Charge Of The Midgets!! New Zealand's Northland 2014

veom

Tour Pro
Haha that looks like too much fun! Excellent substitute.

Congrats Bernard for managing to prepare a postie that even Pete couldn't break!
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Riding beaches isn’t everyone’s favourite...but I like it.
I love the crash of the surf, the salty haze, wide open space, the edge-of-the-world feeling....and the challenges and often complex set of circumstances behind beach-riding.
Like tide-tables, picking the right time, the often tricky and deep entries and exits, the endlessly different textures and “feel” of a beach blown to a glaze by the wind, softened by a high-tide or turning shifty and nasty by being patchy after a spell of bad weather a few days earlier, hiding seaweed pockets, little creek-beds and all sorts of washed up curiosities.

One of the key attractions for this trip was a tootle along the western beach from Poutu Point at Kaipara Heads, past the old, wooden lighthouse to Maunganui Bluff, Aranga....which I figured we might have a crack at, exiting the beach with the small bikes, wading the river. Then more of it along 90-Mile Beach....and EddieB had pointed me to another beach on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula.

It all hinges on the tides, as normally only 2hrs either side of a dead-low-tide are considered safe.
Timing becomes everything and having lost a day, our available time-windows for each following day had shifted up by ~ 1 hour. Which will make for a late start in 3 days time, leaving precious little time to make for accommodation / fuel etc. after the beach-run.




No good chasing pipedreams with our Tiddlers, so we’ll skip the Poutu-Aranga stretch, taking rather more time through the backblocks across to the west. The Kaipara had cast its spell on the Ryan/Pritchard stretch!
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http://goo.gl/maps/H1WvI



NOOO!!
Not another day of BLOODY RAIN!!
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The hefty shower hammers the roof of the little cabin at the very first tinge of grey, things are getting a little depressing.
Fuggit!
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Still eager to go, we’re all set to roll by the time the first, faint patches of blue appear over Waipu Cove.
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OHHH boy!! Are we up for a day of the Kaipara Wonders? YEEHAWWW!

Come along for a zigzag-wander of the Kaipara backroads, ridges, hills and mountains, farmroads, rivers and creeks...and 4” thick gravel-ploughing on the “High-School-Girls-Rd” (and that’s a real name!).

Bouncing east-to-west, it’s first across the SH1 and a short stretch of asphalt on the Millbrook Rd., which climbs immediately into the first few hills .


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A look in the mirrors...
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Letterbox on a trunk versus letterbox in a trunk.

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No pussies here!


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Another look back.


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And that’s what’s to come, slobber!


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Western end of the Millbrook Rd.


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A 200m asphalt dogleg and it’s another climb towards the east on the Cassidy Rd.
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YES, that’s NZ, not Oz!

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They’ll finish it...eventually.

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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Harrison Rd.

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A bit further east again...Stead Rd.
This Kaipara thing is just ...FABULOUS!!

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Still drifting east towards Dargaville on the Pikiwahine Rd.


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If you just want to sit here and stare at the Tangihua Ranges....go ahead!! Nobody and nothing will bother you for the rest of the day.
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A break from the merry gravel-dance


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Did I say “Nothing will bother you?” Only joking!
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First thought they’d belong to a close by farm, but no... these are the original Wild Turkey’s!
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Singles, pairs or flocks up to 20 or more. And they’re everywhere.
gooblegooble gooblegooblegooblegooble gooblegooble....and you thought you had a funny-sounding flat, aye?


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The flood-plains of the Manganui River near Dargaville show last night’s downpour.



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No problems with the couple of black clouds drawing in from the nearby West Coast... as long as we can dodge ‘em through the afternoon, they actually make for some spectacular, and dramatic, lighting.
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Let’s have lunch first, fill up the tanks to their 450km capacity...and find some more chain lube.
The tiny, local Honda dealer has a single, king-sized, bottle of lube on the shelf....we better leave that for the one who’ll need it to make it all the way down south for this:

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Dargaville....hmmm...don’t really want to say too much and offend any locals, but it certainly reminded me VERY strongly of most of the Aboriginal settlements up Cape York in AUS.

High youth/native unemployment, social security popping its rivets, lots of banged up shitbox- Subarus/ Lancers dripping with the usual Ebay- junk and loud, demonstrative “Hey, Bro!” shouting and high-5ing across, back and forth Main St..... local pollies of any shade scrambling to cover their arse after the implosion of the latest “social-engineering”-scheme, the local coppers trying to get home in one piece at night, the “natives” milking the national guilt-complex for every tired penny it can cough up ...the usual mess. Not a place to spend any time at....it's a slow-fused powder keg.
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The coffee and burger were good; the tanks are full...let’s try to find more of what we’d seen this morning.
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Running parallel to the SH12 main road, the “cruisin’-is-soothin’” on the gravelly backroads to the Trounson Park turn-off.
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Seen better days...the little Kaihu Catholic church.

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Deadly serious....footy of any colour + code will be taken to the grave.
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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Looking at the skies we decide to skip the coastal option of the “Kauri-Coast” (been there some years ago) and tack north-east into the hills, hopefully finding some cover in the forests should the incoming blackbellies decide to dump their loads.
The wind's picking up again and the Tiddlers are howling in 2. gear on some of the steep climbs.


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And we’re on for a 2hr. gravel bonanza that’s trying hard to get the mighty CT’s undone.
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Faced with the same choice again? Not a split-second’s thought: DO IT AGAIN! AWESOME!!

Mataraua Rd.


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This is magnificent country!
Wharepunga Rd.


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Can’t miss New Zealand oldest pub, eh?
“Serving beer since 1826” has got a ring to it....enough, to go and have a look, hopefully even stay the night?
Some delicious, sealed twisties up the Horeke Saddle then gravel past the “Wairere Boulders” sign (we’ll leave that for the morning) down to the water’s edge of Hokianga Harbour....not having ANY idea what we’ll be in for.


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Right at the Waihou River mouth is one incredible piece of NZ history.
Horeke, Hokianga Harbour...and the current publican-come-master-historian-and-magic-story-teller.
http://horeketavern.co.nz/


First things first though...


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“G’day!...I’m after a pint (of Dark, it’s on tap, yeah?), a bed and some tucker, in that order...”
“No worries....I think we can arrange that. Had 27 riders here the other week, they slept on the dining room floor.... Where’re you from....?”


How easy was that?
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Had to knock back the offer of parking the posties on the carpet in the reception area...
“ they don’t leak, do they?...they’ll be fine then, don't worry”....
The carpet just looked too clean and new to park a bike on. Actually, too clean to not take the boots off.
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The timber deck outside the “Waterview-Room” is fine, though...

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Whow...just whoww
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Across the bay....own pier and all...I wonder...??? I'll ask the publican!



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How the hell have they managed to keep this thing hidden for so long?
The core of the building is the original ~200 year old tavern, a 140 y/o open fireplace as part of some renovations along the line....

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.. ..the Douglas fir panelling from a tree felled onsite (pics and documentation on hand).


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This is one unbelievable place to even just look at....then add the history.....then add the publican/ historian/ local businessman who himself should be put under “National Treasure” protection... and it’s just about too much.

Don’t believe it?
There are documents, photos and paintings to go along with all of it on every shelf and rack.

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A true Jewel of the Northland!! DON’T MISS IT ... if you’re ever anywhere close!

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Oh...the signature lamb shanks are pretty darn good, too!
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Being the only overnighters, we're getting a 2 hr. "maximum-concentrate" NZ and Maori/ Northland etc history lesson of gigantic proportions....and all told in a way that'll make me remember all of it forever.
This guy should be bottled....together with his place.

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asphalt

Tassie...where tyres are flat and nights are long
How the hell have they managed to keep this thing hidden for so long?
The core of the building is the original ~200 year old tavern, a 140 y/o open fireplace as part of some renovations along the line....

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Yes ..... just for remember me
for this excellent fireplace in the middle of the room, when I ride next, to cape reinga..... :photo:

what a huge ride.
even the storm is in full-action

hehe ...... the white-face germans , flying backpacker tents.
but I hope the story finished very well !
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O

Oaters

Guest
Pete - you write a great RR - accentuating the positive despite encountering some pretty bad weather on your recent sojourn to the top end of Aotearoa - your camera shots do NZ proud

I'm here now in Flemington with my locally based DR650 and hoping to hook up with some of you between now and when we return to Wellington in Mid January - prime purpose of this trip though is to support my wife in her Granny duties with a new nipper due to be born tomorrow.

Cheers Oaters :endu
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Yes ..... just for remember me
for this excellent fireplace in the middle of the room, when I ride next, to cape reinga

hehe ...... the white-face germans , flying backpacker tents.
but I hope the story finished very well !
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It sure was one hell of a morning, but everyone seemed resigned to whatever they had to deal with. The Alaskan guy I felt really sorry for.
Hans, you HAVE to get up there, it'll become another Cape Palliser for you. :chug:




I'm here now in Flemington with my locally based DR650 and hoping to hook up with some of you between now and when we return to Wellington in Mid January - prime purpose of this trip though is to support my wife in her Granny duties with a new nipper due to be born tomorrow.

Cheers Oaters :endu


Thanks...and keep looking in when you can, there are always rides and other things going and we for one (Goodie and I) will be sticking around Melbourne over the Xmas-NY period for some rides anyway...good luck and plenty of fun with the little shyter first, though. :wink: :thumbs:
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
More grey skies at sparrow’s fart, the gusts across the water are whipping up the whitecaps.
Bikes are ready packed way before 7, the idea of an early start dissolves in another “puff-of-history” when our host joins us at the breakfast table with a steaming mug of coffee and a swag full of yarns, books and artifacts.

The hook is “Queenie Puru”, the local Maori-powerhouse-“ Auntie” and custodian of the Mission House a few kilometres up the road.
It only takes a couple of hours of age-old yarns and stories, old texts and discussions, names and place to throw our plans out the window... but if you ever get to visit the Northland, a stop here is a MUST!

Actually...make this place and its people the reason to see the Northland and drape anything else around it.
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If you find the time.



It’s gone quiet here in Horeke...the sawmill has gone long ago, as has the shipbuilding yard and marine-refitting/ repair facility (using mostly Kauri timbers), all the other pubs, school and buildings housing the traders and dealers servicing the ships and boats coming up the harbour from the coast, Auckland and Sydney.


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There used to be a “milk-run” here, a boat picking up the milk-cans from the farmers around the harbour and shipping them to a dairy at the harbour mouth....then the “post-run”, another boat that also acted as a “school-bus”...close your eyes and it all comes to life in an instant, the smells, the bustle, the voices... our host has a real gift!
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We don’t really want to leave...



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http://goo.gl/maps/DxDkl

Trying to find Queenie Puru....



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Some quite significant history around here....



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...and quite a stunning place, too!!
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Leaving the place with what we’ve just learned: throwing water over our shoulders on our way out to dispel any bad spirits. (the reason there’s a water container of some sort at the entrance of any cemetery that contains Maori graves).


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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Just up the road is the next stop...the Wairere Boulders.

Another spot certainly worth a visit, spending an hour or 2 in a different world. This time no words or recorded histories, just nature at its best.


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Luckily we’re still early enough to have the whole place to ourselves. Sort of....



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And since everyone sees things differently...here are some of Goodie’s.




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The brilliant NZ-Frenzy guide had mentioned an interesting coastal walk about 35km down the road at the mouth of Hokianga Harbour.
Opposite the Great Dune on the north side, there’s a rock-arch right at the beach near Omapere.
Let’s have a look...but, of course, we’ll go via the Koutu Loop Rd. and try to find the fabled Koutu Boulders along the beach somewhere.


Koutu Loop Rd.
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