Iteris

When it came time to leave Auckland after some well deserved rest, Sue very kindly agreed to drive us and all our stuff to Clevedon, just south of Auckland. There are those that might think it cheating we didn’t cycle through Auckland, but really they are comments I am happy to deal with as the roads around there were too dangerous to cycle and I would rather skip a section and still make it down to Bluff then insist on riding such routes. From Clevedon we cycled along a gorgeously sweeping coastline that glittered alluringly throughout the day. At lunch we gave in temporarily and ate beside the sea at Kawakawa Bay. It was a forty mile day, hard but pleasant none the less and possibly one of the most enjoyable rides so far. We eventually arrived, tired and ready for some food at a five star camp site in Miranda Springs, where, as the name suggests, were thermal pools we were able to bathe in. It is true, the smell of bad eggs was pervasive and though we shot each other some suspicious looks, we were fairly sure it must have been the spring.

The following day we once again packed the kit and set off. I must admit to my arse grumbling at me after such a long day of being on the bike the day before. Still, the road was flat as we cycled through the plains and there was no headwind, so the cycle was fairly easy. It was as we were leaving Piroa after lunch that we encountered a problem. Suffice it to say we found ourselves once more standing in a bike shop. It turned out that a bearing in Jimmy’s bike had broken and there was no replacement to be found. Feeling a little demoralised at having another equipment failure we looked for accommodation. As it turned out there were no camp sites around Piroa that allowed tents and there was a clay pigeon shoot that weekend so most of the accommodation was taken. However, we found a motel, I do use the term loosely and must admit it was one of the first times on the trip that I longed for my tent and my sleeping bag. The proprietor appeared to be a fan of what I have now learned are called stubbies, a throwback from the seventies, a very short type of shorts. I can tell you they are not a pretty sight. All that aside he was very kind and gave us an extra room free of charge, into which we were able to dump all of our kit, and we did sleep well that night.

In the morning we phoned around and managed to find someone who would be able to get us the bearing that we needed, but it would have to be ordered and because of the long weekend wouldn’t arrive till the next week. This left us with the problem of how we’d get to out of Piroa and where we’d stay. Our prayers were answered by Jane and Richard Coon, who appeared in their truck to whisk us and our gear to their house beside lake Ohakuri, half an hour outside of Rotorua. I can honestly say, with a heart felt certainty I cannot convey in words alone, that if I had to be stuck anywhere, here is where I’d want it to be. We are currently staying on a private, eighty acre estate, which includes the lake we overlook, and leaving is going to be made all the more difficult because of Jane and Richard’s great hospitality.

While we’ve been here we’ve pottered around Rotorua town and seen the famous lake. Even at its busiest Rotorua has the pace of perhaps an English town on Sunday. We also visited the Lady Nox Geyser and the thermal springs which were pretty fascinating and we were told that around Rotorua is the most active volcanic area in the world. We then spent an evening at Tamaki village, a Maori experience allegedly. I must admit to being under-whelemd. Although the night started off well with the choreographed dance it quickly seemed to lose cohesion and though it might have pleased some people off of a boat or coach trip, we’ve been meeting New Zealand’s people throughout our trip and learned a great deal more from them than we did from that night.

Although I started this as a record of my thoughts and feelings of this trip I have to say that I think I’m doing a poor job of conveying the spectacular beauty of New Zealand and now that I’ve reached Ohakuri I find my vocabulary inadequate to describe how incredulously outstanding this place is and more than that, how being here seems to effect people. There are a great number of gaps that I will try to fill at a later date.

The next morning we packed up all our kit, loaded up the trailer and panniers, and pulled the fully laden bike onto the road. pessimist that I am, I sat astride the stretch tandem with growing foreboding and waited to be scraped along the road. Surprisingly when we started peddling we..wobbled and stopped. Twice more we tried to the same effect, eventually a very kind gentlemen gave us a push and we were off down the hill, crazily gaining speed. As Amelia and I hurtled down the rode, the tandem trembling under the strain of stuff and howling wind, we were getting ever closer to a corner. This would not have been quite so alarming had the corner not had a barrier on it, over which gaped a seemingly bottomless drop. There was only one sensible option open to us, so we panicked, then we managed to skid a tandem before jumping clear and watching it slowly collapse on the side of the road. Hearts pounding we stared dumbstruck at the gear we were supposedly meant to pull all the way to Bluf. We wheeled the bike back up the hill and left it at the site while we went down and fetched the trailer. It was so heavy that we had to flag down a passing mini bus and got it hitched up the hill. Sitting down in the shade we had a discussion and were lucky enough to get our kit shifted half the distance to the next campsite and so we set off on our cycle, with no trailer or panniers, it was great.
Meeting up with our stuff again, we were again faced with the problem of how to shift it to the camp site. For the second time that day we were lucky and managed to find someone to take it all the way to the camp site we had planned to stay at.
During that day we stopped to ask directions at someone’s house and we were greeted with a friendliness I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before. They insisted we come in for a drink. I have to be honest and say that what struck me most was the amazing beard the man had managed to grow as well as his black vest and very small black boxer briefs which is all he appeared to be wearing, perfectly decent in themselves but together it appeared as though he were wearing a one piece outfit.
That evening was a very sombre one. We had realised that we weren’t able to carry the gear and I can honestly say that I was thinking the whole trip would have to be abandoned

It has to be said that a long sleep and a shower improves San Francisco immensely. Despite all the short comings of the hotel and the room, of which I could mention a number. Such as the continental breakfast which turned out to be a loaf of bread, a toaster, a jug of watery orange squash and plastic cutlery. Sitting around the table, our bountiful breakfast before us we discussed what we had planned for the day. Breaking out a map and stuffing water and various valuables into a bag, we set off into the sprawl of the city. Our first stop was Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39, from the end of which you are able to see the prison synonymous with the city (and of course a number of block buster films) Alcatraz.

After we had our fill of staring at the ominous monstrosity (the appeal of large and distant edifices, no matter what their past, fades quickly), we went to see the sea lions which apparently come to the pier due to the plenitude of herring and shelter they receive because of the breakwater.

Our view of the Golden Gate bridge was brief. We were under the impression our bus drove over it and stopped on the other side….We were wrong. Doubtless it is an impressive structure, the arches, I am told, are over seven hundred feet in height and the bridge is so large that it must be constantly painted. However the bus drove on and our last glimpse of the world famous bridge was in the buses rear view mirror. Still, the bus did take us to the Golden Gate park, apparently one of the largest urban parks in the United States. Quite what is meant by ‘urban park’ was a matter of some discussion. It was a very picturesque park and at its heart was a lake which lent the park a welcome air of tranquility. There was a building in the park whose name escapes me, but nine floors up there was a viewing platform, off of which the onlooker\ is afforded a three hundred and sixty degree view of the park and city.
As I am sure you have gathered by now my opinion of our accommodation was not high and although it was a short walk to the main shopping centre, the location we were in was less than salubrious. One thing that struck us all was the sheer number of homeless people, they seemed to be everywhere, and yet if you moved just three blocks over they had disappeared, it was quite a surreal experience.

At some time during the afternoon we all gave in to the market pressure and became hapless consumers. Sitting down in a cafe inside the main shopping mall we talked and put the world to rights. Where I believe I was quite vehement on having a nice meal out as I was determined not to spend another sober night in the hotel room. The restaurant was very plesent, as of course was the company. Make of it what you will, but the bill at the restaurant came to more than the price we had paid for two nights in the hotel.

As well as being my first post on my new Netbook, this is in fact my first post from San Francisco. We have arrived and it’s been a pretty long day.

it started at five in an attempt to beat the London traffic and get to the Airport on time. It was good that the three of us finally all met up, starting the trip we had casually suggested so many months ago. I believe I knew that the trip had started when I knocked over an entire display of products in boots. I stood in shocked horror as i watched it teeter and rain down lilac coloured boxes of who knows what. It did occur to me that I could turn away and pretend it hadn’t been me. My body was ready to jump into action, unfortunately my brain was still reeling at all the boxes falling around me.

Other than some rather rough turbulence, the flight was uneventful and long, though seemingly shortened somewhat by the large selection of films available. However, after the flight there were some developments which would have been nice had they not occurred, but doubtless will be things that stand out in our memories. After collecting our luggage we went to retrieve Jimmy’s bike which, as it turned out, had been broken during the flight. After several discussions with people who clearly didn’t know what was going on, we were finally put on the right track and told to go upstairs. We said thanks and went off in the direction they’d pointed us in, this meant we had to get past customs, a much harder task than you’d expect. My view of the lady customs officer is perhaps somewhat colored by her exicrible treatment of us, not to metnion pointing out that if we had stepped across thel ine in other countries they would have tasered us. She was the stereotypical customs officer, obviously a stanch advocate of the crispy cream diet and quite aware that she could make us unpack all our bags if we displeased her. While this was going on of course I was attempting to get through to my parents with the SIM that I purchased the Sim4travel. None of then umbers I’ve tried are allowed and the card is active so it is yet something else to sort out.

However at the end of the day we are in San Francisco and willing to give it a good try in the morning. The weather is nice and the hotel room looks great when you switch the lights off. I would continue but I am very tired and written down most of the important points