December 13, 2020
Hobbiton to Tamahere
Hills, lakes and lifestyle blocks.
After a continental breakfast of coffee and fresh croissants, we’re good to go. We have a brief chat with Sheree and Peter about their life in this area. Peter tells us of his days as a truck driver in the UK, negotiating small Cornish villages with truck and trailer. He also mentions their ferry trips from Plymouth to Roscoff - the same route we followed for our first French cycle tour. After goodbyes, we’re off. The remainder of Buckland Road has a few more ups and down- nothing we cannot handle in this beautiful morning air. Then it’s downhill to join the main highway. There are some attractive homes on Buckland Road, and just before the junction I spot an interesting large yellowish, cream stone building of 1950s vintage, with a long driveway lined by mature Nikau palms. Imagine living here!
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We only need to cycle a few hundred metres on the main road, which has a good shoulder, before the turnoff to the Karapiro Dam. We stop above the lake and look down at a rowing regatta in noisy full swing. A slightly desperate chap nearby is watering his dog from a tap. He rails against ‘bloody Auckland invaders’ who park their cars everywhere and anywhere, ‘Think they’re on Ponsonby Road.’ They’re shockers, we heartily concur, and leave him to rant. We cross the dam on the one way road, at the head of a long line of cars. Aucklanders probably. Across the dam we’re pleased to find a dedicated cycle path which follows the Waikato River and takes us all the way to Cambridge.
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In Cambridge we stop for lunch and watch a game of cricket contested with moderate ferocity in quite a chilly breeze. It’s compelling in the strange way that cricket is, once you begin to personally identify with the plight of a particular bowler or batsperson. In this case it’s a tall, medium pace bowler, of mature years, who gets knocked about a bit before claiming a key wicket.
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From Cambridge we find a very pleasant cyclepath which takes us directly to the front gates of the gated Tamahere Country Club. Along the way we cycle past a number of lifestyle blocks and farm properties, treed and lawned beautifully, with a variety of housing styles- some attractive, others that suggest the question, what were they thinking? The dappled, rather private, driveways seem to invite closer inspection, though it might not always be welcomed. Life looks leisurely though, unless perhaps you’re one of the horses being put through their dressage paces by the local equestrian club. The riders are smiling but there’s a touch of competition in the air.
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Around a bend, and there are the signs for the Tamahere Country Club. We are staying the night here with friends who have made the break from Auckland. We meet and they welcome us into their brand, spanking new home. There is much to admire. And we do. We learn that to buy into the community one of you has to be 65. What if one is 65 and the other is 23? Later we walk about the estate and gain an insight into how it is that these communities are built in such a swift and coordinated fashion. The variety of house sizes is interesting. Some are monstrosities, of 4 and 5 bedrooms and space for a fleet of SUVs, while others are a modest 2 or 3 bedrooms. Having a cycle path right outside the gate is undoubtedly a plus.
Over dinner we plan our next step and book a place to stay, just out of Huntly on the western side of the river. It’s a ride of 60+ kilometres but looks quite manageable since a good part of it involves using the Hamilton to Ngaruawhahia cycle path.
Today's ride: 42 km (26 miles)
Total: 289 km (179 miles)
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