On December 31 Auckland moved to the COVID Protection Framework Orange Traffic Light setting and serious travel was OK. I did a few regional rides before heading out of Auckland for a few overnight trips, to check out gear, before embarking on the more extensive South Island adventures.
Āwhitu?
Although just 17km from home, I have only visited Āwhitu, South Head of the Manukau Harbour, a few times and never ridden there as by road it is 110km away. This is a more familiar view, from Whatipu on the North side of Manukau Harbour.
To make it a day ride I drove to Pollok eliminating a lot of familiar, or just uninteresting, suburban & highway kilometres. The ride around the head (TO2122-58) was all new cycling to me, some to entirely new (to me) places.
It was an 80km loop (Strava missed a bit at the end) but looked more like a deranged virus (fitting) thanks to excursions, down dead-end roads, to beaches. The rolling hills resulted in ~1600m of climbing.
It was a stunning day, about 23°C with little wind, when I got to my Pollok park and ride. The road to here was quite busy, traffic heading to the beaches and lighthouse so was happy I had not ridden from further down the headland.
I headed towards Āwhitu ‘Central’ on Manukau Heads & Kemp roads. The rolling hills and road following the ridge offers magnificent views, passing by Āwhitu Central Church and War Memorial.
Nearer the end it climbs above Āwhitu Gully with lovely views towards the Auckland CBD which isn’t far away if you’re flying.
Love the terracing on these hills and still green, for this time of year, grass.
The road flowing along the ridge with views East and West.
Near Dickey Rd there is a lookout North to the Manukau Heads and sands of Whatipu across the infamous Manukau Bar.
From just past Lighthouse Station Farm the road is gravel for a few kilometres to the lighthouse parking area. It was full when I arrived with people jockeying to find a park or turning around to park along the roadside. Was amusing watching them gingerly manoeuvre their rugged SUVs & Utes in the congested parking area. No problem for me on a bike!
By now it was really hot and there was a long queue at a caravan selling fresh blueberry ice cream. The berries are from Pleasant Valley Blueberries just down the road near Wattle Bay. I decided to head up to the lighthouse, a short but steep climb, before getting one for 'hill power'!
When I got back there were just two people in the ice cream line so joined it only to hear them order eleven ice creams! It was for a large family group, most sheltering in the shade of a nearby trees. As they are handmade it took a while but when I got mine, already part consumed to contain melting in the photo below, it was well worth the wait!
Heading south, I turned left on to ‘Boiler Gully Rd’ heading for the Manukau Harbour to explore the coastline before the tide receded too far. The harbour is vast, around four hundred square kilometres area, but shallow so the tides, up to 4m, go in and out rapidly. This huge volume of water funnelled through the narrow heads means it demands respect. Too many people, including several just recently, get caught out.
First stop, after an awesome downhill, was Orua Beach. Time for a swim before the water went out too far, which was really refreshing, and munched some snacks I was carrying while drying out. That didn’t take long in the sun.
I rode North over the hill to Wattle Bay with its views of Huia; a more usual ride destination for me. Still strange to think how close to home I was, yet so far away!
Huia, or Weld Beach if you watched the TV series '800 Words', is just three kilometres away, by boat!
There is no waterside ‘coast road’ so riding between beaches means back to the ridge before heading back down to the coast. Although not particularly high, sea level to ~200m, all the up and down adds up.
By the time I got to Big Bay the tide was well out, glad I had that swim earlier!
Stopped at the Camp shop, first I had encountered, to get more drink and some food for lunch. It was operating ‘non-contact’ but I found enough to keep me going.
Grahams Beach was busy despite the lack of water, lots of family groups enjoying BBQ etc at the reserve as the slackened lockdown rules now allowed.
This trash sculpture at Matakawau encouraged people not to litter, made from plastic recovered from the harbour.
My last diversion was down ‘West Coast Road’ to Hamilton's Gap. There’s a stream, small freedom camping area (with toilet block but little else) and access to the seemingly endless black sand West Coast beach.
I went for a short beach ride, about 3km, but if you timed the tide right it appears ~10km towards the Heads is rideable. My road biased Schwalbe 30mm road/gravel tyres were fine on the damp iron sand, thanks to that low tide, but no good on loose dry sand near the cliffs. Quite a few vehicles were heading that way for an evening fishing I presume.
Another snack stop, tucked behind a rock out of the breeze, was broken by a passing fisherman (on a quad bike) stopping to check I was ok! He saw the bike, leaning against the rock, and me lying beside it daydreaming and (perhaps) assumed the worst!
As I headed back down the beach, near the gap, a guy sprinted down the beach hailing me. He was visiting for the day, checking it out before coming to stay later in January, and wanted to know how riding on the beach was. A short test ride on my bike confirmed he would be bringing his own gravel bike.
After that it was back to the car, packed up, and drove home as the sun set. It was a wonderful day out!
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