My ride around East Cape and Coromandel

**Zukin** · 28th August 2006, 22:05

Day 1
Napier to Ohope Beach (Via East Cape)
620 Kms

Well it all started well leaving Napier just after 8am.
It was overcast had had been raining overnight to make the roads that much more interesting.
For those familiar with the road to Wairoa, lets say the gorges were their normal slippery surface!
I still made good time reaching Wairoa and a quick stop at the lookout, and then it was time to continue North to Gisborne for a lunch stop.
By lunchtime the weather had started to clear and was becoming warm which was not what the weather forecasters had indicated.

After refueling both the bike and me, I was off up to the East Cape, this section of road I had never driven/ridden before, so this was new territory for me.
About an hour North of Gisborne (between Tologa and Tokomaru Bays) I had my first close encounter with the wildlife!!!
Was in a deer, was is a goat.......NO I got my first bird strike at 100km!! (after all that was about maximum speed for the XR250

)

Now I saw it out of the corner of my eye as the Hawk took off from the other side of the road, it struck my leg first, and man it hurt like hell, then it proceeded to ht my pannier bags!! At first I didnt know it was a hawk, but the feathers were still embedded in my bag!!
I didnt realise at the time but a few hundred meters up the road I noticed my right hand side pannier bag was sitting at a very peculiar angle, so I pulled over, and it was at that moment that I knew it was a little more serious than I first thought. The bird had hit the bag with such force that it had broken the pannier rack, and the clips securing my bag to the rack, this is in turn meant the rack and bag had pushed hard against the plastic side cover and in a result had bend against the hot exhaust!!!
Not only could I smell the plastic burning I could now see smoke!!

So I ripped the pannier from the side of the bike and threw it onto the road, and put out the smoldering mess with my camel pak (will always carry it now) and then surveyed the damage
1x Side cover buggered with a hole in the side of it
1 x Melted Pannier bag
1 x Jersey with a huge hole in the arm! (and the only one I carried)

Then I had to figure out how I was going to carry all the stuff I had in the bag in the first place, as I knew I couldn't mount anything on that side for the remainder of the trip. I removed what was left of the pannier rack, and put some of the stuff into the other bag, and into a spare drysack I was carrying and secured it all on the pack rack. With the ROK straps I secured the remaining bag onto the good side as the bags normally connect to each other.
Once I had done all this I was off like a dirty shirt, and a quick inspection after a few kms ensured that the load wasn't going to move.

This put me about an hour behind schedule and reached Te Araroa at about 3.30pm.
Now I thought about missing the ride out to the East Cape lighthouse, but then I soon reminded myself that this one of the main reasons for coming this way.
So after topping up at the local store in Te Araroa (fuel was $1.91 a litre for 91, luckily there was no 95 on tap) I proceeded out to the Cape.
The Gravel road was good, but there was a few slips after the recent heavy rains the East Coast has experienced over recent weeks. I really pushed the XR on the gravel, testing both the rider and the bike, but in some places I had to button off as road works had left the road in places very soft and very loose.
Took the typical photos of the lighthouse and the approaching front and at 4.30pm I thought it was time I continued North to my nights accommodation at Ohope beach.
I thought it may take and hour and a half, but no way!! Whilst it is a good road (but watch the patches of gravel on the corners where they have done some repairs) it is long and windy and I soon found that I was riding into a setting sun, with salt over my visor and an I have never ridden in the dark before.
But I made good time and I actually found it easier once the sun had actually set as I could see a lot better than with it low in the sky.
I took my time in the dark and made Opotiki at about 7.30pm, and after a well deserved coffee and pie, I was off to Ohope.

My butt was sore and my fingers were cold, but I was happy with my achievements of the day (except for that damn bird wrecking half of my luggage!!)
Luck was on my side as I didnt have any rain for this first leg, something I was happy about as I havent a lot of experience in the wet.
I also really got a feel for the bike and think I have started to have a little more confindence with the tyres and cornering

I stayed at a great campsite in Ohope, called the Ohope Top 10 Holiday park, a great place and friendly staff.
I got all prepared for the next days riding which was forecast for rain the entire day, boy how wrong were they!!

Added Day 2 and 3 Below - Enjoy

**Warr** · 28th August 2006, 22:16

Good write-up.
You sure set yourself a tough/long ride to arrive in the dark at 7.30. Sounds more like a summer itinery

**gijoe1313** · 28th August 2006, 23:03

Nice one, nice one! Thanks for sharing that riding experience - good retrofitting of gear and getting on with your ride. Invaluable information as I intend to do a tiki tour down to Welly way in September.

Covered a fair few kilometers in a days ride (and part of the night too!)

**Blackbird** · 29th August 2006, 07:38

Excellent write-up and brings back some memories. I did the Southern Cross ride last year with fellow KB members Mangell6 and Jantar. On the leg from Cape Reinga to East Cape Lighthouse, we stayed at the Ohope top 10 and also found that it was an absolute ripper of a place. The run out to the lighthouse was simply breathtaking but sorry to say that the dirt section is no place for a fully laden Blackbird. In the soft stuff you described, my front wheel washed out and down I went

. Fortunately, the main damage was to my dignity but it's not a good place for a laden sports bike. What a magnificent area though.

Looking forward to part 2 as Coromandel is where I spend a lot of time.

Thanks for the memories!

**SDU** · 29th August 2006, 13:21

Good write up. Buggar about the damage, could've been worst eh!
Imagine how the hawk felt

Waiting to hear how the rest of your trip went. How do you like your gear?

**Zukin** · 29th August 2006, 20:44

Originally Posted by SDU

Good write up. Buggar about the damage, could've been worst eh!
Imagine how the hawk felt

Waiting to hear how the rest of your trip went. How do you like your gear?

Yep I thought about that hawk for about one nano second, then saw the smoke

But then I thought about what would of happened if it hit my handlebars??

**Wolf** · 30th August 2006, 16:45

Excellent write-up, Scott. Great work reloading the bike and continuing. Looking forward to the next Thrilling Episode.

**Zukin** · 31st August 2006, 15:25

Day 2
Ohope Beach to Coromandel
322kms

Well I was off on day 2, and not as far or perhaps as hard as Day One, and here was hoping for better luck today.
So I packed up and got away at a pretty relaxing time of 8.30am and headed for Whakatane.
I didnt stop here as I had only been on the road for a short while, but with the blue sky and clear blue sea I couldn't resist a stopover at a beach just North of Matata.
It was here they were pulling in large snapper on long lines so I decided to watch and see how they worked these electric torpedoes.
Incredible (but cheating I reckon) how they set the electric Kontiki and away it goes, pulling out 2km of line and the 25 hooks in time at all.

We waited for a while and pulled it back in to reveal again some nice snapper and gurnard. The guy asked me if I wanted some, but for obvious reasons I couldn't carry any, so we put some on the BBQ then and there

Then I was off to Tauranga, did I say the weather was great.
Only a short stop here at the Wild bean Cafe as I wasn't sure how long it would take to venture to the Coromandel.
Onto to Waihi and onto Whangamata, wow what a road! I thought I was doing great on the sweeping smooth corners, and having a bit of fun on the XR until 2 Sports bikes went blasting through like I wasn't even there!! Still I knew there was no way in hell I could ride like that given the bike I was on and the experience level of me

.

Next stop was Whitianga, to top up with fuel and to use the restrooms!
Man this was a busy little place, little did I know that they were in the middle of the scallop festival.
I found the Shell service station that doesn't have restrooms

, so I had to find the public toilets in town, luckily I was on a bike so I could park pretty much wherever I liked as town was chokka!!.

Then it was time to head off to Coromandel the next stopover on this little adventure!!
I decided to hit the gravel road, and travel The 309 road, a magic little gravel road that I must say I really enjoyed as you follow the river through a very scenic gorge then a small climb to see panoramic views of Coromandel. The road to start with was loose but wet, they have obviously just remetaled the road as it was soft. But slowly the repairs were only on the corners then nothing at all but smooth fast gravel roads.
I arrived in Coromandel at about 3.00pm and decided that I would unload the bike at the camp about 5kms up the road (Shelly Beach) and ride back into town for a few supplies for dinner.

I cooked a big feed and had a few refreshments on the beach front, what a life!!

As I sat there I could see an approaching weather front that didnt look very good, so I cleaned up and then sat inside working out the next days plans as one of the biggest thunderstorms hit, it was so close I couldn't count a second between the lightning and the thunder!!

I hoped tomorrow it had blown itself out to sea??

Pictures
1. Beach just North of Matata
2. The 309 Road
3. View from the camp
4 . Refreshments and Tea
5. KB is everywhere

**Zukin** · 31st August 2006, 15:45

Day 3
Coromandel Loop to Napier
590km

Well I woke up early with much anticipation as I hoped the weather front had passed, as I opened the curtains I could see patches of blue sky and the clouds were slowing disappearing over the ranges...Yippee!!
So I promptly packed up and left Coromandel ready for a good days riding, as I wasn't really sure what to expect.
As I arrived in Colville to top up with fuel, I had to wait for a while for them to open I realised I was about to possibly pay New Zealand's highest fuel price for 91 unleaded, it was a whopping $2.02 a litre, luckily I only needed 3 litres!!
So off I went, deciding to head up to Port Jackson, which meant taking the road on the eastern side of Coromandel.

Conditions on the gravel were perfect, smooth and fast, and no dust because of the rain the previous night.
I stopped at many different locations along the way to snap photos and to talk to the odd local and fisherman, but still it didnt take too long to reach the top.
Man it was a beaut day!
The sky was almost clear and the sea was flat and blue.
I spent a little while at the top before heading back the way I came (why couldn't they join the 2 roads so it made a complete loop??), before crossing the peninsular and onto the western side and heading up to Port Charles and Sandy Bay.
This road to start with was very narrow and rutted and there was hairpin after hairpin, I had to keep reminding myself that this was a 2 way road.
It soon opened up to reveal its secrets, amazing little bays that have quaint little baches nestled on the flats and into the hillsides.
Sandy bay was just magic, but I guess I felt like that because it was so quiet and the weather was just fantastic.
I took a lunch break here and laid in the grass and felt how warm the sun was, before again heading back the way I had come, this time I know I wouldnt be heading North again for the rest of the trip.

Whist I navigated successfully through the winding road again, it soon opens up to a very fast smooth gravel road (which I must say I really enjoyed) before reaching Little Bay, whilst is almost what I would describe as New Zealand's Tropical Beach, very nice.
There appeared to be a lot of empty baches here, so I guess it is busy little place in the summer.

Off again before stopping at a great little bay just South of Tuateawa (it is marked on most Topomaps) and took a quick dip in the tide, whilst the temp was warm I soon realised that the water temp takes a little longer to warm up.
Off again, this time through Kennedy Bay and over the hill back to Coromandel to complete my Coromandel Loop.
I arrive back quite early so I thought I might as well continue South as far as I want, towards home ( I thought I would get as far as Rotorua).

But once that XR hit the tarmac there was no stopping her!!
For approx 4 hours I had the poor little thing tapped out at her maximum speed, which was 107km, and 110+ downhill (depending on how steep they were).

By the time I hit Taupo my butt was sore but I was full of sprit as I knew there was only about an hour and and a half between there and Napier.
Little did I know that it was pissing down up on the ranges and it was getting dark @$#@!!

I left Taupo with the warm sun on my back, and I felt good, but as I approached the Gorge I could see the Black clouds ahead, and I hoped like hell they would pass, but no, I was smack in the middle of it.
So I let a Ute pass me that was doing about the same speed and I followed him the whole way, this made the ride a lot easier as I used his headlights to see the road ahead. Still made good time home and checked my watch to see what the lowest temp was that was on the hill, it was -2.9deg!!
What a way to end the trip, but I could dry my clothes and after I had done it, I realised that is one of life's learning experiences.

Pictures
1. Road to Port Jackson
2. Sandy Bay
3. Tuateawa
4. Great little Bay
5. Looking Back
6. Looking over the hill towards Coromandel

Cheers Scott

**Zukin** · 31st August 2006, 15:50

Originally Posted by SDU

Good write up. Buggar about the damage, could've been worst eh!
Imagine how the hawk felt

Waiting to hear how the rest of your trip went. How do you like your gear?

Hi SDU
The gear was incredible

The worst part of the whole trip I guess was on the way home on the Napier - Taupo Highway, very cold (-2.9deg) and very wet
I had no leaks and no draughts, toes got cold as they were hot and sweaty to start with, and then they cooled down.
They remained dry though

Pants were great, very waterproof and I had thermals underneath so I had no cold spots at all.

Very impressed with them

Cheers Scott

**clint640** · 31st August 2006, 16:01

Great stuff Scott, those Coromandel roads are goood - twisty seal, twisty gravel, scenery from end to end, the only other thing required is a lightly traffic'd clear winters day to enjoy them which it looks like you got.

See ya tomorrow.
Clint

**Swoop** · 31st August 2006, 16:59

What a damned good write up! Very inspiring and makes you want to load up the bike and just head off right now!

**Motu** · 31st August 2006, 17:10

Aaah,that brings back a few memories of my yoof,used to spend a fair bit of time down that way,cars and bikes,camping out under the stars.I remember one bay had a little jetty with a roof on the end,I've slept on the end a couple of times,out over the water in the open,with a roof over your head.A lot more gravel back then too.I hope to get up there this year.

So the little bike can do it,no worries eh? Who said an XR250 was too small to tour on! Excellent write up and photos....it was worth the wait for the 2nd and 3rd parts.