Roxborough Gorge cycle trail

Rain had been forcast for bot our days of cycling. Day one was warm and sunny, day two dawned wet. After coffee in our cafe we took the shuttle to Roxborough dam. It was grey but the rain had stopped and as soon as we set off the clouds disappeared. It was a cold wind though.

Malcolm sets off on the zig zags at the start of the trail.

Me in action with the dam behind.

The dot in the middle of this photo is me.

After about 10kms we boarded the jet boat for the next section.

The driver gave us a commentary. The cottage above was the home of a woman who collected gold from the miners and took it to be assayed.

The miners lived in caves or overhangs of rock that they walled in.

After the boat section we had a break, then continued on to Alexndra.

We had lunch at the old courthouse, then cycled beside the river to Clyde.

This 12km section was badly maintained and very rough to ride on. This photo is one of the smoother sections.

 

Lake Dunstan Cycle Trail

We flew down to Queenstown in the South Island, then drove to Clyde. Five of us had booked e-bikes to ride some cycle trails. Clyde is an old little town, established in the gold mining days. First we had coffee then crossed the road to get our bikes. The shuttle took us to Cromwell, where we started the ride.

The trail took us to Bannockburn then back to the point oposite Cromwell. From here we followed the edge of Lake Dunstan, formed by a dam.

The ride was 38km and was 'interesting' in places...

We stopped for lunch here - bacon butties.

There was some climb and hairpin bends...

The dots (us) by the lake show the scale.

Jo, Allister, Malcolm and Neil.

Some of the track clung to the cliffs, there were also bridges over the side creeks. It took us about five hours to get back to Clyde.

 

A mixed weather trip

We headed north in the bus and stayed two nights in Paihia because we had a boat trip booked. This was with the Historic Places Trust and we visited places of historical significance in the Bay of Islands, mainly relating to the visit by Marion du Fresne in 1772. Then we went south staying overnight in Paeroa, at this camping place in town. It only costs $5 pr night, with power. 

The next day we went further south, visiting a bird garden at Katikati.

Next stop Plummers Point, near Tauranga. We were planning to stay overnight but arranged to meet Alan, who sells ebo ebikes that lunchtime. We bought one bike and were to pick up the other one later.

At Plummers Point

We decided to continue on and stay at Opotiki. Some of the the roads were flooded due to heavy rain a few days prior...

...but we made it!

Our next stop was Gisborne. The weather so far had been mixed, cloudy, rainy and sunny intervals.

Then - a lovely sunny day. We went to Wairoa where we gathered pumice from the beach for a garden sculpture we need to repair.

back on the road, lots of nice scenery on the way to Napier, where we had a soak in the hot pools overlooking the ocean and a nice lunch on the waterfront

The next day we turned for home, first stop Taupo. The whole country was suffering a very cold bout of weather and it was cold in Taupo so we carried on. We spent the night at Miranda, below is the sunrise the next morning, over the cloud covered mountains of the Coromandel. From Miranda we went into Auckland to pick up the other bike...

...and so, to home.

 

On the road again

 

We decided that since it was spring we’d take the bus for an overnight trip somewhere not too far afield but where we’d never been before. So, we drove down to Warkworth and parked overnight beside the museum and Parry Kauri Park. We expected it to be deserted but they were having an open day at the museum to celebrate the US camps that were nearby in WW2. There were American army jeeps, guns and equipment, plus soldiers, bunting, classic cars...

When everyone left we had the place to ourselves (just one other van). The Kauri Park had a loop boardwalk and there certainly were a lot of kauri, more than we’ve ever seen together in a relatively small area of bush.

The next morning we drove to the river just outside town where there’s a small marina and the ruins of a cement works. After strolling around there we headed north, stopping at Cafe Utopia at Kaiwaka on the way home.

At the museum

Kauri on the walk

At the cement works

Cafe Utopia