Finally catching up to real-time and it starts to get slow and possibly boring to the reader (This makes the extravagant assumption that the previous entries were not boring).

 

It started out cool and gray this morning. After a slightly lazy start and the first cafe latte, it was time to finally get in a bike ride. It is is nice and flat around here so I rode north to the small town up the coast, Kaiaua.

 

I noticed a number of motor caravans (RV’s in US parlance) parked right up along the beach about halfway along. The last time we were along here there were also a number parked at about the same spot. It was a weekend and I was cycling then as well. It was an informal Motorcaravanner rally then.  It didn’t seem likely for a Monday, so I stopped in on my way back today.

 

It turns out the site is called Ray’s Rest and is the only place along the coast where freedom camping is allowed, being private property. It is not listed on any of the guides and is just learned about by word of mouth (or by passing by). I might give it a try later on.

 

I also stopped at the Seabird center which is also along the way. There is a large wildlife reserve right along the shore as the area is a well-known (at least by the birds) terminus for migratory birds. Some migrate between here and Alaska. All I saw were a couple of oystercatchers, a heron and a hawk or harrier.

 

I had breakfast when I got back an chatted briefly with a Japanese man who was cycle touring and had been camped across from me he was heading towards Wellington with his son. His son was only six years old and was on his own bike.

 

Later on in the day a young woman, also cycle touring pulled into the same spot in a little grove of trees--probably the only spot in the park that isn’t bathed in light from the street lights at night. She was from Connecticut and was spending six months touring New Zealand and six months touring in Australia. She’d only been in NZ three days and had just come from Clevedon. She was heading to Opotiki. After thinking about it, I realized that it’s about 200km to Opotiki and through the Karangahake Gorge and then up to and around Tauranga and Whakatane. Not easy cycling -- heck, it’s not an easy drive. I don’t think she’ll make it in a day.

 

Other than that I spent most of the day relaxing and bringing this journal up to date. I’d hoped to post it since the park has a wireless hotspot, but it is $10/hour to use. It didn’t seem worth it.