North Island - NZ

Free-spiritedness is how I see cycle touring.  In preparation for my South Island cycling adventure (starting in February 2018) decided I needed a four day back-to-back cycling adventure.  As I hadn’t cycled the new Kopu to Miranda cycle trail, thought what a great opportunity to ride it.  The only time I would be on any main roads was from Matangi to Te Aroha, the rest of the time on cycle trails – freedom!  So why not?

Broke down my trip into three stop overs:  Paeroa, Miranda Hot Springs (Miranda Holiday Park) and then Paeroa again on the return.

Day 1: Matangi – Paeroa (68 kms)

Left Matangi with a nice tail wind that supported me all the way to Paeroa – very lucky!   The road from my home to Te Aroha has a wide verge, therefore very safe for cycling along and not a lot of traffic to contend with.  I arrived in Paeroa at approx 2 pm it was very tempting to ride onto to Thames, but deep down I knew I needed to pace myself and more importantly enjoy the journey.

Paeroa has certainly changed from when I last visited; a bustling little country town and saw only two vacant shops.  The information center is in the old Post Office which has had a fresh coat of paint and the gardens/seating area outside have been landscaped and looking smart.  My friends Patricia & Hugh always visit The Refinery café on their way to Tairua and have said what a great place it is.  It is very interesting and worth a visit – the coffee is great.   For dinner I had promised myself fish & chips and they were first class -“Turks Fish and Chips” in the main street of Paeroa.  I camped at the RV Center on Coronation Avenue for $10 per night.  

The trail from Te Aroha to Paeroa was pretty quiet, saw a couple of cyclists – perhaps that was because it was mid-week.  I did stop at The Depot Garden for a Devonshire tea.  The Early Grey tea was thirst quenching and the scone with cream and jam was filling.  I great place to stop off for a rest.

Day 2:  Paeroa – Miranda Holiday Park (59kms)

Followed the cycle trail to Kopu, stopping off at Matatoki Cheese Barn for coffee and rest.  It was very enjoyable and relaxing to sit at one of the outside tables.  There were a variety of chooks running around which made the visit interesting.  There are swings for kids to play on, while parents chill out.

The trail from Paeroa to Kopu is flat and straight – more or less.  You ride over numerous little cattle stops, raised bridges (over streams)  as the trail passes through many dairy farms and over many little side roads.  I enjoyed watching the landscape of the hills change as I rode north towards Thames.

The new cycle trail from Kopu to Miranda Springs, is also flat, not very interesting with dairy farmland on the left and mangrove swamp on the right.  No sign of the Firth of Thames.  It’s 10 kms from Kopu Bridge to Pipiroa and then 15 kms further onto Waitakaruru.  Then approx 10kms to Miranda Holiday Park, which isn’t part of the Miranda Hot Springs.   The camp ground is well laid out, tidy and very clean with plenty of shade for those with tents and parking areas for those with campervans etc.  There are a variety of cabins also available. The kitchen, toilets and showers were all very clean.  The showers didn’t require any coins but were on timers, which in my opinion were very generous, never used my allocated water.

A must see while at the camp group is to visit to bird sanctuary.  My friends Tim, Kim and girls cycled with me from Waitakaruru to Miranda.  We then visited the bird sanctuary – quite spectacular, it attracts thousands of migratory birds each year and great for bird viewing.  

Day 3: Miranda Holiday Park – Paeroa (72 kms)

The ride didn’t seem near so boring on the return trip.  Stopped off at “Bugger” café in Pipiroa for my morning coffee.  The coffee was how I like it, savoury muffin tasty, the decor was amusing and cafe was very clean and very busy. 

Made slight detour to Thames to have a necklace of mine rethreaded by Kathyn (she does a fabulous job) and a great chat and catch up.   The return trip to Paeroa went without a hitch, did stop and chat to some cyclists’ who had a flat tyre.  The track was much busier today with casual cyclists enjoying being outside. 

Back to Paeroa RV Centre, great tent site this time and finally put my tent the right way.  It’s only taken two nights to work it out.

In the kitchen meet two young people from Israel.  What an interesting couple.  He has just finished 4.5 yrs of military training and she has completed 3 yrs of military training.  It’s now their time for travel and then they go home to university.  No career until 30 yrs of age?? 

Day 4 Paeroa – home (74 kms)

My trip home was uneventful, cycled home via Scotsman Valley.  Did need to stop off for a rest and some much needed food. I arrived home tired but very happy.  It felt as though I’d been away for days, in actual fact only 4.

What I’ve learnt

• Need to take Earl Grey tea bags – green tea leaves just don’t cut it
• Experiment more with night time meals – freeze dry meals are not that exciting – they do fill a gap though
• Love getting on the road early – leaves plenty of time at end of day to chill out & explore
• Love my new handbar bag, which hangs off the handle bars and stores my tent & wet weather gear
• Love my new MSR NX tent – so light and so easy to put up and take down – worth the $s
• Love my little cooker and pot – so easy to boil up on the road – Earl Grey tea really quenches the thirst
• Loved my stay at Paeroa RV Centre – very friendly people
• Loved cycling the trails

Till next time, GoldCard Gal 🙂