The Backpackers' offered a free breakfast, in part because they had closed down their kitchen facilities as a result of Covid-19. So we went down in the morning to have breakfast. I popped out to have a look at the motorbike which I had parked in a car parking lot, to use an Americanism. The Americanism described the place perfectly though; a vacant lot with no buildings, into which Wilson Car Parks had stuck a couple of barriers on and a pay station. The bike was fine, to my relief. We returned to the hostel and went for our breakfast. It was a little shambolic but we were able to get bowls of cereals and some toast, milk and tea.
Soon after, we headed out to Rainbow's End. A fair ride in terms of distance but basically just motorway riding, so little excitement. On arrival, we had the usual gear and paraphernalia issues; I put gloves in the panniers (I remembered that the Spanish word is obscure; las alforjas, but then again, another translation, which seems more mainland Spanish, uses la cartera), carried the helmets and jackets, and carried the day bag. Of course, I wanted to leave stuff in the lockers for the day and I was pretty disappointed to see that the tiny lockers cost $10 and I needed two. They were so small that my helmet did not fit in the left-side opening lockers, but, when I sought help to get the electronic system to give me a right-side opening locker which had more space, a pleasant lady tried to help, but then said, 'Leave the helmet in the office and collect it at the end of the day'. So I cannot complain, because the inherent decency of this woman saved a frustrating situation.
We had fun at the theme park. We enjoyed the rides and risked two more scary ones. One was really quite scary, but the other, called "The Invader," we came back to late in the afternoon. In between those rides, we ate, went on other rides, cried on the Dodgems, raced the Go-Karts and so on.
The trip back on the motorbike was trying. Friday evening traffic in Auckland. Need I say more? While some drivers have learnt to drive, it is always interesting to speculate how many never did a course in driving in their lives. Once again, I parked in the car park for free. And once again, rain teemed down in the evening and I felt for the bike. Perhaps I should have stayed in an AirBnB with a garage.
We left on Saturday morning after another breakfast. This time the lad wanted toast, not cereals. The cheap loaf of bread created a toast that had both a texture and taste of cardboard. I chatted to a few of the more regular people at the backpackers'. In particular, I was intrigued by a man of retirement age, who assured me that it was cheaper to be in a backpackers' than any other accommodation. Is he an inspiration for my retirement or is he the nightmare of retirement; unloved, uncared for, and hanging out with transient travellers on the third floor of an Auckland building?
The ride home went well. We stopped at the Bombay Hills, and the lad wanted KFC. I popped across the road to get a cup of coffee in the petrol station. Then we continued our way. An enjoyable ride on the Waikato Expressway, which has some lovely hills to swoop down through, and also has a number of Maori carvings which give a great impression. We were home without incident.
So some success; although we did not wear all the clothes we took, we did not take too much. I perhaps could have cut down on a book and a notebook for the little lad. Both my laptop and my camera are large and bulky. If I travel next year I will buy a smaller camera and a smaller laptop. My sports shoes were quite large, but I am not sure what the solution is. Perhaps some espadrille type shoes that can be rolled up. We did not need the small towels we brought, though I can see that had we camped, the towels would have been vital.
My first proper trip with C; a success.
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