November 19, 2023
Wet & Wild
To Waiouru by train & bike
It’s been a long day.
I was awake at 4:30am to eat breakfast, then pack, and ride to Wellington railway station via Joel & Tony’s motel. This was after a disturbed sleep thanks to late night revellers crashing around in the hotel corridors in the early morning.
Nevertheless the dawn ride to Wellington Station was easy, as was the process of getting the bikes on board the train. We put them in a luggage van where they were secured.
By 12:45 pm we were about 270 km north of Wellington in Ohakune ready to ride.
A small world incident on the train. Another passenger, Michael, sitting adjacent to me was from my suburb in Canberra. Indeed he lives only a few hundred metres from our house. Michael is here in NZ to a bush walk (‘tramping’is what Kiwis call it) with his son.
The first 35km of riding were undulating on a fairly quiet, scenic road (SH49) but the weather became progressively wetter. By the time we reached Waiouru and the junction with Highway 1, the rain was pelting down. So we retreated to a great little cafe called The Rustic to eat, drink and plan.
While we were in the cafe, the rain persisted and became heavier; and the traffic on the highway was also fast and heavy. The situation looked somewhat unsafe and definitely unpleasant. So we decided to call it quits for the day if we could find accommodation.
And we did find accommodation very close by at The Oasis Pub.
Bargain! $130 for three beds and very basic but adequate facilities. The bonus was a restaurant next door serving Italian meals. The other bonus is that tomorrow’s ride will only need to include 11 km (instead of 30km) on the highway, and it’ll be less busy on the highway in the early morning.
Fingers crossed the rain will also retreat.
| Heart | 3 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Today's ride: 39 km (24 miles)
Total: 197 km (122 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 9 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |