Yesterday, all our problems seem so far away…so after our solo adventures yesterday a new day, new destination.

Leaving Taihape via the giant gumboot we headed into the French restaurant for some breakfast. The ride from town launched straight into a decent climb and woah, that breakfast came back to haunt me.

The first 20 km was scary, plain and simple. We were climbing lots on a busy highway, B Doubles one after the other, little verge. We were buzzed closely by multiple trucks and cars!

The first picnic stop provided welcome relief and a nice view.

Below is an example of a tuck and the verge!

More views from the picnic area, safe haven.

It was a welcome relief to leave the highway and head towards Rangiwhahia and Manuwatu. The gorge was brilliant.

The road weaves around following the river with undulating climbs.

Another picnic zone with information re the local area.

The picnic table ensured I could have another table shot.

One of the day’s highlights was the sheep moving along the road. It took some time to pass by us as they were taken aback by us and we moved off the road to try and encourage their movement.

However that was not good enough for this Kiwi sheep. The farmer waved at us to cross over the other side of the road and into the ditch.

The sheep passed and the farmer stopped to talk to us. He said he could see we were trying to do the right thing but that many tourists don’t. Locals know to get right down into the ditch!

Sheep rules!

We rested under the large English trees at the Cross Hills Garden Centre where the cafe is only open October and November.

We followed up with a cool drink in Kimbolton, a somewhat unusual town. I quite liked the tiles at the local toilets produced by local school children.

After purchasing some provisions we had a lovely tea and picked flowers on the way back to the motel to brighten the room up!

So only two days remaining. We have been in the road for 7 straight days and covered just under 700km!

Today was interesting…brilliant view to start!

The mountain was to dominate the first half of the day, so here it is again, different angle.

After Horopito ( 21.4 km) things got interesting as I lost Sue…I was waiting at the 26.9 km point where the ride bore left… but I will admit I had my back to the road for a portion of my wait.

Eventually I realised she must have gone straight ahead… only thing I could do was to give chase. I did for 4.5k  but then was concerned…. what if she had headed left after I took off??

I flagged a car down asking them to keep an eye out for her.

I went back to the junction and repacked and re balanced the rear saddle bag as it was misbehaving! I ate my prepared bacon roll…hmm… what to do.

My mobile phone had jammed up after getting out a couple of quick messages and wanted a passcode to re enter. It was not my phone so tried a few options.. fail.

Knowing Sue had notes in her bag and a sensible head, and it was a glorious day, I headed off passing through Ohakune looking for her bike! No luck so headed towards Waiouru. A few km before the town a cyclist caught up to me.

He works at the local army base and lent me his mobile to hotspot my iPad. There was a message from Sue! I did rather fancy an army chopper though for an aerial search!

It was a really hot day so I stopped and grabbed an icy pole and some water,  before cruising up the road and finding the local army museum.  I fancied the second one for driving on NZ roads to keep me safe! Should do the job… one previous owner, low mileage on the clock.. fuel economy??

The road out of town was very fast and busy. Not a big fan of highway riding even though you have to do a bit at home in Tasmania.

I was quite relieved when i turned off after 20 km to take the back road to Taihape via Spooners Hill. Really pretty with unusual hills.

Taihape is the Gumboot capital of the World! Appropriately they have a large gumboot! I am still a big kid at heart!

Dinner was at a fabulous French restaurant. Great meal. We ordered two desserts and agreed to share. So we established Standard Operating Procedures for dessert sharing. The desserts, were awful! Ha ha ha

Bit of a shorter blog for yesterday’s ride. I had wifi issues meaning I could write o’r post.

The title of the blog today is a line I have borrowed from zwifter friend John Paul Musumeci as it sums national park area appropriately.

After a fantastic breakfast at a local bakery, we sadly farewelled Taupo. We both enjoyed the vibe! We both could happily have stayed longer 

Following the lake for a reasonable distance provided great views but you could not really relax too much to enjoy as there was a fair bit of quite close traffic buzzing past far too closely.

We chose to stop at Turangi (48 km) for a few reasons. We were in need of coffee, it looked like it was about to rain, it was cold and we had a decent climb ahead of us.

We cruised into the Pink Cadillac singing the words of the famous song. Funky cafe with retro everything including crochet knee blankets!

Leaving Turangi we headed towards the Whakapapa National Park. Road climbs steeply the notes said and yes it was an accurate description.

When I climb I don’t stop hence no photos until it levels out,

The Tongariro Crossing is a day walk across the three volcanoes in the region looking into the craters. The Lord of the Rings red volten scene was filmed here. Sue will be back to do this!

We had tea at the local pub sitting outside taking in the view! Great way to finish a brilliant day’s riding.

Today was a brilliant day on the bike. I totally love New Zealand and all it has to offer.

Sue had breakfast in bed today prepared by her trusty co-companion. I questioned the breadcrumbs between the sheets and she laughed and said she was not sleeping in the bed that night.

Sue also learned today that chamois creme should be applied to the chamois!

The day was overcast but more importantly there was no rain and no wind!

Leaving Rotorua we passed a couple of geothermal pools, with steam rising in the early morning.

We were predominantly on very quiet and beautiful back roads all morning. It was so peaceful and you could hear an occasional cow and the birds chirping.

However the serenity was broke  when Sue did not see me stopped at a navigational point continuing on the wrong road. I sprinted off at full steam shouting her name at the top of my lungs. Solid workout I must say! It turns out Sue had heard a noise but thought it was a sacred kiwi bird with an unusual call. It was just me….screaming Sue, Sue…

Yesterdays severe storm damage was evident in many sections.

We had a short section on the highway before stopping for some lunch. The nearest miss of the whole trip to date was from a guy in a blue truck that had the motto on the back “Live the life you imagine”. I wondered whether his was hitting cyclists as it seemed an oxymoronic statement given how closely he threatened my existence.

When we stopped for lunch I mentioned it to Sue and she had a similar experience. Found the truck just before lunch at a service station. Registration very clear!

As we were leaving the Bull Ring Tavern we met Tony from Manchester, England who also works as a cycling guide for an English touring company. He was laden with 40kg of gear and is in New Zealand for 3 months.

Tony also got buzzed by the same truck! 3 cyclists in a few km!!

We were thankful that we only needed a few more km on the highway before turning off into Tirohinga Road. This signalled an afternoon of climbing rolling hills in beautiful agricultural countryside.

At around the 74 km point we were both low on water. The afternoon was quite hot and humid. Sue had stopped looking,for water at a closed Maori Community Centre.

We rode into a cadet training centre well off the road. It seemed abandoned but had a functioning water hydrant. Maybe I should fill up that empty new bottle I bought yesterday sitting pretty in my bike, ha ha ha!

Upon leaving I experienced my first mechanical. I had dropped my chain and it was jammed underneath the black tool box on my bike. Sue had the sensible idea of turning the bike upside down. Yeah!! It worked and off we headed with 4 black greasy hands!

The next 8 km were to be the toughest of the day. Hot and a decent climb. Thank goodness for the water!

Then it was predominantly downhill to Taupo. First view.

Closer to the lake.

Then finally…

So we checked in, ripped our cycling clothes off and went straight into the lake. Bit fresh but lovely. We then bummed around on the beach in the sun, with the magical snow capped mountain as a backdrop. So European and majestic.

We sat on the deck of the hotel and ate our takeaway dinner.

Sue and I are both in love with this place! Dont expect us home anytime soon!

Finally this is what our bedrooms typically look like. A Chinese laundry. We will be cosy tonight too as we have to share a bed for the first time….and you can see me doing this blog too.