RobiNZ Personal Blog

Northland Twin Coast Trail Cycle 6 | Abarth, Packards, lunch, home

The only cycling activity today was fitting my bike back into AHBART for the trip home. ‘Bart’ had been safely stored across the road from Left Bank in their secure parking area. It was that which made the trip viable, five days parking for a very modest cost which could be racked up in hours in Auckland.

I went for the ‘light option’ Continental breakfast (muesli, fruit, yoghurt, toast with local honey & conserves) at Mint Café as was meeting a cycling  friend for lunch later in the day. Had to have a second coffee and remember Brooke being particularly happy after making it, was as good as it looked.

 

I headed South on SH15, enjoyed the drive up this road which was fun in the Abarth. Nice scenery, light to no traffic and enough twisty bits to exploit the go-kart handling of the little tike. I stopped at Maungatapere to check out the Packard Motor Museum. I only intended to have a quick look but, due to safety regs, it is guided tours only. Was fortunate to join one which had just started, a group from a retirement village, and see this amazing collection.

It was created by Graeme Craw, farmer and earth-moving contractor, who died in 2007. His Wife & Son now direct the museum with a small staff and a lot of volunteers. It covers about 10,000m2 of shed and yard, a huge collection of Packards, modern and classic cars, motor bikes, bicycles, civil engineering machinery and many other types of object. It you want to see a collection of every type of potato masher ever sold in NZ they have it!

 

I had to bail out of the tour about halfway round to make it to my lunch in Whangarei, but went back after to complete it. Manager Martyn was a fabulous guide, with in depth knowledge of the objects, the history of their collection and a wonderful easy going storytelling approach. If you are in the area, it’s about 10km West of Whangarei on SH14, check out the Packard Motor Museum website for opening times and activity days. It is well worth the visit.

Heading South from Whangarei I was behind a long line of traffic, cars and trucks, which wasn’t going to be much fun. I was in no rush so turned off to take the Waipu-Mangawhai coast road, after stopping at Waipu for fuel. It wasn’t really necessary but this was my first real road trip in the Abarth, a rehearsal for a much longer one. I was curious to see how the consumption had gone on the mix of commuting, motorway, highway and country road on the way up. Over 240km it averaged 7.1 l/100km (39.7mpg) which was pretty good considering. It has a small 35 litre tank so although fills are cheap, they are frequent!

I’m very familiar with the road. Have cycled it several times but pedalling the Abarth along it, and home via SH16, was also fun! It was a great finish to the the long weekend.

Northland Twin Coast Trail Cycle 5 | Russell to Kaikohe, via Kerikeri

Another fine day, so much for the tropical cyclone forecast! Had breakfast in the motel (self catered) and set off for Paihia on the ferry from Russell.

I was the only one on the little ‘Waimarie’ ferry, not Fullers. The skipper, solo crew, was busy doing chores most of the way (paper work and polishing brass!) but chatted a bit once we got closer to shore and the engine noise reduced.

After a quick look around Paihia, several years since my last visit, I headed towards Waitangi to check out a possible route to Kerikeri.

Google maps shows some forest roads but I was unsure if they were really there, or useable. The views out over the Waitangi Reserve and Golf Course to the bay were lovely.

I diverted down the road to the, fairly new, Waitangi Mountain Bike Park. Although not on a suitable bike I was impressed with what I saw and had a good chat with one of the staff. On the to do list to revisit with my MTB.

It turned out the forest road was a private one, increasingly strident “no access signs” and the sound of logging trucks/machinery working in the distance made back tracking to the highway my only option. The road goes past the Huruhuru Falls, some people were kayaking in the spume below the falls but managed to avoid a swim.

I have done the ride to Kerikeri before (albeit the other way) so there were no surprises on this section apart from a relative (for a State Highway) lack of traffic. No visit to Kerikeri is complete without a stop at the old (1836, is old by NZ standards anyway) Stone Store. Not sure how many times I have been there but this was my third visit on a bicycle. First was in my teens, a proper touring ride from Auckland with a mate, and the second on a Adventure South trip.

I had lunch at ‘The Pear Tree’ restaurant overlooking the basin: a really nice burger, thick cut chips (the best) and a cider to fuel the ride back to Kaikohe.

I took the back road to Waipapa, and after a short section of the main highway a country road, Puketotara Rd, which skirts the edge of Puketi Forest. It was tarmac to start with but soon I was on gravel. Of course the CX bike was fine but one section, maybe 5km of the ~25km, was very recently graded so it was difficult to find a smooth ‘line’.

I checked out a forest scenic reserve but it was more a place to stay, DOC camp, and trek from than anything remarkable in the way of views.

Once back on the main highway I could have retraced the cycle trail back to Kaikohe but took the road around Lake Omapere for a change of scenery.

This was the last cycling of the trip, back at Left Bank for the night before heading home tomorrow (Tuesday). Dinner at Mint (again) was a lovely Herb Crusted Lamb Rump, with ample veges, followed by an indulgent Chocolate Marquise (mousse) dessert. It was a great meal which almost certainly replaced every kilojoule burnt off on today's 100.96km ride, and then some!

Northland Twin Coast Trail Cycle 6 | Abarth, Packards, lunch, home

Northland Twin Coast Trail Cycle 4 | Kaikohe to Russell, via Opua

I was glad to see the sun shining when I woke up on Sunday morning. The plan was a relatively short 45km trail ride to Opua with a ferry ride and short road section to my overnight accommodation in Russell. That gave time for a leisurely start with breakfast in the Left Bank Mint Café. Their Eggs benedict was awesome; two eggs, bacon, spinach on a toasted muffin and two hash browns. A huge breakfast for me, usually just have a yoghurt, banana & coffee!

I also did a bit of bike maintenance. The rain had washed off a lot of chain lube so re-did that and topped up the tyres. Have been running my 35mm Marathon Plus's at the minimum 4.2 bar (60Psi) in search of gravel grip and they have been fine. Tried a bit harder 4.8 (70) today but didn't notice any difference in handling although the trail was hardly demanding. It is mostly actual rail trail and trains don't do tight bends. Some happy street art before leaving Kaikohe.

This section of the trail is a bit less varied. Mostly farm land as you descend from Kaikohe (350m) towards sea level.

A sign near the trail outlines some of the Iwi objections to the trail. It, justifiably, relates to the land originally being confiscated under the “Public Works Act” for the rail use and not being returned when that use was ended. I can understand the grievance and hope a compromise can be negotiated which honours the tribal ownership of the land and potential trail benefits.

There is a long descent towards Moerewa, after that the ride is pretty flat.

There are some impressive bridges on this section including the Orauta Stream suspension bridges. Love the curves and construction geometry, old timbers and bolted joints.

For about 5km the trail runs alongside a road so I took to the tarmac as there was no traffic. An odd experience was getting warned by a, rather stressed looking, farmer to be careful as he'd just broken up a bull fight in the middle of the road!

One bull was already back in the paddock but I gave the other a wide berth. It was on the other side of the road and was more interested in eating some roadside foliage, a change from grass I guess, than me by the time I went past.

Stopped for a coffee and berry crumble slice at Kawakawa. It is famous for the Hundertwasser toilets, which I didn’t visit, and a train track running down the middle of the main street . Was going to have lunch there but it was very busy and I wasn't really hungry enough (legacy of the big breakfast).

As I was about to leave the train came along the road and I saw it again further along the trail at Tuamarere Station; the end of its run.

Onwards towards Opua there is another neat rail bridge crossing, a short tunnel and nice sea views as the trail follows the coastline.

The trail ends near a marine haul out area, and I did a loop to check out some of the boats. it wasn’t until I got home and properly cleaned the bike I noticed a small sliver, by feel more than sight, of wire embedded in the rear tyre tread. I pulled on it and ~10mm of what looked like stainless steel rigging wire emerged. Running robust, if heavy, Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres paid off.

I thought I had done well arriving in Opua just as the car ferry did, but then realised there are two alternating and so one departs every 15 minutes or so.

Checked into Motel Russell and dumped my gear. It was only about 14:00 so I went out to explore Russell by bike. The waterfront esplanade was rather busy, even for a summer Sunday, so I didn't spend much time there.

Went up to Flagstaff Hill, a historic landmark, for the first time in decades. In one of those small world NZ things I chatted to someone looking at the view and rapidly discovered he was from the suburb were I live. He’d brought a van load of his business staff up for the weekend as a treat.

There were two large cruise ships anchored in the bay, no wonder Russell was so busy!

It was sunny but there was a reasonable westerly breeze blowing into Russell so I went over the hill to sheltered, East facing, Long Beach. Had a nice swim (warm water) and was pleasantly surprised to find a (good) coffee caravan as there are no shops at this beach.

Back to Motel Russell, for a shower and change out of bike gear, then walked back into town (about a kilometre) for dinner. The Duke aside, it was fully booked when I looked, it was quiet as all the cruise ship mob were back on their boats. I had a nice fresh fish meal, Bayside Restaurant, with a lovely sea view to finish an awesome day.

In the end I only rode 66.8km today.

Northland Twin Coast Trail Cycle 5 | Russell to Kaikohe, via Kerikeri

Northland Twin Coast Trail Cycle 3 | Opononi to Kaikohe via Kohukohu

Awoke to better weather, still overcast but warm, no rain and still no wind from the threatened tropical storm. Opononi Lighthouse Motel was great, quiet, clean and right on that beautiful harbour front. It was straight back on the bike, I skipped breakfast in Opononi as had another destination in mind for that.

Although the weather was fine I was wearing SealSkinz waterproof socks again, makes putting on ‘still damp’ bike shoes from the previous day no problem.

The first 20km ride back to the Rawene turnoff retraced yesterday but no rain made it more pleasant. Another, better, chance to take in the scenery still cloaked in low cloud. This brick art wall, on the road near Opononi, made me laugh; “Contemporary Art is not real work, get a proper job”…

I was headed for a café I’d enjoyed on previous visits; Boat Shed, Rawene. It has a great location, cantilevered over the harbour, and I hoped the food was still as good as I remembered. It was more like brunch by the time I got there, so had a salmon bagel and a couple of cups of the excellent coffee while taking in the view. It’s nice to go back to a favourite place, several years later, and find it as good as ever!

Bagel, and accessories

‘Jonathan LS’ watched me eat, while I took in the view and watched back…

It’s a short ferry ride from Rawene to Kohukohu but having lingered over brunch and missed a sailing I had a bit of time to look around before boarding the next. Had been to Rawene before but never really stopped for long. Checked out the main street art and rode the mangrove ‘boardwalk’, narrow in places but managed not to fall in the harbour!

The ferry ride is short, 15 minutes or so, with quite a few cars and camper vans onboard but I was the only bicycle.

This rather understated structure in Kohukohu is apparently NZ’s oldest bridge. Built from Sydney sandstone used as ballast in the ships which visited Hokianga Harbour. It was sign posted, and had the history on a sign, but the local bowls club fence didn't seem very sympathetic!

Main Street Kohukohu between ferries.

The road from Kohukohu is a nice country ride, occasional bursts of traffic then nothing for ages as it nearly all comes from the ferry. Northland was looking very green! I had ridden some of this road in a previous trip but we carried on North to Broadwood and Ahipara, the bottom end of Ninety Mile Beach.

The road skirts around the upper reaches of the Hokianga harbour before climbing a few hundred metres to Mohuiti. There I turned East to join State Highway One at Mangamuka.

I passed the Mangamuka media centre! Noticed the very wet road in this photo but I don't remember that much rain so suspect I missed a shower.

Most of the tourist traffic sticks to SH10 on the East coast. Although it was Saturday afternoon and this is SH1, the main highway, in 30km only a few cars and couple of trucks passed me.

I cycled past ‘Happy Valley Rd’, hope it is a happier valley than the (excellent) British TV drama of that name!

At Okaihau I re-joined the cycle trail to retrace the last ~10km to Kaikohe. Met a roaming horse on the track, but it retreated back towards its paddock looking a bit put out that someone was on its trail!

The Kaikohe end of the trail features a ‘bike fence’. I think it is art, or maybe just a lot of parked bikes!

I was surprised the return distance 99.9km was only a few hundred metres longer than yesterdays 99.4km ride. Different route, the other side of the harbour and, apart from the last 10km, nowhere near the trail!

 

Friday vs Saturday ride route. Part of the Friday ride is mapped straighter than it was (due to GPS failure on both phone and band) but this wouldn't have impacted the wheel odometer distances.

It was back to ‘home base’, Left Bank Kaikohe, for the night and Mint Restaurant for dinner.  I had calamari for entrée followed with pan-seared chicken breast stuffed with brie and herbs on a bed of risotto. It was lovely but I managed to drip some of the fresh tomato on my near new light blue Icebreaker shirt. Dealt with that by dashing up to my room, leaving it soaking, coming back in another orange shirt which had the restaurant staff a bit baffled until I explained why!

Finished off with an item  the “Grown-up Dessert” menu (they have a Kids Dessert too): A chocolate cake like the one captured later in this photo. Yum! Day two, done!

Northland Twin Coast Trail Cycle 4 | Kaikohe to Russell, via Opua

Northland Twin Coast Trail Cycle 2 | Kaikohe to Opononi, via Horeke

Day one of my ride was a mix of cycle trail, Pou Herenga Tai - Twin Coast Trail Kaikohe to Horeke, and road riding to Opononi for the night. After a good, big for me, breakfast (pancakes with fruit, honey & two coffees) at Mint Restaurant I assembled my bike. Fitting it in the Abarth means taking off both wheels & the Tailfin pannier rack but sorting that didn't take long.

The day was overcast, road damp from overnight rain, but warm (25 deg c) and very humid with misty ‘not quite rain’ to actual light rain coming and going.

It was my first tour with the Tailfin so, as a test, I loaded it up with a bit more gear than really necessary for an overnight stay in a motel. One pannier was ‘dry overnight stuff’ (too many clothes, Surface Go PC, phone & Cycliq chargers, toothbrush/paste and sunscreen), the other was riding and potentially wet stuff (Tools, Tube, cycling arm sleeve & leggings, wind shell and Teva sandals for walking). Both bags were about 2/3 full, I didn't weigh them but guess ~3kg each. I was interested to see how the bike handled on gravel, running 700x35c Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres, with this combination.

Kaikohe to Horeke | Twin Coast Trail

The trail goes from Horeke, Hokianga, in the West to Opua on the East coast (interactive map). Kaikohe is in the middle and near the highest point. One advantage of riding from there is no matter which way you go, overall, it is a descent. However, the first part of the trail heading West from Kaikohe is a gentle (railway gradient) climb. In spite of the misty rain there I could take in the views over farmland.

The trail has a mix of steel tube and post barriers to keep out motorcycles etc. Although narrower than the Tailfin panniers lifting the front wheel allowed them to pass under the tube. The post barriers did need the rear of the bike to be lifted a bit to squeeze through.

At the crest of the climb there is a tunnel long enough to need lights, both to see and be seen. I only saw a few other cyclists during the day, due to wet weather and being a work day, but one of them emerged from the gloom just as I was taking a photo

From the tunnel there is a long gentle descent to a clearing which was once Kauri forest. All that remains is a few stumps and a sign showing what once was. The trail skirts Lake Omapere but the open terrain and rain meant I didn't take a lot of notice of it as was more intent on making progress.

Okaihau is a great stop for facilities, and food, but I was still full of breakfast so carried on. A group I had seen at Left Bank were stopping at the café when I went past, I heard it was good. A sign outside the school warning of “High Density Traffic” for about 20 minutes morning & afternoon made me grin, thinking of Auckland rush hours (which go on for hours)…

The town has a couple of typically cute rural colonial churches and some cool converted railcar accommodation if you want to stay overnight.

From there the trail crosses farmland and descends, quite rapidly, into a lovely valley where it follows the river. The trail is well formed gravel, the bike was handling it fine. Although it was damp, drizzling, occasionally raining, it was warm and there was no wind so I didn't bother with any wet weather gear other than my SealSkinz socks. Nothing better than warm dry feet even if your shoes are damp.

The final run into Horeke should have been a highlight, but I spent too much time concentrating on the riding to really appreciate it. A 1400 metre boardwalk spans the bay, but the damp weather meant it was slippery, even with the grip mat help, so I was happy not to end up having an unscheduled swim!

Horeke, Wairere Boulders, to Opononi | Road

A short ride to Horeke marks the end of the trail, many opt to shuttle back from here but I was riding on to Opononi. The Horeke Hotel is supposed to have great food but after checking out the wharf, which looked like a casting call for Hitchcock’s “The Birds”, I opted to carry on as thought there was another café further up the road.

After checking out the Mangungu Mission site, a Waitangi Treaty signing site, which was still impressive in the mist I headed inland on the gravel road.

I had seen the Wairere Boulders on TV, Country Calendar, several years ago and my route back to the main highway went right past them. Part of a farm, its is a valley with amazing natural rock formations with meandering tracks, steps and bridges to navigate them. Although you could spend three or four hours on some of the loops, I did a one hour circuit as still had 50+km of riding ahead of me. The walk was great, but wished had changed out of my cycle touring shoes as they weren't optimum for damp rocks, steps and boardwalks. Unfortunately the café I expected was more a “Coffee and cake caravan” so lunch was that, a Picnic bar and an apple which I had with me.

I think the weather added to the other worldly atmosphere.

You do need to be fairly agile to get around, but there are bridges and steps to mark out the trail and lots of information on the flora and fauna you encounter.

There was about 15km of gravel, Wairere Road, back to the highway. It was raining quite hard but I found the bike handled fine on the gravel road and slushy mud. Some corrugations needed respect, no suspension, but cornering and braking were good even with the modest Schwalbe Marathon touring tyre tread. The bike felt more stable riding on the drop bars at speed, I think the extra weight on the front wheel helped balance the rear load. I did have to stop at one stage and wash the road grit/clay sludge out of the disc brake callipers/pads but they were fine after that.

Once on the sealed highway, SH12 to Opononi, while descending a steep hill I heard a rattle on a bumpy section of road repair patches, it was the Tailfin, but they don't rattle! By the time I stopped discovered I had been a bit timid tightening one of the machine screws holding the bag brackets, the one part you assemble!

It was gone but I was able to jury rig a solution, looping a bag strap over the seat post stability bar, sufficient to save mucking around in the rain on the roadside. Later at the motel I swapped a fastener from a lower ‘anti-swing’ hook (which carry little or no load) and it was fine for the rest of the trip. The other 7 screws were all fine! Back home I found Mitre 10 had the correct countersunk machine screws so it was a cheap easy fix, with extra Loctite on them all!

When planning the trip I imagined arriving in Opononi, checking into the motel, enjoying the evening sun and swimming at the beach opposite. It didn't quite work out that way but I was glad a tropical cyclone which threatened the whole weekend just resulted in some warm wet weather, and little or no wind.

My GPS played up on the first part of the ride, but the old tech odometer captured the distance: ~100km for the day. Dinner that night was fish & chips (nice and fresh, caught that day) and two Magnums, one for dessert, one for ‘supper’, because I couldn’t decide between mint or berry…

Day one was great, although familiar with the area (from driving and road cycle trips) I was surprised how varied, and different, the scenery from the trail was. Day two is all road riding, some I have ridden before, but plenty to look forward to and an improving weather forecast bode well.

Northland Twin Coast Trail Cycle 3 | Opononi to Kaikohe via Kohukohu

Northland Twin Coast Trail Cycle 1 | A plan, to Kaikohe and beyond!

I’ve wanted to ride Pou Herenga Tai - Twin Coast Trail (Opua to Horeke, Hokianga) since learning about it a couple of years ago. I have ridden in the area a couple of times but that was all road touring. The trail (No. 1 & 3 green sections on the map below) is about 87km which is a nice day ride distance, for me, but I wanted to do a bit more. Over the New Year break I started thinking about making a long weekend of it later in February, but not a public holiday weekend, to avoid road traffic and school holiday crowds.

During my research I hit upon the idea of combining the trail with some road riding over four days. It would mean staying, leaving a car, in Kaikohe as a base with a night at Opononi and Russell either end. My CX bike and new Tailfin pannier are perfect for the mix of gravel path/road and tarmac and light ‘overnight kit’ luggage. I would stay in motels and eat out both nights to save carrying tents and cooking gear. Besides, I really don’t like camping and see little point cooking in tourist spots full of much better food than I could ever make!

The thing which made this plan really work was finding the newly opened (December 2018) Left Bank Hotel, in Kaikohe, who had secure parking for the new toy. It would be my first road trip in AHBART, my Abarth 500 Esseesse, and a good test for my upcoming South Island road trip for the A2O cycle. Can I stand a long drive in the Abarth, with its very firm suspension, and fit in a bike + travel gear!?

The (rough) trip plan. Four day rides, two (mostly) trail, two road.

To Kaikohe for the night

I left work Thursday evening heading to Kaikohe. I had a soft deadline, Kaikohe before 21:00, as wanted to check into the accommodation before they closed the restaurant.

Once past Silverdale, and the worst of the Auckland traffic, it was a nice drive towards Whangarei. Before getting there I took a route suggested by the GPS (HereWeGo app) up SH15. If I have driven this road before I’ve forgotten but it was superb. It follows the river up Otaika Valley to Maungatapere where I had to stop and take a photo of a rather odd combination of businesses. One building, part of an old dairy factory, had Manure, Café and Bridal Wear businesses! The other half of this site, more buildings out of shot in the photo below, will feature later in the trip. Its contents were even more surprising.

A bit further up the road I had to do a U turn to snap a photo of a rather special line-up of cars outside the Poroti Pub. Would have liked to go in and find out more but I had a deadline to meet!

The road is a lovely flowing highway, twisty in places but open enough to give some opportunities to pass if needed (not that I did). ‘BART was great, plenty of torque/power and awesome grip/handling meant I could maintain a good average speed without ever going fast. The only odd thing was having to slow often to allow flocks of small birds, probably sparrows, to clear the road. Maybe because it was twilight, but they seemed to be feeding, wind-blown seed trapped in the coarse tarmac?

I also stopped briefly at Twin Bridges. The bridge is an odd T shape, as has a side leg from the middle to a riverside reserve and a farm access road. Pretty sure the last time I was there was in the early 1980s on a bicycle tour, with  a school mate, from Auckland to Kaitaia. I recall that day as we cycled from Dargaville to Kaikohe, where we camped overnight, but didn't sleep much due to rain and not a great tent, before riding on over the Mangamuka Ranges to Kaitaia. Accommodation this time would be rather better!

I got to Kaikohe about 20:00, booked in and got some dinner at Mint Restaurant (part of Left Bank). I pretty much inhaled the rare scotch fillet steak, both because I was hungry and it was superb. I hadn't noticed it came with sautéed potatoes (and vegetables), unlike Auckland Restaurants where everything is extra, so had also ordered a side of fries. I ate the lot and although very full it probably was wise, due to a catering mistake the next day, to double up the carbs!

The Left Bank is a beautifully restored 1910 Bank of New Zealand building. The ground floor has a café/restaurant in the old bank area, the safe is a small lounge! Upstairs the former Bank Managers accommodation has been converted into five hotel quality rooms. ‘My room’, I got the same one for the three nights there, was lovely. A big open room, fireplace and wardrobe on one wall, views to the town from windows on the other two and a nice en-suite bathroom. It was a very comfortable night, rested ready for the riding to kick off the next morning.

Northland Twin Coast Trail Cycle 2 | Kaikohe to Opononi, via Horeke

Just because you are on a crossing, keep watching…

Red lights, cars stopped, green pedestrian and cycle crossing, all good, right? No!

It doesn't look so dramatic on the front camera (due to field of view). I let this run a bit longer so you can see the cars queuing across the bike lane trying to enter a gridlocked parking area. The second white one was actually trying to push into a space which wasn't there and looked mad a me for crossing their path!

But the rear view better represents what happened at the crossing and how close this near hit was.

Triangle Road, Massey, Auckland Chicken Run

It is astonishing how many cars are doing a head on "’chicken run’ down Triangle Road passing stationary traffic, on the wrong side of a double yellow ‘no passing’ line, crossing a two lane bridge with no means of escape. They must have a good job to be that desperate to get there…

Just to show this isn't a one-off here is a repeat performance from today.

* I don't use the bike lane down there unless there is traffic approaching from behind as it is rough, has a lip to the road and often covered in road debris.