Taking the Long View

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Gord Stewart

Time on the Road

Advice for those looking to explore and discover New Zealand: Do it at less than 20 kilometres an hour, and with a breeze in your face.

I made a start on it myself recently with a 12-day cycling trip setting off from Cape Reinga.

If I had a bucket list, Cape Reinga to Bluff by bike would be on it. From the Cape, travels in Northland, through Auckland and into the Waikato would be my start.

Most people expressed surprise when they learned I was going alone. But you are never really alone. You always have your thoughts.

I thought about the Christchurch tragedy. (I set off two days after it.) I thought how fortunate were those affected to be consoled by a prime minister like Jacinda Ardern. And how lucky we all are to have her as our face on the world at such a sad and difficult time.

I thought about Robin Treadwell, retired physician and grandmother, and her Carbon Neutral Waiheke group making their way to Wellington by e-bike and EV in support of the proposed Zero Carbon Bill. Grandparents love their littlies to bits but few of them, I suspect, think much about – or are even aware of – how degraded a planet we are bequeathing to them. Fewer still, it seems, are prepared to do anything about it.

I thought about our current tourism model. Airbus A380 after Boeing 747 after 777 deposit tourists on our fair shores. Other than our neighbours across the Tasman, these visitors have flown 12 to 24 hours to get here. Given that planes won’t be running on vegetable oil anytime soon, nor will there be any move to limit arrival numbers, a push for more eco- and other low-impact tourism makes sense. At least do what we can once they are on the ground.

Hence my vote for walking and tramping and cycling. Even into a stiff headwind.

I faced one the first day of my trip on Ninety Mile Beach. A veteran of the beach ride said to me it will feel like you are pedaling uphill. It might as well have been Nine Hundred Mile Beach. To pass the time, I got to thinking about how the beach got its name. As we all know, it’s nowhere near 90 miles long.

I reckon the conversation went something like this:

“I guess we should call it Fifty-five Mile Beach?”

“That’s totally boring, not awesome at all.”

“So maybe we should call it Hundred Mile Beach?”

“No one would believe it.”

“How ‘bout Ninety Mile Beach then?”

“Ah, good one.”


One café owner, when she learned of my adventure, asked, “Is it a fundraiser for something or just madness?”

Just madness, I guess. Everyone who takes on an extended physical challenge has their own personal reasons for doing so, and I had mine.

For the record: Twelve days cycling, one rest day. 760 kilometres pedaled; countless (it seemed) metres climbed. Forty-six one-lane bridges crossed, four ferries taken, two punctures, no cramp.

But that doesn’t tell the story at all. It was the friendly, encouraging and helpful people encountered – you couldn’t call even one of them a ‘stranger’. It was special Northland spots revisited and new ones explored. It was rugged hill climbs and sweeping sea views. Backroads and ferry rides. Sun on the face and tailwinds (thankfully, I had some of them too).

I didn’t blog or post or tweet. I just pedaled along. I planned one day ahead. Each morning I got up, had some breakfast, packed my stuff, and set off.

It’s been said that life’s just a series of moments. A bike ride is too.

Heading out from the Ahipara Holiday Park on my third day, I rode by a little guy walking to school. He called out to me: “Can you do a wheelie?” No, I thought, but with luck I’ll make it to Kaikohe.

Later that morning I was at a cross roads up in the hills, on the way to catching the ferry to Rawene. I was having a break, enjoying the scenery, and taking a photo. An older Maori women pulled up to the intersection, put down her car window and said to me, “One can never rob you of these memories.”

“Have a lovely journey,” she added. Then she rolled up her window, and was off.

Gord Stewart is an environmental sustainability consultant. He does project work for government, industry, and non-profits.





Information & Inspiration


Classic New Zealand Cycle Trails: A guide to 46 fantastic holidays, written and published by The Kennett Brothers, 2013. See also www.touraotearoa.nz

Te Araroa: A Walking Guide to New Zealand’s Longest Trail, by Geoff Chapple, Random House, 2011. See also www.teararoa.org.nz

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