Did you know we have matching bikes now? I, as in Sarah, got my full motorcycle license in early December and bought a new-to-me BMW F650 GS in yellow. I've nicknamed her Bella Dos as she's the exact same bike as Bella Butter Horse, the one I have waiting for me in Seattle for next year's adventure ride! Mike decided that his sports bike was less than suitable for the kind of riding we wanted to be doing, so he bought himself one too, in black (name TBD). Together we're a BMW bumblebee.
Our route (blue stars show campsites)...
Day 1. Auckland to Tirohanga
Distance: 377 km
Weather: Fine (that's kiwi for "sunny")
We spent the first few days with Xen and Shelaine, rounding the East Cape. Guide books and websites promised us glorious deserted white sand beaches, a sense of being truly off the grid, and a diet made up largely of meat pies and fish and chips. Perfect! We met up in Waihi for the official "start" and, after fortifying ourselves with lattes (a.k.a. city coffee), we headed off.
En route we stopped for a cup of tea under a giant kiwifruit just south of Tauranga...
And then made our way through Opotiki to our first campsite...
With our tents set up, the beers cracked, and the bug spray on, we were ready to hit the beach....
The trip was off to a great start, but the skies were looking ominous. We fell asleep to the sound of raindrops pelting down and gale force winds whipping our tent around. It would have felt snug if my air bed hadn't developed a leak and if we weren't starting to doubt how much waterproofing was left in our 20-year-old tent. But that's part of the adventure, right?!
Day 2. Tirohanga to Te Araroa
Distance: 151 km
Weather: Really NOT fine
Maybe we should have paid more attention to the weather forecasters calling for a storm, as storm it did. We tossed around the idea of hunkering down in our campsite for another night, but decided to keep pushing on. How bad could it be? We packed up our soggy belongings and got back on the road. It was wet wet wet, but thankfully we only had a short day planned.
Halfway we stopped at one of the few eateries in the area (a cafe/pub/sports bar/restaurant) in the hopes of a hot coffee to warm up. Turns out the wind had killed their power so all they could offer us was a cool beer. Luckily they took pity on us and let us fire up our camp stoves under the shelter of their covered deck to make a cup of tea!
The grey and damp view was still beautiful...
Partway we came to a small church in an unbelievably picturesque setting. It was a little strange to find this well tended, pretty little church in an area with very little else around.
The poor little colt out front seemed to have an injured hind leg. He just stood there with his back to the fence, seemingly hoping that if he didn't move, no one would notice him.
What a beautiful setting for the graveyard...
We arrived at Te Araroa feeling pretty battered by the wind and rain, and the only advice our new campsite hosts had about where to pitch our tents was to find somewhere "safe". My quizzical look prompted the explanation: "watch out for falling branches...the storm's going to get worse." We picked a spot reasonably clear from the trees and hid for the rest of the day.
Thankfully the air bed repair held, as by now our tent was essentially awash!
Day 3: Te Araroa to East Cape Lighthouse and Morere
Distance: 44 km (return) to East Cape Lighthouse plus 223 km to Morere
Weather: Hot and sunny
The storm broke sometime in the middle of the night, and at 4am I somehow awoke with the thought "gotta go now if we're going to catch sunrise." The East Cape lighthouse is the most easterly lighthouse in New Zealand and the perfect spot to welcome the new day. We suited up, wheeled our bikes out of the campground to spare the other campers an early and rude alarm call, and cruised east. The lighthouse road, half sealed and half gravel, hugs the coastline and reflected the most magical pre-dawn light. We felt a million miles from anywhere, with just a few sleepy farm animals and the rhythmic pulse of the ocean to keep us company. No doubt, this is what it's all about.
We made it to the East Cape parking lot with just minutes to spare before sunrise.
But then realized we still had a 20-minute stair climb to the lighthouse. Oops! Still, we felt on top of the world when we finally got there, as we brewed a cuppa and admired the views at (nearly) the start of the day.
Making our way down the 700 or so steps back to the bikes...
A view of the lighthouse from a distance, on our way back to camp...
On the road again, we wound our way south, stopping at Tolaga Bay for a picnic lunch beside New Zealand's longest wharf.
We then headed to Gisborne. Never a primary destination for us, Gisborne had become particularly appealing for one specific reason: it had a store where we could replace our tent! Enough with the soggy camping already!
From Gisborne it was a short hop down to Morere, where we found a picturesque campsite alongside a river, nestled amongst a grove of nikau palms (that's Xen and Shelaine's trusty dry tent in the foreground, and our new - and hopefully trusty and dry - tent in the background).
Day 4: Morere to Lake Waikaremoana via the Mahia Peninsula
Distance: 132 km
Weather: Hot and sunny, mixed with a bit of cool and wet
For our final day with Xen and Shelaine, we headed out to the Mahia Peninsula for lunch. This peninsula is stop-the-bikes-in-the-middle-of-the-road-and-gawk gorgeous.
It seems to be a surfers' paradise, judging by the bleached blond hair and boards flitting about. This is definitely a place worth a longer visit. It also offered up an interesting thermocline: the temperature must have dropped 10 degrees as we headed out on the peninsula, and it greeted us with our only heavy rain shower of the day.
After lunch, we made our way to Lake Waikaremoana. This was the first bit of really challenging riding for me (Sarah, that is): loose, corrugated gravel made my bike jutter and slip. More nerve wracking than anything, it took me some time to get used to manoeuvering my heavy bike when it seemed to have a mind of its own. Mike and Xen weren't fazed in the slightest, so this is definitely an area for practice for me! Thankfully, despite more than a few wobbles and at least one "oh crap" emitting from within my helmet, I made it without incident. At the first viewpoint we waved goodbye to Xen and Shelaine, who were heading farther south, on their way to a ferry to the South Island.
We didn't have any accommodation booked for this night, but we figured we'd be able to find a patch of grass somewhere to set up our tent. Well, the first campground we came to was chocker with sport utes and 20-year-old boys heavily laden with cases of beer. Hmm, not quite our scene. We ventured on a little farther and came to the Lake Waikaremoana Motorcamp, where Mike was told with an unsympathetic laugh, "Ha! I'm sorry Mr Motorcycle Man, but we're full. Good luck." It was 4:30 pm and we were pretty tuckered out, so this was not good news. She recommended a place 20 km farther down the rough gravel road. We decided to cool off with a ginger beer on their deck and ponder our options. I think she must have taken pity when she saw my tired and dusty face, as just two minutes later she came out with great news that she had found us a spot after all. She even put us in the "quiet" end, away from all the screaming children. Yay!
Settling in for night two in our new tent...
The early morning light on the lake...
Where to next? Part 2 to come...
Fantastic photos! What an adventure and huge distances covered each day. We have a good idea of where your headed next.... :-)
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