We ride south of Napier to Havelock North along more of the beautiful Hawke’s Bay and take a side road through intense farming to the Patangata Pub but it’s “too early” for a beer! This is a rateable bike road and we pass a bike group taking shade from the growing heat. The tar is bleeding through the bitumen as the temperature soars well over 30 degrees. We get supplies and lunch at Waipukurau and head out to the coast for a swim and some remote camping at Porangahau.

Te Paerahi Beach, Porangahau

A thick sea mist comes in and covers the beach and clings to the land overnight causing a wet start to the day but the riding is awesome as we pass some more great old pubs and the longest place name in New Zealand. It’s a story  about a Maori chief who’s brother was killed in a fight so he plays his flute for him in the same spot…

The longest place name in New Zealand seems a bit over the top!

The ride takes in several gorges and mountain ranges before we come into Pohangina, just north of Palmerston North, and the home of our niece. We are so ready for four nights off the bikes, a real bed, a chance to have a clean-up and an overdue stay with Kelly and Tim.

Good to see the indicators and tail-light again!

The first day we take in the local Small Holdings Auction, where everyone can bring along items they want to sell or just donate and auctioneers walk down the aisles of goods where interested buyers wait by the items.

Paul is drawn to the tractor…

We have a nice dinner to celebrate our 39th Wedding Anniversary and it’s very special to be with family. Paul and Tim head to Woodville to the NZ Grand Prix-Motocross and river-racing where they have a great day and see lots of crashes.

Woodville Motocross

Tim and his brother Scott at the Woodville Motocross

River-race at the Motocross

The weather is heating up every day so we cool off in the afternoon in the nearby river where the water is just lovely. The Pohangina Valley is quite beautiful with it’s backdrop of the Ruahine Ranges and it’s quaint village cafe in the old council building, set up as a community initiative with awesome home-made devonshire teas.

Cousin Keith smells the lamb roast as they head south!

We ride over the Ruahines through the massive Wind Farm on the Woodville Saddle and head for the coast on back roads, with the temperature peaking at 35 degrees before we come into Castlepoint, named in the Top 10 list of Favourite Beaches in NZ for 2018.

We check in to a camp right on the beach and the owners warn us about walking on the rocks near the lighthouse – telling us that people often die from injuries or are lost at sea as a result of walking in no-go areas and being hit by rogue waves. The stories are quite sobering and enough to put us off venturing from the paths! We walk along the beach to the lighthouse and it’s very picturesque. The lagoon between has calm water but it’s deceivingly cooler than our last swim…this could be our last as we head south.

Cooler waters in the lagoon below Castle Rock

No, it’s not a scene from Mad Max…

Massive launching trailers for the fishing boats

Beautiful Castlepoint Lighthouse with Castle Rock beyond

We are in Castlepoint the night before a Super Moon so it’s pretty special sharing a full moon and a sunrise.

The back roads are fun, once again, although the grass is crisp and very dry around Martinborough and Featherston. The wind howls at us round some of the corners on the Rimutaka Ranges, so much so we are forced into first gear and we later find out they close this road at times due to the high winds and snow in winter.

The windy road in the Akatarawa Ranges is a very challenging ride through to Paraparaumu where no “long vehicles” are recommended and it’s particularly narrow in places. There is a cyclonic storm predicted for the Wellington area so we bunker down for our last night in the North Island with my half-sister Trish.

My “new half” family – nephew Jack, brother John and sister Trish in Paraparaumu. We have loved our time in the North Island with its beautiful beaches, farmlands, high mountain ranges, and so many roads made for motorcycles! We still have Taranaki and the North to do but the South Island is calling…

Story of the Week

In New Zealand when there are roadworks, you get an “exclamation mark” along with a 30km/h sign, then a 100km/h sign when the works have ended. Nine out of ten times, there is no-one at these works so motorists tend to ignore them. We are on the Napier/Taupo highway in the bit that’s quite straight and tedious. We are in a line of traffic and everyone seems to be doing between 110-120km/h. A traffic cop comes towards us and his arm goes out the window when he sees the bikes and he waves his arm up and down (indicating for us to slow down). I do the standard cursory glance in my rear-view mirror and sure enough, he’s doing a u-turn (never mind the cars, it’s always about the bikes)! At this same time we go past a 100km/h “end of works” sign and I’m damn sure we never saw a “start of works” sign…hmmm. The siren starts and he goes in front of Paul so we both stop. He starts telling Paul he “clocked” us at 117km/h and because we are in a 30km/h speed zone he’s entitled take our licenses and impound our bikes for 28 days! Paul politely tells him what I was thinking that we weren’t aware we were in a “zone” and he shows him his Australian license. It’s at this stage that the penny drops for the officer as he sees we are also on Australian-registered bikes. You can tell he’d really like to go through with some action but it’s all going to be quite a big deal. He then gives me a ticking-off and I politely apologise. Reluctantly he lets us go and we count our lucky stars…what have we learnt? We are right in generally avoiding main highways…there’s no cops on those roads!

Show Me A Sign

Perhaps we are learning…!