Still savouring the Kōpiko experience! If you have a few coins left in your donations kitty, then feel free to pass them.onto CAP, remembering that the government supports charitable donations by giving back 33% as a tax rebate.
My Kōpiko was the challenge I knew it would be, although it took fewer days than I thought. I had no fixed schedule, but the 11 days of actual riding shaped themselves. Bikepacking for 950kms and 12,000m of ascent across the central North Island (east to west) from Gisborne to Cape Egmont was physically demanding, educational and reflective, with the trip co-inciding with the anniversary of Jim's 10th. I was largely self-supported, choosing to tent and cook my own meals. The weather was kind, if not a little too hot. As a bonus, I got to raft the Tongariro R on a dam release. The route, a mix of mostly gravel back roads with (welcome) sealed ones, was originally conjured by the Kennett Brothers and Erik Westra. Fertile plains, pioneer roads and tunnels, forestry, mining, hydro power history, horticulture, pastoral land use, Nga Herenga cycle trails, tunnels, swing and suspension bridges, geothermal areas, a tangihana, dirt bike racing, Kiwis campervan exploring, exotic and native arboretum, and connections from yesteryear re-cemented....and $3300 raised for CAP (Christians Against Poverty) who give a hand up, rather than a handout, to Kiwis caught in the poverty trap. It is not too late to donate. Thanks for coming with me on the ride. The accompanying photo...I thought I had lost my tent pegs - found a trailer nearby with electric fence standards...on packing up the next morning found that I had slept on top of them!
"What should someone visiting New Plymouth not miss?"...my hosts, whom I had hosted at Bealey in December, suggested climbing Paritutu (where Jim had administered CPR in 1992), Len Lye's wind wand, Puke Ariki museum, the Govett-Brewster/Len Lye art gallery, via Liardet St to Pukeora Park....checked off the first 3 + the Stone Carvers outdoor sculptures (completed works and those in progress) which I had spotted from the top of Paritutu. The Puke Ariki museum spellbound me for 3 hours and I was the only visitor. Back to Bellblock via the Coastal Walkway.
Total mileage, excluding today's excursion...937kms with 12000m +/- in height gain over the "holiday"...I reckons that's worth digging into your donation piggybank to lend a hand to Kiwis needing help and skills to climb out of their debt trap...thanks CAP for giving lifesaving support
Kōpiko completion day. Quick getaway (no overnight camping required) onto the New Plymouth Coastal Walkway and the leafy Te Heui cycle paths before a mammoth ascent up Carrington Rd to beautiful Pukeiti Gardens on the slopes of the Pouakais...followed by an exhilarating downhill ride to the Cape Egmont lighthouse. Taranaki has ambitious conservation goals. Highlights...overwhelming sense of accomplishment and the lighthouse scaffolders "shit...that's a long way" quip. Munched on a the remaining licorice allsorts (Jim's tramping energy boosters) and a victory lap (46kms) to the city.
A misty moisty morning departure, the tent still wet from the heavy dew...several saddles to climb. Deviating from The Forgotten Highway on dusty gravel roads towards New Plymouth...HOT HOT HOT. Highlights...natural gas power plants, narrow tunnel and finally my first look at Mt Taranaki...then downhill to the coast and the Tasman Sea, chicken broiler sheds, cows, Bertrand Rd bridge. First hint of emotion of the enormity of my journey
Camped at the Bowling Club (sheep grazing knee-high grass) with a pre-tangi celebrations till well into the wee small hours (thankful for my set of earplugs!) on Jim's 10th. 50kms ride to The Republic of Whangamomona through the Hobbit Hole, the Tangarakau Gorge and east Taranaki hills, to find a dirt bike ride in progress. Whangamomona campground costs $10 for my tent (and includes a shower) - a bargain
Rest/foraging day at Pureora on day 10 while I waited for my friend, Kristin, to join me for the Timber Trail in 2 days. Highlights...the views from the top of Mt Pureora to Ruapehu and Ngaurahoe, the spectacular swing bridges spanning cavernous creeks, the history associated with the extraction of native timberland the subsequent recovery of the bush and the numbers of cyclists, mostly on e-bikes, enjoying the Trail.
An easy ride down to Whakamaru on the Waikato River Trail and that was the end of the downhill! A massive "grind" to the Centre of the North Island and an exhilarating descent to get me to the beginning of the Timber Trail. 82kms but it felt like double. There's still time to support CAP with your "loose change"
Rejoined the Kopiko route from Waiotapu, after using the Te Ahi cycle trail from Rotorua and stopping at all the interesting things en route. Another scorcher. Highlights...boiling mud, quiet backroads. Camped beside the Atiamuri Dam lake
Rest and recreation interlude. Catchup with friends, Jake and Nadia, complete with a family rafting trip timed for the dam release on the Tongariro River. Exhilarating ride on a grade 3 stretch from Poutu intake. The Kopiko ride continues Monday 28th Feb
98kms on another scorcher of a day. Tailwind along the Coast, then a climb out of Bay of Plenty (and the traffic heading to Tauranga) through the Rotomanus towards Rotorua. Stopped at Okere Falls, site of one of the early power stations built to supply electricity for tourism in Rotorua. Highlights...foraging!
SCORCHING hot day (with tan lines to prove). Departed 8.10am, arrived 5.20pm (with an hour for lunch). 93kms. Last 20kms snaked across the Rangitaiki floodplain..
Highway cycling is so much easier than gravel.. Highlight...visiting Hukutaia, a native plants arbouretum and the site of the millennium tree, Taketakerau, a puriri tree estimated to be 2000 yrs old. Gorgeous campsite on the beach...even popped in for swim.
Keep the donations coming in for CAP.
8.20am departure, 5.50pm arrival. 80kms. Hot and sunny. Mostly gravel riding on the original Gisborne-Opotiki route. Highlights...fewer hills, but ones I rode had such exhilarating downhills, a hunter and his son who told me to get a magnificent 14 pointer (Ryan Searle), a logging truckie letting others know I was on route, the stunningly seascape of Bay of Plenty, the Dunes Trail. Overnighter on a kiwi orchard with my Wainuiomata College music teacher, Carole Young (Shaw)
7am departure, 7pm arrival! 125kms, including a 20kms "oopsy" navigational botch! Hot sun for most of the ride and pouring rain for 4hrs. NZ National Arboretum, Rere Falls....and plenty of hills.
Thanks for the donations
My Kopiko began this afternoon with a drive to Wainui...my bridesmaid lives in Whataupoko...no point in biking to the start line and then all the way back into town tomorrow. 1st bite of the elephant done!
Just to show you what the Kopiko will be like, check out this video (and come with me!)
Gear checked with a week to go...and excited in anticipation of the journey.
Thanks to those who have already supported my nominated charity....together we will make a difference to those in the debt trap.
Go Christians Against Poverty
Loose change put to a good cause
I'm starting in the east and will follow this route, except a stopover to see friends, JakeNadia in Rotorua, with possibly a raft on the Tongariro River as a bonus!
