After the way I felt in Napier I really had half a mind to finish my cycle trip there. What used to be my good knee was in no small amount of agony, my eyes burned from the dust and sun having had no protection for three days, my bad wrist was starting to hurt, my back and my rib were constantly reminding me they weren’t fighting fit and of course the actual expending of energy had made me more than a little tired.
That, and everyone I spoke to was only too happy to tell me the hills I’d just been over were ‘nothing to the ones we’ve got round here’ (turns out they weren’t wrong). However, having set myself the challenge I just had to finish, if only to prove to myself I could.
So there I was Sunday afternoon, having a shopping spree in the pharmacy of all places. Knee support, anti-inflammatory gel, ibuprofen and sunglasses (oh and I got a free quick dry towel).
With slight trepidation I set off Monday morning but soon eased into my day, enjoying coastal scenery to start before starting to head inland to the hills. I had a pleasant, easy hour or so, coasting gently along. Then literally the moment I thought, ‘well this is delightful, these hills aren’t so bad’ I rounded a corner and looked up. ‘Ah crap’.
Despite the next couple of hours being a constant incline, I actually enjoyed myself. I had created a vision of a constant uphill struggle, high banks enclosing either side. I was met with a winding climb, which gave me great vistas of rolling hills in every direction, a variety of farm animals spread through the fields.
I reached Lake Tutira around 4pm, missed the turning for the campsite, rode around and stopped in confusion a few times, before finally reaching my destination half an hour later. A Kiwi family were there enjoying a BBQ and a couple came to speak to me, intrigued about my travels and kindly offering a plate to the hungry traveller. The large expanse of the lake meant I was treated to both a beautiful sunset and sunrise, the morning also bringing an atmospheric haze of mist.
The next was another hilly day. Largely uneventful, but providing joy in each triumphant climb. It was a day of large arched bridges, old train tracks and changing countryside as the deep green hills mixed with blue rivers and sandy orange cliffs walls.
My third day after Napier was unexpectedly short and flat. My cycling guide book had the town names written the wrong way round so it emerged my goal of Morere Hot Springs stopped just short of an epic climb, rather than just after. I arrived by noon and was relaxing in the hot pools less than an hour later. The other occupants were all from local towns and I enjoyed hearing about local issues as they talked among themselves, as well as sharing my own stories and being advised where else to visit.
After a day of rest in Morere, there was nowhere to go but up. I set off at 8am and had an almost continual climb until just after 10am, where I had what I felt to be a well deserved early lunch and took a few victory pictures. From here my day was largely downhill and flat, the landscape opened up as I passed vineyards and fields of orange trees.
Gisborne was rather a disappointment. Congested, busy and polluted, I wanted to be out as soon as I entered. Stopping only to buy food, I quickly made my way back to the outskirts where I had passed a campsite. My plans for the following day had been to make my way north over a 700m climb and through a gorge road, however having time to spare and an inclination to avoid the narrow gorge, I decided that instead I would head toward the sparse lands of the East Cape.
This Nicki is made of the right stuff 😉