Hawke's Bay Cycle Trails – Days 1 & 2

Last week we went to Hawkes Bay for a few days’ riding the wonderful cycling trails in the region. I had been watching the long-range forecast for a week or so, and there was a window of four fine days wedged between a wet Thursday and the Tuesday when I had to be back in Wellington for a meeting. It worked out perfectly.

Day 1 – Thursday 28 November

The way up to Hastings sure was wet. A deluge, in fact. It started to rain when we were going through the Manawatu Gorge. The river was very high, muddy, and fast-flowing, and there was a lot of vegetation debris rushing down the stream. Between there and Waipukurau, the rain came down in torrents. The windscreen wipers were doing overtime, going as fast as they could, and every time a big truck (of which there were many!) went by in the opposite direction, it would throw up so much water, that we could barely see out. Fortunately, by the time we got to Hastings the rain had all but stopped.

I had booked a cottage through the holidayhouses website. I had twice before found lovely cottages through this website, and again, we were not disappointed.

“Arbor Vitae Cottage”, on the outskirts of Hastings, was perfect. It is in a beautiful setting. You enter the two-acre property through a beautiful garden, with an avenue of cherry trees leading past the main house. The cottage, separated from the house by a garage, is in its own small garden which you enter through a little gate, under an arbour of climbing jasmine. Box hedges on each side of the path, with an olive tree and other plants in the middle of each square. A terrace with a barbecue, table and chairs on one side and a seat and umbrella on the other side. The fence next to the garage was smothered in flowering star jasmine exuding a sweet perfume, which I will now associate forever with this holiday.

“Arbour Vitae Cottage” (photo by John)

Our “neighbours” were two sheep and three lambs, resident in the paddock next door. During our stay the lambs provided much entertainment with their antics. They had been born only a few days earlier, but were already quite boisterous, running around, climbing on one another and on their mums, and apparently feeding indiscriminately from either mother. We were amazed at how much they grew in the few days that we were there.

A peaceful, early morning scene in the paddock next door (photo by John)

Our “neighbours”. This photo was taken at sunset – the sheep are not actually pink (photo by John)

Day 2 – Friday 29 November
Napier Marine Parade to Ahuriri (part of the Coastal Ride), Taradale, Tutaekuri River-side track

After the torrential rains that had drenched Hawke’s Bay for the previous few days, Friday dawned as a gloriously beautiful day. Our plan was to ride on the cycle track along Napier’s Marine Parade, and carry on from there, in any one of the different options. We had a nice early start, we were biking before 9am (well …, that’s early for us!).

We parked the car at the southernmost end of Marine Parade, at the first carpark after the Winstone Aggregates plant. It was very bare and isolated, but the cycle track was smooth and a pleasure to ride on.

There was a strong surf at this wild, stony beach – and probably a strong rip too …

Next to the cycle track, at intervals, there were fitness stations consisting of bars at various heights, for exercises like sit-ups, chin-ups and other such tortures. Much more interesting were the three large “things” on the grass between the cycle track and the sea. We weren’t sure whether they were art statements, or whether they had some functional purpose. But they looked quite dramatic. (John has since done some research, and he thinks that they disguise vents for the Te Awa stormwater drainage system.)

Art or function? Or maybe both? (photo by John)

­­As we got closer to the Napier city centre, there were areas for people to rest or play – seating under canopies, water fountains, bike racks, barbecues, playgrounds. There is an enclosed “junior cycle track”, complete with mini-roads, traffic lights, traffic signs and pedestrian crossings. Right next to it is a seating area under a shade sail, from where parents can keep an eye on their kids. Further along there is a mini-golf course.

All this is new since the last time we visited Napier in March. The council is definitely wanting to attract more people to the area – perhaps as a response to the permanent closure of Marineland. The plans for the “Marine Parade Big Picture” sound quite extensive and exciting.

There are several sculptures along Marine Parade too. There is The Spirit of Napier, which stands atop a column over the Gilvray Fountain. The statue by Frank Szimay represents Napier rising from the ashes of the 1931 earthquake. It was unveiled in 1971.

The Spirit of Napier, by Frank Szirmay (photo by John)

Then there is the Millennium Arch, designed by Hawke’s Bay artist David Trubridge, which was commissioned to celebrate the start of the third Millennium in Napier. It depicts the rising of the sun over the sea towards Cape Kidnappers.

The Millennium Arch, by David Trubridge. What a shame about the hideous motels in the background … (photo by John)

A interesting bronze sculpture entitled The Trawlermen, is a feature on the forecourt of the National Aquarium, but unfortunately the light behind it did not make for a good picture.

Outside the iSite (Visitor Information Centre), the sculptured water feature by Para Matchitt is entitled The Heritage Fountain. The motifs reflect some of the things Hawke’s Bay is famous for – gannets, sunshine, rugged mountain ranges, sea and fish.

The Heritage Fountain, in front of the iSite (photo by John)

After we’d had a browse inside the information centre, we met a man with a most interesting bike. Actually we spotted his bike first, and John wanted to take a photo of it, because it was so quirky. Then the owner turned up, so we tried to talk to him. But it seemed that he couldn’t talk – perhaps he was deaf-mute. He mouthed, and pointed, and was obviously very proud of his bike, and delighted that we wanted to take a photo of him and his bike.

The bike was covered in cardboard, painted silver, held together with masses of duct tape. It had a plastic crate on the carrier – also painted silver – and had yellow cardboard tube “exhaust pipes”. Yellow “flames” on the side to give the impression of speed. I think he wanted to make his bike look like a motor bike. He proudly pointed at a shield on the front, with the dates 1978–2013 on it, and to a sign on the back of the crate that said “… to Invercargill” (I can’t remember what the dots stood for). It looked as if he had been on a very long bike trip from somewhere up north to the deep south.

You meet the most interesting people while biking (photo by John)

After that unusual encounter, we pushed on, below Napier’s famous Bluff Hill, past the port, and past the inner harbour at Ahuriri. There I watched the activities of a crew unloading crates of fish from a fishing boat into a truck marked “Hawke’s Bay Seafoods”.

Unloading the day’s catch

While I was doing this, John had gone on ahead, and photographed a Māori double-hulled sailing vessel. Upon searching for info about it on Google, I found out that this was Te Matau a Māui, one of seven waka hourua that spent 18 months traversing the Pacific Ocean. The aim of the voyage was to promote marine conservation, but it also focused on teaching and reviving traditional sailing and celestial navigation skills.  Interestingly, despite the intention to revive traditional sailing skills, it had a large bank of solar cells on its deck.

The waka is owned by Ngati Kahungunu Iwi, and is permanently berthed in the Ahuriri harbour.

Te Matau a Māui, a Māori double-hulled sailing vessel (waka hourua) (photo by John)

After this we went on a bit of a wild goose chase, trying to find a way round to the track that would lead us to Church Road. We ended up riding through unattractive streets that seemed to lead nowhere interesting, so we turned around and found our way back to the Boardwalk Café overlooking the beach at Ahuriri, where we stopped for coffee and a muffin.

Coffee at the Boardwalk Café at Ahuriri (photo by John)

After a pleasant interlude, we set off again. While we were crossing the road – walking our bikes on the pedestrian crossing – a woman came rushing up to us and asked us if our bikes were folding bikes. How do they fold, and how easy would it be to take them on a cruise ship or a plane? John showed her how his bike folded up, and she asked if he would come over to show her husband, who was sitting at a café table a dozen metres up the road.

We had quite a chat. They were Judy and Malcolm, NZers living in Washington DC for half the year, and in NZ for the other half. They obviously did a lot of travelling, and they wanted bikes to take along on long trips and cruises. Folding bikes would be ideal. We gave them our cards, and Judy said she would email us. They had recently biked down the Wanganui River road from Pipiriki to Wanganui and she would send us details about that ride.

Then, off we went, in search of Church Road, where we intended to have lunch at the Mission Estate Winery. There were no signs pointing the way. The cycle trails map was sketchy, showing only the main roads and the trails, not the smaller streets. But John’s (mostly) unfailing sense of direction got us there. We had to ride quite a distance on the main roads with lots of fast-moving traffic going past, but they did have wide cycle lanes on the edge of the roads, and it didn’t make me feel too uncomfortable.

Eventually we got onto a proper cycle track, silky smooth, along Prebensen Drive. As we curved into Church Road, the track stopped and we were back riding on the road. But soon we saw the beautiful white building of the Mission Estate Winery. Yay!

The tree-lined avenue leading to the Mission Estate Winery

Down the stately tree-lined avenue, then struggle (walk!) up the hill to the lovely old Mission building where the restaurant is. We parked our bikes in the bike stand, thoughtfully provided by the management, and locked them together.

It was just before midday when we arrived, and we were the first lunch customers. We chose a table on the terrace, under shade sails with vines growing along the rafters, overlooking the lawn, dotted with tables and umbrellas – but the lawn was still a bit soft and wet from the previous day’s rain.

Lunch on the terrace under the shade sails and vines

Tables on the lawn at the Mission Estate restaurant (photo by John)

Lunch was delicious! Lamb for John and fish for me. And some Mission Estate Riesling of course. The service was great, friendly and efficient staff, starched linen table cloths and napkins, even “proper” fish cutlery for me. I would have indulged in dessert, as the offerings on the menu sounded very enticing, but actually I was quite full! Strangely, I think the cycling actually reduces my appetite – which is all good, of course!

We took our time to enjoy lunch, but soon we were back on the road. Along Church Road, and into Gloucester Street, until we got to the Pettigrew Green Arena, a large sports centre associated with EIT (Eastern Institute of Technology). There we were able to get onto the cycle track on top of the stopbank, which skirts the Tutaekuri River.

Actually, the stopbank is quite a distance from the river, though the few glimpses we had of it showed that the level of the water was quite high, following the recent rains. The track led us past orchards and fields with various newly planted crops, and a few vineyards, back to the Napier Marine Parade.

Orchards below the stopbank

After ducking under a road bridge, the track climbs back to the stopbank (photo by John)

It was quite a long ride to get back to Marine Parade. As we approached it, we saw a long goods train slowly rolling across the bridge. To get across the railway line and the busy main road, the cycle track went underneath the bridges. But being very close to the river, which had spread outside of its normal banks after the recent rains, the path had a lot of water on it in the dips under both bridges. We just had to keep going on the flooded track. A bit creepy, because the water was very brown, and you didn’t know how deep it would be. But it was OK.

Once across to the seaward side of Marine Parade, we pedalled back to the car, past the Ravensdown Fertiliser works (a bit smelly!) on one side of the road, and the Winstone Aggregates plant on the other. The latter had an interesting mural on one of its buildings – which I didn’t notice at all, so intent was I on getting back to the car … But John saw it and took a picture of it. He also rather liked the shape of the mound of sand as it came off the conveyer belt.

The Ravensdown Fertiliser Works, seen from the riverside track (photo by John)

The Winstone mural, depicting stylised features of Marine Parade (photo by John)

John liked the shape of this huge mound of sand. It reminded him of Mt Egmont-Taranaki
(photo by John)

When we got back to the car, our bike computers showed that we had ridden just on 40 kms. That was the longest ride I had yet done in one day. But worse (or better, depending on your point of view) was yet to come, the next day.

The car, having sat in the sun all day, was boiling hot, so on our way back to Hastings, we stopped at Clive for an icecream to cool us off. We got back to the cottage at about 4pm, too tired and too hot to do much more than sit in the shade on the terrace with a book and a cool drink.

New Plymouth Coastal Walkway - 19 June

Last week we had a short holiday to visit our daughter and grandchildren in Auckland. We decided to make a detour via New Plymouth, so that we could ride the Coastal Walkway. This is an 11km stretch of wide, smooth concrete path along the waterfront, specially designed for walkers and cyclists. At the city end it runs along the top of a seawall, made up of large boulders. Further north, it skirts beaches, sand hills and farmland.

The seawall is made of large boulders (photo by John)

We had enjoyed walking much of this walkway on previous visits to New Plymouth, and thought it would be great to cycle along it. We needed just one day to cycle the track, so booked two nights in “The Urban Bach”, a delightful cottage, where we had stayed before, and which I can heartily recommend. 

I had been watching the weather forecasts all week, hoping that the heavy rain storms due to come in from the south, were not going to eventuate. We left Wellington in the pouring rain, but by the time we got to New Plymouth, in the late afternoon, it was almost fine. However, the nasty stuff returned overnight, and we woke to torrential rain. Fortunately by 11am, it had abated to intermittent showers, so we decided to brave the wet, and go riding anyway.

We parked near the port breakwater, right at the south-western end of the coastal track. As we were getting ready, a jogger coming off the track to return to his car warned us that there was a seal on the rocks by the swimming pool. He said it had given him "a hell of a fright", so we should watch out for it.

Getting the bikes ready for our ride

The track is super-smooth concrete – a pleasure to ride on. It is wide enough for walkers and cyclists to share, though today there weren’t many of either about. Despite the weather and dark-ish skies John took a lot of pictures.

The path is super-smooth. Len Lye's Wind Wand is on the right (photo by John)

Even with the jogger’s warning to be on the look-out for the seal, it took John completely by surprise. As we came round a corner near the swimming pool, it suddenly reared up, lunged at John as he was cycling past, and barked at him. John hadn’t seen it at all, so completely did it blend into the rocks. The boulders are dark brown and black and quite rounded – perfect camouflage for a fat, dark brown seal.

The seal is perfectly camouflaged among the rocks (photo by John)

I was behind John, so I saw the seal wriggling back down, and steered well clear of it on the far side of the track. Of course John parked his bike, and cautiously went back to take a picture of it. Seals can be quite nasty, so you don’t want to get up too close.

When we got close to the Wind Wand, it started to rain quite hard. John went down the ramp that leads to the underpass under the main road to cross towards Puke Ariki (New Plymouth's museum and library complex). I didn’t know why he went there, because the track continued across a bridge over a small stream. But it turned out that he just wanted to shelter under the bridge. I figured it was only water and we were wet already, so I carried on. He soon followed me.

It really wasn’t too bad, as there was no wind, and it was not cold. The track went along in front of a cliff face with beautiful sculptural textures. Sandstone, probably of volcanic origin, shaped by the wind and the water.

Sculptural textures on the cliff face (photo by John)

Past the Te Henui Stream, over the bridge towards the surf beach. Last summer there was a coffee-and-icecream caravan here, and a quirky row of old, but wonderfully comfortable, armchairs. No armchairs there now, of course, and no coffee caravan either.

In summer, there are comfy armchairs in which to enjoy a rest, a coffee and a gaze out to sea
(photo by John, November 2012)

On past the East End Surf Life Saving Club. When we got to the Fitzroy motorcamp, I stopped under a canopy to put my hood on under my helmet, as the rain was dripping into the slits in my helmet.

After the motorcamp, the track wound through the sand dunes – not much sand, but lots of flax and shrubs – very pretty. A few ups and downs, nothing I couldn’t cope with. Even so, my thigh muscles do find it very hard to go up any kind of slope, even a very gentle one. Maybe I should do some quad-strengthening exercises …

A wet, wriggly path in the sand dunes

Before long we saw the stunningly beautiful Te Rewa Rewa bridge across the Waiwhakaiho River. This is an award-winning bridge, built specially for the walkway, to connect New Plymouth with the town of Bell Block.

A little bridge, leading to the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, in the distance (photo by John)

Its design is reminiscent both of an unfurling wave, and a whale skeleton. It is angled in such a way that on a cloudless day, you can see Mt Taranaki framed by its curving ribs.

John cycling on the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge

On a clear day, the bridge frames Mt Taranaki to perfection (photo by John, November 2012)

The rain had stopped by this stage, and of course we took photos, but Mt Taranaki was shrouded in clouds and mist. However, even on a dull day, the bridge makes an impressive statement.

View from the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge

We crossed the bridge and carried on along the track towards Bell Block. Through rolling paddocks, behind the sand dunes.Then along on a boardwalk amongst the flax, and to a look-out from where we could see the wide beach, and the sweep of the coast towards the city. It would have been nice to sit here and have a snack, but the seat was rather wet.

A nice place for a rest, but rather wet

The coastline towards the city, with Paritutu Rock and the Sugar Loaf Islands
(photo by John)

 
Then the track turned inland towards Bell Block, and we had to go up and down some rises, which I didn’t much like. I had to get off and walk a few times. A major hump turned out to be a bridge over an underpass for cows on their way to the milking shed. From the top, we could see the suburban houses, and also a small herd of cows. I was happy to turn around right here, but John wanted to take a closer look at the cows. They were actually heifers, I think – young animals anyway. The paddocks on each side of the track were very soggy indeed and there were quite a few puddles on the track too.

Cattle, soggy paddocks and large puddles (photo by John)

 

View towards the sea from the top of the hump

The sky kept changing from dark clouds, to actually showing some blue sky dotted with big white clouds, and back to threatening rain.

Changeable skies and threatening rain (photo by John)

On the return trip, after crossing the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge again, we deviated from the walkway to ride halfway around Lake Rotomanu, a small lake surrounded by beautiful trees and lovely picnic spots. We saw a gaggle of ducks and geese, all gathered together on the grass.

Lake Rotomanu (photo by John)

The jetty at Lake Rotomanu (photo by John)

A gathering of ducks and geese, and even a stray chook (photo by John)

Further along, back on the track, we stopped for a snack near the Surf Club, as it was sunny by now, but as soon as we sat down, we were targeted by the local sandfly population, so we hurriedly got back on the bikes. NZ sandflies are very small, but have quite a nasty bite, and they are very sneaky, as you don’t notice them until it’s too late.

The Māori legend about sandflies tells us that "the god Tu-te-raki-whanoa had just finished creating the landscape of Fiordland, it was absolutely stunning... so stunning that it stopped people from working. They just stood around gazing at the beauty instead. The goddess Hinenuitepo became angry at these unproductive people, so she created the sandfly to bite them and get them moving". It sure worked for us!

Near the Te Henui Stream bridge, another walkway goes inland, following the stream. We decided to see how far it would be possible to bike it.

The Te Henui Stream (photo by John)

To begin with, it was a smooth sealed path, which soon became a gravel track. It is a very pretty area – the stream, much fuller and swifter than it was back in November, a lot of beautiful trees, camellias starting to flower, and lots of tree ferns. We played tag with a woman walking her dog – we would pass her, but every time John stopped to take a photo, she would overtake us again. He takes his time with his photos, carefully framing each shot, making sure each is a pleasing composition.

Beautiful trees along the Te Henui Stream track (photo by John)

We rode about a kilometer before the path went over a little bridge, and then deteriorated to a muddy grass track, so we turned around. Suddenly the rain came down in buckets, but I was not game to shelter under one of the road bridges, as there was too much evidence of pigeons residing there. I would rather be rained on than “plopped” on by pigeons.

During heavy rain, water from the road above drains into the stream through a hole in the bridge (photo by John)

As we went past the cliffs again, I noticed that there was a gate, which could be swung across the track when the weather, wind or waves made it too hazardous for people to go there. I noticed too, that the noise of the waves rolling in was louder than it had been earlier in the day. The tide was coming in. On the top of the cliff, a house with a tower grabbed our attention. I would love a house with a tower. So romantic! And what a great view it must have.

If I were ever to move to New Plymouth, I'd want to live in the house with the tower (photo by John)

By the time we got back to the beginning of the Coastal Walkway, it had fined up again, and we thought we would ride to the end of the breakwater while the going was good. The surface was sealed but very uneven, and it was the hardest part of the day’s riding because the lumpy-bumpyness hurt my hands.

The surface on the breakwater was very uneven (photo by John)

The port and Paritutu Rock, seen from the breakwater (photo by John)

Then John decided we should bike to the end of the road to the port. We rode along the road for some distance, then onto a pretty little path among old pohutukawas. In the bark chips under the trees, I saw lots of strange white shapes – rather like tennis balls with bits cut out of them – which I suspect were mushrooms. Unfortunately I didn’t get a close look at them because as we got to the end of the path, it started to spit, and by the time we got back to the car, it was teeming and we were thoroughly drenched.

Pohutukawas

We put the bikes away in the car, and went to have a rather late lunch at the “Bach on Breakwater” nearby. We had ridden 29 kms in nearly three hours. The variable weather had made it really rather interesting. Still a very enjoyable ride. The bonus of the poor weather was that we did not have to share the track with anyone. It would be a very different experience at the height of summer, with walkers, families, tourists and cyclists, even “crocodile bikes”, all out enjoying the walkway and the sights. But it would be fun to ride the track in the sunshine, so we will definitely be back.

Twin bikes on the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge

First Rides

 

12 March 2013

My first ride on my lovely brand-new Giant Expressway 2 folding bike was a little baby-steps one in Seatoun, a quiet suburb, with wide flat streets. After John adjusted the seat and the handlebar so I wouldn’t have to lean on my hands too much, I tootled off in his wake. Just as well there was no traffic, as I think I was just a mite wobbly to begin with and not exactly travelling in a straight line.

It is true that if you learned to ride a bike as a child, you never forget how. Isn’t it fascinating that your body just remembers all the moves, even after more than 50 years (I found that with skiing too after 30 years – what a thrill that was!).

Along with the bike, I had bought some cycling gloves which were well padded under the thumb joint and heel of the hand, and they helped a lot in taking some of the pressure off my hands. I also found that if I didn’t grip the handlebar, but instead leaned on the outer padded heel of my hands, with my thumbs on the top, rather than around the bar, the pressure on my thumbs was not quite so bad.

Of course you have to grip the handlebar when you want to use the brakes. This was something I had to re-learn: slowing down before crossing an intersection, without wobbling or having to step off, and letting go of one hand to indicate that I was turning. More wobbles!

We rode around many of the empty streets, and then along the coast road towards Worser Bay and back. We did about 6km in half an hour. That might not sound impressive, but it was enough for me, for a first time. I reckoned I had deserved the coffee we had at the Seatoun Café afterwards (http://seatouncafe.co.nz/). They serve nice strong flat whites and lovely muffins. Bliss!

15 March 2013

My first big ride. Hutt Valley River Trail – 1st section – Seaview to Avalon.

The Hutt River Trail is a flat walking and cycling track that runs from Hikoikoi Reserve in Petone, along the East bank of the Hutt River to Upper Hutt. As State Highway 2 runs on the other side of the river, there are a number of bridges that the track dips under. These bridges also provide convenient places to break the journey.

We decided that today we would ride for an hour, and see how far we would get, then turn around and return the way we had come. It was a warm sunny day with a light northerly wind, so we would have a head wind on the way out, and a tailwind coming back.

We parked the car at Seaview, across the bridge from Petone. The track skirts the Hutt River and is flat, apart from a few little dips and rises where the track goes under bridges. It is very pretty with open views on the river in places, and in other places there are trees providing shelter from the down-valley wind.

I have more or less got the hang of the gears – crank the number down if you want less resistance, as in going up a slope or against the wind, crank the number up when you want more resistance, as in going down a hill or with a tail wind. John tried to explain it by comparing it with the gears in a car, but I told him not to try to blind me with science, it would only confuse me more. (Oh, I get it now – to go up a steep hill in a car, you need to change down to a lower gear! My “aha” moment!),

The combination of taking Voltaren before biking, using padded gloves, a smooth surface to ride on (no gravel), and having the seat and handlebars at the right height so that I don’t have to lean on them, all meant that I had minimal discomfort in my hands.

We rode as far as Avalon. I didn’t want to overdo things on a first outing, and we still had to ride back. It was nice having a tail wind on the way back.

In all we did 18kms, in about two hours. John said I “did very well”. Yes, I think I did. I was quite pleased with myself. But I was tired. After this I reckoned I was entitled to a nice lunch, so we went to Days Bay and had a very nice lunch at the Chocolate Dayz Café.

20 March 2013

Hutt Valley River Trail – 2nd section – Avalon to Silverstream

Today we rode the next bit of the Hutt River bike trail. We parked the car at Avalon and rode to some distance beyond the Silverstream bridges, just over 10km. Then we turned around, so we did a total of 21km, which took us about two hours.

We started out on the track on top of the stopbank, which was quite smooth to begin with, but after a while the surface deteriorated – it consisted of concrete slabs, but in quite bad repair, with cracks and filled-in potholes. It smoothed out near Naenae. When we got to somewhere near Stokes Valley, the track became a very narrow footpath beside the road with cars whizzing past. I didn’t feel confident that I wouldn’t keel off the edge of the footpath, so I walked it. We could have gone on another track which skirted the river, but that was on gravel so I didn’t want to do that. But then after a while the track we were on petered out and we would have had to ride on the road, so I chose the lesser of two evils and John lifted our bikes over the fence, so that we could join the gravel track. It actually wasn’t as bad as I had feared, reasonably smooth in fact, most of the way, anyway.

On our way back we stayed on the gravel track, which also avoided the bumpy stopbank track, which was good. There was just one bit that I really didn’t like, below the bit of road we had walked on the way up. The track became quite narrow and winding, with bush on the left and a drop on the right. I thought it was rather scary, so I chickened out and walked for a bit. The rest of the gravel track was OK. The last few kilometres, though, I was getting quite a sore tailbone, and my thighs were certainly feeling it.

21 March

Te Ara Harakeke – Plimmerton to Paremata Bridge

This track goes from the Paremata Bridge, along the Taupo swamp, near the motorway, up to Pukerua. Only we got it wrong. We thought it would also go along the Pauatahanui Inlet, but it didn’t, so we rode the “wrong” bit of it.

We parked by the Plimmerton railway station, and set off on the Ara Harakeke Cycle Track, in the direction of Paremata.

The track, part of it smooth, part of it gravel, took us along the water, then through the Ngatitoa Domain and past the Marina. We went under the Paremata Bridge, but then the track petered out. We tried going along the main road (on the footpath) and to where there is a walking track, but it was not rideable, so we turned back. We explored a bit beyond the Domain, but then went back to the car. In all we did only 6.3 kms, about 40 minutes. But that was OK.

While we were having a coffee at the local café, another couple arrived, also on fold-up bikes. We got talking, and spent a pleasant half hour exchanging experiences, and John helped them to sort out a problem with the chain on one of their bikes. They were retired like us, and this was only their second ride out on their new bikes. They had started their ride from the Paremata bridge and had gone along Karehana Bay, as far as the Marae.

Having had a look at a map of the track, I think we should explore in that direction sometime, and also do the Airlie Rd track, which after a gentle rise, is a flat ride to Pukerua Bay.

27 March

Hutt Valley River Trail – 3rd section – Silverstream to Birchville

We left the car under the trees, in a little park by the two Silverstream bridges. It was a gorgeous autumn day, sunny and calm, and the views across the river were quite beautiful. The trees are very subtly changing colour, the leaves are starting to go yellow and a bit of brown. Lovely wide flat trail, but it was mostly on gravel, so well before we got back to the car, I was suffering from severe “coccyx-shudder” – a very sore tailbone. The hands were not too bad. I am mostly leaning on the heels of my hands, which seem to be able to take the pressure OK.

We rode about 11kms out, and got to a place beyond the Totara Park Bridge, near Maoribank, according to the map, where the track suddenly became steep and narrow. A bit scary, I thought. We stopped where the track overlooked a bend in the river to take photos. I didn’t like the look of the path ahead. We’d done 11kms, and my sore tail was telling me I’d had enough, especially as we still had to get back to the car. So we turned around and headed back.

Despite a rather sore butt, it was a very enjoyable ride. As I am more confident now, I am able to look at my surroundings more, and I stopped a few times to take photos.

We did 22 kms in just over two hours. The very nifty bike “computer” that John fixed onto each of our bikes can be zeroed before each ride, but it also has an odometer, which records the total distance you have done overall. So far my total is 72kms. It also has a clock, and it records the maximum speed you’ve done – 21.4 km/hr in my case. That sounds impressive, but actually the only bit that was as fast as that was when the track went down into a hollow, where I freewheeled at speed, only to have to work hard to get up the other side. In fact our average speed is about 10km per hour.

3 April

Te Ara Harakeke – Plimmerton to Pukerua and foreshore Plimmerton to Horoeka Marae.

Having done the lower part of this Ara Harakeke Track two weeks before, we decided we should do the upper part of it. We parked by the Plimmerton station again, went under the station underpass, and up onto the track. It was a nice smooth track, quite flat to begin with, past a sportsground, then on a bit of road through an industrial area, past the truck weigh station on the motorway north. Then the track went between the road and the Taupo swamp. All smooth and plain sailing, except for the headwind.

Until we got to Whenua Tapu. From there the track started to climb, gently in places, steeper in others. I found it hard going, especially with the strong headwind. I really did try to keep going, gritting my teeth and telling myself “I can do this, I can do this”, but eventually it was just too hard, on my legs, and heart, and I had to get off and walk a couple of times. John was very patient, and waited for me while I caught up. Finally, John had got to the top at Pukerua, and I was half-way up the slope to get there, but I just couldn’t do anymore, so I signaled to him to turn around and go back.

The way back was a joyful tootle downhill with a tailwind. "Wheeee!" John said “just be careful and don’t go over 30km/hr” (on my cute little odometer). I didn’t fancy going any faster than that anyway, but I did get to 28km/hr at one point.

By the time we got back to Plimmerton, we had only been going for an hour, and had done only 10kms, so we carried on along the foreshore to Karihana Bay and beyond. We went as far as we could, and turned around when we got to a sign saying “Horoeka Marae – private road. Only walkers allowed”.

4 April

Eastbourne to Pencarrow Lighthouse

It was blowing from the south today, but not very strongly, and John suggested we could try the Eastbourne to Pencarrow road. With a southerly we would have a headwind on the way out, and a tailwind back.

The track from Eastbourne to the Baring Head Lighthouse is a gravel road, but there is no access to cars. Walkers and cyclists are allowed. John had to lift the bikes over the gate, as the little access gap was too small to get the bikes through.

John had fitted my bike with a new padded gel saddle with a groove to avoid pressure on the tailbone. I think it made quite a difference. Though we were riding on gravel all the way, my tail didn’t start to protest until about the 13km mark, when we were on the way back.

It is a simply gorgeous coast, quite wild. The tide was in and the waves were breaking around the rocks off the stony beach. On the other side of the road, the steep, gorse-covered hills of the Orongorongos.

With the lovely weather, the beauty of the scenery and the relatively calm seas, it was hard to believe that this was the same wild coast where, on 8 April 1968, just four days short of 45 years ago, many of the survivors of the sinking ferry Wahine were blown to shore.

The road snakes in and out of little bays. Near the points, the southerly would hit us, then as you came round into the shelter of the hill, it was back to balmy calm.

There were a few sheep that came crashing out of the shrubbery, obviously having been disturbed by these intruders. They galloped down the road ahead of us and disappeared back into the gorse further down. We were overtaken by a gaggle of guys in red fluoro vests on mountain bikes and we saw them again later when they were half-way up a steep track towards the top lighthouse.

At Pencarrow there are two lighthouses - one on top of the hill and one between the road and the water. The wind was pretty strong near there. Today was actually quite a mild day, I wouldn’t like to be there on a stormy day. A bit further round we were in the shade of the hill, and there was a nasty smell – from a sewer outlet, I think – and at the base of the rocky hill, there were two caves. We didn’t check them out.

Around the next bay, there were a couple of lakes – Lake Kohangapiripiri and Lake Kohangatera. We got to the site of the first lake, except that with the very dry summer we’ve been having, there wasn’t much lake to be seen. There was a big sign giving information about Lake Kohangapiripiri Raised Beach Ridge. It is a area of sensitive ecology. On the very wide shingle beach were patches of very low-growing plants, of different types. This is what it says on a DOC (Dept of Conservation) website: “Freshwater lakes so close to the sea are uncommon, particularly in the relatively unmodified state of the Pencarrow Lakes. They were formed in drowned valleys that have been blocked off from the ocean by beach ridges still bearing the evidence of earthquake history in the region”. 

This is as far as we went. We didn’t go to the second lake, or to the Baring Head Lighthouse, which is another four or five kms further along. But we will do that another day – on a windless day.

This was a really enjoyable ride. In total we did 16.5 kms, and it took us just under two hours – because we kept stopping to take photographs.

10-13 April 2013

Cycling holiday in Hawke’s Bay

Last week, John and I packed up our folding bikes into our little Nissan Micra and spent a delightful few days cycling along some of the Hawke's Bay cycle trails. We stayed in a cottage in Clive, with direct access to a cycle trail, through the gate at the bottom of the garden.

Hawke’s Bay has a fantastic network of cycle trails, about 180 kms in all. We rode about 110 of those. The trails are mostly along the top of flood stopbanks, on nice, flat, firm lime sand surfaces. They go through areas that you cannot see from the road. One of these is the beautiful East Clive Wetland, between the beach and the stopbanks running south from the Clive River.

On our first day, we cycled a return trip from Clive through Haumoana to the Clifton Cafe, at the end of the road, from where the tours to Cape Kidnappers leave. We were lucky it was Wednesday, as the café is closed on Monday and Tuesday, and I would have been quite miffed if I hadn’t been able to have a coffee and lunch before tackling the return trip. We rode 35 kms in total that day. Quite a feat, I thought, for someone who’s only been cycling again for a month. But ouch! My poor sore behind and thighs!

The landscape is wonderfully varied – wetlands with lots of black swans, pukekos, white herons, ducks and other birds; orchards, red apples on the trees and wooden crates stacked, ready for harvest; vineyards, that had already been harvested; copses of yellowing poplars, with the rich autumnal fragrance of fallen leaves; the river, and of course, the sea.

The second day, we cycled the Puketapu loop, along stopbanks on both sides of the Tutaekuri River, and going through patches of wooded areas. At Puketapu, our halfway point, we had a well-deserved stop at the Puketapu Pub. It’s supposed to have an award-winning restaurant, but their coffee, I’m afraid to say, was not up to scratch.

Just before we got to the pub, we had to cycle to the top of quite a steep rise, which very nearly killed me – well, that’s a bit of poetic license – but for a “flatlander” like me, it was a big deal. Also rather scary was having to go over a one-lane road bridge, without separate cycle lane. John’s advice: “Take up ALL of the road”, i.e. ride down the middle of it, which meant that cars would HAVE to slow down behind you, and not try to overtake you. All the same, I felt seriously rattled when an impatient driver roared up behind me. I was glad to get to the end of the bridge, and to be able to scuttle off the road.

The next day, our ride through Ahuriri was troubled by moderate head winds. Some of the riding surface was smooth concrete which was a relief, considering the soreness of our muscles and behinds from the previous days’ cycling. We had planned to ride around the estuary, but the cross wind was unpleasant and made it hard work. I was feeling really tired, and was not able to get up much speed, despite the smooth surface. We rode along the Westshore waterfront, a wide beach with fairly featureless scenery, compared to the lovely views we’d had on other days. We stopped at the Snapper Cafe for some lunch before returning the way we came, with the wind now behind us. I was glad that was “only” 20 kms, my legs simply couldn’t have done more.

On our last day we rode from Clive past the wetlands again and then turned inland along the Tukituki River, towards Havelock North. This is part of a much longer, more challenging loop. We only did the short, easy (i.e. flat) first quarter of it, stopped at the Tuki Kitchen for a delicious lunch, then turned around and rode back.

One (minor) irritation was the many gates we had to negotiate. I’d just be getting into a rhythm, when we’d have to stop, get off, go through the narrow gap next to the gate, and then I’d have to get back on (each time you get back into the saddle your tail hurts again, till it “beds in” to become background pain) and find the rhythm again.

As it was a Saturday, we encountered a lot more cyclists than we had on the weekdays. We were delighted to come across a nice refreshment spot at the Bivvy Vineyard Cafe. It was run by the owners of the vineyard, and consisted of a coffee caravan, set in a garden with tables, seats and shade sails. A number of other cyclists had pulled up there too, and we enjoyed chatting, comparing bikes, trails and padded pants!

It was a most enjoyable holiday. Quite an achievement too, for me. But four days of cycling, during which we rode 112 kms, took a bit of a toll on my energies and caused a few aches and pains, making me feel “like a hundred and fifty years old”. I am glad that I won’t have to cycle again for at least a few days.