It’s probably worth mentioning now that it’s been raining hard, most of the time. The photos have been mostly sunny. We haven’t been riding in the rain much. We only had 24 destination towns in NZ, which meant we rode less than 1/2 of the time. A record low.
The day’s route, Tauranga to Orewa
An uneventful ride up and through Auckland
Cold and wet
In fact north NZ has had the worst rain and storms in 20 years. We’ve been told most of the roads are closed
The next day’s attempt, which includes a reversal to Whangarei
The further north we got, the more the landscape was under water
It was like a JG Ballard book
Some of the locals were enjoying themselves, waving as they passed me taking photos
Coming back for a second wave
The water here is flooding hard from right to left, as you can see at the overflow
Houses underwater
And cattle marooned and in distress
It was quiet
The occasional local, but not many. No idea where everyone was
Back on the highway, they’re saying it’s all closed
A news crew is out and we chat. They have good information. They say that the roads through the centre are flooded badly, and may not be possible on a moto, and the roads on the coast have been washed out but should be possible, or even repaired soon.
Closed for cars
A few more locals, loving the drama
This was no problem, but the water was running very fast
This was more committing
Back through flooding
Then to a stopper. At least 2 feet deep and flowing like a fast river for a couple of hundred yards. It looked not so bad until I started walking it, and stopped to laugh after only 50 feet or so
The police had cordoned off the other road, so I had to reverse back for an hour or two and think about another way. A fun day, not so much for the residents
Comments
Hi Jeremy,
It looks beautiful over there except for the flooding. Are the people nice? How’s the food and accomodations? Do they drive on the right side of the road? Did the repairs all go well? Where to next and how wil you get there?
Travel safe, I liked the eel feeding, big boogers. Glad you daughter caught up to you too.
drop a line when you can,
Hugh
Hi Hugh!
Yup the Kiwis are very friendly. The motels are super-clean but expensive, no equivalent to a Motel 6 here. Food, so-so.
Yup, they all drive on the wrong side. Just for fun I guess. If the cops are doing it too, who’s going to bust them?
Great repairs in Tuaranga, headed north soon…
Saludos amigo.