NZ_2019...The Missing Link

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
A walk to the pub...hallelujah!


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Great idea!!
Give the Councillors SOMETHING worthwhile to do and turn the chambers into a craftgroup.
They'd most probably crochet their elbows to their arse, but at least that'd stop some of the shyte they produce.:whistle:


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Another winner! Typical Kiwi practicality....if the band gets too loud (or pissed), just hitch the trailer to any of the farm hacks out there... and drag 'em outta town.



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Pongaroa CBD...the hustle & bustle puts Bangkok to shame, aye?




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And YES, they did have real beer, too!! On tap! :thumbs:



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Don't trip over the Harley in the foyer....


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Pongaroa...it didn't take long to learn and like this little place. :bow:


That'll get the gear dry by the morning.... :)


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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
With Doug and Rog off to Palmerston North, it's down to 2 for the day.

The plans are for a rough figure-8 loop to snare a few local gems while checking out the true fuel-reach of those DR/XT tanks...it could get pretty close.
First a 10min tack down south on Rt.52 before some uncertain gravel of Puketoi and Pori roads....



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https://isn.page.link/cZzf


OH YEAH!! THIS is sweet!!
:drool::drool:


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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Yeah, well...whatever.
Bugger the signs, this is waaayy too much fun
:glu
The tiny Puketoi Rd. certainly proved one of the Top10 finds of the fortnight's trip for me.



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....which lands you right on Pori Rd., another road skimming the ridges and
the next gem on the list, despite the bleak skies.




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https://isn.page.link/YCQz




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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Just about to veer up north again for a couple of km's on Rt.52 for the turn off into Waihoki Valley Rd.



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Waihoke Valley Rd....there still must be a school bus going up here.
And there's a maze of little roads all over the place.


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The road squeezes through a narrow, gorge-like end-of-valley and climbs up to Huia Rd....

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... before a sharp tack and slow climb up some steeper stuff, Spur Rd.
Which opens up the vistas again :clap:



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G]
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
...a quick check of the GPS....


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....and it's down the wrigglies of Marainanga Rd. to the asphalt of the Coast Rd. to Akitio Beach.


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DEEEELISH!! :glu


Akitio is only a small collection of holiday homes with a narrow beach and a sandbar where the river comes out....so it's up the sealed main road (River Rd.) in search for the Glenora Rd. turnoff, which didn't turn out all that confusing despite a name change mid-way through....just follow the signs to Ti Tree Point through the coastal farmland.
Glenora Rd./ Esdaile Rd. sure beat the sealed stuff... but lack the tight, more intense and somewhat coarser "grab" (as well as the vistas) of the Huia & Spur Rds only an hour earlier.



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Some swooping asphalt east to Herbertville on the coast.... as FINALLY!! the skies clear up, if only for a short while.


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As the season seems to have finished for the tiny Herbertville Pub, it's back to the historic Wimbledon Tavern on Rt.52 for a bit of a late lunch.


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If there's no room for a normal pool table....here's the local compact version :???::???: :bs


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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Some rumble-in-the-jungle up at Birch Rd., which looks far better on a map than in reality..

....but there's some interesting log-extraction going on involving a frontend-loader on it's back haunches while the bucket tensions a cable that runs up to some other contraption and boom up the hill 200m away...




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The top-gear, slow-go, bum-up run down Rt.52 results in a clean arrival at the Pongaroa pumps, no push required :thumbs:

Lining up for a foamy after a fantastic day-in-the-sticks.


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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Hooray!!....a sparkler of a morning in Pongaroa, the locals have put it on for us.

First is Gerard (WhaleRider) on his GS-Special (I can't even remember the first half-dozen of mods and changes done to that bike)....


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....followed shortly after by Andrew (BanditRider) with half a bird splattered across the front of the SuperTen... and his mate Colin.
Those guys don't muck around and we're up Pahiatua Rd. towards Makuri in no time.

With the locals taking over the routing and lead for the day (and a BIG THANKS to all of them and Gerard in particular), it's great to hang around the back and not worry about turn-offs and fuel range, lunch locations and weather, timing, keeping the group together etc....which might result in getting some small details of the day's route and places wrong, or out-of-sync.

Apologies for that...but at the time I couldn't give a stuff and just enjoyed tagging along with some locals who are legend to REALLY know their turf!

Below map is purely from memory....and some guesses after looking at the pics.

What an AWESOME day it turned out!




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https://isn.page.link/WTbu



No quibbles with repeating yesterday's run along Pori Rd....and this time under blue skies, brilliant sunshine and full vistas :slobb


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Andrew + Colin on Pori Rd. ridge


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Ant


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Andrew


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The Route52 asphalt to Alfredton flies by in a few minutes.... and it's soon back to gravel on the Castle Hill Rd. :drool:



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....which morphs into the Alfredton-Tinui Rd., most likely somewhere near the borderline of Manawatu and Wellington districts.
Or maybe around here, at that airborne farm-gate....:)


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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member

Oh man...I LOVE this place !!



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Bends ahead!...who woulda-bloody-thunk!!:bs



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What a lunch-spot!!
Castlepoint....and there's a heck of a lot more around than just a magnificent beach, some sand-hills and a lighthouse.
Come along....




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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
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Ant catching one of those Daimlers we'll be crossing paths with for the next 2 days....
....a tiny 2.5l V8 2-seater sporty with a fiberglass body from the '60s.

Never knew those things existed....and NZ seems to be chockers with them!


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Another glimpse up north, up the Magic Coast which we'll explore a little later, sadly without Andrew and Colin, who have to turn west for their long-ish home-run.
Cheers guys....and thanks again :thumbs:



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The road north to Mataikona starts off with some gorgeous coastal sweepers...


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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Not long and things start to turn even more interesting....



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...before it's into some tight and close-up stuff, some lose and steep stuff, some gates, a small water-crossing, some bare coastal ridges with breathtaking vistas, a small, private airfield...
oh yeah, now we're going places !
:clap::glu


Pack Spur Loop....another Top-Tenner!!
:bow:



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No question, the Pack Spur packs a wallop!! :gday:


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