After drying our tent and airing out sleeping bags and assorted items, we took to the road about 11am or so. It’s always this way on the first day of camping. It takes some time to adjust to the rhythms of a different country’s campsites and also for us, figure out where to put what in the different bags on our new bikes. But, we got going, and it was GLORIOUS.
The ride is lovely on small paved roads with little traffic. Compared to our trip across Europe, there are lots of hills and the grades are steep. The landscape is GREEN – reminds me of Ireland in that respect. The terrain is rolling the whole way, with some steep climbs.
Our first destination was Broadwood, about 23 miles away and 2200 feet of climbing to get there. It’s a little town, which had a surprisingly well-stocked grocery store. The campground is simple, and you pay $5 to the people at the store as entry fee. It’s super simple, meaning it has no showers or kitchen, but offers running water and toilets. And there’s a shelter for rain with counters for cooking on, so that’s great.
In Broadwood, we reconnected to Sonja and her family, and importantly, all the stuffed animals of the menagerie. It’s fun being part of the extended family: Sonja and Grant, and then (in age order) Morris, Nessy, Jared and Perrine. And the animals, Bunny, Benny the Bunny, Pink Monkey and Mousey. We also met another Chris at Broadwood, an American guy traveling solo on his Rivendell bike and Luddite brand carriers.
Our next destination is Rawene, which is pronounced different than it looks, since it’s a Māori word. We may figure out how to say it at some point, but maybe not! The road to Rawene is 23 miles and 2200 feet of elevation gain. The road is about half on gravel, and the grades are steep! We pant up grades of 15%, happy for low gears. Arriving at the ferry boat to Rawene, we again reconnected to everyone, just making the boat with seconds to spare with everyone already on board. We are staying in Rawene, but everyone else pushed on to Omapere 15 miles farther on to get a head start on the next section of the route, which has two big climbs.
The campsite in Rawene is nice, and our site overlooks the bay. We take showers and do laundry and then do a little shopping for dinner and the following day. People here from all over the globe. Tomorrow is a big day, so we get to bed early.
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