26/1/26 – Waitawa Bay, 40.81km (460.92km), 438m elevation, 2hrs 59min.
It was a nice feeling knowing we were getting away again and I could see blue skies. We have decided to leave a few more things in our suitcase as we just haven’t used them and wanted to save space. After loading up the bikes we said bye to Max and hit the road for Devonport. It was lovely on the road in the bicycle lane as there was hardly any traffic due to the public holiday. We made it to the ferry terminal with plenty of time which was nice for a change, we filled in the time watching seagulls and the boats sailing past.
When we got off in the City the boys were in front and were surprised to see Max waiting for us, Max had decided to come to Pine Harbour with us which was lovely.
The ferry ride to Pine Harbour was great, the ferry went very fast! It’s as quite a surprise. We played card games and enjoyed watching the container ships be emptied with the huge cranes.
Once in Pine Harbour we said our actual see you later to Max, ate lunch then set off for the day. The riding was fantastic, we rode along the coast which was stunning and on bike paths for a lot of it. We then got on to a small coastal road lined with Pohwutakawa trees we passed so many families enjoying BBQ’s, the small of lamb chops was mouth watering.
When the road turned inland we had a small headwind which took all of Oliver’s energy. The poor thing was feeling it being back on the bikes today, we had a few stops to refuel and he required a bit of motivation to keep riding. Arriving in Cleveland seemed to do the trick and we rode the next 13km rather quickly with no stops. It was great having Arthur on my bike again, however I had forgotten how much he chats. Its beautiful, the whole time he is talking away to me about so many random things.
Rhys had found a great campsite at a Kayak Campground which vehicles could not access. It was a beautiful grass trail down to the bay to a stunning campsite right on the waters edge. The boys ran straight to the water and enjoyed skimming rocks then playing with the clay to make paint.
Pesto pasta was on the menu tonight which went down a treat, then we all wrote out diaries before having an early night. It is great to be back on the road, especially when we find places like this.
27/1/26 – Waitawa bay to Miranda. 47.63km (508.55km), 425m elevation, 3hrs 29min.
We had a few rain showers overnight which was nice to fall asleep to. it made for a heavy tent in the morning though when we went to pack up…the push back up the hill out of our awesome campsite really got the blood pumping early in the morning but it was good to se all the boys helping each other push bikes up the hill, a great bit of teamwork!
We only had to tackle a couple of climbs to make our way back to the coast, We had read that there was some nation famous fish and chips at Kaiaua, so were were motivated to get there for lunch.
Rain showers cooled us sporadically as we climbed through 300 odd meters of elevation gain. A tricky things to manage when touring with the kids on the tandems is remembering that they feel the temperature very differently to Raelene and I. While the adults will be sweating with effort, both Patrick and Arthur will usually we much cooler, often needing to don a long sleeve or even a raincoat, to ward off the chill. At one point today Patrick was in full rain gear while I was t-shirt and shorts and still hot! Yet another thing to consider and manage. Oliver is usually able to self manage but still runs a few degrees cooler than us.
With a final push over a rise we descended back down onto the coast, greeter with great views and the promise of flatter roads for a few days. It was here we began to witness the first evidence of the wild weather that the region experienced while we were hiding in Auckland. We rode though a fairly significant landslip section that had been cleared off the road, allowing single lane traffic to pass.
With a little push from a tail wind we ripped it all the way to Kaiaua and made it for a great meal of fish and chips at around 1240! We were all pretty chuffed that we had managed over 30km before lunch and we rewarded ourselves with an L&P and Fish and delicious chips!
From Kaiaua we were now officially on the 110km Hauraki Rail Trail and off main roads for a few days. This also marked another ‘section’ that we were needing to tick off on our journey south which also served as a great motivator.
The rail trail skirted the western edge of the firth of Thames, which turns out is one of the main shorebird nesting grounds on the north island due to its shell banks and protected peat bogs and salt marshes. Arthur was very excited to learn that there was a shorebird centre coming up before we reached our campground for the night.
We were able to park our bikes up and head off on a walk to a number of bird hides to observe the shorebirds that collect on the salt plains during high tide. Arthur was so excited to spot pied stilts, wrybill, oyster catchers and thousands of Bar-tail godwits and at one point we were lucky enough to see thousands of these birds take to the air, blotting the clouds as they whirled around and landed back where they started, as if to simply stretch their wings.
We jumped back on the bikes to complete the last few km’s to the holiday park at Miranda Hot Springs. While it was yet another expensive night of camping at $112 for an unpowered tent site, it was slightly easier to pay due to the plethora of free activities that were at the campground for the kids. We set up the tent and went and played mini golf, frisbee golf before having a jump on the trampoline and finishing off with a dip in the 38 degree geothermal pool located at the campground itself! A perfect way to end the day.
We got the kids to bed and Raelene and I enjoyed another dip in the hot pools then had a great chat to another group of cyclists that had all made it to the holiday park for the night.
28/1/26 – Miranda to Paeroa. 60.77km (569.32km), 181m elevation, 4hs 27min.
Our day started earlier than any of use would have liked, thanks to some very loud campers. Oliver stayed in bed listening to his audiobook while the rest of us got up and started Breakfast. Arthur made friends with a fellow cyclist, Alex, who also loved birds and had found some eggs, so the two of them enjoyed studying the bird book, while Patrick enjoyed playing in the playground. After breakfast, we packed away and Alex helped motivate Oliver around the idea of a possible podcast, it was nice to see Oliver get excited about the idea.
We had a brilliant morning of riding along the Hauraki Rail Trail, we left the shoreline and were riding through farmland with the Coromandel’s in the distance, it was stunning. The boys loved checking the pest traps along the track, there was a trap approximately every 200m so stopping at everyone was not possible, so much so that Patrick at one stage said to Rhys after he refused to stop at one particular trap “I am not pedalling any more, and I won’t even pedal up the hills” hehe. While riding we had so many cobwebs float into our faces, it was quite surprising. At one point Oliver’s sunglasses were covered in cobwebs which looked quite neat.
It didn’t take long for the coarse slow gravel to take its toll on us all and thankfully we arrived at a cafe before we all got over the riding. We had a great rest and refuel at Bugger Cafe. Feeling refreshed we returned to the trail and enjoyed riding though the countryside. At one stage we had a herd of cows run along beside us for a bit which was fun. Arthur was super stoked to spot a spoonbill in one of the creeks which made his day. After this he seemed to get a bit of energy and wanted to ‘race’ so we all sped up and had a super fast 5km topping our speed at 27km/hr.
Our next stop was the Cheese Barn in Matatoki, it was a perfect place to rest as there was great cheese, delicious ice cream for the kids and even more exciting alpaca’s and goats to feed. It was gorgeous watching the pure excitement on Oliver’s face as he fed an alpaca for the first time.
The final push to Paeroa was brilliant, we crossed heaps of cattle grids and small bridges, passed heaps of cows, enjoyed the smell of silage and cow poo and of course checked a few more pest traps.
On arriving in Paeroa we had hit 60km!! a huge day on the bikes but a truly enjoyable day. We picked up BBQ supplies and of course a small bottle of L&P each. We then went to the local park for dinner, the kids had a great time playing – I can’t believe they still had energy for it to be honest.
After dinner we paid $10 for camping and set up the tent in the park, a great set up for the town and it is nice to see places still allow single night camping at a great price. The kids enjoyed listening to the end of our book and before I stepped out of the tent all 3 were sound asleep. Rhys and I sat outside enjoying the last of the day light before also hitting the sack and falling asleep to the hum of Woolworths fridge fan.
29/1/26 Paeroa to Matamata. 66.61km (635.93km), 329m elevation, 5hrs.
With nothing stolen overnight in our park campground behind woolies, we packed up and hit Maccy D’s for a quick breakfast, needing to cover around 32km’s to meet Maree and Neville at Manawaru. knowing that we would be riding the final 20km’s with them today was very exciting and the kids were ready to roll after their breakfast cheeseburger.
We needed to tick off one final thing before leaving Paeroa though, and that was a photo next to the bit L&P Bottle. With the secret ingredient in Lemon and Paeroa, being the town itself (or more the water from the natural spring in the town) we were keen to get our evidence of passing through the town. While getting our shot we bumped into the Mayor of Paeroa, who more or less told Raelene she needed to shower more often 🙂 There was also a meeting of the ulysses motorbike club at the big bottle and the boys loved seeing the bike roll in.
Off we rode, again the ride was flat and the gravel was hard packed and fast rolling. This allowed us to get the km’s done and close in on meeting Maree and Neville. This section of the trail was more or less right next to the road, still through beautiful farmland, however not as pretty and quiet as the previous days.
It’s worth noting though, that our decision to hold back and wait for the weather to pass through while we were in Auckland turned out to be the right one as we were able to ride all of the sections of the Hauraki Rail Trail following the flooding that it had experienced. We saw the evidence of this and were happy that the extra time we allowed, meant that the floodwaters were able to recede.
We continued to smash through the km’s and before long we were rolling into cafe 77 in Manawaru at around 1215. It was wonderful to see Maree and Neville, and they were all primed to ride the last 20 odd kms with us. They had one more surprise for us however, they had bought along their grandchildren too! Cooper, Oliver and Imogen were also going to ride with us, we had a little peloton as we rolled out of Manawaru and began the last leg to Matamata.
It was great all riding together, Oliver was loving riding with Cooper and [the other] Oliver. Imogen began to get tired so swapped out with Arthur on the back of Trunkie, meaning Arthur was also able to ride with the other boys. Being a rail trail we were able to let them ride off the front together, which they enjoyed.
We battled fatigue and a headwind as we neared Matamata, Patrick also had a ride on Imogen’s bike which he enjoyed but also made him quite tired, this meant that whenever we stopped on the way into Matamata he hopped off the tandem and became very difficult to coax back on. Eventually I gave him a stick and he was able to hit everything he could reach off the side of the bike!
Finally we hit the town and all gave each other a pat on the back. It had been a great ride and was nearing our longest day on the bikes yet. We called via Casey and Kurt’s house to drop off Cooper, Oliver and Imogen and then continued onto the last 5-6km’s to Maree and Neville’s house. On the way some a couple of people who were walking on the footpath and called out to Raelene by name. After we got over the shock of being recognised we saw that it was Alisha, the daughter of Susans best friend from her childhood! So crazy to see her and we made plans to catch up in the following days.
There were a few hills on the way which had a bit of a sting in the tail for tired legs. Finally we all rolled up their driveway and stopped the Garmin at 66.61km for the day. INCREDIBLE effort for the kids (and us).
The day was finished off by enjoying a Waikato draught and enjoying Maree and Neville’s beautiful house with great views of the Kaimai ranges. Casey, Kurt and the kids all joined us for a BBQ dinner and our boys pushed through their fatigue, enjoying playing with other like minded children.
30/1/26 – 2/2/26: Matamata, 0km.
Our first day in Matamata was spent relaxing around Maree and Neville’s, getting washing done, trying to get the boys to have a nap then giving up and played some great backyard cricket then we went into town for a swim at local pool meeting up with Casey and the kids. Highlight of the day was checking out the awesome hotrods in the garage and even going for a ride.
On Saturday we borrowed Maree’s car and drove across to have a quick catch up with Dani and bake some cookies to take to Brooke’s birthday party. We had a wonderful day catching up with all the Brank’s family, the kids had a ball playing with each other.
Sunday was spent around Matamata, we caught up with family friends, Suzy, Alicia and family in the morning, then walked to Wairere Falls to the river to have a swim and relax on the rock. In the afternoon Rhys and I caught up with another friend of Mum’s to chat about our ride, Geoff completed the TA a few years ago so was keen to catch up which was lovely.
Our final day had us walking the 3 Kauri Track which was stunning, we had to cross 8 small rivers to reach the magnificent Kauri trees. Once again the kids were off way in front having a great time helping each other across the river crossings. At one point Imogen was left behind and the boys were way ahead, I ran ahead to catch the boys and after a quick reminder of bush walking rules – never leave someone behind the 5 kids were off again.
Rhys and I then had the afternoon in town restocking our food, fuel and getting a few things sorted for Arthur’s up coming birthday. It was a wet and windy afternoon which made for a lovey quiet evening inside. It has been absolutely fantastic catching up with Maree, Neville, Casey and even seeing Kelly quickly. Cooper, Oliver and Imogen are gorgeous kids and it has been extremely enjoyable seeing Oliver, Arthur and Patrick play with new friends, they all got on brilliantly and really enjoyed each others company.
