogilvie Terrace. These were seriously steep roads. But the views were worth it.

This was a seriously steep road. Thank goodness for electrical assistance! (photo by John)

I don’t remember if this was Gordon Road or Ogilvie Terrace,
but it was more fun going down, than up (photo by John)

The view over Hongoeka Bay (photo by John)

Looking towards Titahi Bay in the distance (photo by John)

Though we had originally thought of going up Airlie Road and coming back down Te Ara Harakeke, the effort of the steep climbs was enough for us that day, so we decided to leave that for another day, and headed home the way we had come.

Mana to Pukerua

Last Monday, 19 June, we took a ride from Mana to Pukerua Bay. It was fine but cold, however there was little wind. We parked the car at the Ngati Toa Domain in Mana, and biked along the foreshore to Plimmerton.

The rocky foreshore, looking across to the Whitireia Peninsula and Mana Island beyond (photo by John)

Looking the other way, towards Plimmerton (photo by John)

We biked up Te Ara Harakeke from Plimmerton to Pukerua, where we used the pedestrian overbridge to cross SH1, so we could explore the “other” side of Pukerua. We have lived in Wellington for over 50 years, and have driven through Pukerua a gazillion times, but we had never explored that area.

After crossing the railway line at the station, we headed to the left, towards a track that looked promising. However it was the track leading to the Escarpment Track. This is the steep 10 km track that clings to the side to the Paekakariki Hill. It was opened last year, and is part of the Te Araroa Walking Trail which runs the length of New Zealand, 3,000 km, from Cape Reinga to Bluff.

While I am full of admiration (no, actually, I think they're completely bonkers!) for the many people who are bold and keen enough to walk this track, there is no way at all that I will ever attempt it. Not on foot, and not by bike (which is not possible anyway). I stick to the assertion that I am a “flatlander” – I don’t “do hills” if I can help it.

The sign at the start of the Escarpment Track is full of warnings (click to enlarge), but it doesn’t seem to put off hundreds of people who enjoy walking it – but it’s not for me! (photo by John)

This part of Pukerua Bay is a pleasant suburban area, where some of the streets have gorgeous views out towards Paraparaumu and the Tasman Sea.

Some streets had great views (photo by John)

We came across a house which was a work of art in progress. Three-quarters of the façade had been painted with a view, which I imagine will be like the view they get from the windows on the other side of the house. Or perhaps, as John suggests, it could be the view one gets from Plimmerton. The lower right quadrant is yet to be painted. We will have to come back next summer to see if it has been completed.

The painted house (photo by John)

We biked all around the streets, and arrived at the old, now closed, Muri Station. The Escarpment Track skirts this area. We continued on the path alongside the station, but it petered out at a grassy slope, and we ended up pushing our bikes up it (thank goodness for the “walk assist” on our bikes) to get back to the street above.

After a good explore around the streets, we saw that clouds were gathering, and we didn’t want to get caught in the rain, so we headed back. We stopped at Plimmerton’s Big Salami Café for coffee and one of their delicious pizzas. We’d had a pleasant ride, exploring a "new" area, and John had managed it OK, despite some health concerns a few days earlier. We had done 22 km.

The foreshore track between Plimmerton and Mana (photo by John)

Plimmerton and Airlie Road

On 5 January it was a sparkling, sunny day, but cool. We planned to bike from Mana to the top of Pukerua and back. We parked in the Ngati Toa Domain, and when unloading the bikes, we were surprised to find that the southerly was really strong still, and cold! Our house is sheltered from the south, so we often are not aware that it is still blowing.

We had not expected it to be quite so cold (photo by John)

We biked to Plimmerton’s Big Salami café, and had coffee and a small pizza – it was 3pm, a rather late lunch, but no matter. It was very nice, as usual. We were sitting the sun, and the wind wasn't too bad there.

Waiting for our pizza at The Big Salami Café (photo by John)

After that, rather than going down through the underpass below the Plimmerton Station on our way to Te Ara Harakeke, which would take us to the top of Pukerua, we thought we’d explore another road and headed up the hill by the roundabout – The Track, it’s called.

There are some lovely views from up there, overlooking the foreshore and out to the Whitireia Peninsula on one side, and Pukerua on the other side, and Mana Island in the middle.

The view towards the Whitireia Peninsula … (photo by John)

… towards Pukerua (photo by John)

… and out towards Mana Island

3a Roys Road, spelled out in paua shell beside a driveway

We meandered up and over and around, and eventually found ourselves on Airlie Road. We had ridden on this road before, in the other direction. This side of the hill was not quite such a killer as the other side, so we climbed to the top, and over the hill down to Whenua Tapu.

Climbing up the seaward side of the hill on Airlie Road (photo by John)

The view from the top of Airlie Road (photo by John)

From there we continued up Te Ara Harakeke towards Pukerua. But before we got to the top, John was feeling quite tired, and knowing we would have a headwind on the return trip, he suggested that we had done enough, and should turn around. The headwind wasn’t too bad actually. By the time we got back to the car, we had done exactly 15 km.

The track between Plimmerton and Mana (photo by John)

Tawa to Plimmerton

Riding to the Gear Homestead Café has become a bit of a destination for us on a fine day. It’s about 9 km from the start of Te Ara Tawa, which makes it a nice there-and-back ride.

Lunch at the Gear Homestead Café (photo by John)

Tawa to Hongoeka Bay

Last Sunday, we set out with a plan to bike from Tawa to Mana, have lunch and bike back. We ended up going quite a bit further, covering a total of 41.5 km.

We started out from Tawa’s Takapu Road Station carpark, riding on Te Ara Tawa, the very nice walking and cycling path that runs along the railway line, through quiet suburban streets, and then along the Porirua Stream as far as Kenepuru station.

On a Sunday, there was plenty of parking at the Takapu Road station carpark (photo by John)

Tawa to Plimmerton

On a fine Saturday last week (24 October), we biked from Tawa to Plimmerton and back. We again parked at Takapu Road railway station. John suggested we could bike from home, but I am still a bit worried about biking on Middleton Road (see postscript below), which has either a very narrow shoulder or none at all, and there is a reasonable amount of car traffic using that road with the speed limit being 70 km/hr on the most winding part!

We biked the same route as we had a couple of weeks earlier, taking time to linger near the Mana Marina area for a bit. We discovered that recently, a garden area near the yacht jetties had been “embellished” by the display of a number of colourful garden gnomes – one of them, gruesomely, lying face down with a knife in his back!

Plimmerton – A very short ride

On Wednesday, 12 November, we went for a ride near Plimmerton. The plan was to ride along Karehana Bay, then turn back and ride via Paremata to the Camborne Walkway, and back.

However, the wind along the waterfront at Plimmerton and Karehana Bay was so strong, it made the ride quite a struggle. The tide was high, and at times the seaspray slapped over the wall onto the footpath.

Having turned around and biked back to Plimmerton, John wasn’t feeling 100% - he’s been plagued by recurring nose bleeds in the last week – so we decided to call it a day and go home, even though we'd biked only five kilometres. 

The sea was being roughed up by a strong nor’west wind (photo by John)

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This is my 99th blog post. So it is appropriate that my next post will be a special one, with a surprise. Watch this space!

Plimmerton to Pukerua

Last Monday, 8 September, we went for just a short ride from Plimmerton to the top of the hill at Pukerua. I had said to John I should try Te Ara Harakeke again, as in the past I’ve had serious misgivings about the steepness of the hill. His reply was “Yes, you want to see if your mountains have become molehills yet” (nothing rude intended!).

So we parked in Plimmerton, ducked under the station underpass, and rode up along the lovely walking/cycling path that skirts SH1. The beginning of it is quite easy, the gradient is very friendly, and with a slight tailwind, it was pleasant riding.

Te Ara Harakeke skirts SH1 (photo by John)

Just past Whenua Tapu Cemetery, the track starts to climb, and at first, it is not too daunting. It goes through a rather pretty area with shrubbery and cabbage trees. Then the serious climb starts.

I like the cabbage trees in this pretty area before the hill starts in earnest (photo by John)

I was so determined to bike all the way up, and not get off and walk. Oh, how my legs burned, and how my lungs gasped! I managed to bike almost to the top, but about two pedal strokes short of the top, I had to give in … I needed several minutes to get my breath back! But hey, I had just about done it, and there’s hope for me yet.

I must add that I couldn’t have done it if we’d had a headwind, but with a little push from the southerly, it was OK.

Once over the railway bridge, we rode a little distance into the side road at Pukerua, then turned around and rode back down the hill. Whee! It was great tootling down at speed, with the wind rushing past and making my eyes water.

We didn’t take many photos as it was such a short ride. The most interesting thing we saw was a convoy of huge trucks parked at the weigh station. They were all connected together – two in front and one at the rear – to pull and push a trailer with a very large, and obviously very heavy “thing” on it. We couldn’t work out what it was – perhaps a substation?

Two of the huge trucks at the front of the convoy (photo by John)

The “thing” that was to be transported, and the third truck, to push from behind (photo by John)

It was a short ride, just 12.5 km. And my “mountains” had not quite been reduced to molehills yet, maybe just “foot hills”?

Paremata to Karehana Bay

Yesterday, Monday 6 January, was described by “the media” as the most depressing day of the year because for most people, it signaled the return to work after the Christmas/New Year break. I must say that I felt sorry for those who were particularly brassed off that the sun had finally come out, on the very day they had to go back to work, when for most of the holiday break, Wellington’s weather had been frustratingly wet and windy, even stormy.

However, we were feeling lucky, as we were able to go for a bike ride, instead of having to worry about clearing hundreds of emails or putting up with a difficult boss. My decision to take “early retirement” was the one of the best decisions of my life!

We went for just a short bike ride (10 kms), from Paremata to Karehana Bay, and back. John has been full of a cold all week (thank you, horrible Wellington weather!), so he was not feeling up to doing great biking heroics. But he did want to take a better picture of our bikes for my (or rather our) “technical” blog post. He wanted one with a more attractive background.

As we drove into Paremata across the bridge, John reckoned he saw a shark, or a dolphin, basking midstream at the entrance to the inlet, near the bridge. I didn’t believe it, so we stopped at the Ngati Toa Domain, and biked back to the bridge to take a look. We didn’t see anything that looked like either a shark or a dolphin, and the people playing in or near the water didn’t seem to be worried or excited by anything. So I suspect that what he saw was just a bit of debris, as there was a lot of it floating about after the last few days’ gales.

We were surprised, when we parked at the domain, at the huge number of Downer’s (infrastructure construction company) vehicles parked there. Was this the place they parked the vehicles during the Christmas break? We asked a chap in an orange hi-viz vest, and found out that it had been a safety training session for staff. When we came back from looking for the “shark”, dozens of similarly clad people were pouring out of the nearby hall.

Last Thursday and Friday, there was yet another storm (we’ve had a few over the past year!), which resulted in high seas pounding the shore and debris being blown about.

John thought that we might not be able to go on the path that runs between the shore and the railway line, as it was still windy, and he thought that waves might still be crashing onto the path, but it was OK.

The track between the water and the railway line was not being swamped by waves (photo by John)

Normally placid Plimmerton Beach had quite a surf running, and as the tide was still high, it slapped up against the seawall. But not nearly as much as it had during the height of the storm. Compare the photo below with photo No 6, on this link (Wellington wind jan 3 2014).

On Monday, the remains of Friday’s storm were still slapping against the Plimmerton seawall
(photo by John)

Surf rolling onto Plimmerton Beach (photo by John)

As we rode along the foreshore of Karehana Bay, there was quite a bit of gravel and driftwood debris that had been thrown up over the seawall, onto the pavement. Piles of seaweed had been dumped against the base of the wall and lots more seaweed was still floating about in the waves.

Piles of seaweed at Karehana Bay

It was an uneventful, though quite windy, ride to the end of the road. There John tried to take photos of the bikes with the sea as a background, but the wind was so strong, the bikes were shuddering on their stands.

The way back to Plimmerton was smooth and enjoyable, with the wind now behind us. We stopped at the “Big Salami Café” for a coffee. While there, we heard the shrill of the siren being sounded at the Fire Station at Karehana. As the local fire brigade is manned by volunteers, it was a few minutes before the fire engine came screaming past. We could hear it coming before it rounded the corner, so I had my camera ready.

The fire engine rushes past the café

Ara Harakeke

Today, we managed to get a great ride in, between two lots of rather heavy rain. The last few days have been pretty wet, and when I heard the rain clattering on the roof as I went to bed last night, I didn’t think we’d get to ride today. But we did. Today was sunny and calm, and even warm enough to take my jacket off. However, we’d only been home an hour or so after our ride, when we had another heavy downpour and thunder. We were glad we didn’t get caught out in that!

In view of the recent rain, we figured we’d better choose a sealed track, and so we decided on Ara Harakeke, the track that runs alongside SH1 from Plimmerton to Pukerua. We parked outside the Plimmerton railway station, ducked under the underpass, and tootled off onto the sealed path alongside the Domain. But, woah! We came around a bend in the track and found ... a lake!

A “lake” on the track! (photo by John)

A quick turn-around to an alternative route led across a bridge over a very swollen stream. This took us to the entrance of the Palmers Garden Centre, in front of which is a large display of Big Mac Slabs Furniture – beautiful garden furniture made from thick slabs of timber. It looks like a garden café, but there’s not a coffee cup in sight anywhere!

We crossed a very swollen stream

Not a cafe setting, but a display of garden furniture!

We rode up Ulric Street which winds through the Plimmerton Industrial Park, from the top of which there is access to the Ara Harakeke Way. It was glorious to pedal along the flat part of the track, and to see flowering broom, swathes of wild purple daisies, and even the delicate white blooms of some early flowering manuka.

Early-flowering manuka

I love it when the purple daisies cover whole hillsides on one side of the motorway, and when the manuka on the other side is in full flower, so that it looks like it’s been snowing. And at this time of the year, the hills in the distance look so soft and such a rich green, like a rumpled velvet counterpane. So beautiful!

Flowering broom and purple daisies, and velvety hills (photo by John)

Before long, we reached Whenua Tapu, from where the track started to climb. To begin with, it runs right next to the motorway, although elevated above it, then it goes through a bushy area which is really pretty.

A pretty bushy area, before the track becomes much steeper (photo by John)

The track became quite steep, but I was determined not to be a wuss this time. I was going to give it my best shot. Most of the way, I did OK. I used my lowest gear, and tried to just keep my legs pumping, while keeping my upper body as still as possible to conserve energy. It seemed to work in all but the steepest bits, where I still had to get off and walk. My legs just couldn’t do the worst of it, and the loading on my heart was just too much (I have a slightly leaky heart valve, which doesn’t help).

It was a struggle up that hill, but I made it! (photo by John)

BUT … I got to the bridge over the railway line at Pukerua without getting grumpy, and I felt pretty chuffed about that.

The bridges over the railway line – one for walkers and cyclists, the other for SH1

At the top of the Pukerua hill there are a few shops, and as always when we go past there, I shuddered at the sign advertising “Le Mer Day Spa”. The French word for “sea” is a feminine word, so it should be la mer, not le mer. And being a picky linguist, it makes me cringe every time I see it.

 

Aargh! It should be La Mer, not Le Mer!

Having reached the shops, we considered stopping for an icecream, but then decided not to. We turned around and whizzed down the hill back to Plimmerton. Wheeee!! Fabulous, the free-wheeling speed, the sun on our backs, and the wind in our hair! Oops, sorry, I just got a bit carried away there. Of course we didn’t have the wind in our hair, we were wearing helmets – but it sounded good …

When we got back to the Plimmerton Domain, there was a group from the local archery club practicing their skills. We stopped for a while to watch them. The bows are quite seriously sophisticated looking instruments. When I commented that it was something I would have been quite interested in learning when I was younger, a man in his fifties came over and said it was never too late to learn anything (I'd agree with that!). Lots of older people were wanting to learn, he said, but there was quite a waiting list to join the club.

Plimmerton archers and their targets (photo by John)

Modern-day archers

Back to Plimmerton, under the station underpass. I was quite taken by the cheerful murals in the tunnel.

Symbols and sights of Plimmerton in the station underpass

A tile and mosaic mural of the seashore in the station underpass

 

We rode past our car, and carried on towards Paremata, where we were planning to have lunch. We popped into a little side street for a look at the beach, which wasn’t there, as the tide was in, and waves covered the whole beach.

The tide was in at Plimmerton Beach (photo by John)

I thought the seats overlooking the beach were rather attractive – made of concrete, but with an artistic touch of paua. Concrete does not have to be ugly, it can be rather beautiful when polished up.

Artistic seats

We rode along the southernmost part of Ara Harakeke, between the water and the railway line, towards Paremata. At Mana Station we went through the underpass – no decorations here – and doubled back towards “Ruby’s”, a café with a nice courtyard, where we had a very satisfying lunch.

Lunch at “Ruby’s” (photo by John)

We still hadn’t had enough of cycling, so after lunch we kept going through the Ngatitoa Domain and Mana Yacht Club. Lots of yachts and pleasure boats were moored at the marina, but out towards the bridge, two fishing boats were anchored off the shore. One of them had an impressive array of masts and tackles and machinery on board, for what was actually quite a small boat.

Fishing boats anchored near the Paremata Bridge (photo by John)

Here we turned around and biked back, through Mana, and Plimmerton, past our car again, and along the foreshore at Karehana Bay. On previous rides in this area we had gone past the boating club at Karehana without stopping, as the gate across the driveway is usually closed. But this time John found a path around the side of a building which allowed us to go onto the wharf, from where there is a great view out towards Mana Island.

Mana is a strangely flat-topped island, which was a base for the Māori chief Te Rauparaha in the 1820s. A decade later, European settlement started there with a whaling station and later, sheep farming. These days the island is administered by DOC (Department of Conservation).

Mana Island (photo by John)

By now a brisk headwind had sprung up, and I thought to myself “this is good practice for when – if! – we get to ride in Holland (where the wind is ever present)”. Taking John to Holland to do some bike touring is one of the items on “my bucket list”.

When we got to the Hongoeka Marae sign, we turned around and rode all the way back to the car on the road, rather than on the foot/cycle path. This was easier, as, being the weekend, there were quite a few people walking on the footpath. Also, I need to extend my “comfort zone”, by riding on the road, rather than dedicated cycle paths, more often.

What with all this riding back and forth, we had managed to cover 25 kms by the time we got back to the car. On the way home, I noticed that the “Prestige Caravans” yard on the corner of Acheron Road had a lot of their caravans and motorhomes open for viewing, so we stopped for a nosey.

$125,000 worth of motorhome! (photo by John)

I love looking inside caravans or motorhomes. I think it would be rather fun to have a holiday in one, even though I’m not a fan of camping. It is quite amazing what they manage to fit into such a small space. All the ones we looked into had not only fully functioning kitchens with stove, microwave and fridge, but also had TV sets, and a toilet and shower squeezed into the tiniest of spaces. That is the main thing that puts me off camping – the fact that you have to tramp across a paddock to get to the ablutions block! Not much fun in the middle of the night, or in the rain!

Inspecting the top bunk (photo by John)

I remember the first time I ever saw inside a caravan. I was nine years old, and we were visiting a Home Show. At the time, my Mum, my sister and I were living in my grandmother’s house along with my uncle’s family and it was all a bit cramped. There was a severe housing shortage in the Netherlands in the 1950s, and a caravan seemed like some sort of solution. We kids thought it was a great idea. But I don’t think Mum did, as we ended up moving into another family’s attic not long after. A great move, as it turned out, as we had a fantastic year there, and our two families became great, lifelong friends.

Having decided that we were not going to sell the house, and we were not going to buy a motorhome, and we were not going to become “grey nomads”, we got back into our little car and drove home, feeling very satisfied with our day.