Back to civilisation ?

Well, Dargaville at least!

Waipoua river to Dargaville

52.3km

If you ever want to use the Police ten-five (105) service, be prepared for a long call... As we made our way carefully down the steep, rough gravel of Katiu Road we came across two horses, one in a paddock, the other on the road side of a 3 strand fence. Both seemed distressed so we stopped and saw that the one on the road had one foreleg stuck over the top wire. There were no buildings nearby but fortunately we had phone signal. Not thinking this qualified as an 'emergency' I figured dialing 111 would not be well received, so 105 it was. Well, after several messages telling me what the line was NOT for, and negotiating a convoluted menu system, 5 minutes later I got 'hold' music, then a message that I was ninth in the queue, then a very kind offer to call me back. All this time Marg was suggesting that we should try to help the horse: I could only see that ending in disaster. When the horse freed itself and cantered off up the road I gave up on plod and we continued on our way resolved, to alert the first person we met. Which we did... A km or two down the road we found a local working on a digger (I don't think it was the same one from Tuesday...) and he was straight on the phone to someone about it.

And what about the rest of the ride, you ask? Even if you don't I'm going to tell you! The haul out of the Waipoua river valley was very similar to the climb out of Waimamaku, a steady grind through native forest for 5km or so. At the top we found Waipoua Lodge b&b: that could have been an option for last night's stay, we thought, but it's not in the book. Maybe that's because it's an award-winning, 5 star 'luxury boutique retreat', which is of course marketing-speak for ludicrously expensive! The flowing glide downhill on the smooth seal of SH12 was abruptly curtailed at the turnoff onto the aforementioned Katiu Road. The bends might have been just as flowing, but the loose gravel surface made it bone jarringly sphincter-twitching. We might need new rear brake pads in Auckland. 5km down we bottomed out at the former rail town of Donnelly's Crossing, complete with its closed tea-room. The long climb, on slightly better gravel, to Trounson Kauri Park was rewarded by a straight blast downhill on seal. The only downside was that from the top a 45kph 'recommended speed' bend at the bottom was clearly visible. We took a brave pill, and hit 55 on the way down.

At the bottom we ran off the map, so paused for a butt break and rejig of the nav instructions. We were just about to leave when two cyclists came roaring down the hill. Graham & Lloyd from the Ahipara campground had caught up with us. Their beach experience was a little different from ours: with a tailwind they'd made it down the beach in 3 hours. With bigger batteries and a light load they averaged 27.5kph on their first day. Which makes it a bit of a conundrum that they never caught up with us again today... [PS: we later figured they passed while we were off piste talking to the digger driver] Back onto SH12 and another exhilarating blast downhill. And Marg failed to see Kaihu Tavern on our right, and shot past the left turn! Sometimes one has to shout... An uneventful ride down a so-so gravel road gave way to our first encounter with the Kaihu Valley (rail) Trail, and the dreaded pinch points. My right pannier does not fit under the bars so has to be taken off and carried each time. Marg's smaller wheels means hers just fits under. It's amazing what a difference an extra 3/4 of an inch can make. Back onto rough gravel, and the only event of note was the guy emerging from the farm drive where we'd stopped for lunch who seemed determined to get his boat trailer as close as possible to my bike without actually touching it. A long, gradual climb on a smooth dirt road gave me the chance to challenge myself to ride it without using power. I made one 5km hop, playing hare & tortoise with Marg as I sped past gaining momentum on each small downhill only to be caught as I cranked up the next rise in first gear. As ever, the views from the summit were astounding. And on to our second encounter with the Kaihu Valley Trail, more pinch points, and our only navigational embarrassment. Presented with a sign stating 'You're on the Kaihu Valley Trail, carry straight on', directly ahead was a closed gate and the old railway track, and dogleg to the left was the continuation of a farm track. We chose the gate... After crossing a bridge signed 'Danger Keep Off' the way forward was barred by an electric fence. Fortunately this year we have the TA GPX files and a mapping app, which confirmed that the farm track was in fact Station Road and the correct route. And on into the metropolis that is Dargaville: it has a Countdown and a Warehouse. Of course the flashest building in town is the Kaipara council offices... The Central Hotel dates from 1901, and really deserves to be busier.

And we made it up the hill to the excellent, and very eclectic, museum for an hour and a half. Here we obliged a local Maori family by taking the group photo of their family reunion, after they said they'd seen us taking a break outside their marae earlier in the day.

https://www.relive.cc/view/v4OGx9pNjm6

One side...

T'other side!