12313

New Zealand: Day 59: Evening in Whitby

My motorbike tyre was fixed and the cost was 30 NZ$. Half of the price as I would pay in an official motorbike repair garage. Now she just has to last for another 4000 kilometres.

In the evening I visited my friends in Whitby, the Justices. We had a dinner together (great as usual) and in the evening, me and John watched a Quentin Tarantino movie with nice beers. After the movie my old room was still waiting for me.

Django Unchained, 2012

Storyline

Former dentist, Dr. King Schultz, buys the freedom of a slave, Django, and trains him with the intent to make him his deputy bounty hunter. Instead, he is led to the site of Django's wife who is under the hands of Calvin Candie, a ruthless plantation owner.

12312

New Zealand: Day 58: Motorbike tyre repair and visiting Klemen and Sabina in Wellington

Today I visited my new friend and a motorbiker Brendan, who works in Waiwhetu Auto Services and I asked him if he can fix my tyre. He checked it and we had an agreement. I left the motorbike there and continued on foot towards Indian restaurant Curry Mahal, where we usually have Wednesday lunch with co-workers. For 10 NZ$ you get a great meal called "Chicken + Veg curry + rice + naan".

In the afternoon my room-mate Chuan-Zheng drove me to Wellington where I visited my ex co-worker Klemen and his wife Sabina. We had a couple of drinks in a hostel and later in the city in Hotel Bristol.

Outside their hostel with Tui beer

Explaining something serious

12310

New Zealand: Day 56: Aviat 3rd Anniversary

Today my company celebrated 3th anniversary and in office here in New Zealand we had a nice barbecue.

Guys prepared nice BBQ.

Happy birthday Aviat Networks in New Zealand

12309

New Zealand: Day 55: East Cape trip: Day 3

I had a nice sleep in a gym behind the Ruatoria Police Station and after the breakfast I did some exercises with the tools they had. My tyre still had some pressure so I was able to continue towards the nearby gas station, where I filled the gas and air in the tyre.

My room for the night

 

Morning weigh lifting and cycling

 

I packed and left the nicest police station, Ruatoria. Thanks again for hospitality. 

Local gas station opened at 8 o'clock. Was a bit early.

 

I followed my plan and I continued south. Saw some nice beaches on the way. 

SH35, a great road for a motorbike. A must if you are around with a motorbike.

Longest wharf in New Zealand is 600 meters long and is located in Tolaga Bay

In this area there was also a Cooks Cove Walkway which leads you to the place, where Captain James Cook visited New Zealand in 1769 with his crew on a ship Endeavour. On 8 October 1769, Cook and his party made their historic landing in New Zealand. Local Maori were mystified by what they saw. They thought the Endeavour was an enormous bird with wings of great size and beauty, the longboats were smaller birds, while Cook and his men were atua (gods). Cook was eager to make friendly contact with the Maori people. However a series of unfortunate encounters, both on the day of the landing and the next day, resulted in the deaths of several Maori. The following day Cook took his leave and the Endeavour headed south. Initially Cook had planned to call the bay he landed in, Endeavour Bay, but instead he named it Poverty Bay “because it afforded us no one thing we wanted”.

Cooks Cove from lookout point

Hole in the wall (Te Kotere o te Whenua)

Picture from Joseph Banks, the botanist on Endeavour

Through the hole in the wall with a wharf behind me

Cook landed here in 1769, Tuši in 2013.

View to the landing site from Cooks monument

Wharf from the steep "forbidden" rocks

Cooks Cove Walkway

I continued towards Gisborne, beautiful bays and great roads just don't end

Old Wa165 Steam Locomotive on Gisborne City Vintage Railway

Spitting on the tyre showed that it still leaks, so next station is a fuel pump with air

Quick lunch at Lake Tutira

Black swans were not scared of me

I finished my vegetable pasta from yesterday. Must say that the chicken at the police station was way better.

Napier, the Art Deco City

Back home my room-mate Jed brought some mussels that he picked on his cayak trip in Wellington harbour and we cooked them for dinner. Thanks Jed. 

Long ride with leaking tyre. Ruatoria, Tolaga Bay, Gisborne, Wairoa, Bay View, Masterton, Martinborough, Lower Hutt.

12308

New Zealand: Day 54: East Cape Trip: Day 2

In the morning I went to Lou's Lookout where a great view to Lake Waikaremoana is. Lou’s Track is named after the late Lou Dolman,The King of the Ureweras, a long-serving Tuai policeman who was instrumental in constructing the track in the 1960’s.

Lake Waikaremoana from Lou's Lookout early in the morning

Lou's Lookout track leads through a short tunnel

I continued on gravel road towards an old rata tree and some nice waterfalls, everything in just a few kilometres.

 

Northern Rātā: Metrosideros robusta. This tree began its life as an Epiphyte growing high up, possibly in the fork of a Rimu tree. The young Rata grew a network of aerial roots reaching towards the ground. The Rimu has since rotted away. The rata was probably three main vines which have intertwined. It is 13 meters around the base and aged between 800 to 1000 years old.

Papakorito falls, 20 m

Bridal Veil Falls

Momahaki Falls and Te Tangi-o-Hinerau

Traction-Engine Trailer. This trailer, earlier known as a lorry, was built for use in the construction of the Tuai Power Station in around 1926. It carried the heavy machinery, which would be used in the power station, from Wairoa to the construction site.

Mokau Falls, 37 m 

My work in Te Urewera National Park was done. Only 70 kilometres of gravel and I'll be back on the normal roads again.

But not so fast. My rear tyre started to lose pressure in the middle of nowhere, with a car passing by approximately every 15 minutes. Luckily in 5 minutes 3 motorbikers came by and they were equipped with all the tools for fixing the tyre.

 

 And surprisingly, there were 2 girls and a guy on 3 bikes, 2 BMWs and a Suzuki, but all enduro bikes. "Tanzanian" guy was very handy and together we were able to reduce the leakage to minimum. We said good-bye to each-other and we continued in our designated direction.

BMWs could be used instead of horses

12V socket, that John and I installed a couple of weeks ago was very useful

 

Let's go and good luck. After cca. 50 kilometres, a piece of rubber was still hanging out of the tyre. Leakage was still normal and tyre hard, still it was difficult to ride relaxed under this conditions.

Finally normal roads and my first visit to Hawai.

Short break for a quick lunch on the beach of  Maraetai bay

Anglican church on the beach in Raukokore

 

Beach after beach on the way to East Cape

The biggest Pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) tree in the world is 21.2 meters tall and measures 40 meters at its widest point.

Sign in front of  the Pohutukawa tree in the grounds of the local school

East Cape Lighthouse is 14 meters high and stands 154 meters above sea level. Position: 37°41′S 178°33′E

Resting on one of the easternmost benches in the world

When I came back from the East cape Lighthouse (755 steps one way), I noticed, that my tyre was leaking the air a bit more and since it was already a bit late and my Sonja was low with fuel, I changed my plans. I decided to ride close to the city and a gas station and my choice was Ruatoria. Unfortunately the city didn't have any campground, but I'll think of something when I will be there. So I arrived in the city, make a quick lap around it, but I didn't find a suitable place for my tent. I was hungry, so I stopped in the centre and I started cooking my dinner, some vegetables and pasta, on a bench near the main road. Soon a police officer came by and he asked me some usual questions, like what are you doing, where will you sleep, what are you having for dinner. My answers were cooking, I don't know and nothing special, some pasta with vegetables. The last answer made him a bit upset and he told me, that this is not a dinner. Dinner has to have meat. So he said, come with me, you can sleep at the gym in the police station and I will bring you some proper dinner from my home. And so it was. I took a shower there and he picked up a dinner from his home, sweet corn, chicken, french fries, garlic bread and some sort of cheese pie. It was an excellent energy boost after a long and nervous day. We also had a nice tea with a conversation. THANK YOU for all this, Sergeant.

Overnight stay at the police station in Ruatoria. Sergeant placed me in their gym.

Riding from Lake Waikaremoana to Ruatoria through Murupara, Opotiki, Te Araroa and East Cape. 486 km