We were on the road by 7:30am. It was a lovely morning and thankfully straightforward to get back on the TA route.
We had a choice to go south via Mangatawhiri or around the coast past Kawakawa Bay. The coast sounded nicer so we choose that. There were some hills but it was pleasant cycling with little traffic.
The wind was building from the NE which was great as we got to the coast and made our way towards Miranda. However, once we started on the cycle trail along the Firth of Thames the wind was right on our nose. To make matters worse the cycle trail was fully exposed to the wind atop a stop bank, the surface was thick coarse gravel and the scenery (if it could be called that) was flat, treeless farmland. My bike seat had become very uncomfortable. My butt was still in good condition but I was having to stand up often to relieve the pain. For me this proved to be the worst equal section of riding in the whole country and is a big reason why I’d never do the whole TA again. I hated it.
Marian and Trudy on the dreadful Firth of Thames cycle trail.
It was such a relief to get to the Kopu bridge and head south. We stopped at the Cheese Barn in Matatoke where I had a big slice of cake that substantially improved my mood. The Australian couple Annette and Gary who were riding the TA on a tandem were there. It was always good to bump into other TAers.
Kopu Bridge
We did another 20 kms to Paeroa and pitched our tents at the RV park which was like a glorified bus depot but was the only camping option in town. We got dinner at a Chinese restaurant/takeaway joint where a young Chinese girl was behind the counter. She addressed customers by saying “YUUUUP” in a strong kiwi accent.