After I finished my blog last night, I jumped into bed. As I lay there I was aware of something touching my upper legs (and it was not Tony!). I reached my hand down and grabbed what I assumed to be a moth, and threw it out across the bed, towards Tony as I expected it to fly.
The room was still quite light and when I checked to see if maybe I had inadvertently killed the moth, I was alarmed to see a reasonably large spider on Tony!
I jumped out of bed, as did he as he was alarmed at the sound I made.
The spider having been flicked off by Tony then tried to hide between the mattress and tucked in sheet…we ultimately won the battle and New Zealand has one spider less.
I have since identified it as a Tunnelweb spider..described as a very fast New Zealand spider and somewhat shy!
Shy or not, it was not sharing my bed and crawling over my body! This creeped me out! I do not think this has ever happened to me (knowingly) before.
Despite that, we both slept very soundly in lovely accomodation at an Air BnB.
We were on the road by 8 am and look what had already arrived in the harbour…yes, 3,500 Aussies. We beat a retreat and headed out of town!
Looking in the opposite direction provided a nicer vista.
We climbed a few hills and had one final view back towards Russell and the Aussie’s.
Following the harbour shores….
We hopped onto the Twin Coast cycle trail.
The first few km were excellent quality. Compacted gravel on top of existing railway infrastructure. At the bridge, an additional deck had been constructed on one side.
We entered at our own risk, but could not see what the issue was.
We arrived at the old Taumarere Railway Station, now used as a tourist railway from Kawakawa, but formerly supporting a thriving town of 1,500 people with industry and tourism benefits.
Our first stop was Kawakawa. Originally we were going to head further north to KeriKeri, as it is a lovely old colonial town, well preserved but after having been in Whangarei we learned of Freidensreich Hundertwasser, an Austrian born architect who spent the latter years of his life living in New Zealand.
His designs feature all around the world, and Kawakawa has a toilet block he designed that is regarded as an international work of art.
The style is typical Hundertwasser with wavy lines, irregular ceramic tiles, integrated small sculptures, coloured glass and a live tree incorporated into the architecture.
Hundertwasser requested that any vegetation removed for construction should be replanted on the buildings green roof.
The toilets are Kawakawa’s main tourist attraction, and the most visited toilet in New Zealand, with tourists buses arriving to photograph the toilets.
The toilets are fully functioning.
Back on the rail trail we crossed the Kawiti Truss Bridge that passes through the Ngapipto River Valley, where the descendants of the great Ngati Hine leader Kawiti live to this day.
Although Kawiti cautioned his people never to sell their land, it was confiscated for the North Auckland railway line in 1913.
This impressive truss bridge took 500 men to build and is 74 metres long.
I like this photo showing some of the truss work and the river below.
On the track we found an alive hedgehog. In the five previous trips to New Zealand we had only witnessed flattened dead ones!
I think it is cute, but apparently they pose a significant threat to many New Zealand native species due to their voracious appetites.
Hedgehogs are not endemic, having been first brought here by ‘acclimatisation societies’ to remind settlers of their homelands. They were later introduced in greater numbers to control garden pests such as slugs, snails and grass grubs.
We thought he was cute!
Further along the cycle trail, which certainly was not as well constructed as the first few km, and in many parts, was just a single true track, we found this sign. Interesting. 
Kaihoke was the town we hoped to grab some refreshments, apparently a thriving town in its history. When the train line opened in 1914, 1000 people came out to celebrate. The town peaked as a trading centre in the 1950’s before falling on harder times.
Heading into the local Countdown supermarket for a cold, large bottle of water proved a futile exercise. Despite two laps of the supermarket I could not locate any large bottles. I asked and was told not available, but proudly showed me their extensive range of cold alcohol! 😂😂🙈
So in desperation I headed into McDonalds to buy iced coffee and fill our water bottles up in their bathrooms!!
Back onto the road for the last 40 plus km to Rawene, with minimal verge. Groan. Nice countryside though.
We were very glad to turn off to Rawene.
These critters seemed pleased to see us too. We later learned that this is the local dump point for roosters!
Quick trip to Rawene, as it is only 6 km in from SH12.
Down to the ferry at the road end….I caught this ferry last year on my return journey from Cape Reinga, arriving into Rawene to stay with Blair, an Air BNB guy that I have kept in contact with since on Facebook.
Great to see Blair again. Blair is a professional chef, and we have just finished an awesome meal that he cooked. Vegetables and greens all from his garden. We sat on his deck looking out to the harbour.
Todays route and elevation that has taken us from the east to west coast of New Zealand.
Tomorrow is another day…more climbing and over 100 km ride as we head south towards Auckland.
Thanks for reading, I need my beauty sleep…first I’ll check for spiders!!
Ooroo
From the same viewpoint is this boat…waiting for the tsunami action plan? It is about 75 metres above sea level and not in the greatest condition either.
Looking north towards the Bay of Islands.
I could not resist taking a photo of this sign. 😂🙈
Looks like fun
Hello, or Hi ya Paihia and the big marlin. You can see me pushing my bike through here. 
We are staying in a cosy little cabin, akin to an enlarged cubby house.
We decided to do a short Christmas ride cruise to Matapouri Bay, some 9 hilly km away. Bonus was the local store was open and we were able to grab a nice coffee. The owner was doing a roaring trade with a constant stream of customers.
Matapouri Beach is a long crescent shaped beach.
We parked the bikes on the beach and got our bathers our to test the waters.
Brrrrrr….not immersing the whole body!
Heading down the beach….
A walkway to another beach reveals these Maori totems.
Volcanic beach on the other side.
Continuing along Matapouri Bay…wading through water to find a couple of small and private beaches.
More totems. The area where these totems are has a tapu on it, and is closed for regeneration.
A lazy day, but very pleasant day.
We motored through it. So the reverse view…
I probably should have entitled this ride something to do with the letter S.
The road came to an end but there was a foot bridge connecting to Pataua North. Here I am walking my bike across the bridge.
No cafes, so we pulled up on the banks of the river to have a snack and enjoy the view.
Kids playing in the bay.
I liked this view with the distant knobby hills.
Back onto bitumen these photos were taken from the top of a climb. The lower one shows an electric fence that Tony needed to get over, as the reflective flag had blown off the rear of his bike in the gusty winds. 
For me, the day’s highlight was beautiful Lang’s Beach, a stunning white sandy beach framed by craggy headlands, gnarled trees and wonderful views to offshore islands.
The lone rock on the right hand side is known as Sail Rock, a common mark used for yacht racing.
The dirt road had very few cars on it, so that was a plus. We were shocked when we arrived at the Waipu Caves how many cars were there. The place was packed.
The cave is unmanned and you can just wander in. There is a 175 metre chamber. The limestone cave has stalactites, stalagmites and glow worms near the entrance. The cave system is considered regionally important for geomorphology because it is the largest cave passage in Northland.
The busy Basin.
Looking up the hill towards our accomodation 
The clock museum with a giant sundial. 
A telephone box with a working telephone. 
So day 2…done and dusted. Despite my anxiety on gravel, I lived to tell the tale. I really do suck at gravel!
I am so fortunate to have a number of wonderful friends in New Zealand. I truly value and appreciate the friends I have made through cycling. Coffee and Christmas tarts with Gervase and Debra and we were on our way leaving Forrest Hill around 11 am.
Kaukapakapa was next after bidding Dave ‘ooroo’. This was the town where my stolen backpack was located in March last year by an eagle eyed cyclist.
The bikes all geared up.
I am not sure what this is…fish? Maybe you can stand on it and walk along it for balance? Maybe you just look at it and photograph it.
The hills started to get a bit more serious with some 13% pinches. The temperature had picked up to high 20’s. There was a really stiff breeze. Predominantly a headwind with occasional side gusts from our left, pushing us further from the verge.
A very tidal river does not prevent a boat club from existing. Mangakura Boat Club has a lovely position alongside this river. We could see from tops of hills, that this river feeds out to a larger harbour and the west coast of North Island.
Incredibly lush green farm land. In Tasmania many farms are already very dry and brown, so there must be solid rainfall here.
Looking to the west.
What goes up, must go down….so it was a nice descent and a few more rolling hills to arrive in Wellsford, a busy service town, and our overnight stop.
Returning to our accomodation two final sights.
So thanks for reading. Tomorrow is another day…new adventure….new memories.
My last two touring trips in New Zealand have involved Police. On the Auckland to Wellington trip, Sue and I were flagged down by the Highway Patrol ( flashing lights, siren – the full works), as we had inadvertently made our way onto the motorway heading into,Wellington. Very nice man!
yakkablog 