Organisers: Marlene and Marianne
Cyclists: Simon Bucherer,Marlene Hiestand, Pieter Holl, Sarah Ley, Warwick Lord, Ron Jackson, Susan Jackson, Marianne McNeil, Kay Wilcox, Harley Wilson, Sue Woolnough, Roz Chadwick
Ride Leaders: Ron for Sun, Mon and Tues. Kay for Wednesday
Saturday 15 November. Waipu Caves Farm Park camp ground.
Some of drove up the Fri evening to the camp, others arrived Saturday. The camp ground had a separate area reserved for us with our motor homes, away from the girl guides and church group in tents. We had to step across a lovely stream to pop over to the office/shop.
The highlight of the day was a tour of the cave, learning about stallactites, stalagmites, and the life cycle of a glow worm.
Sunday 16 November Waipu Caves loop. 52.6km
Awesome bunch- 7 people. No rain
We set off up a lovely road through bush. The first 6 km saw us gain 25% of the day’s predicted1000m altitude gain.
From a high point we had spectacular panoramic views of Whangarei heads and harbour. This was followed by a massive downhill. Most of the ride was roller coasters of ups and downs, but there were at least two more awesome downhill sweeps.
We were all disappointed to see gentle rolling pasture planted in pine trees (within the last few years), on and on along Graham Rd.
We were pleased that as we cycled back country roads we were passed by only 5 vehicles on our morning rides. Our short stint on the highway was reasonable, and both times we saw truck and trailers once we were off the highway. Afternoons, the back country roads had more traffic.
We enjoyed ice creams and coffee from the Waipu Caves camp shop at the end of the ride.
We then drove on to our next campsite: Matekohe Holiday Park.
Monday 17th November Matakohe to Ruawai loop. 52.3Km
Matakohe has a wonderful heritage. “I love the old world feeling in some places round this area. What lovely old buildings you come across as well. The pioneer school house looks interesting”
“The actions of a couple of the truck drivers we met stood out for me today, slowing down to a crawl or stopping to avoid dousing us with dust was greatly appreciated and not often experienced. Let’s hope it’s the start of a new era of greatly improved courteousness towards cyclists”. Some of us have contacted one of their companies to give them a big thumbs up.
“Some great views again”.
The tail wind along the flat into Ruawai, was a pleasant surprise to some. The head wind out of Ruawai was no pleasant surprise.
“I particularly enjoyed riding on the stop bank at Ruawai after our excellent morning tea at Two Waters Cafe. Also our lunch spot at the Kowhai Reserve, with it’s extensive native plantings.”
The swallows are back and flitting around TeKowhai reserve. So many sky larks are proclaiming their territory above green pastures.
“Awsum ride today! ”
“Also great company, perfect weather and wonderful swooping downhill .
Tuesday 18 November – Matakohe to Tinopai return. 48.4km
With heavy rain predicted for the afternoon, we aimed for an early start. Off we cycled, up past the school again, and then zooming down the hills we had struggled up the previous afternoon.
I little further on we veered off the sealed road, leading to an amazing viewpoint to the east. Back on the sealed road, we saw views to the west, then we cruised mainly downhill into Tinopai to the community buildings to enjoy a picnic morning tea. At just a few tiny spots of rain, we cancelled any idea of visiting the hidden beach or even the old wharf and high tailed it back home.
Half the group opted for the shorter return on the seal, while the other half weren’t going to miss the views to the west with its muted colours, or the wild downhill gravel ride to the the pretty green valley we had ridden the day before.
Pieter summarised: “The lush green countryside, views of the harbour, and the two gravel sections on the way to/from Tinopai were highlights for me.”
Kay’s highlight were: “Just the views; morning tea at Tinopai at full tide and seeing the two local women enjoying a swim; coffee back at Matakohe was good; and the best of all, we were back comfortably under cover, when the incredibly heavy rain started and lasted for the rest of the afternoon/evening.”
Wednesday 19 November Maungatoroto, Waipu Central, Mareretu forest.
Due to adjusting the start point from Matakohe to start at Maungatoroto, we were able to almost halve the distance of the original ride through Mareretu Forest.
Shortly after starting, we saw paddocks of “solar arrays . Once over the hill- lots of pig barns which didn’t look worth photographing.”
The ride through Waipu Gorge is always a treat, a quiet road with native bush each side, and slightly downhill beside the river. The gravel road was still in good condition despite heavy rain the night before. We could hear Piroa Falls as we cycled above, but on venturing down to the river, we found the walking trail was underwater.
Once out of the gorge what a contrast. SH1 was busy and noisy.
” I particularly enjoyed today with the cycle through the gorge … a feeling of remoteness and adventure. Less so SH1- a bit too much adventure!”
We extended our ride along the mainly generous shoulder of SH1 to Waipu Central for morning coffee. After a shorter ride back on SH1 we turned to Finlayson Brooke Road and enjoyed a quiet, gently rolling ride until… We ignored the warning signs that the road was closed. (It had been since Cyclone Gabrielle.) We splashed through the flooded ford, then onward and upward to Golden Stairs Rd, stopping to admire “Dreamweaver,” a lifestyle block. “This was a particularly enjoyable section as no traffic!”
On Golden Stairs Rd, we met the grader which had been working the gravel further on. The loose gravel hadn’t even had cars over to roll some tracks into the surface. One of us slipped off the road. Everyone else “survived slips and dropouts coming down the Golden Stairs”. Kay enjoyed a family of turkey and babies while waiting at the bottom of Golden Stairs. From there, it was a short dash back to our vehicles.
“We had lots of variety from remote back roads to SH1 to closed road and flooded bridges.”
“And thanks to Harley’s forecasting, we had perfect weather every day.”
