Organiser / Leader: Margaret L
Cyclists: Margaret L, Pieter H, Janette L, Reed R, Marianne M, Bruce & Nancy R, Maria J, Kay W, Bill P, Christine L, Chris P, Sandra K.
Day 1 – Havelock North to Waipawa, 70km, 730m climbing
Author: Pieter
After a very cold night and a very foggy morning, we left the Havelock North Holiday Park clad, in most cases, in multiple layers. The fog cleared after few kilometres revealing a perfect day with not a cloud in the sky. Morning tea was enjoyed on the balcony of the Hastings Golf Club.
After 25km of easy riding on the flat, Bill commented that he was looking forward to some hills. Within minutes, we were grinding slowly up one of the biggest hills of the tour. At the top I felt obliged to remind him to be careful what he wished for!
From there we undulated along the tops enjoying the great views in all directions. We stopped for lunch outside a cluster of farmhouses, to be greeted by a young lady armed with jugs of water.
The undulations continued as we gradually descended back to the river flats and into Waipawa, where we stopped at the 4 Square to purchase food for the first of several shared camp ground dinners. An excellent first day’s ride.
Day 2 – Waipawa to Norsewood/Ormondville, 58km, 720m climbing
Author: Kay
Another crispy start as we embarked on our second day of Margaret’s Marvellous Adventure.
Leaving our cosy billets at Waipawa Holiday Park, and after the compulsory photo shoot, we embarked on the day’s ride.
Our first stop was at the pretty village of Ongaonga, a name to inspire dread in trampers, but we had a lovely benign morning tea beneath liquid ambers, whose autumnal hues were to light our way, each day.
The whole community had turned out for the funeral of one of their own, but unfortunately the local shop, the centre of the community, was due to close. Life in small tight knit rural towns has both its up and down sides.
After frolicking in the autumn leaves, we headed off through Hawkes Bay’s beef and sheep farming heartland, tackling some serious hills, or “mothers” as Chris called them Fortunately, we didn’t realise that our day’s tally of 720 metres of climbing was only a precursor of what was to come.
“Mothers” conquered, we arrived at Norsewood, a town rich in history and culture, and very proud of its Scandinavian heritage. Here our group split, with six of us remaining in Norsewood at the Crown Hotel, which has been refurbished to a very high standard, and the rest cycling the remaining 7km to the cute and quirky railway station at Ormondville.
Margaret had arranged for a sumptuous dinner to be delivered to both venues. A salmon quiche in filo pastry, a really yummy vegetable bake, and an amazing salad had us satiated and groaning with delight.
At the Crown, the evening ended perfectly with a game of Five Crowns, cups of tea in the “Bar with no Beer” and a log fire that warmed both us and the whole building.
No cards for those at the Ormondville Railway Station but plenty of shenanigans and assorted high jinks.
What a terrific day. Thanks for the fun Margaret, and all your work.
Day 3 – Norsewood/Ormondville to Dannevirke, 35km, 400m climbing
Author: Christine
The six of us staying at the Crown Hotel were up for a cooked breakfast, so we met across the road at the Café at 8am. We then cycled the 7km to the Ormondville Railway Station to catch up with the rest of the group. We did a tour of the historic station and took more photos before setting off together.
We rode past the Ormondville Viaduct. Margaret led us onto Matamau Petrol Station/Diner on the very busy SH2 where we had morning tea.
The weather was amazing, lovely sunshine. Many amazing photos were taken along the way. A shorter day but very scenic with a few hills in the mix.
We arrived at Dannevirke Holiday Park early afternoon. We unpacked, had lunch and rode up to the centre of town. We all ordered takeaway Thai meals, which they kindly delivered to the campground at 6pm. After the lovely meal, several of us enjoyed another game of Five Crowns.
Day 4 – Dannevirke to Waipukurau, 71km, 1010m climbing
Author: Maria
It was a chilly start from the council owned camp ground but the hills soon warmed us up. Up and down all day with some quite challenging rises but, as always, the downs made up for it.
We enjoyed morning tea outside a roadside shed with another welcome round of Marlene’s pineapple lumps.
Stunning countryside and quiet roads, with wonderful vistas from the tops.
To sum up, a fabulous day all round and a need-to-do-again ACTA tour for those that missed out.
Day 5 – Waipukurau to Waipawa return, 18km, 130m climbing + Tukituki River Trail, 20km, 80m climbing
Author: Nancy
The sun was slowly trying to warm the cold morning as we cycled along the Tukituki River to Waipawa. We “coffeed” at the lovely Goat Horn Cafe owned by the hard working 25-year-old Jake. There was so much to see in Waipawa with antiques, pre-loved clothes, a museum that told the story of early farming in the area and the delightful post office full of memorabilia.
We regrouped at the designated time and rode back to Waipukurau along the new concrete cycleway next to SH2.
After lunch at camp, a group set off led by Margaret to explore the western end of the Tukituki River Trail.
An early dinner that night at the pub for some of the group was followed by the ‘Michael Jackson’ movie, while others enjoyed Indian cuisine at the ‘Saffron’ restaurant ending with the interesting life story of the owner.
Day 6 – Waipukurau to Waipawa, 60km, 770m climbing
Author: Janette
We rose to another beautiful day. Not content to ride the 7km direct route to Waipawa, we headed east on a 60km loop through beautiful farmland. Observing two young lambs in a paddock, we wondered how they would cope with the winter’s cold.
We enjoyed a nice morning tea stop on the side of the road, where we picked several wild apples. (We carried them for two days before cooking them for our apple crumble desert).
We stopped for lunch at the recently redeveloped Omakere School. Many praised the beautiful mural made from bottle tops there.
After lunch, we battled an increasingly strong headwind on the last 20km to Waipawa, stopping again at the 4 Square when we got there to buy food for our shared campground meal.
Day 7 – Waipawa to Havelock North, 55km, 460m climbing
Author: Marianne
We all got a sleep-in as our departure was delayed so as not to arrive too early for our 11am coffee stop at Patangata Tavern, where we enjoyed huge, freshly baked, savoury scones.
The long one-way Patangata Bridge was a bit of a magnet, not very safe to venture across alone but all good in a brightly clad group.
Back on route, the views continued to delight the eye as we cycled along. We looked down on grazed river flats, green after the recent storm. The river water reflected the cloudless blue sky. On the other side of the river, we could see every curve and fold of the hills, with the occasional flattish patch of brilliant green also responding to rain. The deciduous trees had lost some of their autumn colour, probably in yesterday’s strong nor’wester.
Bruce found a great lunch spot along Middle Road, after which we continued on, enjoying the long, flat sections of that road.
Once we hit town, we all headed to the supermarket to buy supplies for our evening banquet. It was so lovely to be able to return to our previous units at Havelock North Holiday Park.
Day 8 – Havelock North to Te Mata Peak & Clifton return, 65km, 730m climbing
Author: Margaret
A day ride from Havelock North Holiday Park up Te Mata Peak and out to the coast.
The highlight for everyone was reaching the summit of Te Mata Peak, 400 metres with 360° views, after a 6 km climb. I am very proud of the manual bike riders! A huge effort. After several photos at the top, we all enjoyed the exhilarating downhill ride.
We then rode to Haumoana, mainly on the cycle paths on the top of the stop banks, with a late coffee stop at Brown Dog Cafe/Cart.
We continued along the beachfront to Clifton before turning around to cycle south, then north by the Tukituki River and through Havelock North to camp.
We shared our last evening meal together at OTT in The City in Hastings. After saying our goodbyes the following morning, we went our separate ways with most but not all returning to Auckland.
The misty rain encountered on the climb out of Hawkes Bay brought home just how lucky we were with the weather. While the rest of the country experienced rainy conditions, we didn’t get a single drop of rain on the whole tour.
A big thank you to Margaret for another excellent tour.
