Three days in!

I got up to Cape Reinga on Friday 8, biking off at a bit after 1pm from there. From there headed south on SH 1, then turned off down a little gravel road that leads to Te Paki Stream, which I was able to get down; some riding if the sand was hard enough and lots of pushing through the sand, too.

This led to the northern end of 90 Mile Beach. Much to my delight the beach was definitely hard enough to bike along, with only the very occasional spot of softer sand if one kept quite close to the extent of the wave line. Much more cumbersome than the sand, was the relentless SW wind that I was having to battle with.

20km south of Te Paki Stream is the first feature of the beach that isn't sand, a dune, a sand dune, or sand; The Bluff. Just a little outcrop of rock, there is a small, basic campsite just inland from here where I spent the first night.

Campsite behind The Bluff.

The next day saw me back onto the beach, still waging a war with the wind (heh, alliteration). Determined to get of the beach that day, it was much to my relief that at a bit before 1pm I came to the vehicle exit at Waipapakauri; the access point for tour busses. A quick wash down of the bike saw me headed off east, along the road.

From here I simply followed the highways, as it struck me that they would be the easiest route to get to Whangarei. So I turned off onto SH 10 as I was told that sticking to the main drag would've seen too many trucks and also hills, neither of which were on my to do list. It would seem that SH 10 definitely had less trucks, but there was also the occasional hill to struggle up along the way.

That night was spent in a caravan extremely kindly offered to my by a couple on the side of 10, somewhere between Mangonui and Whangaroa; I must've appeared bedraggled enough to need a more comfortable bed, apparently!

Sunday was a long day as far as the legs were concerned. A couple of big climbs in and out of the Bay of Islands and the occasional stop for food and water were all part of the almost 130km ride for the day.

Luckily, quite possibly because it was a Sunday, the traffic wasn't too heavy, and even as it was, vehicles were very considerate to little me on a bicycle! This was my last day on the bike, bringing to a close the 280km journey from the Cape to Whangarei!

Staying with very hospitable family friends, I decreed that one day's rest was not out of the question here at the Whangarei heads. From here the plan is to jump (well, boat) across the harbour to Marsden point, where the walking will begin in earnest!