Wellington to Napier

Going from my (reasonably) routine life in Wellington, the last few weeks have once again become more akin to that of a traveller. Jeff, Liz and I parted ways, as one by one we left the city we loved to begin new adventures. I finished my job in the office and finally began my Cycle Diaries journey.

During the first two days I covered ground I previously cycled in December when on my trial run. This time felt much more successful, with me having less luggage and feeling much more physically prepared.

Having spent the last three and half months mostly in Wellington city, I was struck by just how clean the air felt as I made my way into the Rimutaka Forest. The capital is by no means big nor does it feel particularly polluted, but there was a noticeable difference.

My time on the Rail Trail seemed to be over much quicker and easier than the first attempt, making for a relaxing, picturesque and only slightly challenging ride. I then had just a few hours riding left, cutting my day shorter than originally planned so I could stay in Greytown, where my friend Dan was camping while he had fruit picking work in the area.

We had a wonderful evening catching up and being both a vegan and cycle tourist himself, he knew just what to offer to provide wholesome and deliciously tasty food – homemade falafel, tortillas, salad and for dessert, hot chocolate made from soy milk, melted down dark chocolate and cinnamon.

Day two, about to set off and my sunglasses fell apart. Literally. One of the lenses just fell right out onto the ground. Unfortunate not only because they were highly useful while cycling, but also because they had travelled half the world with me.

So a few minutes hold up due to the sunglasses disaster, then I was on my way. I wanted to cover as much ground as possible, eager to pass the point of my trial trip. I had a hard 90km (54 mile) ride, not least because my mind played tricks on me for a large part of it. I expected the challenge of Mt Bruce hill to be any moment after reaching the city of Masterton, three hours later I finally made my way up the ascent. I then awaited the sight of Ekatahuna around every turn, where I planned to stop for lunch. An hour and half later, my grateful eyes met the oversize Kiwi bird statue that marked the entrance to the town.

It was with tremendous relief, around two hours after my late lunch, that I rode into Pahiatua where I planned to camp for the night. I had a surprisingly great evening, having expected to spend it alone, I ended up enjoying the company of two students from Melbourne, on a geology research trip with their professor.

The following day I headed to Norsewood, shorter in distance, but made up for with extra hills. After initial tyre trouble in the morning I had a smooth sailing day. Stopping to eat in Dannevirke, a town so proud of its Viking heritage there is even a Viking boat for children to climb on in the park. As I finished packing up after lunch it seemed half the park wanted to come over for a chat, see where I was going, where I had come from, one guy even invited me to his brother’s for a cup of tea!

I spent the rest of the day enjoying uncharted territory, Dannevirke having been the ultimate destination in my trial trip. I travelled along wonderful rolling hills throughout the afternoon, realising I actually preferred this to continual flat landscape as it made for a much more interesting ride.

Day four and Napier was in my sights. I set off early and after a few early morning hills was out on more level ground. Knowing the majority of the way was a sneaky downhill I was feeling pretty relaxed, stopping for a few photo breaks here and there. The wide open fields being a contrast to the rolling hills of the previous few days.

Unfortunately with all my miniature picture breaks I suddenly hit exhaustion and realisation, as my sixth hour of riding came to an end without having had any real break. With a 30 minutes stop 20km away from Hastings, I completed the 70km to the city, nearly out of water, so hungry I was happy to eat a Subway and with a pain in my knee which had become almost unbearable. Fed and watered, I lay unmoving on the grass in the city centre for about forty minutes, the sight of which was good enough to turn people’s heads as they passed by.

With the thought of a bed and a few days rest to see me through, I willed myself back onto my bike after an hour’s rest and completed the final 20km to Napier. The end of the journey seemed to make all my pain disappear and the fight worthwhile, as I glided peacefully down the cycleway listening to the ocean waves, gazing around at the distant cliffs as the sky turned a golden orange.