Tukituki River Valley, Day 3
Every trip has its highlights – and lowlights. Preferring to focus on the former, here are a few of the highlights from our three days in Hawkes Bay:
- The quality and accessibility of the Hawkes Bay Cycle Trails – the local Councils and interest groups have clearly
Stopbanks on Tukituki
made it work in this region:
- Many lessons here for other Councils, especially those in the Greater Wellington region.
- The widespread community and commercial support for users of the trails:
- Many cafes, pubs, restaurants, wineries actively support trail users
- The support of the commercial and service sectors are clearly a major factor in the success of the trails
- The quality of the bikes and support provided by Napier City Bike Hire
- If you are visiting the area and wish to explore the trails you can’t go wrong hiring from here
- The lunch at The Puketapu on Day 2 of our rides
The Old Church, Meeanee: Kem, Paul, Dale, Kev & Steve
- The visit to The Old Church in Meeanee Road on the way back into Napier on Day 2
- The coffee and crumble afternoon tea was a bonus.
- Riding the cooler leafy lanes of the Tukituki Valley after several hours of toiling on the stop-banks
- If only the hills in the same area could have been avoided!
- The refreshing Pinot Gris “sampled” at the Craggy Range Estate after a long ride on a hot day
- The mixed platters under the blue umbrellas at Clearview Estate
Relaxing at Craggy Range Estate
- The feeling of satisfaction after our longest day (87 Km) on Day 3, riding the Landscapes Ride along the coast and out to Craggy Range.
- The lunch provided – at short notice – by Steve’s sister-in-law, Moana, when we stopped at Dannevirke on the way back to Wellington.
- Thanks Moana.
The other side of the coin of course were the constant northerlies on Days 2 and 3 (if they weren’t pushing you off the stop-bank they were slowing progress outside the Port) and those diabolical “kissing gates” (albeit a necessary evil).
But you can’t have everything . . .
Five Men on Bikes 