Granny's Got a Bike: Riding into Auckland

Two steep climbs ahead, one to get over the ridge then down into Kawakawa Bay, then the climb out of the Bay. Another similar ridge to get over almost into Flat Bush, where my accomm for next 3 nights is booked.

Cloudy, but no wind as I pushed Hennie up the steep driveway and we headed off into the west. there was a the gentle wind was now blowing from the east - unbelievable!!

Quite pretty country, prosperous large farmswith dairy and sheep. Then the road tilted upwards through a native forest reserve. Time for walking and enjoying the tui birds calls, the ever present piping of kingfishers and the flashing tails of the flycatchers. So many tree ferns, one wonders whether they will survive global warming. Beautiful country makes it easier to walk thru! Unfortunately our NZ cousins are just as bad as Aussies at littering, something that is so obvious for a slow walking cyclist!

But then the downhill is always wonderful and soon we were skidding into Kawakawa Bay. Looks like a perfect place to retire too. Interesting though.... At Orere Beach there were many families of Maori or South Pacific Islanders, gathering in family groups, kids playing and I felt a tad conspicuous with my white skin... But here in Kawakawa Bay, it looked like this was the place where the white people retire and build there lovely summer cottages... perhaps.... but anyways, it was a wide sweeping bay, with islands dotted along the horizon. The sea was gently lapping at the shelly beach and it was quiet and perfect place to have a rest.

After a coffee from a little coffee van, with a very friendly hostess, Hennie and I headed once more for the hills. This climb wasn't as long, but too steep and narrow for me to try and ride, so a short walk again. Amazingly, the wind was still coming in from behind! Soon the road stretched gently ahead, rolling up and over comfortable rises and after so much worry about this section, I thoroughly enjoyed this rideinto Clevedon.

I thought the worst was over now, being close to Auckland, maybe the roads are wider and the shoulders easier to ride upon... But no.... here the nightmare began. A south road added a whole lot of traffic and I began to realise that this was a main road into Auckland. At first there was a little bit of shoulder, but still too many B-double trucks, either empty or full of gravel were the main users. Throw in vans, cars and 4 WDs going in both directions to add to the drama.

It got a whole lot worse when I turned onto Mill Road because there was no shoulder at all. It had been recently re-covered with a thick 5cm of bitumen, with the white line painted right on the edge. So 5cm new, another 5cm of loose gravel and then long grass in some places, other places the bush came almost up to the road. It was difficult to walk and push Hennie along, especially as the traffic now didn't think they needed to give 1m as I wasn't riding.

We reached the steep ridge and the road still had no shoulder, in fact after the white line, it dropped into a gutter that was filled with rocks! Stress and struggle!! I eventually got to the top and sailed down Murphy's road, top speed 54kmph, saw the street I was supposed to turn off, flash past, but managed to haul Hennie into Murphys Park. There was a handy, but broken concrete slap (maybe once the lid of a septic tank, but I was past caring) propped Hennie on her stand and flaked out on the grass for a good 15 mins, before I was able to open my eyes and sit up again. I was shattered!

I spent an hour in the park, eating lollies and drinking water and trying to find my mojo again. We were only minutes away from my accommodation, but the traffic was too constant for me to cross the road to get back to the turn off. Map.Me suggested there were paths through the forest that would lead me right out to my destination, so I pushed Hennie along a narrow path that popped out where a whole new subdivision was happening. A lovely footpath on the other side of the fence - and no way of getting over it... so further on and a push through long grass (there aren't any snakes in NZ thankfully) we popped out where we needed to be.

Very helpful staff gave me the key and sent me further up the road. Knew that this accommodation was sort of AirB&B under another name, but when I booked I thought I was getting a private room, which included a kitchen, and washing machine as well as the bedroom/ensuite. But no... its more like a share house and its quite clean and spacious, but there's not even a kettle in my room, nor a small fridge. So was a bit pissed off about that... but one copes! Not that graciously but!!!

not many photos taken today, but here ya go!