Feb 03, 2019

Well God provided more rain last night to wash some of the dirt off the bikes but what remains will require a fair bit of elbow grease to remove. Even so it was nice to have a comfortably cool night to sleep and hearing the ocean was a bonus as well as the cool wind ahead of the rain.

While our ride started off with wet roads, we soon got to dry ones and we thoroughly enjoyed the picturesque ride around the Coromandel Peninsula again with lots of 25 35 and 45 km corners and even a few 15 km ones thrown in for good measure and long stretches with no signs and just mosey along and ride accordingly. We stopped for breakfast at the Coromandel Village and watched all sorts of  people walk by then headed for Auckland via the east coast but somehow got onto the road to the motorway so when there was an accident and 5km of queueing traffic we slowly moved up the edge of the road to the detour before we fell off the bikes in the heat and managed to get back to where we wanted to be and enjoyed the ride as well as lunch under a shady tree at a little pub in Kaiaua. Then into Auckland through Clevedon and suddenly it seemed onto the motorway which was an assault to the senses after so much country riding. Checked in now and will try and catch up with the blog before we head out for dinner while Norm has a crack at cleaning his bike up a bit. He plans to go to a Triumph dealer tomorrow to sort an issue with his bike.

 

A beachside view soon after leaving Whitinga. Shame about the overcast conditions.

 

 A view of mountains in the distance as we headed for Coromandel.

Coromandel street view.

 

And again.

 

Views as we headed down the Coromandel Peninsula.

 

And again.

 

And again, shame the tide is so far out.

 

Near our hotel in Auckland heading to the BRITOMART Shopping Precinct a revitalisation of the port area and yes I did notice that the sign said Tiffany & Co!

 

And again.

 

And again.

 

Last nights’ accommodation:

Oceans Resort Whitianga

18 Eyre Street

Whitianga NZ 3510

Oops forgot to take a photo!

We had a lovely 1-bedroom apartment here complete with a washing machine which was great as we hadn’t anticipated using as much clothing from our cases as we did sitting in Christchurch for an extra 3 days waiting for our bikes so it was good to get that done. The owner was very welcoming and showed us to our apartment and how to drive everything. Spacious living and dining area and a balcony with a glimpse of the ocean and it is lovely to sit here and just hear the ebb and flow of the ocean. Feels like we are on holidays! Everything is beautifully presented in the apartment and the complex has a pool and tennis courts as well as free Wi-Fi which everything has so far. I think I also saw chairs outside what looks like a café. There are many apartments here even larger than ours as well as studio units so lots of options and ideal for families. Everything in town is booked out being the end of the school holidays but in peak holiday season and so far, we have spoken to French and German tourists. Glad we booked in advance.