Road day
Date: 11 Dec 2023
I had been worried about this leg because it has become the main route south from Kaitaia and I thought there would be heaps of typical kiwi traffic, but it was very light and polite with everyone overtaking safely and patiently. Are they more laid back up here or have they just got the message? We were stopped for a rest at one point and a bloke pulled up opposite in his ute to ask if we were ok then chatted for ages. And approaching utes gave way to us at one way bridges!
I used quite a lot of power with all the climbing up to Broadwood so when we stopped for a pie at the excellent store I practiced topping up. No worries from the owner and 1/2 hour gave me an extra 15% which combined with the mostly downhill gave me plenty of confidence. Kohukohu is a cute wee town with NZ’s oldest bridge, unfortunately buried in a ditch with a healthy pile of kikuyu over it. We hadn’t heard from Ranui on the Hokianga for our ferry ride tomorrow morning so I left word at the shop because she “sees him every day and he hasn’t been in yet”, and we biked around into a sudden alarmingly strong headwind to the Treehouse Lodge, a gem of a place, where we met up yet again with 10 month old Karl and his very tall parents, Lukas and Mandy. They are taking advantage of their 1 year parental leave (Germany!) and are doing the TA with a trailer – makes us feel like a couple of fakes with our batteries and no luggage. Check them out on http://bikepackingfamily.com
Supplies: Broadwood Store, Kohukohu Store
Accommodation: Treehouse Lodge,
These videos are best viewed on a computer screen. Turning your phone sideways helps.
Max elevation: 156 m
Min elevation: 0 m
Total climbing: 1118 m
Total descent: -1119 m
Total time: 06:17:05
Battery: Used 86% | 540Wh