The Road to Auckland

Kauri Trees and Hot Springs

Today was a long ride through the Kauri Forest. I had to ride 25 miles of winding mountain roads through the forest. I visited some of the largest trees on a short walk. At lunch in Omapere I bumped into a couple I'd met in Pohara in the South Island. I also realised that I'd left a T-shirt in Rawene, so I wrote a letter to the camp-ground enclosing five dollars and asking them to send it to Wellington. They did. Sweet.



I camped beside a river in a camp-ground almost taken over by a club of all-terrain vehicle drivers. They had had some kind of race meeting at the weekend. They were friendly though. Unfortunately it rained.



The road to Pahi was relatively flat but I was thwarted by a stiff head-wind and although the day was clear and warm, the country-side was less dramatic than before. I spent a couple of hours at the Pioneer Museum where I learnt about the Kauri trees and its gum.



As I got nearer to Auckland the traffic gets busier and I was  forced onto the main road for five of six miles. This is where I lost my bottom water-bottle cage. A screw had worked its way out. The ride ended up being almost seven hours, some of it on gravel and mostly up and down all day. I remember putting up a rabbit and chasing it for a while. I also had a huge lunch at Wellsford. The toil was worth it though as I ended up at Parakai Hot Springs and camping gave you free access to the thermal springs. Just the way to spend the evening after a long ride.



The final days ride into Auckland took me through Waitakere and its surrounding vineyards, before reaching the outskirts and deciding to catch a suburban train into the city. Whilst checking into the backpackers I met Caroline and Sue (from the Cape Reinga trip) and had a drink with them that evening. In the afternoon I made all the arrangements for my forthcoming holiday in the Cook Islands and Tahiti.

I spent one further day in Auckland. I managed to find an English Sunday paper and spent the morning catching up on the news. After wandering around town for a while I visited the aquarium. In this one you walk through a perspex tunnel inside the tank, with sharks and rays swimming all around you. Amazing. they also had sea-horses, a couple of species be indigenous. I had a quiet evening doing my laundry.

North to Auckland and Whangerei Falls

The Northerner

After ten days or so sojourn in Wellington with Jo on Friday April 2nd 1993 I took the "Northerner" night train from Wellington to Auckland. The weather in Wellington had been cold so I'd decided to go as far north as possible and ride back down to Wellington.

The train had no sleeping compartments but I was warm enough on the sheepskin covered reclining seats. I see nothing all night apart from strange stops in the middle of nowhere. Eventually the dawn breaks as we head into Auckland. At the station I photograph a steam engine on it's way out on an excursion. An hour later I'm on a bus going even further north to Whangerei. This is a three hour trip on a busy road through the isthmus to Northland. After all that travelling it is raining. Fortunately it's only a five mile ride to the camp-ground at Whangerei Falls. I stay, alone, in the bunk room, and manage a walk to the falls in the late afternoon.

Things have changed in Auckland since I was there. The Northerner service was stopped in 2004 and the Auckland Station I used has since been closed too - though a new one has been built close by.



That steam train I saw was called the Cannonball Express for that excursion. In fact it is KA942 built in New Zealand in 1940 and in mainline use until 1966. She was restored in 1991 and again in 2001. She is still running. Here are a couple of videos: near Dunedin, and here and here.