Hamilton to Wellington

 

Hamilton to Wellington: 26 September 2020.

We were up at 6.30am and C went on to the computer straightaway. I gave him some cereal, had some myself then showered and got ready. I was lost and frustrated while looking for my swimming trunks, but eventually found them in the last place I looked, under the duvet. I wanted to stop at the thermal pools in Tokaanu on the return to Hamilton on Tuesday. In the search process, I took everything out of the bags, laid them out and then removed a few items and repacked. The Oxford bags for the panniers were not overfull and, I feel have everything we need.

C’s stuff was in one bag, my stuff in another, and, to put over the luggage rack, I had a simple carry on rectangular bag. In that, I placed various books, the laptop, cables etc for the laptop, my journal, towel and swimming costume and other things. This bag was the heaviest, but there is a good logic in placing the heaviest bag in the centre of the bike while lighter bags are in the saddle bags. I put two bungy cords around the heavy central bag and gave it a shove. It was a little too mobile, so I had to be firm, and I stretched out the cords and linked them to the tags on the saddle bags. I have no tank bag, and I still wonder about getting one.

We set off at 8.30. I cannot complain about C, as I had said we would go at 8am, and he was ready, by himself, soon after, whilst I was faffing around sorting out bags, putting oil on the chain and so on. I put the NavMan on, entered J’s address in Wellington, pressed “Find” and the machine stated 513 km and to start with a left turn after 250 metres. We left Silverdale and then Hamilton, and I waved goodbye to C’s mother’s house. I do not know if he noticed. We soon negotiated the roadworks with their, for a motorbike, tricky gouged parallel lines. The bike wheels are guided into the gouges and then I have to watch my balance as I jump the bike out of the tracks. We were soon on the Waikato Expressway, speeding along at 110km/h. It was a little chilly, at 14°C, when we started, but as we rode on the temperature dropped to 13°C and then 12°C, so I began to be concerned about little C.

We rode through Putaruru and I pointed out the corrugated iron sheep dog and the corrugated iron sheep, and I glanced at the corrugated iron shop signs. As we climbed to the Central Plateau, the temperature kept low. A good while after Tokoroa, as we curved through an area of forest, C tapped me on the shoulder, and I pulled over. He wanted a break and I told him that we were 20 km from Taupõ and he was satisfied with that.

We pulled off State Highway One and negotiated our way past the plumes of thermal water. I filled up, parked the bike, then took a while to get to the head of the queue. C chose a small brownie and an ice-cream chocolate biscuit from Ben and Jerry’s. I had a coffee and a pecan pastry.

We stood to eat, after two hours in the saddle and about 170km. I pointed out that we had done 1/3 of the route, but I am not sure he understood. We talked about the cold, and he said he was cold all over, so I suggested that he could put two gloves on and two trousers. I showed him his ‘mad scientist’ gloves which are little more than polyester, but at least they provide a second layer. He put on his jeans over this track pants while I finished my coffee. He threw away the ice-cream biscuit; “No cookie dough, too few chocolate chips,” he complained.

The road to Taupõ from Cambridge is very attractive; there was some traffic but not much. There are forests, the road has some curves and the little townships have a cheerful and prosperous air. At the entrance to Taupõ we could see the clouds of water vapour from the geo-thermal pools and they look spectacular with a pre-historic or even ‘out-of-this-world’ quality.

From the Taupõ BP we returned to the State Highway. I’d told C that our next stop would be Taihape for lunch and he was pleased. The views of Lake Taupõ from the road were great. The sky was a picture-postcard blue with cumulus clouds, there was a crisp 14°C feel to the air and the lake was a dark blue contrast to the sky. We could clearly see the islands in the lake and across to the far shore where there was a little haze caused by the sun. It was a view worth travelling to see, and I kept looking at it and hoping that C was enjoying it too.

The road snakes alongside the edge of the lake, sweeping past small holiday towns with campgrounds advertising accommodation, curving up and down, narrowing over bridges and round headlands that jut into the lake.

We soon rode into Turangi, a memorable place from the many occasions that I had driven there to collect C from his mother or to drop him off with her. I glanced over at walking tracks we had taken, scenic reserves we had visited, the Burger King, New World, and the turn-off to Tokaanu. We smoothly rode past the golf club, where I remember playing a round and then hearing two men discussing the Christchurch Mosque shooting in 2019. Memories.

We continued south along the highway. At this point, the NavMan helpfully warned me to ‘Bear left in 140km.’ Meanwhile, I had the sharp curves and narrow roads leading to the Desert Road. Luckily, there was little traffic, so I did not have to worry about slowing down to let others pass, or speeding up to overtake slow vehicles.

Along the Desert Road was the breathtaking sight of Mount Ruapehu. While Tongariro was quite cloud-covered, Ruapehu stood majestic, noble and bright in the sun. Wisps of cloud clung to the peaks and were blown into swirls. The snow gleamed in the valleys and the rocky ridges stood out as jagged black lines. I had once been told that viewers can see a face in the ridge lines and rock formations, but I have never seen it. At the base of the mountain there is a forest, but much of the land is poor with bush and unappealing brown scrub.

As we rode along, glancing at the mountain, on a straight stretch with almost no traffic, I found myself feeling very cheerful. The bike was smoothly moving along in a way that showed how well it was made for this type of riding. I looked down at the speedometer to see that I was doing 123km/h, somewhat above the speed limit!

We rode into Waiouru, past the abandoned golf club, the secret military wireless receiving station, the military base and continued south. I had forgotten how lovely the road is, but perhaps part of the pleasure was to be on a good vehicle, with good acceleration on a beautiful day. Before we knew it, we eased into Taihape. C was happier and warmer. I pointed him to a fast food place, but he spotted a pizza place, so we shared a large Hawaiian pizza; he had been disappointed that it came with onion and green capsicum, but I solved that problem, to his delight, by asking the pizza-maker not to put them on. If only all of life’s problems were as easy to solve.

While waiting for the pizza, we walked the streets of Taihape, looking for a toilet. We found the gumboot-throwing area which is set up like cricket nets but with some very old and partially destroyed gumboots, ready to be thrown. The town has a regular competition, but we will not enter! We took a turn, had a laugh, and then sought the pizza. We ate it in the sunshine beside the bike. C ate well.

We remounted, rode on south and dropped in to Marton. My old school still looks in great condition, with immaculate grounds. I cannot say the same for the town of Marton, which looks old and grubby, with even more boarded-up shops than before. My old house looks good and it was pleasing to see the rose bushes and the cheerful green fence that I painted and repainted.

We continued to Bulls along the attractive road south from Marton to the State Highway. We were disappointed that the ice-cream shop in front of the information centre was closed, but C suggested the petrol station and he was pleased to find an Oreos biscuit ice-cream. I ordered a coffee; it was not nice, and I threw it away. We looked at the various signs that played on the “Bulls” theme; the police station has “Consta-Bull”, the toilets “Relieve-a-Bull”, the rubbish containers beg one to be “Response-a-Bull”, the garage promises the car will be “Repair-a-Bull” and so on.

On our way. I had suggested stopping in Levin to fill up with petrol, but just before Levin I saw a sign for asparagus. We stopped and bought a kilo, knowing that my oldest son and his wife are keen on asparagus. I explained this to C, who was not too impressed at buying such green vegetables. We decided to ride on to Wellington as the bike control panel indicated that we would have more than enough petrol to get to my son’s house.

The wind picked up as we approached the capital city and the weather got colder. I have to say that the NavMan was great in guiding us to my son’s lovely house. We arrived at 5pm, so we had a long but pleasing day. We ordered take-away curry as a treat.