Leaving any urban area is hard. Traffic can be an issue, especially if you share a narrow road with minimal shoulders trafficked by heavy trucks and impatient cars, all of which we experienced leaving Palmerston North. Forty-five years ago when I was last in New Zealand, my friend Gary Adams remarked that Kiwis were really nice people until they got behind the wheel of a car!
Our first 23 miles of this trip, from Palmerston North to Pahiatua, were pretty nasty, strafed by cars and trucks who never actually hit us but came close enough to unnerve us.
The road out of Palmerston North climbs about 1,000 feet up vertical a heavily used road, made more busy by the recent closing of one highway, routing all the traffic along a road not designed for such volumes. The wind was in our face for the morning, and this is a wind prone area, evidenced by a line of wind turbines on the ridge.
During this trip, we’ve seen half a dozen abandoned, wrecked vehicles turned over in ditches and fields, with skid marks across road and grass testifying to the recentness of the incidents. Today, we saw a car and trailer over the edge, burned and broken, and it reminded us that people here often drive too fast for conditions. We love the small roads and paths, but the highways are white knuckle times for us.
The second half of the trip today, from Pahiatua to Eketahuna, was the exact opposite of the first half – a small road with basically no traffic gently climbing a picturesque valley. It was so lovely and wonderful.
Eketahuna is a small but nice town, with a giant Kiwi bird sculpture across from the Four Square, which is a supermarket. The campground was immaculate and the hosts were super nice. We got a hot shower, had some appetizers and wine and then cooked dinner. It was an early night.
Today we booked our ferry from Wellington to Picton, across the strait between north and south islands. It was a shock to see that many dates were already sold out. It seems that there is almost unprecedented demand combined with a ferry out of commission. Overhearing a conversation here at the campsite at Eketahuna, it seems that if you have a camper van, the next available ferry is in mid-March, a month away! Lucky that we only have bikes. Our date is February 17.
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