Day 1 Ninety mile beach is harder than we thought

We have a long way to ride today - 15 from Cape Reinga to Te Paki stream turnoff. 3km to the sand dunes, 2km down the stream to the beach and 68km down the beach to Ngapae holiday camp. The alarm went at 5am. The milky way is clearly visible.

Surprisingly it is foggy, not enough to make driving hard, but enough that we are isolated in a moving cocoon.

Eventually we reach the Te Paki stream turn off, it's taken quite a while and it's getting light now. The turnoff is well signposted, good we have to find it when we ride back. A couple of decent hills follow - we have to ride these too.

Finally Cape Regina, just as the sun rises. Beautiful. No wind. It's a perfect morning for us. The mirror on Sau Keng's trike has come loose and fallen off - thankfully into the trailer. One bit is missing but I can improvise a fix from an old flax stem and it's good for now. We take photos, use the toilet and are on our way. Many thanks Matt for bringing us up here. We feel happy, excited, comfortable. This is very good!

There is still a bit of fog around, very pretty. I grind up the hills - not a problem. Sau Keng and the trike are going well. Te Paki stream turnoff arrives as expected. The metal road is slower, not too bumpy. The dunes come into view, nice, it's a while since we have been here. The book says the beach is okay for riding from 3 hours before low tide - 11am - we have a bit of time. Sau Keng rests while I climb the big dune and video the view - I did not take photos though - unlike me.

Sau Keng starts down the stream nervously but soon gains confidence. Riding in the stream is fun - but I don't like the nasty grating noise coming from my derailer.

The beach comes into view, I learn how the extra weight on my bike affects it's handling, and pick myself up with fortunately only a couple of bruises. Chat to a hot middle age man returning from taking food to his wife who is starting the Te Araroa walk.

We are on the beach - which stretches into infinity, no end in sight. There is a breeze now - directly up the beach unfortunately. Fortunately my nasty noises stop.

After riding for a while, longer than I expected, we catch the wife and have another chat. She is on day 2 of her walk and looks hot, weather beaten and happy. We ride another 5km (so she won't catch us) then stop for lunch.

Looking at the GPS on my phone we have not come far - it does not feel right after all that riding - but I fear it is. The breeze is stronger now, we are only making 15km/hr and I am finding this hard work. Sau Keng's battery is also finding it hard, so we slow to 12 - 13km/hr.

The kms mount - slowly - and we start to get worried, so stop a car and ask about distance. "Not far, 10 minutes", reassuring but it does not add up.

65km on my odo: 5km at the cape. The little battery got us 20km to the beach. the big one is finished after 43km down the beach. We might have 35km to go and only the medium battery left and the tide could be a problem at the end too 😬 A car pulls up to check on us as I change batteries. Yes 35km to our destination - but there is another camp closer 😀👍😀 - We will go there! "Look for a small hill" we are told.

The good news lets us have a relaxed afternoon tea stop. Sau Keng's good leg feels like jelly she says - she has been doing all she can to help the batteries. Now she can use the hand throttle and relax. Continuing is still hard work, but knowing we will reach our destination makes it much happier work. The hill takes a long (very long) time to turn up, but eventually does.

Riding up the road, I don't have much energy... it's very good to be here. A quirky lady greats us and gives us the unit closest to the facilities. It's a very basic camp but clean and comfortable and today all for us.

A shower is bliss. Instant noodles always taste good - today with salted fish added they are very good. A cup of coffee and we settle down to read, write, work. Sau Keng looks up and gives a startled exclamation. "Horses" There are several right outside our door

A few minutes later the camp owner arrives with a broom and shoos them away. "They are cute" she says, "But only one is mine" The rest are wild and came in after sand covered some of the fencing. Now there are about 20 and are mostly a nuisance - but still cute.

We stay in the kitchen until bedtime as there is no power in our room and so no lights. There is also no bed covers as for this camp you bring your own, we have to wear our day gear. Never mind - Day 1 is a success!

Statistics

Distance: 77.6km

Climbed: 458m

Time: 5:59