My legs spin the crank, which spins the wheels which spins the world before my eyes

"The Steepest Hill in the World," is what all the signs said in a small north Dunedin neighbourhood.  Campervans were parked at the bottom of the street and there was a small crowd of tourists taking pictures as I biked by on a grey Dunedin morning.  There was a handful of people sitting on the bench at the top of the street, enjoying an early morning adult beverage, presumably on holiday, celebrating their arrival to the top.  As I turned to face the hill and pedalled toward it, I thought about taking my one front pannier bag off the bike, but thought better of it since it only weighed a couple of extra kilos.  The hill couldn't be that steep, surely I've biked up steeper gravel hills, I thought.  Some tourists seemed to be making bets about how far up I'd make it before getting off to walk - all the more encouragement to prove them wrong.

As sweat started to drip and I struggled to breath deep enough, I began to see why the hill is in the Guinness Book of Records for being the steepest.  I was in my easiest gear - the 'granny' gear in front and a 34 tooth sprocket in my rear cassette - and I couldn't even see the top of the hill as the grade was still getting steeper.  I was standing up, out of the seat, each pedal rotation a struggle and a breath in, a breath out.  I could hear the tourists at the top "almost there, 20 meters to go," but didn't even bother looking up for fear of losing my balance and concentration of getting up the incline.


At last I made it to the top and was bombarded with congratulation and questions by the group at the top.  For the first time in my memory, I couldn't speak after getting off my bike for my excessive breathing rate!  My only question being - "WHY WOULD ANYONE BUILD SUCH A STEEP HILL!!!?????  WHY?????"

The residential Baldwin Street in Dunedin looks quite normal from a distance but has the record of steepest street in the world.

Dunedin feels like a college town.  Much of its culture is based on Otago University and the energy that students bring every year.  But after staying in Dunedin long enough to gain a strong appreciation for the little city, Christchurch was pulling me back to finish the tour.  I needed a job and was feeling quite ready to be settled in one place.

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It's hard to write a final blog post for a tour.  I didn't even include one for my last tour.  The final leg took me 7 days.  I rode on 2 bike trails, over the Lindis Pass, and along the scenic route of the Canterbury plains.  It was a great little trip and I managed to keep my mind in the moment and not think about the end of the tour and the different life I was about to start.

The final 7 day leg of the journey from Dunedin to Christchurch.  I took the Otago Rail Trail to Alexandra, climbed over the Lindis Pass, pedaled along the Alps 2 Ocean bike trail which brought me close to Mt. Cook, descended to the Canterbury plains and hugged the base of the alps before cutting straight east to Christchurch.

Beautiful view of Dunedin from the Otago Peninsula.  Great day for a ride!  It was hard to leave this beautiful city, especially when the sun was out!

I was on the Otago Rail Trail for a day and a half.  It's an old railway converted to bike trail, and definitely the most popular bike trail in New Zealand.  With 150km of continuous gravel trail, many people take a 3-4 day holiday to bike the length of it.  While I enjoyed being on the trail versus a road, I concluded that there are much more scenic bike trails in New Zealand.  I finished the trail just in time to see the results of the annual easter bunny bang in Alexandra.

Farmers in Otago have a big problem with rabbits which were introduced by Europeans.  Lacking predators and enjoying the quick growing grass, rabbit populations here are massive.  In an effort to control the population, hunters come to Otago from all over New Zealand to compete in teams in a 24hr rabbit hunt.  Between 10,000 and 25,000 rabbits get shot annually!

Nice Shooting!  Results from the annual Great Easter Bunny Bang in Otago

The Alps 2 Ocean trail posed challenges but huge rewards for riding.  I followed it for about 80km through the McKenzie high country.  I camped next to this lake (Lake Ohau) and enjoyed a beautiful night of stargazing.

Hydro power canals make for flat biking, and provide a source of clean, cold, flowing water for salmon farming.  Massive canals connect a series of lakes in this area and provide the South Island with a huge portion of renewable energy.

View of Mt. Cook across one of the hydro lakes - Lake Pukaki - from the A2O trail.

The Canterbury plains.  Where sheep once ruled, dairy operations are becoming very common.  Milk is processed and sold to China for the most part.  The water consumption and waste from cows is a growing concern for the environmental health of the plains.

So I'm back in Christchurch now and starting a new part of my life.  In the past 2 years I've spent 10 months bicycling about 18,000km across the USA, Canada and New Zealand.  I worked as a ski instructor at Big Sky and baked tasty treats in a cafe.  I spent 1.5 months in the Domincan Republic as a camp councilor.  I'm excited to be settled in one place to make a new home.  The repair work that needs to be done in Christchurch provides a great opportunity to learn about professional engineering.

I've been hired on as an engineer at a small engineering consultancy that specializes in geotechnical and water engineering projects.  Right now, I'm doing geotechnical field work, analyzing the soil strength for foundations at properties around Christchurch.

I'm also staying with a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Canterbury working on a new way to view sustainability.  I've never felt so motivated and focused in my life.  There will definitely be more to come on that...  Hope you've enjoyed reading about my trips.  Stay tuned for more adventures of a different sort!

The completed map of my 5 month, 8000km bike ride around New Zealand

Down the West Coast

February, my favorite month for consistent, cold winter temperatures in Wisconsin, has been quite the opposite here in NZ.  Warm, sunny days and a lack of rain has been characteristic of the month.  The headwinds haven't been so strong and the temperature of the ocean has been perfect for swimming.  People on the West Coast that get their water from rain that pelts the coast are in the midst of a long drought.  The streams are running low and water trucks in high demand, driving up and down the coast delivering water to thirsty customers.  But from the saddle of a bicycle I can't complain about the weather at all, it has been almost perfect.

Lake Matheson near Fox Glacier on the West Coast, reflects Mt Cook/Aoraki (3,754m/12,316ft) and Mt Tasman.

I stayed up in the Nelson area for about 3 weeks before heading south.  Nine days of that were spent at the Luminate Music Festival; an alcohol-free gathering of about 3000 people for music, workshops, and good times.  The festival is set at about 1000m in the hills above Takaka and Motueka/Nelson.  It's about 10km inland from the famous Abel Tasman National Park, full of silver beech forest and rock outcroppings that are geological anomalies.  Music happened on several different stages; an electronic stage featured dj's playing 24hrs a day, and a live music stage featured great acts all afternoon and dj's after midnight.  The workshops focused on alternative living ideas; I took classes on reflexology, yoga, biodynamics, rebirthing, african dancing, healthy living, food resilience and community living.  It was a magical place and an amazing experience to be surrounded by such natural beauty, loving people, educational workshops, and great music!

I was a volunteer for the festival and ended up on security duty which gave me free food and a free ticket.  I spent the first half of it lounging about at the back gate monitoring vehicles as they drove the public road through the festival grounds.  The second half of the festival I spent staying up all night backstage mingling with artists and festival organizers and doing my best to guard the premises.  I was told by many that my smile and easy-going attitude was very unbecoming of a proper security guard - I guess I shouldn't consider a future in the profession...

Going into the festival grounds from the camping area.  It was a leave-no-trace event, although they did have big composting toilets and a massive public compost pile!

Time passed quickly back in Nelson with Ron and Carol - family friends from Christchurch that I spent every Christmas with.  After spending some time applying for jobs and getting my resume back out on the market after the xmas/summer break, I hit the road to the south.

One way section of road along the Buller River to the West Coast.  Very few cars and beautiful riding.

Although I saw more tourists - especially cycling tourists - than I ever saw on the North Island, the West Coast was something special.  I pedaled on my own from Nelson into the Alps and followed the Buller River past the whitewater kayaking mecca of Murchison to Westport on the Tasman Sea.  I spent 3 nights at an old family vacation spot - the Cow Shed Cafe - at the mouth of the Mokihinui River.  The off-the-grid lifestyle of the Atkins family there was truly impressive with a digesting-worm septic system, micro-hydro power, a large vege garden, wood/coal burning oven for hot water and baking and the ambition to buy strictly kiwi-grown food (with the exception of coffee of course...)  Good on you guys!

View from Jesse and Jessica's house near the Mokihinui.  I had my tent in front!

I met up with Lauren in Westport and we stayed with Alan (born one day before me) and Ashleigh.  Alan works as a mechanic for a mining company and we learned a lot about the West Coast mining industry.  Most of the coal is actually shipped off to China where they dump it in the ocean for safe-keeping!  The coal industry (along with tourism and forestry) provides the economically depressed area with much needed jobs.  At least the mining company is mostly government owned (but not for long...).

Lauren and I left Westport and headed south through beautiful countryside.  The riding was comparatively flat to the North Island and the scenery was stunning.  I felt like I was transported from Big Sur, California, to Pemberton, British Columbia, to Patagonia, over the course of the 7-day trip down to Southland.  I have been feeling pressed to get back to Christchurch soon to find a job, so we were doing big days of at least 100km.

Paparoa National Park and feeling like a tropical rainforest version of Big Sur, CA

Biking down the West Coast we stopped to check out the Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers, some of the lowest lying glaciers in the world and receding at a remarkable rate.   Won't be long before they're gone.  But the bush that has popped up where ice once stood is beautiful and is a nice reminder that not all change is bad.

Reminders of Pemberton, BC near Fox Glacier with Mt Cook/Aoraki visible in the distance

Finding campsites proved to be a little bit tricky going down the West Coast.  New Zealand has had a massive influx in the amount of camper vans in the country.  The most common vehicle that has passed me on the road would arguably be a camper van.  Most of these are merely vans with beds in the back, and little kitchen facilities that include a sink and a stove.  Most are not equipped with latrines, and most free places that tourist camper drivers like to park for the night do not have public toilets.  Thus, a human waste problem was created.

At first, tourists were encouraged to carry a spade with them and dig holes to dispose of their bodily wastes.   But as with most things in this world, a few people spoil things for everyone else; toilet paper and human poop sightings became more and more frequent.  In response to this, local councils cracked down on "Freedom Camping," putting fines of a couple hundred $ to anyone that was found camping in illegal areas.  There were still quite a few turn offs with potential spots to spend the night, and I never ended up paying for camping, but there definitely were a few nights when the tent would go up at dark, and come down at sunrise...

Could be Patagonia... but it's Lake Wakatipu near Queenstown

After crossing the Southern Alps, Lauren stayed in Wanaka to rest for a few days while I carried on alone.  In a late afternoon ride, I rode over the highest paved road in New Zealand and cruised down into Queenstown.  What I found there was a city I never expected to see in NZ.  The tourist city had an international feel to it, immediately palpable at 8:30pm on a Monday night with streets teeming with visitors, lines out the door to the well-known burger place that I wanted to get dinner from, and bars getting ready for pub-crawls.  It was a complete gong-show and after a delicious burger, I managed to quickly find a little, private beach on the lake, just outside of town, to pitch my tent for the night.  The next morning I was off on a fancy old steamship that catered to the tourist crowd for lake cruises, but extends its services to act as a ferry for bicyclists.  The road on the other side of the lake - the shortcut to Te Anau - was gravel and an immediate cure to my tourist-overload astonishment.  I hardly saw anyone on the 90km gravel ride and even after I hit sealed road in Southland the unpopulated region satisfied my desire to be on my own in the countryside.

At Lake Te Anau and Lake Manapouri (the Upper Waiau River between the two lakes is the river in The Fellowship of the Ring at the end with the uruk-hai battle...), New Zealand saw the beginning of its environmental movement.  In order to supply power to the aluminum smelter in Bluff (southern most point on the South Island) it was proposed in 1959 to raise the levels of the lakes by about 30 meters.  This prompted protests nationwide to save the lakes, previously unheard of in NZ, and after a successful campaign, the environmental movement was born.  A solution was found that kept the lakes at natural levels, but diverted water from the Waiau River - the second largest river in New Zealand with a flow of 400 cumecs (14,125cfs).  For 21 years, the mighty Waiau was reduced to... 1 cumec... until environmentalists won another battle.  By using trout (introduced to NZ) as an indicator species, scientists calculated the flow needed for 95% of trout habitat.  This flow varies between 12 and 16 cumecs (423-565cfs).  Environmental victory???

Awesome surf on the south coast.

At the mouth of the Waiau River I hit the Foveaux Straight - the body of water separating Stewart Island from the mainland.  Weather comes straight off the Antarctic ice and, unobstructed by any other piece of land, slams this coastline with high winds and cold temperatures.  In the summer months, warm water circulates down from the Tasman Sea to make the ocean here enjoyable to swim in with only a swimsuit.  But it must get cold in the winter...

I ran into a group of surfers and even got to try out a sit-on-top board with a paddle.  I thought I'd get the hang of surfing it quickly, but it turned out the board was very different from a kayak and the most I got was two paddle strokes before falling off - forget about the waves.  I pressed the surfers about life in Southland and on the coast.  I asked about the cold winds, hail, rain, snow and damp cold of winter.  It's tough to live in, they told me, but without the bad weather, the surf wouldn't be any good.  The place must be paradise for wind and wave surfers, keen enough to wear a thick wetsuit to play in the sea.

When life gives you lemons...

After a 200km ride for my birthday, I made it to Dunedin where I'm resting up for a few days before I make the final push to Christchurch.  I'm debating between the 370km coastal route and the 620km route through the mountains...  If you wanna see more pictures of the beautiful South Island, check them out here: Te-Waka-A-Maui (The South Island)  I love to read comments too!

The East Side of Te Ika-a-Maui

Te Ika-a-Maui - the fish of Maui.  According to Maori mythology, the North Island was a giant fish caught by the demi-god, Maui.  He caught it from his waka (canoe) - the South Island.  Unfortunately for me and all bicyclists, when Maui left to get a blessing for the smooth, flat fish, his brothers with whom he was fishing started chopping up the great fish, hacking at it until it became the hilly landscape it is today...

Time in Rotorua went quickly and restfully.  Gerard and Kathy (old family friends) took us to the Kaituna river, a meca on the North Island for whitewater kayaking.  The pristine water, safe drops, and beautiful foliage along the river made it a river I've got placed high on my list to return to.  We enjoyed bathing in thermal pools and checking out the smelly volcanic activity that surrounds the area.  At the Rotorua farmers' market, David (their son), treated us to a 'Long Dog' - the longest hot dog in the world!

Small waterfall drop on the Kaituna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After leaving Rotorua, I biked on my own to the north to get to the Bay of Plenty.  Initially, I passed lots of livestock on the quiet backroads, but quickly, the landscape changed to kiwifruit farms and other produce.  As I biked east along the coast and the tailwinds picked up behind me, final sparks of red dotted the coastline coming from late blooming pohutukawas.  I was abruptly shaken back to reality by a loud boom, and rapid depressurization of my rear, Continental tyre.  After a quick repair completely destroyed the patched tube, I realized that the kevlar bead in the tyre had come detached from the rubber - tricky.  Dental floss in the sewing kit goes a long way sometimes, and the needle made quick work of the soft rubber tyre (thanks for making sure I have a needle and floss, Dad!).  Still 20km from a bike shop in Whakatane, I made camp on the beach.  I awoke to a 'bang' in the middle of the night and figuring it was the floss breaking, slept on.  It was, in fact, another spot on the tyre where the kevlar bead had broken away from the rubber in the same manner as before!  So with 2 floss repairs, I limped into Whakatane to a new Schwalbe tyre, which has since solved my tyre issues completely!

Kevlar bead coming through...

Dental floss sewing fix.

Biking around the East Cape was breathtaking, in all forms of the word...  The shoreline was rugged and rocky, fragmented by beautiful bays and river mouths on the north, and white-sand beaches on the east.  The weather was very hot, everyday, and the constantly hilly road was a real test to my stamina.  I rode by Maori communities where signs were completely in Maori and I could only guess as to the purpose of buildings (schools, maraes, etc).  I enjoyed fires on the beaches with plenty of driftwood to feed the flames, and the new moon provided beautiful, starry nights.  On the night of the new moon, I ended up at a hotel/pub at Te Puia, where people were friendly and the beer went down smoothly.  The hotel was home to a small hot pool - water was piped direct from a hot spring nearby and the pool temperature was controlled by the addition of cold water from the hose, which also made for a nice shower post soak.  At the end of the night, after setting up my tent on the short grass outside, I enjoyed a nice long soak and the full Milky Way in the clear night sky.

Beautiful, rocky shoreline, punctuated by little sandy bays made biking along the coast beautiful!

I was, however, on a mission the whole way.  Drawn by a passion that runs deep in my being, I was on my way to the Bliss Stick kayak factory, in the wop wops near Taihape.  After passing through Napier (and enjoying heaps of ripe apricots, nectarines, peaches, avocados, and apples) and Hastings (where I stopped in the Rush Monro ice cream gardens and spent a good amount of time (and money) enjoying the creamy goodness) I headed inland toward the multiple 500 meter climbs over the Ruahine range, ultimately taking me to 1000 meters.  The road was brutal and I cursed Maui's brothers over and over...  Massive river gorges sliced through the hilly terrain and, of course, the road did not follow any river.  My lowest granny gear recieved the most use, next the my usual low gear which got me through the headwinds.  When I turned onto the 30km of washboarded gravel road that was a shortcut to Bliss Stick, the clouds opened up and the enjoyment level went to nill.  Still, driven by a deep passion... my legs carried me on.

Lauren met me there after having a similarly bad day of riding, however she didn't have to face the hilly gravel roads to Taihape and got a ride.  It was great to see her again, and especially great to see the bottle of cider, and barley and mushroom soup with scones she made/brought for dinner!  The Bliss Stick factory is in an amazing location and pretty much owned and operated by Charles and his wife, Coke.  All the boats are made in an oven in an old sheep barn that's now full of tools and kayak molds.  There was a small kitchen, bathrooms, and plenty of tent space for visitors who come to build their own kayaks.  While Lauren and I were there, 2 germans, 3 americans, and 2 aussies were also there, taking advantage of the build-your-own boat program (do some work for Bliss Stick, and build your boat for 50% of retail price!).  Fortunately for me, there was paddling gear to borrow and I got down the Rangitikei river twice - a scenic class IV technical canyon with plenty of boof drops to play on.  At the river lodge, a short drive down the hill from the kayak barn, a Kiwi-Experience tour operator brings a busload of young tourists in everyday to stay in the hostel and spend their money at the bar - party is always an option for the end of the night.  I'll definitely be returning there in a car with paddling gear someday soon...

Tricky drop on the Rangitikei

At the Bliss Stick kayak barn, the hilly terrain around it made for difficult biking. But the kayaks were totally worth the effort!

Leaving Bliss Stick, Lauren and I enjoyed backroads all the way to Palmerston North.  The terrain flattened out (for the most part... Maui's brothers really did a number on the island...) once we left the Ruahines.  Although rivers still sliced their way through the landscape at the bottom of massive canyons, the hills were more gradual and forgiving.  Once we crossed over into the Manawatu drainage, back on the east side of the mountains, we found especially flat riding.

We stopped at the Pukaha Mt Bruce wildlife center where Deparment of Conservation (DOC) and volunteers are putting in a huge effort to save native bird species.  Since 95% of all kiwis that are born in the wild don't make it due to introduced predators, the eggs are incubated and chicks are raised within the wildlife center before being released into the bush.  There were also other rare bird species there, including a kokako - a brilliantly blue parrot-ish bird which flew down to us as we stood next to its aviary and sung out "ko-ka-ko" in brilliant, clear english.  Wow!!!

After checking out the Wairarapa wine region, and giving it an extra good investigation with our taste buds in Martinborough, we made the 500meter climb over the Rimutakas to get to the Hut Valley and the Wellington harbour.  I've now surpassed 5000km, which is more than half of what I pedalled in the USA/Canada, and am done with the North Island!  Tomorrow, we'll be on the ferry to Picton and heading to the Luminate music festival near the Abel Tasman where we're both volunteering for 8 days!  Super stoked to be back south!!!  Check out the last of my photos from the North Island on the album "This Must Be The Last Hill"

The Coromandel Peninsula

After a quick visit to Auckland, and some new tyres for the bike, we (Lauren and me - see last post) were off again to the south and the Coromandel Peninsula.  An afternoon bike ride brought us out of the city and to the coast where we caught views of the Coromandel and a deluge of rain the following morning.  Found out my tent leaks, even after hours of repair work in the states.  Drip drip drip...  Fortunately, things cleared up a bit in the afternoon, and we had nice tail winds that took us south to round the Firth of Thames.  Stopped in at the Miranda Shorebird Sanctuary, and checked into birds that migrate from Alaska, down to NZ, and back north via the Yellow Sea in China.  I wonder how their habitat looks these days - 6million, or 10% of the world's population living upriver from their vital stopover estuary...  At least they seem protected and cared for here in NZ.

Route south of Auckland

After rounding the Firth and passing through Thames, the same tailwind we had enjoyed earlier turned into a predictably nasty headwind.  It wasn't long before we started looking for a campsite.  "No Camping" signs were scattered in every plausible park and green space we found.  Even using the maps on my phone (a combination of topographical maps and google satellite imagery that has been so useful for finding nice campsites on the side of the road it has almost seemed like cheating...) brought us to "no camping" signs.  We found a green lawn that was attached to a park with 'no camping' signs, and it seemed like a plausible excuse that we 'didn't see' the signs on the other side of the park...  But after asking the opinion of some neighbors (Evan and Libby), we were offered the key to their old house they had just finished moving out of a week ago.  It was a luxurious night as we cooked up chard that was overflowing the garden, dried off our wet gear - especially the tent - and were sheltered from another big storm that blew in around 2am!  The following morning, they cooked us a breakfast of snapper, bacon, eggs, toast and coffee that stuck with us for a long time as we biked north along the coast, with a tailwind, past Pohutukawas in full bloom, colonies of Pied Shags, Little Black Shags, Terns, and fishermen hoping for luck!

Lauren on the bike ride north along the Coromandel Peninsula, with a morning tailwind and Pohutukawas in full bloom

Upon arriving at Coromandel Town, we had a great oyster lunch from an oyster farm and started to figure out what to do for New Year's Eve.  After spending some time in an organic cafe that also offered homemade kombucha, we were told about a beach party going down at New Chums beach - a well known and highly rated beach that requires a 25 minute walk during low tide to get to.  Upon arriving at the beach, however, we ran into the stragglers of the party goers - they had shifted the party back to Coromandel Town.  We were offered a ride back but the thought of crossing the hill again, even if it was in a car, did not sit well with us.  Besides, a private beach with a little fire for New Years seemed a nice alternative - the (almost) full moon rise was especially beautiful!

At the oyster farm, check out my sun
protection from my helmet!

Campsite under a Pohutukawa for New Years

New Year's day brought the realization that we were sharing the road with far too many Jafas on holiday (a loving term, short for "just another f*^%ing Aucklander").  Auckland empties out over the Christmas/New Years holidays and the Coromandel Peninsula receives a lions share of city dwellers seeking beach holidays.  One would think that being out of the city on holiday would bring relaxation and a slower approach to life.  Completely the opposite.  I've never received so many angry shouts, honks, and finger gestures for bicycling along the side of the road!  In the end, I had to feel sorry for them; stuck in their metal boxes, shut off from the smells and sounds of the sea, going so fast along windy roads they had no time to look out the window and enjoy the views of the beautiful countryside.

It was a relief to get to the Hauraki Rail Trail - an old railway turned to bike trail that took us through the Karangahake Gorge and the longest, darkest tunnel I've ever cycled through!  At 1km long with infrequent overhead lights, I should've used my headlight.  But it was quite an experience to be smothered in blackness, trusting my sense of feeling (and balance!), the only light coming from the dim light ahead of me.

Made it to Rotorua where I'm staying with some family friends for a little bit, seeing the thermal area, sealing my tent, making some alterations to my bike to enable barefoot riding, and relaxing before I tackle the Gisbourne Peninsula.  Lauren will head south to Taupo to check out the volcanoes.

Check out my new album, This Must Be The Last Hill, and my map-blog which I update more frequently.  Happy New Year, and most importantly, GO PACK GO!!!!!

Northland, New Zealand

Where's Forrest?

Wow, the past two weeks have been quite brilliant.  Biking now with a new friend, the pace has been considerably slower but the company has been great.  Johnny put Lauren in touch with me and she brought her bike over from the states.  It's nice going slower and taking more time to enjoy the countryside, especially the beautiful beaches and kauri forests of Northland.

Beach at our first campsite where we arrived just before the sun dipped (the tent was inland on the other side of some dunes in a great little grassy spot where we had a little fire) 

The first night, we left Auckland in one of the smoothest city departures ever.  Cruised down a nice cycle path straight out of the city and soon found ourselves in rolling, hilly countryside.  We ducked a fence and slipped onto some forestry logging roads that took us out to a beach on the west coast.  It was a new moon and a clear night and the stars were out in numbers.  The little campfire we made burnt well into the night, and inspite of the city lights from nearby Auckland, I couldn't take my eyes off the thousands of stars and occasional shooting star.

The next day I awoke to find a broken rear spoke on the cassette side.  13000km, and I finally get a broken spoke... the handmade wheels (quality craftsmanship of John at Budget Bikes in Madison) have treated me very well, and at least I finally got to put to use my chain whip and cassette remover.  Later in the day, my tyre was flat and as I stopped to repair it, Lauren biked ahead.  By the time I caught up to her, she had been called in from the road by a bunch of farmers hanging out at their "boat club."  "What are you doing biking, it's too hot, come have a beer."  I'm glad she followed their advice, and arrived to a large bottle of cold Lion Red beer and a bunch of friendly locals.  After a few more beers, we were invited to spend the night at the house of an older couple - known locally as 'Mouse and Drum' - and they took us in their truck up to the top of one of the hills to catch sunset over the beautiful Kaipara Harbour.

Sunset over Kaipara Harbour

We worked our way north, slowly, getting rained on occasionally, but enjoying the somewhat hilly but mostly mellow roads of Northland.  The next highlight came when we arrived at the ancient, oldgrowth Waipoua Forest, full of massive Kauri trees.  These ancient giants, some of them almost 2000 years old, support a vibrant ecosystem with over 200 different plant species all competing for little rays of sunlight.  All the nutrients in the soil is on the upper 50cm or so, below it, red volcanic clay is a horrible aquifer and doesn't support plant life.  Because of the poor soil, kauri leaves don't have much nutrients in them so they take a long time to decay - in some places they pile up to 1.5 meters deep!  I tip-toed around the forest, barefoot, and absolutely astonished about the soft feel of the ground.  It felt like walking over a big pillow, and with the knowledge that there's nothing poisonous in New Zealand, I let the whole forest embrace every part of me.  The river water was clear and clean and I drank it with no worries, knowing it came from this lush, temperate rainforest.  It was a magical experience.

My perch over the river, holding tight to a beautiful kauri tree.

We made it that night to a spot I spied on my gps, only to find that the road blocked by a locked gate.  After knocking on a nearby house, the farmer gave me the key to the gate which we locked behind us and pedaled out to our private beach for the night.  We cooked some kumara (NZ sweet potato) in a little fire and had it with a tasty peanut sauce and cous cous, and slept like babies on the soft sand.  Next day, we made our way around the Hokianga Harbour, the location that the first Maori to arrive in New Zealand called home.  Few cars troubled us, especially after we took the ferry to the other side of the harbour.  That evening, we biked over the last big hill before 90-mile beach and the northern peninsula.  It was 400 meters of hard, but gradual uphill, followed by one of the best downhill rides of my life.  The corners were banked perfectly, and the asphalt was consistent, fresh, and smooth.  The road wound its way through a kauri forest before coming out to the sheep paddocks of the flatland below.

One of the best days of the trip, we spent biking up 90-mile beach (actually only ~50 miles).  The sand was hard packed and flat, with nothing to worry about running into except the occasional little stream running into the sea, and the hundreds of seashells that would crunch under our tyres.  Hardly any cars passed us - we pretty much had the entire beach to ourselves, biking with sand dunes to our right, beautiful crashing surf to the left, and clouds taking all sorts of shapes.  I spent minutes on end staring up at the sky, without a worry of running into anything.  That evening, we gathered some shellfish for dinner; millions of them hiding just an inch or two down in the sand.  We just scooped our hands into the sand and picked up handfulls of them.  One of the tastiest dinners yet!

90 mile beach, looking south. 

Cooking up a dinner of shellfish, eggs and rice on 90mile beach

Cape Reinga where the Tasman Sea meets
the Pacific Ocean

That evening, the sky clouded over, putting a different spin on our intended starry, night ride.  It was a different experience completely.  The clouds blocked out the light of the half moon high in the sky, and the landscape took on the feeling of being in a blurred, hazy painting.  The horizon line of the ocean disappeared into the clouds somewhere in the distance.  Our bikes led us on, however, and by midnight we had almost reached the end of the beach.  After getting up early the following morning, we were surprised by the massive hills that stood between us and the Cape, finally arriving around noon to the north-western most point of the North Island.  It's a very sacred spot to the Maori - the location where spirits depart Earth for the Underworld.  We spent about 2 hours using water from the toilets there to wash the salt and sand off our bikes - 90 mile beach took its toll on our 2-wheeled machines!

Finally headed south, we made it to the Bay of Islands as the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Evan, which had been blowing for weeks and causing lots of destruction on Pacific Islands to the north like Fiji, came ashore.  We holed up in a little hostel in Russell for two nights, waiting for the gale-force winds to shift to the north.  On Christmas day we headed south with great tailwinds and some rain.  Utilizing warmshowers - the hospitality website for touring cyclists, we stayed with two great hosts in Whangarei and Mangawhai.  In Mangawhai, we caught Katchafire, the New Zealand reggae band that is slowly gaining international fame.  It was a show that I have been dying to see for several years now.

Lauren ahead of me, biking along the east coast past blooming Pohutukawa trees - New Zealand Christmas trees!

Unfortunately, due to my own stubbornness at not buying new tyres, I was plagued by flats.  My front Continental TourRide tyre, which I've had since the beginning of my trip across the states and has roughly 13000km on it, finally blew a large hole.  I patched it with some duct tape and rubber cement, but this was still not enough.  I was out of patches and spare tubes, with a large hole in my tyre.  Fortunately, Auckland was only 100km away, and hitching in New Zealand is pretty easy.  Once again, I limped my way back to Auckland to a warm welcome from Alex and Natasha at their apartment in Newmarket.

Headed south now, to the Coromandel Peninsula and Rotorua.  Check out my new pictures of Northland which are posted HERE

Volcanoes and sheep

Where's Forrest Now???

New Plymouth managed to keep me for one more day than I had anticipated.  I spent most of the last day inside on the computer, unfortunately, dealing with job applications and setting up a cell phone plan.  But the day wasn't entirely lost.  I managed to get away and went for a bike ride up Mt. Taranaki as far as I could go.  It was beautiful.  Farms are everywhere, taking advantage of the rich volcanic soil.  The slope was just slight enough so that I didn't notice it too much, inspite of the fierce headwind I was pedalling into.  The road eventually took me to the edge of Egmont National Park, where birdsong was manifest through the lush, rainforest vegetation.  This side of the island gets more rain, so the forest is starkly different than the drier Gisborne Peninsula which I'll be biking around on my return to Wellington.  When it was time to turn around and return to New Plymouth at sea level, I found myself at about 1400ft, with a stiff tailwind to boot.  The gradual downhill of the old volcano was, without doubt, one of the best downhill rides I've ever had...
I'll definitely be back to visit New Plymouth!

`Mt Taranaki, covered in cloud, with the Ponakai and Patua ranges extending to the right. This photo shows farmland, but the dark green of the National Park surrounding the mountain is quite evident.

By way of the Forgotten Worlds Highway, I made my way east towards Tongariro National Park and the fishing mecca that is Lake Taupo.  The highway brought me up and down steep hills, most of them filled with loud 'baaa-ing' sheep and mental male bulls that wouldn't keep quiet about being separated from all the ladies.  They did make it a little hard to sleep at night...  The native bush that I pedalled through was full of birdsong - an environment that I wish was not just excluded to small conservation areas.  Why has western civilisation destroyed so much of what is naturally beautiful in the world???  Can there be no profit in keeping an area clean and green and as it was before the arrival of humans?  When will the destruction that quenches our thirst for modern unnecessity end? (sorry, I get frustrated sometimes...)

I did spend one excellent night in a sheep paddock.  It was a lookout off the road which was supposed to give a nice view of Ruapehu.  Unfortunately, clouds quickly rolled in, leaving me with the hope that morning would show me beautiful views.  I awoke to rain... which lasted all day...  But it was a nice campsite!  As I biked along the next day, I pedalled by a farm that had a crew there sheering its sheep.  I stopped to check it out and have a chat, and was ushered into the sheep holding pen and shown how to subdue a sheep and hand it off to the guy with the razor.  He would shave off all the wool in about a minute, and I would hand him the next sheep.  The wool was removed from the area and packed into a machine that would compress the it into bales.  The shearing went quite fast and at the end, the razor was handed to me and I gave it a go... It's a lot harder than it looks...

My campsite with a tremendous view in the sheep paddock.  My white tent is in the middle of the photo.

I spent a wet day cycling up to the Volcanic Plateau, and after a night drying off in a backpackers, the clouds cleared for a brilliant day of volcanic vistas.  I ended up climbing Mt Ngauruhoe (2,291m), now more commonly known from the Lord of the Rings movies as Mt Doom.  The climb was brilliant and quite challenging.  The scree-covered slopes made finding stable footing quite tricky.  But the arrival at the crater was well worth the trip, and getting back down was quite enjoyable as I was able to utilise the patches of soft spring snow to boot-ski my way down.

Stopped for a photo op, on the way to climb Mt. Ngauruhoe (left).  Mt Ruapehu is the large snow-capped peak in the center, and the third volcanoe, Mt. Tongariro is to the left of Ngauruhoe and is not pictured.

Me at the top of Mt Ngauruhoe with a vista of the Red Crater and Mt. Tongariro in the background.  Lake Taupo is hidden by the haze on the horizon and came into view occasionally.  It was very cold and windy at the top!

Massive hole and the run-in to Huka Falls

Huka Falls

The weather remained nice for me for one more day as I made my way along the eastern side of Lake Taupo to the city of Taupo where I camped near Huka Falls on the Waikato River.  Lake Taupo was absolutely beautiful and I stopped to swim a couple times in its crystal clear waters.  Huka Falls itself was quite a sight, especially after I had watched some youtube videos of people kayaking it (check it out, it's absolutely ridiculous.  I guess people die in the hole at the bottom of the falls if you don't clear it right...  Looks pretty fun though!)

It then proceeded to rain on me for the next three days as I pedalled down the Waikato river.  It's the longest (425km) and hardest working river in New Zealand with 9 hydro facilities, supplying 13% of the country's energy demand.  To see such a beautiful river full of dams - its deep canyons stripped of rapids where water now turns stagnant in ponds and reservoirs - brought a mix of emotions.  This is the cost of 'clean, renewable' power I guess...  There is hope for the river now, however, as the "Waikato River Cleanup Trust is spearheading an effort to return the polluted lower reaches to their former cleanliness.  The pollution is mostly agriculture runoff from the dairy farms in the region, as well as increased silt from the conversion of native bush to farmland.  The Waikato River Authority aims to work with farmers and landowners to develop sustainable land use methods that will improve water quality.  What an endeavour!  It will be interesting to see how things end up 5-10 years from now.

The first hydro-power station on the Waikato River near Arapuni.  As I gazed down from the dam (further upriver) into the gorge, upstream slackwater from this powerhouse sat in a stagnant pond where the river used to gush through the canyon.

As I pedalled down the river towards Auckland, I was confronted by a headwind yet again (it's either headwinds or hills in NZ...) It seemed that the world just didn't want me to make it to the city - especially on the third day when my rear derailleur cable snapped, locking me in the hardest rear gear, 70km outside of Auckland.  After a break at a dairy that involved the purchase of 2 small chocolate bars, an ice cream treat, and a large bar of chocolate to go, I managed to adjust the derailleur limit screws to a middle sprocket that made it possible, with the help of the 3 gears on my crank, to limp into Auckland.

What a trip!  I've been resting up here for the past 3 days at the apartment of Alex Borden, a Wisco friend from Hoofers, getting ready for the beaches of Northland.  The days are getting quite a bit hotter as is the ocean temperature.  Summertime in New Zealand!  Check out my latest pictures HERE

The South West Coast of the North

Where is Forrest Now?

I left Wellington after a week of relaxing and waiting to hear about jobs.  Had one little talk with Beca, a large engineering consulting firm, but they just did a massive intake of entry level engineers.  Summer is just starting here and it seems as if I've missed all the big hires of graduate engineers.  There's still hope though, as vacancies are coming up frequently.

   

My plate of chicken, sprouted beans and roti.  Yummy!

Joshna's fruit store.  Yummy!

In Wellington I stayed with my Mom's friend Joshna who runs a small fruit shop in the central business district (CBD) of Wellington.  It's a super cool store and their selection of fresh fruit and veggies was great.  Plus, Joshna would bring home tons of fruit that wouldn't sell... delicious kiwi fruit and navel oranges and even some mangoes.  MMMmmmmmmmm.

Whats more, we would go over to Joshna's parents' house, some of the most welcoming people I've ever met.  Joshna's Mum would cook delicious indian food most nights and taught me to eat with my fingers.  I went fishing with her dad for herring, but had no luck.  Seems like the Wellington harbour has been quite fished over.  Wellington sure was a cool city with tons of little bays to explore and massive expanses of forested hills.  The national museum is in Wellington - Te Papa - which is free and was a good refresher on NZ history.  The Carter Observatory was particularly interesting as well, as I learned about the southern night sky and especially the remarkable navigational feats of the Polynesians.  Star constellations were particularly important for them, and expert navigators knew where in the Pacific they were, based on the location of constellations rising in the sky.  Thus, they could sail north or south and know when to stop and turn directly east or west to hit land.  They knew how to spot the land from far off by how certain sea birds were acting and the way the clouds looked in the sky - hence, New Zealand's name - Aotearoa - Land of the Long White Cloud.

View of downtown Wellington from Oriental Bay

Upon leaving Wellington, I quickly found out that the wind was not in my favour.  For 4 days I battled the headwind until I rounded Cape Egmont, the western cape of the North Island.  The first night, after battling not just a headwind but Friday afternoon Wellington traffic, I made it to a small town, Paekakariki, and camped in a little reserve in the town.  Beautiful spot overlooking the sea with waves crashing below me.  I didn't spend much time at the site, however, as I found out the village hall that night was bursting with music and fun.  There were 3 bands playing; a great guitarist playing harmonica and singing the blues accompanied by a drum set, a Cuban-Kiwi reggaeton singer, and a local ska band.  Folks of all ages - kids and grandparents - were there dancing the night away and drinking locally brewed beer and sangria.

Mt Taranaki and grazing sheep.  Around the volcano, dairy cows are the more common sight.

New Plymouth, with its power plant and shipping port on the left, Mt Taranaki in the distance, and great surfing beaches around the cape to the right.

I pushed off again, reasonably early, and battled the headwind through fields of sheep, veggies, but mostly dairy cows.  The busy road took me far from the beach, and it wasn't until I passed through the town of Whanganui that the volcanoes became clear.  At one point, I could see both Mt. Ruapehu and Mt. Taranaki through the haze on the horizon, but as I neared Taranaki, it became clearer and clearer.  The land was flat, with the only real hills being large decents into river gullys followed by long uphill pushes, usually into the wind.  Ouch.

Calving is over and these inquisitive guys are growing up quick!

The wind blowing off the Tasman Sea was a solid 35km/hr, with gusts up to 45 or so.  It was hard going.  Passing trucks were welcomed by their momentary wind relief, the closer they passed by me, the bigger the relief!  But by the time I got to the Surf Highway-the road that goes around Taranaki next to the sea-I quickly forgot about the wind and thought about the beaches I was passing (and the Packer game I was gonna get to see that night in New Plymouth).  Apparently, the beaches around here - some of them black sand beaches - have some of the best surfing in New Zealand.  Mountain and surf-sounds like a great life to me!  I found a bar with the Packers in New Plymouth, a nice irish bar.  Unfortunately the game was rather forgettable, but at least the Guinness was quite tasty!

I've spent the past 2 days in New Plymouth checking out the city and getting to know the area a little bit.  Unfortunately didn't make it to hike up Taranaki as the top is still quite covered with snow and ice.  But the town is beautiful (~50,000ppl) with large parks, an award winning coastal path (the signs are the most descriptive I've ever seen - like science posters in their description of the area and how the ecology works), a kite surfing beach, great bakeries and indian food... I think I'll have to stop there.  I've given too much away.

I'm headed off now to the Forgotten Worlds Highway and on to Lake Taupo.  Enjoy my pictures on the new album, and if you ever want to see where I am on the road, check out my map of NZ - Where's Forrest? and follow my travels day-by-day with pictures and commentary.