Easter 29 March to 1 April 2024

Leader: Paula Richardson

The weather for Easter was looking great with warm fine weather forecast. We set off on Good Friday looking forward to a couple of days cycling along the Forgotten World Highway. This famous, historic road joins two equally significant small country towns: Taumaranui and Stratford along quiet back country (mostly) sealed roads. Kate & John Bocock (a good friend of Graeme and Paula's) offered to provide support crew services following us in 2 cars as we cycled on our adventure.

We arrived late afternoon at the Twin Rivers Motel in Taumaranui organised by Paula. The space was perfect for our group of 7 with 2 bedrooms and 3 beds in the studio area of the large well equipped villa. We settled in to enjoy happy hour beer and wine with snacks. For dinner we had pizza provided by John and a surprise cake supplied by Paula to celebrate John's birthday.

The next morning we set out and were greeted by the first (of many) hills that we would encounter that day. As we climbed, we looked down on the Whanganui River, which some of us had canoed last December. After clearing the first summit, we had a long descent and happened upon our first coffee stop at the Lavender Farm. The café had great coffee, freshly baked scones and other goodies which proved far too tempting to cycle past, especially as this day was Paula’s birthday. The air was cool in the valley as the sun hadn’t quite stretched its legs and was having a lie in, so we were glad to have hot drinks to get our legs ready for some more kilometres.

We had to cycle 90 km over undulating terrain for most of the day. I recalled to the group a good bit of advice that I had learnt as a very young cyclist: 2 hours of cycling before lunch is worth 3 hours of cycling afterwards. With this in mind we decided to put 55 km behind us before stopping for lunch leaving us just 40 km to cycle in the afternoon. We got on with the job in hand, climbing long hills and enjoying equally long downhill stretches. Some wise cyclist having once said that “there is no such thing as a free downhill ride.” After climbing the Tangarakau Saddle and winding our way down through the gorge we met up with Kate and John who had gone ahead and found an idyllic spot with a shade protection from the sun. We enjoyed a pleasant one hour or so rest before our leg muscles started to stiffen and so we re-mounted our bikes and got moving again. The downhill section straight after the lunch break made getting back in the saddle a little easier. We passed a group of cyclists doing the ride from Stratford to Taumaranui climbing up the gorge.

The afternoon ride was easier as there were fewer hills and they were less steep. After passing through a tunnel, climbing over the Tahora saddle, and completing a 10km flat valley section we arrived in Whangamomona at around 5.00pm to be greeted by many people sitting outside the pub enjoying a quiet beer in the sunshine.

After sorting out our rooms and checking in, our tired limbs made it to one of the many showers close to our bedrooms. We were having dinner by 7.00pm reflecting on a great day in the saddle!

As it was Paula’s birthday, Graeme had organised a cake to follow our steaks, burgers and fish meals. We all sang happy birthday, had a few more drinks and then did our own stuff before turning in for the night.

Next day, (Easter Sunday) dawned clear and fresh with a real autumn feel to it. The republic of Whangamomona was a hive of activity with tourists catching their shuttles in conjunction with the ‘Forgotten World Rail Cart Tours ‘. We had a great breakfast which set us up for the day ahead; approximately 65 km to Stratford.

As per day one, we started with a climb up to the Whangamomona saddle. The climb was a real grunt for half an hour or so but it was well worth the effort. More up and down followed for most of the morning and we stopped at the saddles to drink fluids and snack. As we climbed, we were rewarded with great views and by the time we stopped for a late morning snack at Te Wera we got some truly awesome views of Mount Taranaki, Mount Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe …. all in the same 360 degree view. After a good rest and chat and a snack and drink it was time to get going on the last leg to Stratford. This section was mostly flat, dairy country with rolling green meadows on each side of the road, but true to form there was one last hill to climb. The summit provided great views of Mount Taranaki so it was worth a rest stop. On through to Stratford where we all made it to the campground by mid-afternoon.

Both Robs were on bikes with pure peddle pushing power. Paula, Graeme and I (Bryan) were on E-bikes. On day one I made it to Whangamomona with 2% of battery power left and on the second day both Paula and I ran out of battery in the last 200 metres as we arrived at the camp ground for Sunday night. Graeme experienced a bad case of range anxiety on day one approaching Whangamomona but made it ok (just).

At the Stratford Motor Camp we enjoyed a relaxing dip in the spa pool followed by showers and enjoyed a shared meal of left over food. A few more beers and glass or two of wine made for a pleasant evening together with some good nosh.

On Monday, after breakfast we made an early start for home with a coffee and scone stop at the Virginia Lake café in Whanganui and then it was home to Kapiti beating the holiday traffic.

Those on the trip were:

Cyclists: Bryan Wild, Graeme Richardson, Paula Richardson, Rob Dey, Robert Adams
Drivers: Kate Livingston, John Bocock