After much inactivity, I had been itching to get out and about and do some exploring. The weather forecast was a bit dodgy but I had the weekend free so got on the motorbike and hit the road.
It is getting harder and harder to find new places to visit, especially on the North Island. The east coast area about 3 or 4 hours north of Wellington has so far been unsullied by my presence, so I just had to put that right.
I travelled on SH2 up to Waipukurau and then on to the small coastal settlement of Porangahau which took about 6 hours in total. Riding up SH2 isn’t that exciting from a biking point of view but is very cruisy with nice scenery and also a few twisty sections to provide some additional entertainment. There were plenty of cars for the first hour or so but after that the traffic just melted away. The trick with this kind of riding is to take it easy and admire the view, not least as, by NZ standards, SH2 is a relatively major road and consequently well policed with a high chance of a ticket for any naughtiness.
Porangahau is tiny with just a few hundred residents but does have a dairy and a pub. The beach there is nice and sandy but was also rather windswept so I had a late lunch at the pub, took a few photos and hit the road again. I would have stayed a bit longer but I had booked a B & B at Pongaroa which according to my satnav was an hour and a bit away. I had never been to the town or the roads that lead there and as it was getting late I didn’t want to take any chances as I loath riding at night so hit the road again.
My gut instinct served me well. This part of NZ has been hit by a number of severe weather events and the infrastructure has been hit hard. The road to Pongaroa was tight and twisty which is normally great but the road surface was terrible and that was when there was a surface at all! In 65km of riding there were literally dozens of slips and wash outs and that doesn’t count the usual cow poo and sheep wandering along the road. I only saw two cars on this section and this coupled with the road surface and the shear extent of the logging operations going on which had denuded many hillsides of their trees lent the ride a sort of post-apocalypse Mad Max feel. In a masochistic sort of way I actually enjoyed this section.
On the way I stopped off at Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, which is reputed to have the longest place name in the world. According to the internet, the above means ‘the place where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as landeater, played his flute to his loved one’. I am sure his flute playing was very nice but I can’t imagine swallowing mountains did much for his indigestion.
Eventually, I arrived at the Mile Cross Homestay in Pongaroa. The homestay was old-school but lovely with high ceilings and chandeliers and was set in a wonderfully scenic and tranquil location. The owner Penelope and her husband were really nice as were their dog, two cats and twenty chickens.
The next morning, after eggs on toast (thank you chickens) and a cup of tea it was off back to Wellington.
The first 88km were on SH52 to Masterton. This section of the road wasn’t quite as bad previous days but this time came with gale force winds to add to the fun. The winds were coming from the west and bouncing over the local Tararua mountain range which caused a standing wave that resulted in a lovely lenticular cloud. It was (almost) a relief to arrive back in Masterton and onto boring old SH2 with its ever so interesting 80km/hr sections.
I have certainly had more relaxing trips but I enjoyed the challenge and it was good to get a nice long ride under my belt.
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