Taumarunui

21st March 2017

I have a great night's sleep - this is a really nice hotel...

I get showered and kitted up, then pack the bike and am off riding into a bright, but overcast day at about 0850...



I'm going to be retracing my steps to a certain extent - which first of all means I'm going to have to ride down the west coast of the Coromandel Peninsula again...



Well, damn...



Still, no use moaning - better get on with it...



The tide is lower than yesterday, and the sky's not blue...



...but I press on regardless...



I notice this lane has a lot of patches of sand and earth lying in it - they appear along the whole length of the road and must have fallen from the rock face to my left...



There's a brisk onshore breeze, but the temperature is a comfortable 65°F and it's a pleasant ride...



I'm going to take a wild guess and say this chap's a South Sea Islander...



I see half a dozen bikes coming the other way - I should imagine this is a regular run for local riders...



Eventually I run out of peninsula and enter the town of Thames - which must have been quite an important centre in the past, judging by the architecture...



Spotted this ageing muscle car (with a great number plate)...



Any guesses?



Just outside of town, a farmer and his crew were moving cattle from one side of the road to the other...



I used to see this all the time in the UK when I was a kid - I wonder why you don't any more?



Look at that beauty! I see a lot of American cars heading the other way, but fail spectacularly to get any pictures. I guess I'm just not that quick on the draw any more...



Bettie steers me south - the cloud is clearing ahead and the temperature is now hovering around 75°F...



I just hope she keeps me away from those hills - they look likely to get a soaking in the near future...



She throws in a couple of quick turns and I'm soon on unfamiliar roads...



I arrive in Matamata - but from a different direction - and see this well-preserved nightmare from British Leyland's past parked at the side of the road...



Plus whatever this was opposite...



Look - a train! I've ridden alongside railway tracks just about everywhere I've been and this is (I think) the first one I've seen moving...



This is Tirau - need I say more?



I just manage to snap the retreating form of this old lady - most likely heading for the Beach Hop at Whangamata, on the Coromandel Peninsula, along with all the other old American cars I've seen today...



Holy crap - what are those?







As expected, they all have Beach Hop stickers on them...



Onward!



It's now hovering around 80°F and the roads are empty. All the cloud has burned off and it's a great day for riding...



I start recognising landmarks - this is the dam near the café where I had breakfast on the way to Rotorua...



Bettie steers me down the road towards the south end of Lake Taupō...



I find a speed buddy doing about 110kph and stay with him for 20 minutes or so, before he turns off...



What a beautiful day...



Great road, perfect weather and the bike is burbling away comfortably...



I should do this sort of thing more often...



I catch the occasional glimpse of Lake Taupō, but I will not be headed towards there today...



I turn right onto Highway 41...



...which takes me just about due west...



Towards Taumarunui, where I have a room booked...



I have a good, brisk ride down the final hill...


...to join Highway 4...



...where I refuel...



Before finding my motel and being shown to my small, but very adequate room. Once again I am surprised to find I have fibre-optic Broadband...

Good day...

Red car is a 72 Holden Monaro.
The two "holy crap" what are those regularly do the car shows of NZ.
I saw them in Kaikoura at the Kaikoura Hop last year, the more you look at them the more interesting parts you find like the road works sign sunroof hatch.
The tractor unit is Bellarat Semi Rat with a 7.4L moter it has a 5th wheel on the back and has a tralier to go on that
And the car is Bellarat with a 5.7L motor.

Hope you are going to ride the Forgotten Highway to the Republic of Whangamomona!

Adrian

Mike, Where the HECK was your breakfast shot, today?? !!

Kitsilano said:

Mike, Where the HECK was your breakfast shot, today?? !!

Click to expand...

EXACTLY! My stomach is usually rumbling like nobody's business by now and looking forward to a fill up! Standards slipping I'm afraid!

Kitsilano said:

Mike, Where the HECK was your breakfast shot, today?? !!

Click to expand...

Prepare yourself for a shock - didn't feel hungry...

Just had a very ordinary cheeseburger at a Thai café on the main drag here - certainly not worth a pic. Normal service will be resumed tomorrow, I'm sure...

ahebron said:

Red car is a 72 Holden Monaro. Thanks
The two "holy crap" what are those regularly do the car shows of NZ.
I saw them in Kaikoura at the Kaikoura Hop last year, the more you look at them the more interesting parts you find like the road works sign sunroof hatch.
The tractor unit is Bellarat Semi Rat with a 7.4L moter it has a 5th wheel on the back and has a tralier to go on that
And the car is Bellarat with a 5.7L motor.

Hope you are going to ride the Forgotten Highway to the Republic of Whangamomona!

Adrian

Click to expand...

They both look like someone has spent an awful lot of time on them. The black car is a 52 Chevrolet DeLuxe, but the two rat rods are registered as new build specials - no sign of the articulated semi-trailer - have you seen it? Is it constructed in a similar style?

Nice one.

I'm off out to find a cafe serving eggs & bacon

"Just had a very ordinary cheeseburger at a Thai café..."

Mike, you're just messing with the heads of your loyal audience, there, right?

Seems there is quite a Kiwi following here and several members from down under. So far I count at least 3 members.....more than we have from Holland. Really enjoy reading these stories each morning! My brother who lives in Auckland has been trying to persuade me to come down and ride with him for a week or so. This whole trip has got me planning already for winter 2018!
Just amazing!

Mike O said:

They both look like someone has spent an awful lot of time on them. The black car is a 52 Chevrolet DeLuxe, but the two rat rods are registered as new build specials - no sign of the articulated semi-trailer - have you seen it? Is it constructed in a similar style?

Click to expand...

Here we go I found this photo on a website and remembered your query if I had seen it with trailer



And here is a link to the site

http://www.themotorhood.com/themotorhood/2016/8/12/haulin-rats


Adrian

Awesome Adrian Enjoyed reading that

I wonder where these people get their "time" to do this stuff

(and MONEY!)

grantmac said:

Seems there is quite a Kiwi following here and several members from down under. So far I count at least 3 members.....more than we have from Holland. Really enjoy reading these stories each morning! My brother who lives in Auckland has been trying to persuade me to come down and ride with him for a week or so. This whole trip has got me planning already for winter 2018!
Just amazing!

Click to expand...

Grant, mid-Feb until the end of March.....before then, the roads are crowded with local holidaymakers (kids go back to school after summer holiday period in the first week of February) and the weather too unsettled....Mike O seems to have timed it just right. I am sure that you brother will put you right!

Thks. First planning a trip to US West Coast so we'll talk about it then.
Thks for the tip!
cheers