Laughing tears sniffled away (and pants pullled up
) ...it's a slalom around the barriers for a clean run towards the hwy, with an wobbling emergency U-ee
when flying past the "Monteith" Rd. turnoff.
Can't possibly pass on that one, aye?
A quick dogleg across the hwy presents some extraordinarily deep gravel of the 1"-1.5" sort.
More Macarena, this time : bikes included!
But what a cracker of a little road
which really is an old railway terrace, part of which further south being used as a tourist attraction nowadays.
https://www.portdargavillecruises.co.nz/rail-tours
The afternoon in maps and links
http://bit.ly/2huOsYg
Aranga Station Rd. / Waima River bridge.
A quick detour south onto the SH12 for some fuel and drinks, with a curious, little onlooker around. No idea what it is, but those "front-fangs" easily had a 5" span, the body about 40mm long and quite chunky.
While doing my "homework" for the trip, somewhere the disused "Old Mill Rd." had appeared with a warning, that
"possibly some stretches could get a bit damp and slippery"
Remember that earlier bit where some locals said that all was lush and green because it'd rained for the last 6 weeks?
Yeah, wellll....this dumbo forgot all about it
The comment mentioned a gate... this one?
Naw, locked...try this one then :???::???:
YummYumm!!
They'd said "slippery"...
Hmmmm...yah!
Slippery it bloody is...but hey, it's MAGIC!!
They didn't say anything about totally overgrown, mud-to-the-axle, single track and downhill bits??
Ant bogging the DR...
A quick scouting mission reveals muddy and totally overgrown single-track....we're OUT! Already got away with testing our $2500 rental-excess on the bikes a couple of times today...
The way back is just as gorgeous and mystical as the way in...it's win-win.
"Grip is overrated"....Yeah?
Some incredible tight+ twisty stuff along that ~50km stretch through Waipoua Forest turns into a 3-bike pearls-on-a-string-run-in-the-zone, spitting us out at the mouth of the Hokianga Harbour and the overlook above Omapere and Opononi....with the glistening dunes of the North-Head seemingly close enough to grab + tickle.
BLOODY AWESOME!!
With the back to the ocean...