Friday, February 28, 2014

Day 1: Cape Reinga to Waitiki Landing

Feb. 25 2014
Distance cycled: 28km
Total distance to date: 30km

Day 1 of my trip turned out much differently than I thought it would. 

If you decide not to read the entire post, let me just leave you with this: never let anyone convince you that beach cycling is a good idea.

The day started out as planned, apart from the driver showing up at the backpackers an hour earlier than we'd agreed upon. I'd been awake for about 10 minutes and was making my breakfast in the kitchen when he arrived. But he's retired and didn't mind if I took my time. I was itching to get going though, so we started as soon as I had my stuff packed on the 110km drive to Cape Reinga. Ollie is a local and had lots of information to share with me about the area. I found him interesting and knowledgable - although he did try to tell me that my shampoo (purchased in Thailand) could be used as sunscreen because "29" was written on it, and he thought that must be the SPF. I neglected to tell him it was simply the purchase price in baht. OK, so local knowledge was certainly his forte. 

Anyway, here's Ollie with his truck and my bike unloading at Cape Reinga:


Cape Reinga, with its lighthouse built in 1941, is the northernmost point of New Zealand. In Maori legend, it's where souls go to depart this world. Therefore, it is a sacred place and no food is allowed to be sold or consumed there. It's also the place where the Tasman Sea meets the South Pacific. 





After admiring the view (and what a view it was!), it was time to set off back south. 




For 15.6km, it was back the same way I had come with Ollie. This time I had the leeway to stop and take pictures at my leisure. Lots of rolling hills and farmland. 


Then came my turnoff to the beach via the Te Paki sand dunes. 


These things were nuts! I could have sworn I was back in the Sahara. 


There was a lady with a van offering sand board hire for $15. I declined but did take the opportunity to ask about the tide. She said that the tide was coming in but would start to go back out in two hours. I took this at face value, had some lunch and admired the dunes, napped in the sun for a bit on the grass and then started off for the beach. First I had to navigate the stream, which doubled as the road to the beach. The bus tours that go to Cape Reinga travel this route, and even drive on the beach at low tide. I saw a few go by as I ate my lunch. 


The stream proved difficult, but I made it with only having to walk the bike a few times. On the beach, it was marvelous and beautiful - and long. They don't call it Ninety Mile Beach for nothing. I started out but it was slow going with a headwind and not much hard sand to bike on. 




I tried to determine if the tide was really going out or not, thinking I really should have checked the tide times and that things might not go so for me if the tide was still coming in. I was the only one out there save for a bunch of beached mackerel, which the sand dune board lady had told me had washed up the day before en masse. They all had their mouths open, as if shocked at their sudden and unexpected demise. 

After about 10km of this slow slog through the sand, I started to wonder if I could really even do 70km more. I seemed to be biking into nothingness, as even on this bright clear day the sea mist obscured the view of the coast. The monotony was mind-boggling and I hadn't even finished the first eighth of the distance. I felt like I was losing my mind. It was at that time that a pickup truck approached from the opposite direction, followed by two young German girls in a car. The pickup was driven by a Kiwi man, who I later learned was a local avocado farmer named Jason and only a few years older than me. He slowed to a stop and greeted me: "Where do you think you're going?"

I shrugged. "Down the coast. Ahipara."

"Mate, that's miles away! Where you from?"

"The States."

"Well you're not getting to Ahipara tonight. The tide's coming in and you'll be stranded."

Hmm. So the lady had been wrong about the tide, and as a result I'd be stranded in the dunes for the night. Didn't seem like a good option. Jason offered me a ride, which seemed to really be my only choice. Only he was going back the way I'd come, which seemed less than ideal. But I accepted, and after binding my bike to the quad he had in the bed of the truck, we rode back to Te Paki, where he took me on a spin on the giant sand dunes on his quad. I have to admit, that was quite fun. 

Oh, and the German girls. They were in the process of being saved from the high tide by Jason as well. Only they were driving a car and could easily lose the car to the waves. We drove down the beach with the Germans behind us in the car.  Big sweeps were coming in. One chased us towards the dunes and we looked back to see if their car had made it. It hadn't. They were stuck and the water had reached the engine circuitry and killed it. Jason was afraid the car had been swamped but somehow miraculously got the engine to start again and enlisted us 3 ladies to push the car to unstick it. They were very lucky that he came along to help them - but then again, so was I. 

Jason and I went for a swim in the ocean and then he graciously dropped me off at a campsite. Tomorrow I will try again for Ahipara, though this time not on the beach! I think I will take the highway back to Kaitaia and cut over to Ahipara from there. 

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