| Maori legend has it that at the site of the famous Pohutukawa tree located at Cape Reinga,
Maori spirits depart on their journey to their final resting place. A weathered white lighthouse also marks this northernmost point of New Zealand where the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea meet. It was our plan to cycle north from Auckland to Ninety Mile Beach and the Cape along the east coast, returning to Auckland along the Tasman Sea coast and then heading south to explore the Coromandel Peninsula. We had six weeks of warm weather, melting into fall in which to cycle 1200 kilometers, hardly a marathon. Because New Zealand only has 4 million inhabitants, it would be easy to imagine quiet roads, and sometimes they were. Our route, however, didn’t take us on many. Sometimes it seemed those scant millions were all funneled down our route, a two-lane road never meant for the thundering traffic it now struggled to expedite. With no shoulders and a battalion of commercial traffic including logging trucks, fuel tankers, and semis it makes for impatient drivers, frequent congestion and occasionally suicidal cycling conditions. One such day was en route to Tauranga after completing the Coromandel route and heading towards Rotorua. “Oh no, a pilot car!” my partner hollered behind me. I saw the car rush past bearing a "wide load following" sign, felt the earth heaving beneath me and turned sharply left, down the steep embankment, buns over bars as we both tumbled to the bottom. I wasn’t going to tangle with an obese truck on a lean road with oncoming traffic. I almost departed that day in true Maori fashion. The landing was soft, luckily. You could say that was the low point of the trip, metaphorically and realistically speaking. The soft fall weather had changed to a hard rain with attitude, not helped by the headwinds and the sheets of spray passing traffic showered us with. And no shelter en route this day - no welcoming takeaway bars, cafes, pubs or even petrol stations to huddle in. We had been warned: "The North island is hilly, especially Northland. The South Island is easier cycling," Richard Oddy, one of New Zealand’s best known cycling gurus, had cautioned us when renting us our Trek touring bikes. "The last time I rented bikes to a couple cycling your route, they returned with them in a taxi three days later. Cost them $300." His suggestion fell on deaf ears. I had my heart set on rolling my wheels along Ninety Mile Beach and finding that Pohutukawa tree. The hills, the frequently narrow and busy roads and the few days of pelting rain make up only a small part of the story. Cycling is a great way to interact with your surroundings, not just skidding across grass at the bottom of the ditch, but smelling the wild flowers, stopping to feed a horse, hearing the bell tones of a tui bird, being cooled by the passing breezes, and feeling so darn smug at the end of every day when fellow campers, none of whom have come by bike, watch in amazement as you roll in. If you take our route and our advice, you’ll first take a bus or a train out of Auckland, though. It’s not a cycle friendly city. The buses are frequent, the drivers helpful and the terminus is just a few blocks from our perfectly located backpackers’ hostel. (See sidebar.) Get off at Waipu and in less than ten kilometers you will discover a DOC (Department of Conservation) campsite with expansive ocean vistas, our first overnight stop. (See sidebar). Cycling gives you an opportunity to also meet the friendly Kiwis on every twist and turn. When crossing on the postcard sized ferry from Narrows Landing to Rawene, for example, we were bowled over by a helpful employee who offered to take our load from Rawene to Kaikohe, our next night’s destination 40 hilly kilometers further on. He tossed us his car keys as his ferry pulled out, shouting for us to give them to the grocery clerk when we had finished loading up our gear! In orchestrated timing, his car later pulled alongside us just as we were starting up the last hill into Kaikohe after enjoying an effortless unladen cycling day. Our skinny tires took us on a leisurely route from Waipu to Whangerei, to Russell and over on the ferry to Paihia on the Bay of Islands, to Kerikeri, then Mangonui, crossing to Kaitaia before beginning the final 95 kilometers along the windswept peninsula to Cape Reinga and back to Auckland via the Tasmanian coast. After a few days’ rest in Auckland Central Backpackers, we were back on the bus traveling the short distance to Papakura where we unloaded bikes and wheeled along the Seabird Coast, making an essential stop at the campsite and hot springs at Miranda. This is definitely five-star camping! Cycling beside the blue fringes of the Pacific Ocean the next day, the Miranda-induced euphoria continued and even sustained us over the steep pass encountered shortly after Coromandel. Looking back over the views was more than adequate compensation for the sweat. Like happy turtles, we trundled on, anticipating every turn, every day and every adventure: hot springs beach, the beautiful seaside resort of Whitianga, the gold mining town of Waihi at the base of the peninsula, the endless vistas of deserted sandy beaches and the most unlikely places selling cappuccinos and an endless variety of delectable baking. Best yet, we could indulge without guilt, expending more calories than we could ever possibly take in. We became adept at tossing our bikes unto tiny ferries, ferreting out the best takeaways, finding the perfect beach for a picnic, tying bags of fruit and vegetables on our bikes from unturndownable roadside stands, and drying our laundry bikeside. It was a trip that ended in Rotorua and the glorious Polynesian Hot Springs all too soon. Richard Oddy had the final say: “You should return some time and bike the South Island”. We will, Richard. Keep our bikes oiled. Back to TheTraveler.
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