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To the Bay of Plenty

Another day another sea.

I left Napier relatively early this morning and, after 240 miles I got into the Camping site around 16:00 in the afternoon. Not bad. Yes I did not pedal 240 miles, I got on the bus in Napier and after a change in Taupo I arived in Rotorua around lunch time. Only the last 44 miles I did on the bike, from Rotorua to Papamoa Beach.

This bus trip is a result of spending 4 days in the Catlins, four days that I now do not have to spare. Those 200 miles that I cut with the bus ride were old ground, I rode between Rotorua and Taupo on the way down, or just plain pain with nothing to see and a lot to suffer, between Napier and Taupo.

Route 2,965,887 – powered by www.bikemap.net

 

I did not go into Rotorua, just stopped by the lake for a bite and then got going. I went up the left side of the lake, the opposite one to the one I came in and I was set for a relatively uneventful ride for the afternoon.

The landscape was not particularly exciting, a lot of man made forests, a few hot pools and places where smoke came out of the ground and native vegetation wherever it was not possible to plant and harvest pines.

Charming sign

Charming sign

I wonder if this is where it leads?

I wonder if this is where it leads?

The weather was also uninspiring, while not raining, it was a bit hot and humid and I think a change to a lighter top is on the cards for the morning.

Despite what was going to be mostly downhill turned out to be the Kiwi version of downhill, i.e. dotted with countless little climbs, I was making good time and Itried to do my best to get some pictures to get into the post.

I did not realised how much I missed the birds, glad to have them back.

I did not realised how much I missed the birds, glad to have them back.

And I don't think I've seen this before.

And I don’t think I’ve seen this before.

But you probably have realised by now that it is a bad day when i end up shooting a whole lot of road signs.

This is a show room of ready made houses, you go, choose, and they come and deposit it on your piece of land.

This is a show room of ready made houses, you go, choose, and they come and deposit it on your piece of land.

The thing I did shoot with some interest was this Maori decorated building. I realised that I was going through Waitangi, famous for giving the name to the treaty that is the founding document of the New Zealand state.

I thught it was a good thing to take a picture of a Maori building in Waitangi

I thught it was a good thing to take a picture of a Maori building in Waitangi

Another few miles and I was in Te Puke, which is one of those Maori names that less well fit the english language. As always the kiwi, with their inimitable sense of humour are able to lighten my riding day.

It's good to have a sense of humour if the word puke is part of your town name.

It’s good to have a sense of humour if the word puke is part of your town name.

On the other side

On the other side

From there it was not a long way to the camp where I set up the office for the night to finish the post that I had left behind last night, in favour of the third instalment of The Hunger Games, and to write up the little I have to tell you today.

Hopefully there will be more tomorrow although I suspect I’ll have to wait to get to Coromandel before I see nature at its best as I did in the south island.

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