2000 Biking New Zealand

Day 22, 29 December 2000, Friday
Cambridge – Auckland; lift and train, Dee & Keith Gordon

Awoke early with good intentions of cycling to Huntly and getting a train from there to Auckland. Awoke to rain drumming on the roof, rolled over and went straight back to sleep. Breakfasted later on cheese-spread rolls from yesterday and bananas. Then packed our bikes in the rain. And found ourselves a hitching spot on the road leading to Hamilton but still in Cambridge – in the much busier and livelier part thereof, all fast foods and small industries.

We literally got a lift with our second thumb. With a man in a double cab bakkie. Who was talking on his cell but who saw us, indicated and pulled off the road (a multi-tasking male) – and dropped us subsequently at the station in Hamilton. An easy-going character who operates a variety of coin machines – both games and gambling. He told us the profits on the gambling machines are split thus: 1/3 goes to government, 1/3 to charity, 1/3 to the owner. He lives in Rotorua (says one grows accustomed to the smell and to losing one’s golf balls down steam holes) and said he would be going home not spending the night in Hamilton as it is Friday and fish and chips and family night.

We booked tickets on the later of the two afternoon trains passing through Hamilton en route to Auckland – only because there was no room for our bikes on the earlier train. After phoning the Gordons to let them know more or less what time we expected to arrive (all the call boxes we have encountered thus far in New Zealand have been in working order), we took a long walk in the threatening rain to KFC for brunch. The salt packet at KFC reads: ‘This sachet contains 100% New Zealand salt’. We have seen several shops proudly / defiantly declaring wholly owned and run by New Zealanders. Patriotism? Xenophobia?

Back at the station we tried to board the earlier train, but the baggage compartment really was too full to hold our bikes. A good thing too, as it turned out. When we arrived in Auckland – at a station south of the centre, the nearest to the Gordons we could figure – Dee and Keith and Tanya were there to meet us!

So we had to wait another 45 minutes or so for ‘our’ train. During which time we streamlined our bikes a little, ate some sweets, and chatted to the station master. Who was very friendly and helpful. He told us that New Zealand had an opportunity to ‘join’ Australia in 1901, but didn’t. He wasn’t sure if this was a good thing in retrospect, or a bad. He said they would have been better at cricket, combined. And could have sold water from the west coast to dry Oz (which, of course, they could still do!).

The train to Auckland was comfortable and fast. With a recorded history of the areas through which it passed. Lots of wars. Lots of dishonour. And the 425km long Waikato River which runs from Lake Taupo to the Tasman and is the longest in New Zealand.

We had planned which route to cycle from the station to the Gordons using a really good map they had sent us in Bluff. But them surprising us made this obviously unnecessary – hooray! They had brought Keith’s gardening trailer for the bikes and drove us to their (relatively new) wooden home in its pretty garden setting for a very pleasant evening of good talk, good food and rediscovered friendship.