Biking the Lake and Birding the Island

This weekend we used some annual leave to splice together a weekend and a Tuesday bank holiday (ANZAC Day).

The starting line assembly

A Friday night dash up to Lake Taupo set us up for a lakeside cycle on Saturday, organised by Trish. We fitted right in to Trish and Andrew's cycling group, who combined a love of the outdoors with a healthy appreciation for the benefits of hearty meals and post-exercise drinks.

Saturday morning saw our support crew Maureen, Marg (and, after a misplaced bolt, a chivalrous Chris) deposit us at the start of a big section of the Great Lake Trail, a single track mountain bike trail which would take us through the hills West of Lake Taupo to meet a helpful friend, Doug, in his boat. We pedalled down a river valley (but counter-intuitively up several hills and along cliff-sides) and made good progress as we gained confidence and posed for photos. Spot the waterfall in the pic below:

Spot the unicorn of the bike trip

Echo rock, where it sounds like the stream across the path is actually "in" the concave rock, but totally disappears when you're close in.

We also had a clear view to Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu on the far side of the Lake, at the stunning lunch spot!

Unfortunately Lady Luck was also on holiday. Three chain breaks later we were slightly less relaxed about meeting the boat on time. A huge landslip had also wiped out the track down to the beach landing, forcing us to brave a steep decent down the well-named ‘goat track’, bikes held aloft.

But we were picked successfully up Dunkirk-style (without the jeopardy) by Doug and the support crew, then re-landed for a final 10km section back to Kinloch, to make sure we were thoroughly exhausted. A delicious lamb dinner, farm chat and lashings of wine saw us restored to health, and we slept soundly. Thanks for the ride, company, food and hosting, Trish and Andrew, Marg and David, Chris and Andy, and Maureen and David!

Before the spill gates open

After the gates open

The next day, relaxing and sunny, we departed the group and cycled from Huka Falls to the Aratiatia Dam to see the (famous cos they're in the Hobbit) Aratiatia rapids, caused by the regular discharge of excess water from the River Waikato, which was as impressive as it was terrifying (there are alarms and warnings and fences to try to avoid swimmers).

We then drove down to Otaki, catching an epic sunset en route on the Desert Road, which gave us a little car photo opp.

Kapiti Island

On Monday morning we boarded a ferry for a long-awaited trip to Kapiti Island. It’s a predator-free nirvana for birdlife, which we saw, heard and, in Dora’s case, felt as we walked to the top of the island. Our serene scenic picnic was then interrupted by a new airborne beast – a helicopter that delivered workmen and materials to upgrade the path.

[Dora] For the bird-watchers amongst you we saw: lots of North Island robins, tui and fantails, lots of cheeky weka, a couple of kereru (native wood pigeons), two female and one big male hihi (stitchbird), several flitty whiteheads, bell birds, glimpses of kakariki (green parakeets), two cheeky kaka, and, the highlight for me - two saddlebacks, which are of the same family as the rare kokako and extinct huia. See next week's blog for the bird low-down!

A boat took us to our own protected habitat for the night, a tent beautifully set up with double bed amidst bird-laden bush! We settled in, helped by a steaky family-feel dinner, friendly co-guests and warm host Manaaki, who took us on a night time Kiwi-spotting tour in search of the nocturnal national mascot.

Unfortunately we only heard the Kiwi close by, despite an hour of creeping around the forest with only the dimmest of lights. We were happy enough to be shown some tree Weta and enjoy the starlight, and were ready for sleep when the hunt was finally abandoned.

Another morning, another viewpoint and a beach walk (highlight – dead, smelly whale). We relaxed much of the afternoon, and met the resident Takahe (only 250 in the world) before returning, first to Paraparaumu, then to Wellington.

A three-day working week awaits, but there’s some pain at the end of this short tunnel… more on that next week.