I know the Maoris were said in very early times to have cooked visiting missionaries for consumption, but I didn’t think they were still doing it! And this is what the setting is, with logs burning underneath, axe perhaps to ward off unwanted visitors, and sans naked European… Quite the most eccentric Air BnB place … Read more …
New Zealand
We survived Mount Doom! #TandemTA Tour Aotearoa sails into third week
Time again for Jutta to register her stoker’s perspective from Daisy’s back seat… Yes, we survived Mount Doom and Mordor. Our bottoms today, at the start of Week Three of our top-to-bottom tour of New Zealand/Aotearoa, anticipated doomsday, with a relentless climb from Turangi at 1200 feet on Lake Taupo up to 3000 feet through Tongariro … Read more …
End of Week Two of #Tandem TA Tour Aotearoa, on Lake Taupo at Turangi
Just 60km today, from Tihoi to Turangi, but we did it in style – gently, powerfully, enjoyably, with inspiration and fun. Despite/because of the hard work. It was as far as we wanted to go, knowing that a big 90-km ride awaits us on Monday morning, first day of Week Three on the Tandem Tour Aotearoa, as we … Read more …
Preparing for three days hardest slog to Whanganui
Which, by the way, is pronounced in Maori FAN-ganui. This is just a camping placeholder to position us, after 80km yesterday from Tokoroa, at Tihoi to the top left (ok, North West) of Lake Taupo. Our third camping night last night – warm and cosy, though heavy early autumn dew this morning at 1500 feet. … Read more …
Out into the wilds around Lake Taupo today
There are a lot of cows in New Zealand… And the herds (if you’ve been following the Archers, this is a debate you’ll be familiar with) are gigantic. Don’t even think about the effluent that ends up in the streams and rivers. Not a good to idea to swim therein. Still, best observed with a … Read more …
From Matamata, Capital of The Shire
Wow – yesterday, Jutta’s 65th birthday, was quite some cycling day – 115km south from Miranda to, yes, thankfully, another hot springs holiday park, this time just outside Matamata and very close to where Peter Jackson filmed Hobbiton for his Lord of the Rings. We indeed had a gale behind us, which rocketed us powerfully forward … Read more …
90 km from Auckland, and #TandemTA Tour Aotearoa getting serious
Fabulous day’s cycling today south-east from our generous hosts in Auckland Annette and Steven Thoms. Pouring with rain, but a howling and most helpful tailwind, and after 10 days on the road, both sets of tandem legs front and back beginning to get seriously into gear. (BTW realised today that when cycling, there is no … Read more …
Auckland revisited, ready to head off South in the morning
Well, if planning to traverse the length of New Zealand by tandem, don’t rely on ferries if you want to get to the other end on time. We first “lost” three days between Dargaville, Pouto Point and Auckland waiting for Rod and Cheryl with our fishing charter to be able to take us across the … Read more …
Tandem Tour Aotearoa – the view of Week One from the back
It’s time again for Jutta’s perspective from the back of Daisy2, reviewing our first week on the road, with 380km or so (our computers disagree on the exact distance) behind us so far of our planned 3000 kilometres from Cape Reinga in the north of NZ to Bluff at the bottom. (Long distance cycling does … Read more …
Tane Mahuta, 2 small humans and their tandem
Here’s our completely favourite photo so far of biking NZ. At Tane Mahuta, 2000-year-old Lord of the Forest and the country’s largest standing Kauri tree. Somehow survived the 19th century ecocide of European settlers. Today we resume the #TandemTA heading 75km on rough country roads to remote Pouto Point, hoping to take a fisherman’s ferry … Read more …