Distance cycled: 29.5km from Lake Tomarata to Mangawhai Heads surf beach, North island, NZ
Average speed: 10.1km/h
Moving Time: 2h55m
Elevation Ascended: 437m
Total Distance on Current trip: 190km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 8,217km
Money spent: $33.50
My God! Gravel roads here in New Zealand are just the worst, at no point can you ride fast as they use golf ball sized rocks with soft sand to make up the road = an average speed of a dismal 10km/h. Yes, it's fine when you have a tire footprint of more than a plank of wood but anything less you left dodging the loose rocks and the sandy pits where the middle ground is far far from pleasant.
Anyway after getting a little lost, stumbling onto a festival ground being fixed up for the events next month and twenty kilometers of the aforementioned terrain our backsides thanked us for finally reaching the smooth asphalt.
We shopped for groceries and pigged out on a few of life's delicacies which were well deserved like ice cream, chips, a caramel slice and a delicious meat pie.
At a small op shop I found some tent poles to replace the well abused ones I have had for well over a year and using blunt tools was able to fix up my tent to make it look as good as new.
With more hills to climb we eventually made it to a beach that at first looked like it was impossible to camp for free but as the late afternoon settled in the mass of people began to leave opening up many opportunities and locations amongst the grass for us to pitch my now sturdier tent.
This surf beach was incredibly picturesque with a lengthy sand dune that disappeared into the distance, steep cliff faces and an offshore island that was easily reachable by swimming. There were some great vantage points to see the sunset, sandy dunes, the town of Mangawhai Heads, cliffs and the waves barreling into land - there was a lot going on in this vista.
Mangawhai Heads
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