ROTOVEGAS Baby!

Okay... so after a relaxing few days in Tauranga I made it to Rotorua - where I have been planning to Zorb (since my last visit to NZ in 2001) and Shweeb (since I had heard of it six months ago).

Cycling here was alright - hot, sunny and steep - guess I can't really complain as I knew that this would be case. Best part is climbing for 5km and then a quick 1km drop before you have to climb for 10km... WOW - to think that I actually like this stuff.

Anyway, back to the fun stuff. I did the Shweeb yesterday and my time was 1minute 3.5 seconds... ranking me 107 /861 in the World for my age category. and 32/228 for Canadians (once again for my age category). Well... that wasn't good enough for me - those of you who really know me know that if I enjoy something I'll do it again - conside We Will Rock You as the best example... so today I did the Shweeb again - this time improving my rankings as follows:

I'm now the 4th best Canadian to have Shweeb'd for my age category, and the 19th best in the World...LOL! That's because my second attempt was 1 minute 0.3 seconds. To see what the Shweeb looks like in motion check out their website at: http://www.shweeb.co.nz/

Makes me laugh thinking just thinking about the Shweeb... now we just need to get it into the Olympics as a sport. I should mention that the track is 200m in length and you do 3 laps - I maxed out at 35.85km/h today...arrrgh...if only I could've gone faster. Maybe I should try it once more...nah...I have to get moving South to Turangi!

Thames to Tauranga

An Amazingly beautiful day - sun with clouds off in the distance! The journey was cool for the first part very flat and then after Paeroa I hit some hills that seemed to climb forever. After learning from my mistakes on my first day I cycling I decided to stop more and take interesting pictures, such as this one with me by the Big L&P bottle in Paeroa - a soft drink that is "World Famous in New Zealand". The funny part is that the town actually has two of these bottles one with the older logo and the other with the updated logo. I've posted the other pic on my facebook page....except I'm not in that photo.

Although the picture shows that it was a beautiful day - all changed shortly thereafter - while I was climbing and descending in the mountains/hills when the rain clouds moved in (as did the mist). Still felt great. Drank heaps of water - never ran out and of course I should give a plug to Powerade as I bought the type that you add to water (back in Auckland) to keep my blood sugar levels optimized as well as ensure that I won't suffer from dehydration etc - this was mentioned so that Suzanne, Julie, and of course my father (just to name a few people) won't freak out and worry about ME.

After the rain cleared I encountered rolling hills - good thing I don't mind them and I think doing squats in the gym helped BIG TIME. The only difficult part was the fact that the highway was a bit busy for my liking, especially as I closed in on Tauranga.

Once I arrived in Tauranga, cycled to "Just the Ducks Nuts" a cool backpackers hostel just outside of the city centre and settled in for the evening. Ended up staying 2 nights at that hostel, enough time to allow exploration of Mt. Maunganui and visit Matt and Ang (well actually only Ang - who I met in 2001, and the kids).

Tauranga and Mt. Maunganui was the place that would most likely be affected by a tsunami if any of the fault lines in the Pacific created a wave. Most recently about 3 or 4 months ago they were under a tsunami watch but it only amounted to about a 4cm wave coming in. As you can see in my pic - the place would be completely washed away... if a big wave hit.

Good times... very restful after two days of cycle touring and local cycling I'm now at about 256km. Don't worry I won't always include this information in my posts.

Cycling Auckland to Thames

Okay... so finally catching up on my blog and need to start at the beginning... a very good place to start. A week ago (January 26th) I finally left the City of Sails to start my cycling journey! It was a beautiful start after a bit of a sad goodbye to Monique and Glen (Melbourne, Australia). I cycled down to the Britomart (train station) and purchased a ticket for Manurewa. My bike was so heavy, made me start contemplating what I could get rid of, but then again I think I need it all... or as Freddie Mercury would say - "I want it all..."



Anyway, I made a few mistakes right from the get go. I got on the wrong car of the train, apparently I was supposed to hop on a different train car - but what made me laugh was that only 3 people were on the train with me at any point in my trip... and the ticket taker had been worried that the people traffic with my bicycle would be a bit too much (sure...whatever).



After about an hour journey I made it to Manurewa - exited the train and then just headed out. I guess my sense of direction and map reading skills paid off as I managed to head to the correct road and start my journey toward the Pacific Coast and then the Seabird Coast.











Stopped for some pics and a sandwich after about 2 hours of cycling.

By the time I made it to Thames I felt as though I had cycled 200km - throughout the journey I almost bonked, almost ran out of water and was "hungry as"... don't worry this was the steep learning curve that I imagined I'd run into. The cycling has improved.

Best part about cycling - not really knowing where you are going? what the roads are like and what lies ahead...including where are you going to stay that night - truly amazing - so far things have worked out.

Auckland, NZ

Kia Ora Everyone,

I'm finally getting my stuff together... I've adjusted to the time change, have my bicycle up and running and I'm almost ready to head out on Monday - was hoping to pick up a map today... but the Automobile Association (AA) was closed.

Cycling on the wrong side of the road for me has been a bit of a challenge. Felt a bit like Peter Parker when he was learning his powers as spiderman except without falling down... perhaps that is a bad analogy.

Anyway, Uenuku Lodge is quite nice and the weather has been warm - if not quite HOT... and I've forgotten that 22 degrees celsius is way HOTTER here than in the northern hemisphere (as the sun is stronger).

I've met some wonderful people already, some Australians that want me to come and visit them in Melbourne, as well as a woman named Shirley that lives in Taranaki - on the West side of the North Island of NZ - so who knows I may end up visiting her.

Things haven't changed much, still adjusting to sleeping in a bunkbed and the joys of a dorm room - but let's be honest it is about experiencing NZ not the backpacker hostels.

Anyway, as I learn where to find better internet cafes and ways to download images to this blog I'll share them - the one I'm in at the moment is rubbish.

Anyway, thinking of doing the coast to coast walkway today... or not. Then celebrating 2 birthdays in the hostel tonight, and I'm not making a cake Jennifer.

Thanks for all the well wishings and support. Nathan:)

Springboard to excitement!

Okay... in two days I will be leaving for Aotearoa (aka Land of the Long White Cloud/New Zealand)! Looking forward to once again seeing the Southern Cross (and all of the other amazing stars in the Southern sky), seeing Sky Tower, the majestic Southern Alps (perhaps not as stoked about having to cycle over them...but all will be good - I hope)... the list could keep on going forever and a day - but let's be honest this is the first time I've ever blogged and I need to keep things concise.

The true springboard to excitement was carrying the Olympic torch back on December 20th, 2009 a remarkable experience and one that I will always remember... In all honesty, this all feels like a dream ~ much like how I felt in 2001 before my trip that started on January 15th... tomorrow I will complete my packing which will allow me the opportunity to simply relax and enjoy Saturday (doing last minute tidying up around the house).

Anyway, I hope to keep this blog fairly up to date - just so that people know where I am and what I'm up too, living life and enjoying every minute (even the rainy ones). To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield...

Kia Ora:)