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Cycling Aotearoa & Supporting New Zealand's Nature

  • Wrap Up of Tour Aotearoa North Island

      26 March 2024
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    Here is the final update for this first leg of Tour Aotearoa. First, thank you again to everyone who has posted messages of encouragement and support including donations to this GiveaLittle page. Thank you - we appreciate you!

    With only two weeks available (away from work) we have had to end our North Island ride on Day 15 in the southern North Island city of Whanganui – at the mouth of the Whanganui River. This represents around 1,300 kms cycled. The remaining part of the lower North Island and then the entire South Island (the balance of the 3,000 total kms) is planned in late 2024 and early 2025. Stay tuned for updates!

    Thank you again to everyone who supported this ride. With this amazing generosity, we have reached our initial $3,000 NZD goal – even though we are only just under halfway through the full Tour Aotearoa ride.

    All the money raised from this ride is going 100% to the New Zealand Nature Fund (NZ National Parks & Conservation Foundation). You can learn more about their important work and the range of conservation projects they undertake here: https://nznaturefund.org/

    Thank you again – the interest, messages of support, and generosity had been humbling – I appreciate you all. I will update everyone connected to this page – and on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kiwicolorado as we tackle the balance of Tour Aotearoa over the next year.

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  • The Second Week on Tour Aotearoa

      25 March 2024
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    Kia Ora, Greetings everyone. Here is a quick summary of the second week of our 'little bike ride' - the North Island leg of Tour Aotearoa. See daily updates from the ride on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/kiwicolorado

    Days 7-15 of Tour Aotearoa saw us ride up the 'mighty' Waikato River and onto the remote Pureora Ranges in the Central North Island. This was the site of bitter conservation battles in the 1970s – including the world’s first tree-top protests. After 3 days crossing these ranges, including the iconic ‘Timber Trail’ we passed through Taumaranui and Raetihi and into the Whanganui National Park. This included riding to the legendary 'Bridge to Nowhere' – a remnant of failed attempts to farm this remote region 100 years ago. The wilderness on this occasion won – with bush now growing back – dotted with flowers and fruit trees of the long since departed settlers. With so few trails, we used a jet boat to get from the Bridge to Nowhere down the river. The final and 15th day of our ride saw us ride down the winding River Road to Whanganui on the Southern Coast of the North Island.

    What an incredible two weeks – Aotearoa/New Zealand is not an easy biking destination, but it is incredibly scenic, rich and varied, with great people and a warm welcome in every town and village en route. Te Ika-a-Māui – the North Island has been amazing – we are looking forward to the even more dramatic Te Waipounamu (South Island) – the second part of Tour Aotearoa in early 2025.

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  • One Week on Tour Aotearoa

      16 March 2024
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    Chris has been riding his bike down the North Island with his mate Ron for 7 days now. They made their way down through Northland, enjoying the landscape, history and Māori culture in the area. They crossed the Hokianga Harbour, which is the historic departure point of legendary Māori navigator Kupe.

    Chris and Ron made their way through Waipoua Forest, which has the largest remnants of the great ancient Kauri forest. You can see in the photos, Chris pictures with the oldest living Kauri, named Tāne Mahuta (after the Māori God of the Forest), it is over 2,000 years old. Sadly, most of the ancient Kauri forests were destroyed for farmland. But, there are efforts for re-planting these forests and Chris and Ron passed some of these areas of re-plantation.

    As they continued south, they passed Auckland went through to Thames and ended up on the Hauraki Rail Trail. They of course had to take a stop in Paeroa, the birthplace of the classic Kiwi drink L&P, world famous in NZ

    Chris is only $500 away from his goal, meaning he’s already paid for most of his ride, so he better keep pedaling!

    Ngā mihi nui to all of you for your support & donations!

    Kia kaha Chris & Ron as they continue their journey south!

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  • Chris Is On the Move!!

      11 March 2024
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    Kia ora friends, family and supporters. Thank you so much for your donations and messages of encouragement for Chris!

    Chris and his mate Ron set off from Cape Reinga on Saturday. They made it to 90 Mile Beach and on the second day of their journey ended in Ahipara, a coastal holiday spot and former Kauri gum digging spot.

    The story of the Kauri tree is an example of both the tragedy and triumph of conservation in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Kauri are one of the world’s largest trees, living up to 2,000 years and once covering 1.2 million ha. These trees were nearly logged to non-existence but conversation efforts have led to kauri forest sanctuaries.

    Another threat to Kauri is Kauri disease which is spread by soil ana greatly damages the trees. One way to help stop the spread is to make sure you clean your boots before/after tramps and stay on the marked track!

    Thank you all for your support and we will keep you updated on Chris’s progress:)

    Cheers,

    Team Chris

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