Whitianga to Leigh - via Firth of Thames -167kms

We leave Russell and Lori’s and head over The 309 Road towards Whitianga. Everyone is certainly ready to be back on the bikes after a long break. Five days rest is great but it seems we all are itching to go again and explore a new place in the Coromandel. The 309 road has a reputation of being rough, steep, gravel and ‘a lot of idiots on it’, but we decide to take it as it is quieter than the main sealed road to Whitianga plus it is shorter!

With fresh legs the 309 is a breeze, we enjoy the sights of The Waterworks, enjoying 3 hours to explore the quirky water creations, flying foxes and surrounding park was a welcome rest before the hill.

The sight of Stu's wild pigs along the way was a sorry sight to see. What a S%$t hole. Approximately 200 pigs roaming around eating fish guts and a dead cattle beast. Even the MPI signs displayed that feeding pigs raw meat can lead to Foot and Mouth? Great way to put you off eating bacon.

With the hill done and dusted, we rolled down into Whitianga, The kids making the 36km seem too easy. We enjoy a night at Harbourside Camp Ground, under a sky of heavy rain, pleased we'd done the 390 road in dry conditions.

The next morning it was hard to roll out of the bed. We asked for a late check out and waited for the clouds to part. Whitianga was a cute little seaside town, we enjoyed just chilling by the water side playground and catching up with ourselves. By late afternoon we caught the ferry across the river and rode to Cooks beach for 2 nights with Deane and Angela, ex Te Anau residents. We enjoyed their hospitality, eating good home cooked meals and talking about life in the deep south.

Even the swimming at Cooks beach felt like we had the whole beach to ourselves, the place was deserted even thou it was summer. Covid had really put a quietness over the Coromandel.

After Deane and Angela's we headed a few blocks south to a house swap just back from Cooks Beach and enjoyed a 3 bedroom house to relax and unwind. We’d been on the move for 6 weeks since Rotorua. This felt like bliss to just unpack all the gear spread it out and go through everything that needed fixing, throwing away or just needed a little TLC.

Most days were spent with a bit of home school followed by a few hours surfing down at the beach. Kids loving being back at a surf beach.

A good friend Lou and her daughter Summer came and joined us while we checked out Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach.

The kids couldn’t believe you could dig in the sand and it would fill with hot water. Although there were a few moans about how much digging had to be done to get a decent hole.

Next offer was a house in Hahei, the owners were stuck in lockdown so needed someone to check the house over in case any creatures had made it their home. Love the generosity of kiwis. Luckily for us it was a block back from the beach and it was clear of any creatures. An old kiwi bach amongst more modern baches so it was perfect for us. It was hard to leave this spectacular place but it was time to head over West again towards Coromandel Township then North to the Cape.

Heading back over the 309 was a start towards our push for the Cape. We had it planned out. Head to Coromandel town, say hi and bye to our new friends, stock up on food then catch a boat the following day to Leigh. (Just North of Auckland). However rolling off the end of the 309 we receive a phone call from Lori and Russel. “ If you guys are ready, head straight for the wharf at Te Kouma, if we go tonight we can beat the predicted cyclone that is due to hit in 2 days time.. . We’ll see you there soon.”

Wow we were keen to start north, however this sped things right up. We turned the peddles and motivate the kids to head to the wharf, boys are beaming with excitement. Jazz is hesitant at first as she is eager to bike back down to Thames and up through Auckland. She is determined to bike every single kilometre possible. We state that we can bike through Auckland another time when they're not just about to come out of lockdown! Plus an opportunity like this to boat across the Firth of Thames doesn't come very often. It did take convincing but eventually we win her over.

We arrive at the wharf at Te Kouma just as Nadgee (the boat) pulls up. Perfect timing, fifteen minutes of loading and we were on our way northwest towards the outer northern limits of the big smoke.

We chat again on the boat, are we cheating by skipping the highlights of Auckland? We could easily justify it. We’d already cycled 4000km, Auckland traffic is manic at the best of times. The boat across the Kaipara Harbour that was on the Tour Aotearoa Cycle Route wasn’t in action due to COVID, so we’d have to ride State Highway One (!!) north out of the city. Well that's just asking for trouble, family of five biking on State Highway One with a 7, 10 and 12 year old, crazy!

The boat ride started off calm, kids all excited about the journey across the Firth of Thames. It wasn’t long though before the pre frontal cyclone winds picked up with the waves. The kids found it a real challenge to walk around the boat, as the swells were building, not a lot of dinner was eaten as they took a while to get their sea legs. Russell and Lori who are seasoned boaties thought nothing of it. We then realised apart from the sturdy Inter islander Ferry, the kids had not actually been out at sea on a small boat, this was to be a real adventure for them that they’ll probably talk about for years. The excitement of common dolphins, sooty shearwaters, blue penguins kept us all entertained and took our minds off the rocky roley ride.

At 10.30pm we pulled into Kawau Island and hunkered down in Bostaquet Bay for the night. With a calm bay we all slept well but Mahe was up at the crack of dawn with Russell to try his luck at catching another snapper. A couple of smaller ones which were perfect for breakfast - served raw with soy sauce, much to the kids disgust it was quite delicious. We were lucky enough to enjoy a quick stop at the stunning Mansion House on Kawau Island where Sir George Gray had spent many years back in the 1870's. It was back in the 1840's that they had discovered copper deposits so mining began on the island, but due to flooding of mine shafts many of the miners went off to Australia to pursue their mining days. By mid1850's the mine closed after mining 3,000 tonnes. It was then that the island became available to purchase which Sir George Grey did while commencing his second term as Governor General of New Zealand.

From here we headed across to Leigh, we needed a high tide to make the off loading easier with the wharf so Russell had timed this perfectly. He knew this area well from his commercial fishing days. The rain started to come down in bucket loads as we unloaded gear and bikes at the wharf. This felt like good Fiordland rain! No worries about being spotted by any border controls, there was no one to be seen! Most people were hunkered down inside away from the stormy weather.

After waving goodbye to Russell and Lori we found a small toilet shelter to get gear sorted and put our panniers back on the bikes. The stink was rank but it was our only shelter! Trying to organise some accommodation while hunkered down in a small smelly shelter definitely had its challenges. We were all hungry and very tired. We had made the decision to not camp as the cyclone was still tracking towards us but the accommodation in Leigh was outrageously expensive, more so for us being on a tight budget for the year! We succumbed to Goat Island Camp with a small cabin booked for 2 nights, the reviews were absolutely shocking so we prepared ourselves for a rather disgusting camp but figured we'd probably had worse!? We'd at least be dry!

At Leigh we loaded up with a bunch of pies and a few supplies from the local dairy before peddling just North to Goat Island Camping and Accommodation. The accommodation was adequate and provided shelter as the wind howled outside and the rain belted the roof. It did need a good strong spring clean but it was good enough for us!