04/01/2015 - Cycle Touring New Zealand - Day 3 - She is getting the hang of it.

Distance cycled: 40km
Average speed: 12.6km/h
Moving Time: 3h09m
Elevation Ascended: 686m
Total Distance on Current trip: 113km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 8,284km
Money spent: $39

I am truly proud of her, Marlieke endured a hell of a lot today with all the hills, the weekend traffic and the heat I know it was difficult and understandably, especially harboring a cold she nearly broke down. With sweat and tears running down her face she wanted to give up, and the now lightened bicycle (after a spring clean yesterday) wasn't enough, it was still a huge burden on her.
The really steep climbs I walked beside my bike towing hers behind mine with a shoelace I found on the side of the road yesterday pushing the weight of two bicycles and all our gear whilst frantically looking for grip under my skate shoes; it was an experience and not one I want to repeat on a regular basis.
Not all climbs to the top of a mountain pass offer spectacular views but for Marlieke who put forward all this tremendous effort of cycling and walking her bike I wanted to show her that her efforts were worthwhile and that they were. The view of our surroundings were breathtaking, if this is what New Zealand has to offer already then we are in for a treat, and by "we" I do hope that Marlieke pushes through the initial pain and discomfort of cycling long distances and we continue this trip around the country albeit I am hoping for a little more distance than just 40km but having said that these dirt roads that we experienced today would slow me down greatly anyway. With a lengthier day to cycle and sun forecast for the next 2 weeks we have nothing to worry about.

Goat island was a strenuous detour but worthwhile, the shallow Aqua waters harbored plenty marine life and the visitors from all over piling their cars in the parking lot it was a much visited beach/summer time location. We spent a couple of hours here relaxing and making fun of people (a good past time with Marlieke).

We ended the day at Pakiri Beach holiday Camp which is a place you wouldn't normally find me but Marlieke is aching and she deserves a day of rest but more importantly, a shower, we both needed that. At first we were quoted $80 (!) for the two of us but the woman working the office helped us out and have it to us for $30; it's money that is not necessary as we have all we need for camping with the exception of a shower.
Many of the people at this place which is overrun with screaming and yelling children are holiday makers from Auckland and this got me thinking, how shitty do their houses have to be to pack up their things and live in a tent for the weekend where there is no privacy and you listen to your neighbor snore all night? Apparently I don't see the appeal especially at $80 for a non-powered site.
Well, I need to sleep with the sounds of our neighbors on the left chit-chatting away with sudden outbursts of laughter and our neighbors on the right happily snoring away.
One upside to coming here was the shower but even then it is limited to 4 minutes and costs money.

 

Goat Island.. but no goats

 

03/01/2015 - Cycle Touring New Zealand - Day 2 - emotional distress, but it's my birthday!

Distance cycled: 28.2km from Hatfields Beach to Warkworth, North island, NZ
Average speed: 13.9km/h
Moving Time: 2h02m
Elevation Ascended: 517m
Total Distance on Current trip: 73km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 8,324km
Money spent: $14

With Marlieke being ill I thought it would be best to take a day off and spend it (my birthday) on the beach but Marlieke wanted to keep moving but like yesterday it was emotional for her, the climbs broke her into tears but she was determined to fight. Honestly, kudos to her as not only was it her second day of cycling with a packed load but also the cold she was nursing that she had picked up yesterday.
I hope for her sake that her cold passes tonight and she will be fit to cycle on the gravel roads we will be encountering tomorrow to get away from the main traffic route of highway 1.
Speaking of which, highway 1 is ridiculously dangerous with parts of it offering nothing more than a slither of shoulder and times where the locals would honk their horns just to frighten you (it seems).
We stopped at a rest stop that also had a small walking trail to check out a waterfall, disappointingly after hiking the 15 minutes to get there the waterfall in question was rather pathetic. 
With only 30km cycled and an upset and exhausted look on Marlieke's face we called it quits at the town of Warkworth where we pitched the tent in a park offering offering locals a short hiking trail.
With a cold beer and a slice of chocolate cake that she had bought me I was happy to enter my 29th year of life.
Marlieke, I know this is difficult but just keep pushing, you will learn to love it, I'm sure  :)

 

Locals collecting and eating sea urchins

02/01/2015 - Cycle Touring New Zealand - Day 1 - Let the adventure begin

Distance cycled: 45.4km from Auckland to Hatfields Beach, North island, NZ.
Average speed: 15.6km/h
Moving Time: 2h55m
Elevation Ascended: 708m
Total Distance on Current trip: 45km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 8,352km
Money spent: $47

Day one of a different bicycle touring trip for me, all of my other trips it had only been me, beginning with me and nearly always ending with me and me alone.
This was good as I was able to keep at my pace and know roughly the distances I would cycle regardless of terrain.
However now I am traveling with another, a different adventure where I get share my experiences with another.

One thing I tell people who begin these long distance bicycle trips is to take it show and steady and even when you're about to give up, keep your chin up and keep at it.
With Marlieke it is no different, she struggled, and cycling out of Auckland was really rough on her; I was able to zoom by whist carrying a substantial amount more gear but I am well trained having cycled as far as I have. It didn't take long before she broke down into emotional tears of utter despair whilst climbing a steep hill but she continued totaling an admirable distance of 50km on her first day on the ups and downs of roads north of Auckland.
Tomorrow, no doubt her joints and muscles will be aching from her efforts today, good on ya babe!

Marlieke needing many more breaks than I would have typically been an issue as we only have the amount of daylight to ride but we are far below the equator and it's the middle of summer meaning long days, where riding till 9pm is more than possible.
We found a great place for Marlieke to experience her first night in my spacious *cough* tent pitching it right in the beach, it was ideal and most importantly it was free.

Leaving Auckland

First night of camping and what a place for it

Sandfire roadhouse 11/11/2014 - 25/12/2014

 

My time at Sandfire roadhouse with Marlieke was interesting. It was good to rest up and take a breather after my cycle trip in Japan but also being stuck in such a remote location of Western Australia under immensely hot conditions with not much to do was difficult. 

Marlieke and I picked things up from when I last saw her in the Philippines and I was immediately introduced to the few people who worked at the gas refueling/food stop. 

Most facilities were available to us and staff were allowed to eat what they wanted from the kitchen. 

Firstly upon arriving and as I was staying for free I felt obligated to help out around the place to pay for the expenses of room and board and as such I helped out Grant, the soon to be son in law to the manager of the place (Ken). Sandfire was so isolated that it ran off the grid and multiple generators were run to power the site and as Grant was a mechanic he had me help out repair and maintain some of the noisy machines amongst cleaning other general maintenance jobs. 

This I enjoyed very much because Grant had a vast knowledge of engines and mechanics and I learnt a hell of a lot from him. I now know how to repair a radiator and several other components of road going vehicles. 

One of the other big jobs I helped out with was the harvesting of mangoes from the small orchard beside the roadhouse, at first I enjoyed picking the fruit one by one from each tree using elongated snips and with only a few mishaps of falling from the branches when pushing my reach to the less accessible ones. All was good and well, I felt like I was working enough to pay off Ken for the accommodation and food until I broke out in a rash 4 days from initially picking them; you see, when you cut the stem connecting the branch to the fruit a fine mist is released into the surroundings and as it is very acidic it can cause skin irritations. Despite being told to wear long sleeves and cover up as much of my body as possible it was 43 degrees plus. Also I thought that i was impervious to the rash at first until I spent several nights itching myself to sleep where the rash had spread covering my body from head to toe. It wasn't until my eyes became infected and inflamed when I was able to get a ride into Broome to see a doctor to get my dose of steroidal medication which including a topical cream and some pills. It took only a day for the medication to take affect and less than 3 for me to completely recover. 

This is a warning for those who plan to pick mangoes, cover up your skin because itching yourself to near death and the extortionate cost of the prescription medication is not worth it by any means.

I took advantage of the opportunity of being out and away from the rest of world in regards to light pollution with my photography and managed to experiment with star trails as on a clear night (it often was)  the Milky Way was visible. 

Several hours of exposures I was able to get some very nice shots. 

Sandfire being located where it was it was rare for rain to fall here and often the storm clouds would pass around the area where I could capture the Lightning illuminating the dark clouds. See pics below. 

Sandfire, being nestled in the middle of nowhere, 300km from the closest shop actually became a likable place to be. The 6 weeks I spent here zoomed by and I can honestly say I will miss it, a comfortable place where Ken was kind enough to supply us with all we could possibly need.

Some of the animals around Sandfire

 

Lightning and Startrail shots

Watching the turtles lay their eggs on 90 mile beach

 

 

Why I came here!