Free Wheelin - December 2000

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Saturday 2nd December Distance Cycled 55km - Cycling time 4.5hrs - Total time 6.5 hrs I had planned on staying a few days at Waihi Beach a few days to recover, however it was Saturday and I had no money and the nearest bank was 18km in the wrong direction. It was only 55km to 'Taurangu' which was a big town, no sorry, a small city, I should be able to get some cash there. I checked the clock, it was 9:21am, I started peddling. I cycled all of 400 meters when my legs yelled out, "NO, DON'T DO IT!! They were aching, I was about to turn back, but being my stubborn, determined self I pushed on... Every slight gradient was a killer, my legs very quickly turned to jelly, but I couldn't give in, I had to keep going. The road, state highway 2, under normal circumstances would have been a good run. This was not normal, my 6th day of cycling and I was F----d. I had to stop for a breather and to rest my legs every 10 minutes; I was not a pleasant sight and did not feel at all good. It took me 6.5 hours to get to Taurangu, which was a clean, happy looking town/city on the 'Bay of Plenty'. It was 4pm the sun was shining; I was totalled but happy with myself for reaching my destination. The banks were closed and there was no where to get any money. The assistants at the information office, while pleasant, they were rather uninformative. I opted to try one of the main hotels (the main hotel) in town. Intending only to cash traveller?s cheque, I entered the lobby and found myself asking how much it was for a night. I was told $98, I asked again for the real price, $70. I done a quick calculation in my head, it worked out at about 20 pounds for the night. It was a nice hotel I reasoned, a swimming pool, spa and two restaurants; some thing like this would cost upwards of 90 pounds back home. I booked in for 3 nights. After hiding the bike down in the cellar, out of sight, out of mind. I had a long hot bath. Drank the beer from the mini bar, then headed for a stroll down the main drag. The scene was one of a Mediterranean beach resort with tourists and locals sitting at tables drinking beer and coffee. There was a fire dancer prancing around in the middle of the road spitting hot flames into the clear night sky. The atmosphere was electric, I could understand why people would come here and never leave. 10pm I went back to the hotel and crashed. Top of Page Sunday 3rd December YIPPEE!! Day off.... I didn't leave the hotel until after lunchtime, I had an another long bath and just vegetated, watching some rubbish on the TV. I wandered down the main street, which was quite busy. I popped into a few bars, tried my luck at the pokies, Hu! What luck? Walking along the street I heard a live band coming from "Krazy Jacks", they sounded good so I went in - as you do. After buying a couple of beers, I couldn't help but notice that; I was the only one handing money over the bar. I asked a guy (Shane) who seemed to know every one, what the occasion was. It's my 30th birthday. Oh, congratulations, I said. I didn't realise it was a private party. He asked where I was from and what I was doing in Taurangu. I told him that I was cycling etc. Fine by me he said, and stamped my hand. Grab yourself a free beer. Well! What can I say, I stood at the bar drinking free beer until midnight. By the end of the night, I was the only one not paying for beer. The girl behind the bar just kept filling my glass as soon as it was empty. More beer Malcolm? The glass was full before I had a chance to decline, not that I would have. Monday 4th December Yippee another day off. It rained all day so I took the opportunity to organise a few things, like open a bank account, I didn't fancy getting caught with no money again. I got another load go photo's put onto CD ($10) and phoned Matt. I had met Matt when I was in Auckland, he had said to give him a call when I was in town. We went for a beer, it was about 5pm and the local businessmen were in the pub. One person making a lot of noise bumped into me at the bar. He turned around and said, 'sorry mate' in a broad Scottish accent. We got chatting; you know the usual stuff, where are you from, and what are you doing here. Andy Irvin played for the Dunfermline football team and his wife, Yvonne, lived in Corbet place. Another excuse for a night in the pub. Wednesday 6th December Distance cycled 104km - Cycling time 5.5 hours After my few days rest in Taurangu, I couldn't make up my mind where I wanted to go. Should I do the East Cape or down through the center to Rotorua and Taupo? I knew I wanted to go to White Island, New Zealand's very own, very active marine volcano. Therefore, that was my next destination. It was late when I hit the road 11am, but again the sun was shinning and the road and wind for once, was kind. For the fist time since the start of my trip, I was able to cycle a whole day, hills and all, without pushing the bike. My tactic was to cycle 10km, rest ten minutes then cycle another 10km. It worked, I had an average speed of 20km, my legs were taking the strain and I felt great. I arrived in Whaketane (pronounced 'fok'e'tany') at 6pm. The White Island booking office was still open so I paid my $95 for the 6-hour round trip, which included a light lunch. Then it was onto the campsite, which was situated just out of town. A tent site would cost $10 and a cabin with full cooking facilities was only $15 - I took the cabin. My neighbours were 'Jafas' - their words. They had just finished work (house building) and were cracking open a few cans of beer, the asked me to join them. I thought about declining their offer but only for a second. The whole atmosphere on Whaketane was very relaxing, easing along at a very slow pace. I enjoyed a few beers and some banter before crashing out at 10pm. Thursday 7th December I was up early 7:30, and walked into town to catch my boat to White Island. I joined about 20 other tourists for the 3-hour trip to the island. The sea was calm and at about the half way mark, the boat suddenly stopped, the crew had spotted dolphins. They turned the boat around and followed them for a few minutes and before long, the dolphins were performing for us. Jumping out of the water next to the boat and generally being very playful. Top of Page The island was spectacular, like a moonscape but with bright colours. The main colour being a bright sunshine yellow from the sulphur deposits. We walked to within 2 feet of the main crater, which up until a few weeks ago was on alert 2 (there are 5 alerts). I asked one of my fellow travellers to take a picture of me standing next to a large sulphur blow hole which every now and then spewed out an awful smelling gust of steam. She took a bit longer than I expected and I almost had my face burnt off as the thing cleared its throat. In the evening, I visited the newest pub in town to see Gerry Lee & The Desotos, who as the name suggests, played all the oldie rock and roll music. During their break, I introduced myself to Gerry, the lead singer. I told him that I was cycling around the world. After the break, he dedicated 2 songs to the 'Mad Scotsman called Malcolm who is cycling around the world'. I got to know more locals in one night than I could in 2 years living in Glasgow. Another night of beer swilling... Saturday 9th December Distance cycled 84km - Cycling time 5 hours All through the night I could hear the thunder rolling around the sky some where out over the ocean. However, the night sky over Whaketane, was clear, with bright sparkling stars. In the morning, the thunder still growled, though a bit more distant. I walked over to the office where Allan, the owner of the park, informed me that the thunder would probably be across the 'East Cape'. That's it, I made my decision was made, I was heading for Rotorua, down through the center of the north island. It was 9:30 when I finished packing, the clouds were beginning to gather above me, but I had made up my mind to move. As I rolled out of the campsite gate, it started to drizzle. Ok, I thought, it's only a drizzle. By the time I had cycled 10km, the rain was heavy. The thunder was right over me; it seemed to be heading in my direction. The first 25km of road was flat, trailing through farmland lined with tall pine trees, it was warm but I thought I should find shelter to change into my waterproofs. The rain came down in heavy, fat blobs. I couldn't find shelter, even the trees afforded no respite. At the 30km mark the road started to climb, still the rain hammered down. My legs were strong; I could feel a definite improvement in my stamina. I felt great; the rain was pouring out of my helmet, my shoes, in a word 'I was soaked'. The rain was relentless; the hill I was climbing became a river. By the time I clocked 50km, I was beginning to feel cold and hungry, still no shelter. As I reached the summit of the hill, I saw a wrecked car, it's windows panned in, and it had been pushed to the side of the road. I had to stop; the car was my shelter, cobwebs, broken glass and all. I was freezing and soaked through, I pulled my waterproofs on over the top of my wet clothes, and at least I wouldn't get any wetter. I had a quick lunch and made to head down the hill. Arrrrgghh! I had left the pannier with my other clothes in, OPEN... Everything was soaked. I arrived at the outskirts of Rotorua at 5pm freezing cold, I stopped at the first campsite and booked into the lodge room $14 per night and I had the whole place to myself. 7 rooms with five beds in each to choose from, a huge TV room and kitchens. I settled in front of the TV for the night. Top of Page Monday 11th December Distance cycled 93km - Cycling time 5 hours The weather for the next few days at best, was 'bleak'. However, I can't afford to be sitting around too long, I spend too much money. I packed my steed and pointed it towards Taupo. Which my map informed me was 83km away. It started raining as soon as I crossed the campsite threshold. Either my legs were having problems or the bike was playing up. I was heaving for breath by the time I got to the first junction - I pushed on. From the campsite, the road took me through Rotorua center; I then turned left onto state highway 5. For the first 6km, I had a slight descent, which helped boost my confidence. I was touching 30km per hour, at this rate I would be in Taupo in 3 hours. Wishful thinking, I turned onto the SH5 and began to climb, ever so slightly, The bike just wouldn't move, gave myself a kick, telling myself I wasn't pushing enough. I stepped up a gear and forced my legs to work harder. I cursed the bike, it was raining and I was getting pissed off. I wanted to stop but didn't. The road continued its ascent for some 20km. Stoping for regular rest breaks until I finally reached the top of the climb. The rain stopped so I took the opportunity to check the bike over Arrrrgghh!!, both the front and rear brakes were rubbing on the rims, no wonder I couldn't get moving. The bike felt a lot lighter the rest of the way after fixing the problem. I arrived in Taupo at 5pm. Wednesday 13th December Distance cycled 86km - Cycling time 5 hours Thursday 14th December Distance cycled 25km - Cycling time 2.5 hours The going was tough; the road was heavily undulated all the way. After only 2 hours of cycling I had to stop, I just couldn't go any further, I pulled into the Whakapapa, a small village with a population of 200. At 1,127 meters, is the highest settlement in NZ with permanent residents. The plan was to walk up the Tongariro pass the following day. The track climbs some 2700 meters and takes you between 2 active volcanos. However a bad weather front came in and I watched the heavy dark clouds envelop the mountains. The next day didn't look too promising up there so I cycled on. Friday 15th - Sunday 17th December Distance cycled 89km - Cycling time 4.5 hours (Friday) The clouds were still hanging low when I cycled from Whakapapa, but I was in a good frame of mind. Especially seeing I had an 8km down hiller to start with. However as the day went on the road became a serious of peaks and troughs, at times quite steep. However the sun came out to brighten my day and I settled in to a comfortable motion. By 5pm, I reached a small place called Kakatahi where I stopped and called John O?Neill. John owned a Sheep and Cattle farm, along with other members of his family, which was nestled among the rolling Kakatahi hills. John, an elderly but very fit and active man, came to meet me at the local service station where we loaded my gear into his car. I had offered to cycle to his house but after getting into the car and seeing the climb, I was glad, I didn't. I stayed on the farm for a few days; John drove me around the surrounding countryside, pointing out the land that he owned. The whole area was magnificent with lush green pasture covering the landscape. On Sunday morning, I helped (using the word helped very loosely) load some sheep onto a truck, ready to be taken to the market. After that, Paul took me on another tour of the farm, while perched, very precariously on the side of a four-wheeled bike. He was preparing an area for the next day?s work, the branding of 80 calves. Unfortunately, I couldn't hang around for the event. Top of Page Monday 18th - Thursday 21st December Distance cycled 74km - Cycling time 4 hours I said my goodbyes to John and hit the road at 7:30 am, the earliest departure so far. I felt great, it was good to be back in the saddle, I was beginning to fell I needed to put in some serious kilometres. The start of the day was cool and started with a 5km downhill; however; it wasn't long before the hills I had been warned about were upon me. All the way to Wanganui, the road went up and down like a roller coaster, only not so fast. However, the best downside in life, is the downside of a hill, while I struggled up one side of the hill, I could reach speeds of 60-70km on the downside. It was due to the downhills that I managed to reach Wanganiu by 11:30 am. Wanganui, where all that glitters is glass... Situated on the west coast of north island, Wanganui is a lovely picturesque town. However, instead of watching the scenery that surrounded me, I had to watch where my tyres were going. It was the worst place I had seen for broken glass along the side of the road. Of course, this didn't phase me; I stayed for 4 days. The main reason for this was that I was waiting for a package to arrive from the UK. I booked into the Aramoho campsite, a very spacious and well-organised site 7.5km from the town center. By this time it was about 1pm, I dumped my stuff 'panniers etc' and cycled into town for the customary look around. On the way back to the campsite, my throat feeling parched, I stopped in at the Aramoho Hotel for a small glass of beer. It was a large spacious bar with only a half dozen customers - I ordered a beer. Allan, the owner, asked the usual questions, "What is a mad Scotsman doing in Wanganui? etc.". The banter started.... I kept looking around towards where I had left the bike so Allan told me just to bring it into the bar. When I got back to the bar there was a half-pint of 'All Black Port' sitting waiting for me. Not wanting to offend my host, I said cheers and Allan and I downed the port in one. I thought I should order another beer, at the same time Allan thought I should have another port. I did, at Allan?s expense I must add. Next thing I know, the sun is sinking in the orange sky outside and Allan and I are going one on one with this port. The bar started to get busy, I was introduced to everyone, not that that mattered, I was getting drunk. At very dark o'clock, I decided that it was time for me to leave. I heaved the bike out into the cool night air, it was dark, I had no lights on the bike and I had 3.5km to cycle back to camp. Oops! I fell off the bike five times, lost my specks and was sick. Next day, I went back into the bar to thank Allan for his hospitality; he poured me another port.... In short, this went on until he ran out of the stuff 4 days!! It was time to move on, without my package. I couldn't subject my liver to any more ruin, I arranged for the package to be forwarded on to Nelson on the south island. Top of Page Friday 22nd December Distance cycled 93km - Cycling time 5 hours - Palmerston North, not much I can say - Dump! Saturday 23rd December Distance cycled 63km - Cycling time 4 hours I planned to leave early but I woke up feeling knackered, probably due to the excess of Wanganui. My motivation to move was the idea of getting out of Palmerston North. I turned onto the SH57, which led me to the busy SH1. It was getting close to Christmas and the traffic was quite heavy. Like any main highway, the cars and trucks thundered past at breakneck speeds, which at times was a bit scary. At times they hardly left you enough space to breathe, sucking you in towards them, I had to fight to keep the bike steady. Never mind, I had a tail wind and managed a good steady pace 20-25kph. Cycling at this speed through flat featureless farmland was refreshing. It was early when I decided to stop. I was about to cycle past 'Tatum Motor Park' when I stopped for a look. Hesitating at the entrance, it was only 3 o'clock, too early to stop, who cares, I went in for a look. The park was huge, I found out later that it used to be a scout summer camp. I went to the main office, there was know one there. I was about to leave when Linda, the proprietor, walked up. I asked the price of their cabins. 'Sorry, all full', she said. Oh, I was hoping to get a descent bed tonight. 'Well, if you want I can bring you a mattress, we have plenty spare'. Sounds good to me, where do I camp? There were only a few campers on this large, well-landscaped site. Within the park, there were forest walks, campfire areas, swimming pool and play areas. After pitching my tent it was time to eat, the kitchen block was basic, but done the job. I had my usual, heaps of pasta with a tomato sauce and vegies. While sitting in the kitchen reading my book, Ross, one of the other campers, invited me to have tea with his family. I explained that I had just eaten a large helping of pasta and was full, thanks anyway. Ok, he said, "its Xmas eve tomorrow, I am cooking a ham, if you are not moving on, promise me you will come for lunch. Ok, done deal. I had an early night and slept well on my thick mattress. Sunday 24th December It started to rain during the night and was still dripping when I got up. I made up my mind not to move on today, well, no use missing out on Xmas dinner. I helped Ross, his daughter, 'whose name at the moment escapes me' and his son Evan, erect a marquee ready for lunch/dinner. The rest of my day was spent reading 'The Wrong Way Home' by Peter Moore. At 6pm I was shouted across for a beer, more people were arriving. Linda and Bill, the park owners, Evans in laws and a few other relations. In all, there were about 15 people. The beer was flowing nicely and finally at about 7:30 Kathleen (Ross's wife) presented us with a huge leg of ham. In the marquee, a long table had been set with all the trappings of a Christmas dinner, roast potatoes, pumpkin, asparagus and allsorts on nice things. I tucked in. After I took some group photos at 11pm, I went back to my tent for a good night?s sleep. At 1:30am I awoke to the sound of someone/something moving around outside my tent. My first thought was that someone was trying to steal the bike. Then someone brushed against the foot of the tent - I shouted, "Fuck off" and at the same time kicked whoever or what ever it was. Then I heard a voice say, " it's ok, it's only Santa clause". What an embarrassment, it was Linda the park owner trying to slide a Christmas present into the tent. Monday 25th December Distance cycled 92km Cycling time 4.5 hours It was late by the time I said my cheerio's - and apologised, to Linda for almost kicking her in the chin. I put my headphones on and listened to the non-stop Christmas records playing on the local station and set off. It was 11am, with a tail wind pushing me along. I cycled non- stop until 3pm when I arrived at Pikura, a small town 10km north of Wellington; I got my 5th puncture. It wouldn't be so bad, but I was on a track that followed the main motorway into the city and it was blowing a gale, it was an effort just to stand still. It was my rear tyre - again! That meant that I had to take everything off the bike. I could just hear the people in the passing cars saying, 'Ha ha, look at that sad bastard, cycling in this wind on Christmas day. I felt like a sad bastard. However, it wasn't long before the repairs were done and I was on my way. The next problem was how to get into Wellington, without going on the motorway. I knew where the city was, but there were no signs that showed an alternative route. I had about 6km to go, I was standing looking onto the motorway trying to decide whether or not I should chance it when someone walked past. I stopped them and asked what the best way would be to get into the city. The guy was Chinese and only visiting. Isn't it always the way? That's it, I made up my mind and took the motorway, 'what could they do, put me in jail?' They call Wellington, the 'Windy City', what an understatement. Cycling against the wind almost brought me to stand still a cycling across it, I had to lean into it at about 3o degrees. I stayed at the Downtown Backpackers in Wellington for 2 days while waiting to catch the ferry to South Island. The Downtown Backpackers doesn?t sound too grand, but it was originally built to a very high speck for the Queens coronation visit in 1953. Allegedly, it was the most advanced hotel in the southern hemisphere. It was comfortable with the right amenities, kitchen, cafe, BAR and free pool tables. Top of Page Wednesday 27th December Distance cycled 38km - Cycling time 3 hours I was up early to catch the 9:30 ferry, well, hopefully catch, I could only get a stand by ticket. I stood in the waiting area until twenty past nine before I found out that I could board the ferry. The ferry crossing takes 3 hours but what a view. It was a burning hot day with not a bit of wind. I stood on the upper deck talking to Georg, a fellow cyclist from Germany. As the ferry made it's way slowly up Queen Charlotte Sound, the views were breath taking. Up both sides of the sound, were lush green hills at the foot of which were very secluded sandy coves edging out onto a clean blue sea. It didn't take much to spot the tourists; they were the ones hanging over the sides trying to take reels of pictures. Me included.... Picton, the arrival town at the end of Queen Charlotte Sound, was small and very picturesque. Georg and I went for some supplies and a feed before heading towards Havelock, 38km around the coast on Queen Charlotte Drive. Again the views were spectacular, but I'll have to take some time to find a way to describe them. We started of with a steep climb followed closely by another, eventually the road flattened out. The rest of the way was easy, meandering along a winding road. We arrived in Havelock at 4pm. The campsite was large with plenty of sites, but they were filling fast. Each site was quite big so Georg and myself shared the patch, then 2 other cyclists arrived 'Peter and Wendy' from Auckland. Their patch, the last one available, was full of potholes and they had a dirty drain right in the middle. I invited them to join us; there was loads of room. Then two Belgian cyclist (tandem) arrived 'Jan and Misee', I also invited them onto the patch. I went for a walk into town; it didn't take much to walk the few hundred yards from one end of the main street to the other, so I went for a beer. I was standing at the bar minding my own business when 'Jamil' introduced himself. He was a bit worse for ware, but he bought me a beer. We had the usual round of questions. I was getting bored and ready to leave when Jamil's grandfather arrived. He came from the other bar and shouted on Jamil, I didn't know whether or not I was supposed to follow, but I did. The back bar had been closed for months, no one knew what was happening, this was the first time any of the public were allowed in. Linda, the proprietors wife had been spending her time decorating the place. It was not the sort of bar you would expect to see stuck in the middle of nowhere. Linda had done a great, the room was a deep blue with decorated architraves and Greek columns, she had done all the paintings herself, they were copies of Leonardo D' Vinci. Anyway, Jamils grandfather was so impressed by the work that he bought beer for the rest of the night and the three of us sat listening to Linda playing the piano. I staggered home at about 2 am, it had been raining and I had left the outer flap of my tent open, my bed was in a pool of water. Thursday 28th December The rain came down heavily on the tent during the night, and the wind threatened to transport myself and all other campers back in Picton. It was still hammering down at 10:30am, the other cyclists and myself agreed that it would be foolish to try going through the Rai Valley in this weather. We could hardly see the mountains a few hundred meters away. However, Georg, being the German decided that he would move on. "Maybe we mentioned the war too often". The wind was howling and the rain was almost horizontal, the rest of us watched Georg as he struggled to pack his gear. We heard later that he had been spotted 5km up the road fixing a puncture. Top of Page Friday 29th December Distance cycled 83km - Cycling time 5.5 hours I left the campsite with Jan & Misee at 10:30, Peter & Wendy left later. The road was good winding through farmland and forests with mountains to the left and calm blue coves to the right. There was a bit of a head wind; we didn't arrive in Nelson until 6pm. We booked into the 'Tahuna Beach Holiday Park'. It was mobbed, there were over 4000 tent sites, everyone was preparing for the new year celebrations. Saturday 30th December Distance cycled 48km - Cycling time 2.5 hours I said my cheerio's to Jan and Misee, they had decided to head back to Picton, they didn't want to get caught up in the traffic that was heading to Takaka. There was to festivals on 'The Gathering and Vision' it was expected that about 40,000+ would attend both over the next few days. I couldn't go very far until I had received the package I was waiting for. I headed to wards Takaka but after a couple of hours I felt really tired so I pitched my tent at 'The McKee Nature Reserve' and fell asleep for a couple of hours. Later when it was dark, I popped my head out to find that the campsite was quite busy. The site was situated right on the coastline looking over the bay to Nelson. On the beach were about 6 different groups of people sitting by campfires drinking beer and strumming guitars. It was a very romantic and moving scene. I sat around for a while, just watching. Sunday 31st December Distance cycled 98km - Cycling time 5.5 hours Today was a day off, but I decided that I wanted to tackle the Takaka hill. 791 meters over 15 kilometres. It was a long strenuous 2-hour climb but well worth it for the views. The weather forecast was for snow at 1200 meters so I expected it to be cold on top of Takaka. I wasn't wrong, it was freezing and raining, I had to put all my extra layers on for my descent. Which only took 40 minutes. Cycling back through Motueka, I bumped into Peter and Wendy, they were going to see the Bee Gees at night to see the new year in. I said I would join them. It was 4:30pm. I felt fit so I booked into a campsite in Motueka and peddled as fast as I could back 30km to the McKee Reserve to collect the tent and other gear. I had told the Motueka campsite that I would be back by 7pm. I peddled hard. The owners were shocked when I cycled up their drive; they didn?t expect me to do a 60km round trip. In all honesty if I had realised it was 60km, I probably wouldn?t have returned. The Bee Gee?s were playing at the Swan Hotel, the tickets were $20, and I was beginning to wish I had stayed at the McKee Reserve. However, the band wasn?t too bad. I ordered three drams at 11:45pm, ready for the bells. I was totally pissed off when the band stopped to do the count down 5 minutes later. After the count down, the band started up again and everyone went about their business, it was over.

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