Rotorua, NZ: Into the Volcanic Zone

We found ourselves on gravel road  for a rough 20 km out of Putaruru.  Not that we weren't warned.  A gent at the holiday park said it was a forest road, do not take it, we might get lost.  But we were looking for an alternate...

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Putaruru, NZ: A Most Beautiful Thing

It wasn't on any of our maps or described in our guidebook.  We only learned of it from the clerk at the motel/holiday park, when we asked if a particular road went through to our destination. She said if we went that way, we should...

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The Sleep Spot Project -- New Zealand

When we are on a bike tour, the most important concerns are:  where to go and how to get there, where to buy food and get water, and where to sleep. If you take a look at the sidebbar to the right, you will see a gallery of our sleep spots -- the level ground where we decided to pitch our tent. The...

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Coromandel Pennisula, NZ: A Photo Album

The road on the west side of the peninsula is flat and hugs the shore. But to cross over to the east side requires climbing several steep, curvy, quad-busting hills.  We can't say we weren't warned -- the fisherman we talked to at...

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Tapapakanga Regional Park, NZ: Picture Perfect

Auckland is the biggest city in New Zealand, and it took us all morning to go from city to suburbs to countryside. Traffic was challenging, but Kiwi drivers are courteous and give us plenty of space. We haven't been honked at yet. We only had...

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Auckland, NZ: City of Sails

So it is time to bring this blog back to life. A full cycle of equinox events have passed since the last post, but our panniers have once again been packed and the bikes boxed. This is the year we have opted for skipping a Sierra winter for...

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