16th April (19.4km hiked)

Today we destroyed the one ring. One ring to rule them all!

Not really. But we did hike past Mount Doom. (If you Google map Mt Doom it shows up as Mt Ngauruhoe. Ha) it was an epic day and one of the best hikes we’ve done.

It was a frosty start though.

Yes, ice on the tent. not really what I signed up for to be totally honest! It’ll be summer autumn, we’ll be fine camping. Yeah, right. It was the first time my sleeping bag had been cold on the inside. So that was something new!

Had to be up and out by 7am and the sun wasn’t quite up yet. We had breakfast and held onto our coffee for warmth. The shuttle bus ($40 each to drop us off n pick us up seemed a little steep..) took us to the trail head, and it was full with around 25 or so of us. There were at least 4 busses at the turn off, and apparently this was the only time drop offs were happening at this time of year. The driver let us know what time he would be at the end: 1.30pm, 3pm and 4pm. We had the numbers to call and he had our info just in case we didn’t make it in time. We had our challenge: make it back by 1.30, and we were set. For some reason I was nervous. I think it was when he said, so on the descent just remember to dig in your heels. Oh gawd. What was I letting myself in for!

We started off in a line of people as one would expect. The first part was gentle uphill following a stream, along a boardwalk.

Because Andy and I have been cycling uphill for a while now.. we are pretty ok at uphill hiking. We’ve got the stamina to keep going where others stop and rest. The 1000 steps on devil’s staircase were not too tricky. Then there was a muddy plane (South Crater) we crossed.

if you look really closely you can see Mt Taranaki on the west coast!

Another ascent took us to the saddle, where we might have seen the east out towards Hawkes Bay but unfortunately there was a load of cloud. It wouldn’t be a Drennan-Cooper hike without some cloud involved. Cracking views of the mud plane we had just crossed though.

We carried on to the summit of the hike. It was pretty steep and scrambly up to the top. About 10m to the top the wind started and it was bitterly cold. Back on with the jacket!

The top was amazing, but down the other side was mildly terrifying!

It was a slippery slope that we took very slowly. Me clutching onto Andy’s arm, side crab walking down the side of this slip. My trainers were filling up with rock with every step, I had to stop midway and empty them!

The hard part over we could finally enjoy the views and the smells.

It was so smelly, but so beautiful.

We got to the larger lake and had our sandwiches and crisps.

The clouds were creeping over towards us! It was time to make the dash to the finish line. And discover that perhaps we were not as fit as we thought! The time in the saddle had made our feet soft.

Lake Taupo in the background looking stunning!

Oh that’s where clouds come from… Steeper than it looks!

We made it down through the tundra switchbacks, through the bush, and down the steep forest steps. We were shattered.

Amazing day. So glad to be back on the bus! Oh and yes, we made it in 5.5hrs. Oof the legs will feel that in the morning!

13th – 15th April (145km cycled)

To get to Whanganui from Bulls the route would take us along the highway. We had decided that highway 3 was the same as highway 1, being a main route north, therefore rubbish for cycling. We had found a back route along the Whanganui river we wanted to take to National Park, so we skipped this short 50km on a bus. It was a 45min ride but we had to dismantle the bikes down, bags off, wheels off, and into the hold they went. It was the beginning of the Easter holidays so there were a lot of kids and families on the busses. We were told by the bus driver that we were lucky he had space, and to beware booking trips with bikes at the holidays. Okey doke – but just to confirm, you do have space.. Jees Louise, they can be funny.

We have been told that the ‘Wh’ sound in Whanganui is pronounced in Maori as an ‘Eff’ sound, so it’s really called ‘Fanganui’. If you heard ‘Wanganui’ then this might mean that there are underlying tensions against the Maori people. There are a lot of Maori named places in the North Island, and we were getting to grips with the pronunciation! These facts we were given by Pete who was going to be cycling over to the west coast today. We said our goodbyes at the breakfast table, and then he set off cycling to Whanganui. Brave soul.

When we got off the bus, at around 11.30, we bumped into him down the high street. He just cycled 50km in about 2 hours. And it wasn’t flat!

Pete, mate, you are too speedy! We think you are pretty awesome though and wish you well. We liked this sign, it was very true in that moment.

After restocking at New World we set off and had a quick pee break at a children’s play park just outside of the town. It had so many interesting slides and climbing frames, local communities put a lot of attention into parks!

We cycled out of the town on the quieter highway 4 and came off shortly after a quick coffee and lunch in Upokongaro. The route we would be taking was the last section of Mountains to Sea, a mountain biking trail. For us, going sea to mountain, would mean an uphill sort of day.

The road was paved, windy and undulating. We were aiming for a campsite in Ranana. It was hard going but luckily there were some awesome autumn colours to distract us, and views of the river.

Beautiful!

A man tooted us and waved as he went past in his ute (kiwi utility vehicle / pick up truck / Toyota van) and we waved as we carried on cycling uphill. He stopped at a lay-by at the top with an apple each and a teaching on pronunciation of where we were eventually headed – Raetihi. I still can’t pronounce it right. These names are mad!

A couple of tourers were travelling in the opposite direction, the girl had my pannier bags!

Too many stops and not enough pedalling, it was getting late.

We stopped at a cafe for a Bundaberg ginger beer. The cafe was just closing so we were very grateful for a bit of sugar for the last push to the campsite. I made a friend. She was such a sweetie, we wanted to steal her away. Very Monty-esque. Look at that face.

We set off again and going uphill was a bit of a struggle. In fact, too much of a struggle. I could feel every bump on my back wheel. I had got another flat. It seemed like a slow release type so it could be pumped up and we crossed our fingers that it would get us to the campsite!

It did, and we cycled down a gravel drive. All the way down I was thinking, oh well this will be fun tomorrow morning, and it just kept on going and going and going! Finally we got to the bottom. The owner was not there, but there was an outhouse with a couple of bathrooms and a kitchen. We saw the sign about them coming round later so set up the tent and got showered.

The guy showed up and we paid $30 for the night. It looked like no one else was going to arrive (we always say this and then a bloody campervan shows up and parks next to us.. but this time for once no one joined us) so we made dinner in the tiny kitchen, pulled the chairs in from outside and settled in there for the evening. Boiling up the kettle a few times to get the temperature up. No phone reception in the middle of nowhere so we chatted for a while, then in a sudden fit of productivity, changed the inner tube and I had a lesson in mending punctures.

They had free tea! Such a luxury 🙂 Our food bags in the background are looking a little ratty. We cannot get new ones because supermarkets no longer stock plastic bags!! Hurrah NZ! It’s put us in a bit of a pickle though, but we will manage for the last few weeks with the holes.

Recently the temperature at night was falling way below our usual 7-10 degree range of comfort on the sleeping bag chart. Tonight was forecast down to just 3 degrees. Brrrr. We decided to put Ove Orange down under the blow ups to see if that helped. It did. We slept pretty soundly. With a bit of snuggling too.

The next morning we were up and out sharp. The mist had settled in the dell we were camped in, and we needed to warm up! The puncture repair had worked, and we repacked it for the next occasion.

Today’s ride took us through Pipiriki and up and over Eastwards to Raetihi. The ride was only 45km but over 1050m in elevation. Putting it on par with the Crown Range day. It was tough, with already a lot of climbing in the legs from yesterday we were pretty slow.

Windy, hilly roads with many switchbacks.

We stopped at the Pipiriki campsite for a coffee and banana. The wasps in this area are pretty persistent, I had to go indoors and was reading about the eel baskets that were used back in the day. Apparently you could keep eels in these baskets alive for quite some time before roasting them up for dinner, lovely.

We continued on uphill. We had a fast lunch on a logging truck turn off. Not the most wonderful of locations but needs must. I was doing the wasp dance again so it wasn’t a long break. One had got into the breakfast blueberries!! I am so glad I have an Andy to get all the wasps away. Phew!

We continued on again, up this never ending hill. And finally finally reached the top. I knew we had because I could hear Andy woop and cheer. I had had my eye trained on the line of road edging to pull me up, so when he yelled out I looked up. And what a view around the corner.

Never was a climb more rewarding.

From there we had a pretty easy ish ride down into the valley and into Raetihi. The landscape was rolling green hills.

We arrived and set up the tent near a cabin. The holiday park was ok, the bathrooms were not heated! We went to the foursquare shop in the small town. Not a lot of options. We had pasta and broccoli and a bottle of cheap, very awful, red wine, and sat on the sofa in the dining room all evening. We befriended a hitchhiker called Lids (Lydia). She was from down south Sussex area, and had sailed from SF to NZ, with 5 others, on a boat that was supposed to be taking her home. Instead she had been forced to stay in NZ for longer because the captains wife had gotten pregnant on the boat and she wanted to stay in NZ. Sounds hilarious. Her adventures were pretty funny.

The next day we had a short hop to the township of National Park. The view for the day was very good.

We got to a lodge in National Park pretty early, around 1pm, and were introduced to the owners. The guy was from South Africa and he was keen to tell us all the home improvements he was making to the lodge. It was clearly a successful little place because it was busy! The kitchen was well stocked but the lounge area was not quite big enough, or warm enough. We were at some elevation now so very chilly.

We went to a cafe bar for a drink, then had pizza at the lodge. pretty good views.

11th – 12th April (140km cycled)

The weather turned again, autumn is settling in now. We can feel the sun is not as strong and it is much cooler at night. I just about have enough layers.. we have talked about getting cabins but with the Easter holidays everything will be much more expensive. So long as it stays around 6-8degrees at night, we should be ok.

We had decided to set off from Libby’s anyway and try the highway again. Just to see if it really was as bad as we thought it was. Surprise surprise… it was.

We were attempting to get to Palmerston North in one day. It was 100km of flat road. Totally doable. The quickest way was the highway and we wanted to get to Whanganui the day after where we could get onto the quieter roads.

The rain made things worse, we hadn’t set off in rain and it not clear within an hour or so, before this, and of course it is pretty dire! Not going to lie. We were fed up and when we got to Levin at the 65km point we decided to stop. I had been beeped on a bridge because it was narrow so I cycled in the centre of the lane, some people are just absolute morons! Not fun.

The rain had eased a little when we got to the campsite, so we decided we could stay in the tent, and we had a hot shower to warm up. I developed a headache through the evening and ended up going to bed soon after a dinner of mushroom risotto, cooked by Andy. Such a love. What a disastrous day.

The next day the rain had gone and the 12hrs sleep had helped my headache. We were in better spirits. Andy had found back roads that would take us to Bulls, a town not far from Whanganui. We decided to punt on. It had to get better!

We cycled along the 53 highway out of Levin, it was quite busy still but cars gave us space and at least it was not raining. We stopped in Shannon for a coffee then followed back roads through farm land.

The road was flat and dull, we were speeding along doing an average of 26km/hr which is fast for us. What’s that, missing the hills? We had lunch in a bus shelter that faced a farm, there were some loud cocker spaniels yapping at us. They seemed very friendly though.

For the last couple of kilometres we had to rejoin the SH1/3 as it went through Bulls. God it was busy. Only a short distance but such a pain.

Bulls is a funny place. It had puns all over the place, on billboards, on rubbish bins, everywhere. My favourites were ‘Herd of Bulls? There’s no udder place like it!’ And ‘Be Respons-a-bull’ .

There was a Foursquare where we bought more overpriced supplies.

We love it really.

Then we headed to a motel on the outskirts of town. We could camp in the back for $15 each. There was another cycle tourer who joined us in the kitchen after a while, a man called Pete. He was really lovely, and chatty. Lived in Birmingham, retired now and had first hiked top to bottom of the north island, then hitched down to Bluff to do the same on the south, got a bit bored so bought a bike and was now cycling the whole country! Andy stayed up chatting with him whilst I called it a night (was still feeling a little tender from the day before).

Aside from the people we met along the way, wouldn’t recommend cycling this section.

8th – 10th April (80km cycled)

We were making our way to Libby’s in Raumati South, on the Kapiti Coast and we wanted to get back on the road and cycle. Since Nelson we had only really ridden the taste trail. It was time to man up and get going.

We found a route that avoided all highways. A boat ride over the bay, a cycle path that would take us to Upper Hutt and then we could take a pass road over to Waikanae. Marvellous!

We got the ferry to Day’s Bay. The weather was sunny but windy so the boat was again pretty rocky. We got a good view of the skyline though, better than the previous boat ride anyway.

Blue skies as we set off – of course! We got off the boat and had our lunch in a cafe near by and cycled by the bay past a very sleepy village. We joined the Hutt River and the cycle path was paved most of the way. It was a flat and easy 30km which went by quickly.

Due to the time of the boat, and the clocks changing back an hour, sunset would now be around 6pm. We had to stay at a Kiwi holiday park in Brown Owl near Upper Hutt, there wasn’t time to get over the pass today.

After getting lost around the back roads and windy cycle paths, we found the campsite. We set up our tent and admired the zoo of farm animals. Goats, tiny horses and we woke up to chickens clucking around our tent. As you do.

It was another campsite with permanent residents and seasonal workers. This is pretty normal around NZ we discovered.

The next day we took the Akatarawa ridge road over to Waikanae. It was a stunning ride. The ascent was well graded and not too steep. The road was single track, meaning cars (very few) had to go slowly, and it went through the forest. It was a 21km climb to the top, and on the way we stopped at Staglands reserve. It was full of birds which made for an interesting cup of coffee.

Eye to eye with doves, peacocks and cockerels.

The top. We could see the sea!

After lunch at a picnic bench in Waikanae’s retail park, we decided to cycle the coastal path to Raumati. It went through the residential areas and estates, before heading over to the coast. Raumati was quite a buzzing little town.

A corner bar was calling, and I fancied a glass of wine. There was a fluffy dog outside too. What more do you need! It was lovely to sit outside in the sunshine after a really nice day cycling, waiting for Libby to get out from work. She met us and after a little while we cycled back to her house.

She lives right on the sea front, with a fabulous view from a prime comfy seat in the lounge. We unpacked and showered, and then set off to try the local pub quiz. It was so much fun. Our team name was Chicken Cooper (after the Wekas and the fact that this is now my temporary name – cheers Andy) and we didn’t come last!! Kiwi general knowledge…. yes – bit lacking.

The next day Libby had the morning off so we all went to Pak’n’save (massive warehouse style supermarket) to get the ingredients for a full English breakfast. I cooked, and we ate so much. Yum yum.

Whilst she was out, working hard, Andy and I watched LOTR The Fellowship of the Ring which we have been eager to see for a while. We watched the 4 hour extended version which neither of us had seen. There is a line that made us chuckle. When Took is being attacked by mosquitoes (or maybe sandflies); “what did they eat before hobbits!?” Yes we know that feeling!!

We had to leave the house after being so indulgent so walked up the beach to the local Foursquare to get ripped off. We love to hate that shop.

Libby’s house and views from the beach.

The view from the prime chair.

It has been wonderful Libby! Thank you for letting us stay.

7th April (rest day)

We knew that the weather for the day was patchy showers but in the capital city there are many free indoors things to do! We had breakfast in bed (oh luxury) and then went out to explore.

First stop was New World to get some snacks to make sure we didn’t over spend.. daily budget was already out of the window!

Complete with bananas and juice and nuts, we next ventured to the City Art Gallery. There were two exhibits on. One was by Eva Rothschild which I really enjoyed. She had two rooms, and a video was playing in the theatre. The video showed what happened when a group of boys aged 10 and 14 were left to their own devices in her exhibit. Andy and I had a fun time watching, trying to guess which boy would be the first to start destroying the work. After that – all hell broke loose. Utter destruction.

The next exhibit upstairs was called Semiconductor and was about scientists taking raw data, applying video and sound and creating immersive spaces. It was pretty cool.

Afterwards we went to Te Papa museum. It’s a large space, 6 or 7 storeys of exhibitions. We chose one floor and walked around. ‘Then and Now’ was a story of how New Zealand had become, and it was largely depressing. European settlers claiming the land, taking it from the Maori people, then deforestation, farming, killing off species of animals, and now trying to undo some of that hurt today. We have only one Earth, as my good friend Jonelle says, let’s make sure we don’t kill it before it kills us.

After that morbid tone of thought, I wanted to get out and do something fun. We could have spent all day in there, but limited time in the city pushed us outside. Off we went down Cuba street, the hub of the city. It is a vibrant space, with fountains in the middle of a pedestrianised zone. There are bars and restaurants and funky shops lining the street. The traffic lights were even having a party, or is it a sumo match – either way – fun quirky bits throughout the city.

We walked past an Indian restaurant tempting us in with curry, rice and naan, and a drink all for $12.90! Yes please. Was very tasty.

To walk off the huge mountain of food consumed we went on the cable car to the botanical garden and wandered all the way down, back into the city. There were a couple of tunnels the car went through and light shows! Was in my element. It was more like a funicular than a cable car, because it just went up and down the hill.

We walked through the gardens – very steep. Quite a good view from the top!

We found a cute community garden for school groups.

I couldn’t find any residents though. Disappointing.

Soon the rain began to fall again and we quick marched back to the city. We found the parliament buildings, the bee hive, but were too late for a tour. Going back to Cuba street we found a cool bar at the end and listened to live music whilst enjoying a happy hour pint. We went back to the hotel to wash all our clothes ready for cycling to the Kapiti Coast to visit Libby.