Waikato scooter rides?

**awa355** · 8th September 2014, 19:45

This is part of a ride report on Advrider. This man has done more on his various 50cc scooters than any of us will ever do. Makes facinating reading. Here is the link to some gutsy rides. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=608324

**awa355** · 29th September 2014, 11:56

Sunday morning was spent watching the All Black game and thinking ‘Will I or wont I?’ By 1 oclock I decided to go for a ride on the scooter. Buggsy and I stuck to the main road through to Otorohanga instead of my usual Pokuru rd track. Not much traffic and the main street of Oto always looks nice with the flower baskets hanging from the shop verandas. There had been a market day on but everyone seemed to be closing up so I didn’t bother stopping.
Into Otewa rd and wound my way alongside the Waipa river. A nice piece of water for trout fishing although the willows and poplars can take their toll of spinners and flys. Barber rd climbs up from the river valley and from a narrow winding climb opens onto a ridge that follows the Rangitoto ranges. The road is double laned and most locals know of the corners that flow from one to the next. Off to the left (on a nice day) are some wonderful vistas looking across to the Rangitoto ranges ( or hills depending on your definition). I stopped and collared this shot but the gray drizzly weather didn’t help much.

At the old Rewarewa school reserve I pulled up for a break and killed a snickers bar while having a look around. This school was opened in 1917. Whether this is the original building or a replacement one, I’m not sure. It is a single classroom so may well be the original. Although only 14k from Te Kuiti on todays roads, the early settlers used to travel through to Otorohanga and Hamilton for their twice yearly shopping. Access to Te Kuiti was practically non existant back then. I read of the settlers disgruntlement with washed out ‘roads’ broken wooden culvets landslips trees down etc.

Following a local on his farm bike I thought he was carrying a dead calf. Turns out the calf was not dead. The poor thing was lifting its head and kicking its legs. Not a pleasant sight.

Further on Barber road becomes Rangitoto road. Still a nice run through scenic country. About 9 k from the Te Kuiti end, Ahoroa road goes off to the left. This road winds its way through some fairly rugged country to (according to Google) come out on the Bennydale road via the Mangaokewa road. I turned around after about 8k when the seal turned to gravel. The gravel doesn’t worry me but the weather and not bringing spare fuel made me turn around and leave this ride for another day. A snap from Ahoroa rd. lovely pockets of native trees and small streams meandering across the flats.

Back onto Rangitoto rd and it is mostly downhill into Te Kuiti. Plenty of cambered corners and views of the town down below the road. A short stop in the main street which has seen a lot of improvements recently. The gardens and landscaping across from the shops makes the place a nice place to take a break.
From Te Kuiti I headed north, turning right at the airstrip. This leads through rolling country into Otorohanga without the traffic volumes on SH3. The back roads of Rangitoto, Barbers and Otewa roads make for a nice diversion if you have the time to spare. The weather stayed fine for most of this ride apart from bits of drizzle.

**frogfeaturesFZR** · 29th September 2014, 17:01

cheers Arthur, down your way middle of next month, so I'm building up a list of rides !

**Moi** · 29th September 2014, 17:08

Nice riding roads... and no other traffic!

Always enjoy your ride reports, thanks.

**awa355** · 29th September 2014, 18:57

Originally Posted by frogfeaturesFZR

cheers Arthur, down your way middle of next month, so I'm building up a list of rides !

I'm on leave until the 23rd. then on night shift so can find a cup of coffee if you touch base prior to arriving.

**frogfeaturesFZR** · 30th September 2014, 20:07

Cool, when I've got some dates locked I'll PM you

**awa355** · 13th October 2014, 12:55

Well I did my ride around the Waitakere ranges and a look around the Kaipara harbour. I had planned on staying away an extra night but woke up Sunday morning with a bloodshot and blurry eye. It mostly came right but later that day after having covered most of the country I had wanted to see, I decided to give away a 2nd night camping and head for an uncles place in Tuakau. They weren't home so I continued back home.

Anyhow, this is my 1st days riding.

Friday morning saw the scooter loaded with camping tent and gear and I was away by 8am. I was to meet up with Mark and Ken at Titirangi at 11 oclock. They were going to ride out with me to Whatipu as part of my 1st day of rambling around the Waitakeres and the Kaipara sth district.
I stuck to the back roads to Rangiriri, where after crossing the bridge I followed the Churchill East road. This hugs the eastern side of the Waikato river for a while then turns in to meet SH1 via Hall road. From here I stuck to the main road untill refueling at the Bombay truck stop. I had thought the Bombay hill might’ve slowed Buggsy down with the weight he was carrying but he even pulled out and passed a truck and trailer unit. Originally I had planned on hitting the Great Sth road from here and keeping off the motorway. Looking at the time saw that plan go by the way and it was the motorway right through to the South Western turn off. I sat on 80kph on the shoulder and there were no hassles with the vehicles. Hillsborough road is pretty much a straight route to Titirangi and I arrived at the meet up point 5 minutes before Mark and Ken arrived. We exchanged chit chat for a while then rode out along the Huia road, the plan being, to stop at the Huia Beach Store for a break.
A bit about the scooters, Mark was on a Piaggio MP3 400. He cheated slightly, the sod stuck an extra wheel on the front. Must have known about the gravel coming up. Ken was on a Vespa PX200. This comes with a four speed gearbox, something I wouldn’t mind having on my next machine.
After weaving over the foothills of the ranges we stopped at the Huia beach store and had coffee and a light snack. The sun was out, the tide in and water calm. It was a lovely spot. From here we had a couple of climbs then down to the sea and followed the road alongside the water line.

I can imagine that in rough weather, the road would be awash with waves. The road soon leaves the shoreline then climbs for quite a while before turning to gravel. There was only one car to contend with and a easy run down to the carpark.

With all the riding gear, we decided against the walk out to the beach and after a break rode back with the idea of turning down any side roads that looked promising.
The sun breaking through the trees made a wonderfull ride back along Waitipu road.

The photos from the GoPro don’t show the vibrant colours as well as a proper camera. Back at Huia bay, we were going to visit the Huia dam but the locked gates foiled that idea. Huia road wound through the foothills and the next turnoff was Cornwallis road. We cruised down to the wharf then up to the lookout giving a lovely view back towards Waitipu.

On the scooters again and our next stop was the Lower Nihotupu Reservoir. This was built about 1943 to supply water to Auckland. The concrete wall lines an earth dam and the spillway allows the excess out to sea.

From here Mark led the way back to the Scenic Drive route. This is a tree lined road meandering through the Waitakere ranges. We pulled in at the Arataki visitors centre. Some lovely views over the Manakau harbour.

Soon it was back on the scooters and further along the Scenic drive we turned back into the city. Riding back to Mt Eden in Auckland traffic was an eye opener after rural traffic flows. That night we had a lovely meal at a neighbours home then a decent sleep. The next day I was heading off on my own. A great day, wonderfull scenery and good friends. Choice.

**awa355** · 13th October 2014, 16:55

Day Two and the morning of day three.
I got away from Marks home about mid morning. My first port of call was the Waikumete cemetery. This was to locate the grave of an ancestor. The office was closed however I knew where the general area was. Unfortunately, many of the rows have been re numbered according to one lady I spoke with. This bit of family history will have to wait for another visit.
Moving on I followed the Gt Nth rd out through the suburbs untill I found myself on Swanson rd which became Waitakere rd. I wasn’t too sure which direction I was going in but the ride was to cover roads I had not been on before so it was all new and relaxing. Eventually Buggsy and I arrived in Kumeu where I stopped and took a break. A little bakery there had the best mince and curry pie I’ve ever had. A lot of motorbikes roaring past. On the road again and at Waimauku the sign pointed to Muriwai. I had thought I was way past Muriwai but as it wasn’t far decided to have a look.
Plenty of people around, the tide was well in and I watched the surf breaking over the rocks between the beach and the Gannet colony.

I found it tricky to get the digital camera to capture the precise moment the wave broke. It has just dawned on me as I type this that if I had used the burst or continuous modes I would have ended up with better photos.

I went for a ride up a couple of streets that I thought might give a bigger view of the coastline. From Waitea road I took some photos looking down at the Gannet colony.

After tossing up whether to book in to the local campground and spend the rest of the day lounging around, I decided to push on. From Waimauku I stuck to SH16. There was nothing startling to stop and explore so soon I arrived at Hellensville.
This is a nice town to look around. The back streets have some nicely kept old homes. Buggsy had a drink at the local Caltex then we headed up Parkhurst road. On the map was marked a campground at Shellys beach. This turned out to be more of a motorhome park and the wind was howling through. Back out on Sth Head rd we wound up hill and down dale for several kilometers. It would be a great race track on a sportsbike, but on the scooter it was slow hard going with very little in the way of exciting views.
Eventually I arrived back at the Parakai springs. Booked a tent site and took a walk around. The swimming complex was packed. Thought about having a soak but figured the kids didn’t need the image of a white michelin man doing bellyflops to end their school holidays with. Tea was greasys from the local take away shop. The tent is a little 1 man affair, got it up and although there was not much space inside, it proved to be warm and dry. The camp amenities weren’t anything flash. Very basic.

That night there were a lot of drongos staggering through the camp ground and I did not sleep very much worrying about some idiot helping himself to the scooter. Not having an airbed did not help either. However the ground was fairly soft and not too bad on the body.
Next moring I woke to find Buggsy still there, had a cleanup and took a walk around Parakai. Loaded up and rolled back out to the Kaipara coast highway. I had been told lots about this ride, but to be honest, it did not have any standout views until closer to Wellsford. A good road on a big bike but a long drag on a 100cc scooter. I stopped at a pull off to take a photo of the Kaipara harbour and this;

The information said that it is made of solid Macracarpa. It was made by a local man who spent his childhood making toy wooden planes that always seemed to crash. He went on to be a pilot for Malaysian Airlines. ( not really). This is the other photo I snapped at this spot.

While I was there a local farmer arrived. He comes up each day and cleans up the rubbish left behind by the ignorant. I asked about the two squares of concrete in front of the scooter. He said there used to be wooden picnic tables there but thieves were always cutting the table legs off the mounting plates and taking the tables so now there is nothing. From here onto Wellsford there are some great views of the upper reaches of the harbour. I stopped and took photos but have run out of allowable postings. At Wellsford Buggsy had a drink and I had a feed at the local bakery. I will finish my report in the next post.

**awa355** · 13th October 2014, 19:23

Day Three. Since finding out that my great grandfather came out on the William Miles in 1863 as part of the Albertlanders settlement community I have had a special interest in this little part of NZ. After a top up for both of us it was back along the coast road to the turn off into Whakapirau rd, entrance to the Okahukura peninsula. This passes through rolling hill country. Some time ago I saw a photo of an old wooden church with the Kaipara harbour in the background. I wanted to find that spot. Due to my right eye still being very sore and my focus not always as it should have been, I did not complete the full circuit of the peninsula but still felt like I had touched base with a small part of my history.
Down Wharf road I stopped to take in the peacefulness of the harbour.

Two small boats were coming into the ramp. Possibly been netting?, There is a plaque here that acknowledges the early settlers.

Back up to Wharehine road and further on I had been told of a short gravel road leading out to some great views of the upper harbour. Down Witheford road and stopped at the last highest point before the road dropped. The views were lovely. I tried for a panaramic type photo but the editing programme would not match the photos. Here is one snap.

The dull weather didn’t help much. Back on Run rd, I passed a sign about a historic chapel down a side road. Turning into Pah Hill road I cruised along the gravel and down into Shegadeen road. Here was the chapel.

The old graves behind the building were hidden amidst various overgrown flowers.
Some must have been cleaned up at some stage. The oldest date I could find was 1872. A couple of headstones were wooden, Kauri I would guess.

After a time of exploring around there was a light drizzle falling so starting Buggsy up I headed back to Run road. This road is quite wide and seems larger than the usual back road. It turned to gravel and this is one of the widest gravel roads I’ve ridden for a while.

Quite smooth, cambered corners, it had buggsy winding up. We had 75kph showing and it was a blast. On one corner I felt the rear slip which reminded me, I was a long way from any help if things went wrong. 10” wheels get a bit skittery on bigger stones so I pulled the fun factor down a peg or two. As said earlier I had a sore eye and with the weather looking a wee bit dicey decided to cut my visit to this peninsula back. Winding my way back to SH16 by continuing along Wharehine road.
I had hoped not to cover the same roads twice but being uncertain of the weather and my crook eye, I cruised on back to Helensville. Once there I tossed up whether to stay another night at Parakai or head for an uncles place at Taukau. I had seen what I had come for so decided to finish with a decent length ride towards home. We took the back roads ( old nth rd) from Helensville to Kumeu. From there I hit the Nth West mtrwy and stayed on the motorway untill Karaka. Turning off to re fuel then on to Tuakau. My uncle wasn’t home so I made the decision to continue back to Te Awamutu. The ride back was quite pleasant. The late sun bringing out the colours of the countryside. I got home about 7 oclock.

In summary, I did almost 900 kilometres over the three days. Day three was about 450k from Parakai, up to Wellsford, around the Okahukura peninsula then back to Helensville and down to Te Awamutu. The scooter averaged 31kpl. It was carrying me (95kg), tent, clothing, food etc, and it went like a dream. It never missed a beat. There are cheaper scooters on the market than the Japanese makes but paying more up front is worth it. 19,400k in 19 months with a 100cc engine without a single issue takes some beating.