Te Kuiti to Mokau

Wednesday March 7, 2018, 50 miles (81 km) - Total so far: 4,082 miles

(6,569 km)

Oh my. What a day. In theory, this is a fantastic ride. The road rolls all day which makes it hard work, but the scenery just gets better and better. The culmination is Awakino gorge, which is absolutely stunning. It was chucking it down and thundering when we got there, which made it feel a bit like the end of the world!

However. Oh the trucks!! To be honest, most of this section of highway 3 is fine. It’s not particularly busy, and most drivers are pretty courteous. The road just gets narrower and narrower…...until you’re in the gorge, where there’s precious little extra space. Of course, most drivers are sensible, but it only takes one. A huge logging truck came SO CLOSE to us, it was absolutely terrifying! They all drive SO fast too, the ground shakes when they pass you. It’s really not that much fun.

That aside….as I said, it’s a beautiful ride. The road is mostly good with at least a small shoulder, and there’s usually a crawler lane on the climbs. We agreed we wouldn’t want to ride when it was busy though! Make sure you stop at the Fat Pigeon in Pio Pio - lovely spot with great coffee and cakes, and the proper food looked good too.

The rain was absolutely biblical for the last 2 hours of our ride so, needless to say, we were drowned rats when we finally reached Seaview Campground. The owner was very kind to us and gave us free shower tokens! He has also put us right next to the amenities block which is very convenient - we hid out in the kitchen until the weather finally passed. Thank goodness for kiwi campsites with kitchens - it would not be that much fun cooking in these conditions.

Back on highway 3 to New Plymouth tomorrow - hoping it’s not so narrow, and we make it in one piece! There’s definitely a(nother) big hill to tackle