685 Km / 426 Miles
After a relaxing night at the holiday park, and planning the next few days I felt more prepared for the next week! I had made a plan A and plan B, because I wasn’t in a rush to get to places, and this trip wasn’t about pushing myself physically. This trip was to relax and figure out where I was, find some closure into some past events/relationships and decide what I wanted from the rest of the year!
First stop, was a dodgy looking garage that had a wood board outside offering “bike repair services” This looked like the only place I was gonna find a puncture repair kit! The “garage” was a mission to just get inside and scramble over a very full shed of things. The guy seemed surprised I was asking for a puncture kit saying he hadn’t sold one for a while – and a few minutes later comes back with a very dusty looking box with some puncture pads in. He tried to sell me several other bicycle tools and fun stuff, but I just wanted the puncture patches and to hit the road! Oh small towns!
Today I was continuing my ride hugging the beautiful coastline of the Bay of Plenty, having to dart inland briefly to go up and over a few big twists and turns. There was not a lot of stopping today other than in Omaio at a very randomly placed general store, which was the first time I had had phone connection all day. It was also a fish and chip shop, a souvenir store (sadly no random patches for Lionel), an ice cream store and a place that had very strong wifi. Save to say I scoffed myself with fried food and ice cream and sat for a while and chatted on FaceTime. I had also finally had to chance to catch up with the news… Shit was going down. Covid 19 was coming, and I didn’t have much of an option but to keep going, I was in the middle of the Bay of Plenty, I was on the open long road around the east coast with very small towns few and far between! I figured the universe wasn’t about to screw me over…
All I knew at this point was my body and mind was in New Zealand but my heart was in Perth. I had no idea what was about to happen.
The ride from Omaio to Waihau Bay was easy, I wanted to keep pushing on but I was mentally tired at this point. This afternoon had left my mind racing and I had a feeling in my gut that I was just in the wrong place, at the wrong time! I had originally planned to stay at a little campground down on the water (which looked lovely as I passed by it) called Maraehako Camping Ground but decided to continue another 20km to Waihau Bay, my gut told me I had to move forward a bit more!
I cycled into the little fishing village just before 5.30pm, and following a “camping” sign I was in a restaurant booking a spot for my tent on a grassy patch of land just next to a pub/restaurant/hotel. Felt a bit weird, felt like someones back garden but it looked like the only place I would be allowed to actually camp (and just me there). So I set up my tent, checked in with my people to tell them I’m alive and where I need to be for the night, and then wanting to get to the little general store before it closes for the day, to then get there and miss it by 5 minutes…. 5 MINUTES! I was devastated. I wanted junk food, and actually something good for dinner. That extra few minutes on the phone cost me yummy food, but having someone to check in with and who wanted to know about my day and how I was doing was way more important to me. I debated getting pub grub, but then resorted to heading back to the “camp site” getting a shower and cooking up some noodles I had picked a while ago, and a cuppa soup that I still had. It was an okay dinner, I had eyed up the bakery and a pie for breakfast to make up for the lack of substance in my dinner tonight! 8am sharp I would be up, at the bakery having my coffee and Pie and be on the road for 9. Thats the plan!
After my nutritious dinner I headed down to the water with my camera, and jumped along the rocks and perched myself there to watch the last of the sun going down. It was beautiful. It was mesmerising. My mind had been in full racing mode all day, but those few moments it was calm. Sunsets will always be my favourite, they are my calm, and my clarity.
“The sky speaks in a thousand colours”