Steve Morgan - www.stevemorgan.me.uk - Cycle Tour of New Zealand

Replica of the original canoes used by the Maori settlers, Waitangi Treaty Grounds

Waitangi Treaty Grounds

Mast pole to mark the Spot Where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, 1840

Day 84 - The Final Countdown (run) and my Longest Day (unintentionaly)

Covering mostly the same ground I'd seen yesterday I headed up the very steep hill out of the campsite for the first 21km of round, uneven gravel, the last gravel me and horse were to take on in NZ (sniff!). I planned to stop at a little coastal village called Taipa which would have still meant a long ride of 129km, but once I'd got there I discovered that the camp site had closed down, in favour of property development for returning kiwis (that was the locals theory anyhow). I then pushed on to HiHi Beach, on a side road by a quiet bay... bit of a find! HiHi Holiday Park $13 and camped next to some cute German girls... who deliberately went passed me three times the next day (or so I like to believe!).

Day 85 - More North Island Style Hills

After getting overly excited with the German girls I felt pretty tired from the extra mileage of yesterday. Today consisted of more famous north island hills, and more famous idiocy from the North Island drivers (which gets exponentially worse the closer to Auckland you get...).

Day 86 - Via the lovely Russell

Started out from Paihia and took the foot passenger ferry over to the beautiful Russell, which is a famous honeymoon destination for kiwi's. Unfortunately I was setting our late after visiting the Waitangi Museum this morning, so didn't have time to hang around. The roads were lovely and quiet as I took the long route, though a little hilly! I got into Whaengerei around six and stayed inteh Bunkdown Lodge, which was run by the quite odd Peter and (unseens) Noel. It was coasters under the glasses and tours of their house. Very odd!

Waitangi Treaty House, where the first Governor lived

Mast pole to mark the Spot Where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, 1840

Verandahs Backpackers, Ponsonby, Auckland

Day 87 - The Penultimate Day

My last big day! The forecast was for rain all day which thankfully didn't happen, there was one big shower but nothing too bad. It was quite hilly for most of the ride and traffic infested as I was nearing Auckland, and had to travel on SH1 for some of it. Preying I would survive I finally turned off SH1 onto SH6, which led all the way to my hostel in Auckland (though I was only going as far as Hellensville). Stayed at Malolo House (again, but this time in a dorm) $18.

Day 88 - It's the Final Countdown... de de dah dah...

Woken up at 6am partly through my own excitement but mostly due to the gale-force winds that were battering the windows! I started out in the rain and got beaten around by the rain. It showered every 30 minutes for 15 minutes, which meant constantly stopping and putting / taking off my jacket. I was sooo glad when i finally got to the cycle path which denoted the start of Auckland (and only getting slightly lost once this time!). I arrived at Verandahs Backpackers and celebrated with a bottle of Monteiths Black Beer and then went straight to work cleaning the bike of the sheep shit, dirt, oil, sun cream etc etc that three months of touring had amassed on it. The end... sigh!

The end celebrations

Well what fun, and they said I couldn’t do it! I’d so recommend doing this to anyone AS long as you don’t mind magpies (a worry only in spring), traffic, sweaty pants smell, hills and Auckland drivers. If do want to do it, cut straight to the South Island if time is limited, its easier cycling and much more rewarding in terms of scenery. Any specific concerns or questions, drop me a mail!


	Day 87 - The Penultimate Day Whaengerei - Hellensville Distance - 138.3 km Ave Speed - 17.7 km/h Time - 7 hrs, 47 mins Total Distance - 5851 km
	My last big day! The forecast was for rain all day which thankfully didn't happen, there was one big shower but nothing too bad. It was quite hilly for most of the ride and traffic infested as I was nearing Auckland, and had to travel on SH1 for some of it. Preying I would survive I finally turned off SH1 onto SH6, which led all the way to my hostel in Auckland (though I was only going as far as Hellensville). Stayed at Malolo House (again, but this time in a dorm) $18.

	The Tally Up Total Time - 351 hours, 14 mins Average Speed - 16.81km/h not bad considering how hilly NZ is! Lip Balms Used - 2 (one lost) Punctures - 3 (One a faulty valve) Total Distance - 5,905 km (3,690 miles)
	Well what fun, and they said I couldn’t do it! I’d so recommend doing this to anyone AS long as you don’t mind magpies (a worry only in spring), traffic, sweaty pants smell, hills and Auckland drivers. If do want to do it, cut straight to the South Island if time is limited, its easier cycling and much more rewarding in terms of scenery. Any specific concerns or questions, drop me a mail!