bosslady

So Nerrrd and I decided we would take a wee tour through Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne a few weeks ago starting on Thursday morning (Anzac Day) in Auckland and returning (to Auckland) on the Sunday late afternoon so, 4 days, 3 nights. The plan was to do some camping (which is kind of new for us both). I won't lie but we didn't really think the whole thing through as well as we could have/should have!

This was the route planned originally: http://tinyurl.com/csdl35t

As for what we actually did, this isn't 100% right because someone else led the beginning and very end of our trip so I had no idea where we were! BUT I think it was something like this: http://tinyurl.com/cbhh3q9

So what can I say about the trip... we were VERY lucky in terms of the weather as the forecasts weren't exactly top notch and the days leading up to the trip were not so great weather wise. I think we were both very much blessed with good weather!

So, Day 1 we met up with Leathel and his Daughter and don't ask me where he took us I'm not sure, but I think it was out Miranda-type ways, was really nice riding a long the water. Anyway we eventually went our separate ways and off we were on our Journey. First stop was in Thames for a top up of fuel then on to Coromandel. We stopped at the Star and Garter Hotel and Saloon Bar for lunch. It was very easy to find it (pretty much right there when you pull into the town from where we came). The problem we found though was finding somewhere to park our bikes and still be able to see them from where we were sitting (paranoia set in - our lives were on the bike!). Food was surprisingly well priced, yummy, super quick service and we met the lady owner of the bar - lovely person! She said to tell all our friends they were trying to get better parking for bikes to solve predicaments such as the one that we found so that's good! Anyway ended up in Waihi for the night at the Waihi Holiday Park (?) $18 for a tent site and free (hot!) showers etc. First time I've ever put a tent together (thanks Nerrrd for your expertise and help!). As for sleeping in the tent well, it wouldn't have been that bad if not for all the trees that surrounded us, the leaves blowing in the wind made SO much noise all night I thought it was raining (it wasn't).

Next day we had hoped to get as far as Te Araroa but only made it to Te Kaha. I was pretty damn well tired as I wasn't expecting (read, I didn't research the route!) all the 25kmh and 35kmh turns, pretty hard for me as a learner I found and especially so when you load SO MUCH damn luggage on a tiny little gn - gee wizz! So, stayed the night at Te Kaha, it just happened to be where we stopped pretty much. At that point we couldn't be bothered with setting up a tent and "roughing" it so we tried to get a room for the night, they didn't have any cabins etc. left but did have backpackers accommodation for $16 each a night. We were very fortunate to be the only ones in the room/kitchenette - score! We even had a sweet old National TV!! It only got a few channels but hey.. killed some time there watching tv, filling in a Crozzle (?) and I watched some movies on my trusty tablet! Forgot to mention on the way to Te Kaha we came across a logging truck that had the ROW up a one way road but came around a corner and up a hill bloody fast, couldn't see around the corner, no way, nerrrd managed to quickly pull over into the give way but I didn't have time to pull in so got as far to the left as I could, cosy with the metal barrier and slowed right down. Not sure if that was the right thing to do, slowing down, but I figured if he could see me and could see I wasn't going anywhere I'd be ok, guess I am... nerrrd and I had a chat later thinking how could we have avoided that, don't think we could have, freaking tight corners and he was pretty fast! I swear I almost threw up in my helmet whilst simultaneously soiling my pants! (just joking, really... !).

Next day I was determined to get a tag in Te Araroa which I did (!!) just have to get the next one this weekend... Really pretty place and we sat on the beach and had a break for awhile before heading back. Then we rode back to Whakatane and being pussies stayed in a motel for the night and ordered pizza in and watched a movie on sky. I was pretty knackered though and crashed out early. I got to meet a lovely kitty the next morning but I couldn't take him home with me

The following day we met up with JaffaSaffer and his friend and Leathel and his Wife and did a little ride on the way back to Auckland. Got to the Bombays early afternoon and I was pooped! Home and all its conveniences and luxuries was beckoning!

So things I learnt...
1. I'm an Idiot. How stupid can you be, as a newbie who's still learning, to overload your tiny bike SO much? I didn't anticipate how much, if at all, it would affect how I would be able to ride around tight corners, or any corner for that matter. Don't try and be a Hero, cause you ain't!
2. Don't be a girl and pack so much shit you don't need.
3. Need to find a better way to pack all my crap onto my bike
4. For Goodness sake, bloody look at the route your'e taking so as to ascertain how physically exhausting it may be and plan accordingly. A month or two ago I rode from Auckland to Fielding in one day, about 520km odd and was only mildy tired by the end of it but was fine. Riding on this from for only 200-300km max this time around was that much worse as there were very few straight, easy roads. I spent most of this trip in 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear. I'm used to spending most of my "big" trips in pretty much 5th gear, open road speeds. I didn't anticipate this, because again, I didn't research - my bad.
5. Not sure if camping is for me... I really did worry about the safety/security of my stuff when I had to leave my tent and again if I had to leave my bike that had everything on it.
6. Plan meals a bit better, places to eat where you're going to stay? Not sure if this is a practical thing really but we spent more than I'd have liked on eating out for lunch and dinner. We did bring our own breakfasts's in the form of up 'n go's though so at least that saved some coin!

I'm sure there's heaps of other things I learnt and hopefully they'll come to me next time I get back on my bike (haven't fired her up since I got back on Sunday). All in all like I said to Nerrrd when we were on the trip - all experience is good experiences and I am sure that some of these mistakes won't be repeated again (can't make any guarantees though I suppose!) so hopefully future trips will be more enjoyable/less stressful!