And It Was Over

Day 88: 15 January, Thursday.

I remained in Orini at my brothers place for the morning, he showed me around his land he had bought since I had been away and told me how he was to develop it in the future.

But I had to finish my ride so before midday I departed for the final short ride to my birth town called Hamilton.

It was another lovely day, the sun was blasting down upon the countryside and there was little wind to impede my journey. The road was familiar to me, I had transversed this road many times in my past but it was still a wonder to behold. New Zealand is a beautiful country. I had met many people who had visited New Zealand and they all exclaim how spectacular the scenery was and I always shrugged it off, it was nothing special I had always thought but after being away for such a long time I came to realise the truth in what I had been told.

I passed through the village of Gordonton where I managed to procure some fruit from a road side stall (and it was at no cost, they were only selling bags of fruit and I only wanted one or two pieces so they gifted them to me!) and then it was the homeward stretch to Hamilton.

Heading Into Hamilton As I Passed 5200km. The Last Time I Was In New Zealand There Were No Buildings Here!

Instead of proceeding directly to my Mothers home I had previously decided to first go to the city centre to finish this epic ride from England. I had asked my niece at my brothers house for the best route (the roads had changed dramatically as head the city over the years) so following the advice I rode into my home town.

Then I was there. I had made it. My idea of riding a bicycle to my home town from England was complete. I had ridden from England to Turkey, then flown to China, and then cycled through Asia to Australia. Then finally I had flown to New Zealand and cycled home. Over three years I had ridden about seventeen thousand kilometres on my trusty Surly Long Haul Trucker.

Garden Place, Hamilton. Job Done!

To finish my journey I decided I needed to cement the trip with a cold beer, so near to Garden Place in the heart of Hamilton I went to a pub and bought a pint of beer. It was one of the best beers of my life. I got to talking to some Australians who were also enjoying the balmy weather with a cold beer and they graciously bought me a second beer! Then I had to leave as I had to go to see my mother who I had not seen for eight years.

It was only a few kilometres and I was home. It was wonderful to see my mum, it had been too long.

And that my friends is that. I’d like to thank all those people who I met along the way, people are what made the journey so great.

I have now finished this ride, so I will say goodbye…. for now.

36.98km 1:43T 21.4A 45.2M Total = 5216

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

Day 87: 14 January 2015, Wednesday.

I started the day building my bike. This takes about an hour after setting everything up and loading the luggage. Then it was time to cycle again.

First I had to ride back past the Auckland international Airport to head south, it was only four kilometres…

Back To The Port Of The Air.

From the airport I had to first cycle through the southern districts of the city of Auckland, this was the heaviest traffic I will encounter as Auckland is the biggest metropolitan area in New Zealand. While there I decided to buy a sim card for my phone and rang my brother. I had received an email from him letting me know his address and I wanted to try to get there on this day… but it was a long way.

After leaving the Auckland area I rode along the ‘Great South Road’ and into the countryside. At about the fiftieth kilometre of the day I passed Pukekohe which is a small town which boasts a very fine motor racing circuit. It presents a fantastic ‘Classic Motorcycle’ race meeting every year which I always attend if I am in the country… so I haven’t been to it for eight years!

Look At That Strip Of Tarmac!

I did not have time to linger, I still had eighty kilometres to go… Not far from Pukekohe I passed into my home province, Waikato…

Welcome To Cow Country.

The landscape in New Zealand is such a contrast to the ochre terrain of Australia, I had forgotten just how spectacular it all is!

New Zealand… Nuff Said!

I eventually passed by the fifty-first hundred kilometre of the journey from Perth so here is the road I was travelling…

5100km.

I was pushing along keeping a good pace, the road rolled along flat sections and then over hills, all very pleasant and nothing to severe so it was a nice place to ride along. I crossed the Waikato River a couple of times and I started to really feel like I was almost home. My home town straddles the mighty Waikato so it was a frequent vision during my youth.

The Mighty Waikato River, You Can Keep Your Nile, Thames and Amazons!!!

I passed through a small village called Pukekawa and there I discovered one of the smallest library’s in the world…

Open Friday Between 2pm And 3pm!

I mentioned that the region of Waikato is a cow area, so I have to at least give you a look at good ol’ NZ cattle…

I Am The Mistress Of All I Survey!

I took the above photo because initially the cow had a bird on it’s back and I wanted to capture that but the bird departed before I could take the shot.

I continued on…

I mentioned a week ago that the ride I did from the Morton National Park to Wollongong would be the last time I would exceed one hundred kilometres in a day. I was wrong. Today I rode the furtherest I have ever ridden in a day!

Eventually at nine in the evening I arrived to the Orini area of Waikato where my brother does dwell. It was good to see my brother after eight years, and to meet or reacquaint myself with his children. We ended up talking into the wee hours of the night…

133.34km 6:59T 19.0A 56.1M Total = 5179