We got to bluff on Saturday 23rd of February at 3.30p.m. It has taken us 37 skating days (44days in total) to skate 2082 km (1294miles) Not bad going really.
The road from Dunedin to Bluff took us across some truly amazing places. We stayed at Warwicks farm, just Outside Clinton. It was one of my favourite days on this journey. We wrestled sheep, drove quad bikes up a mountain, rode horses, chased pigs and fed Alpacas. The next day we popped into the school in Clinton and taught the whole school how to skate before skating towards Invercargill.
The last day was a weird one. A bit of an anti-climax really. We got Bluff, took some photos of us climbing on the signpost, got a drink then went to get some blue cod and chips from the chippy.
It's only since then that we have really thought about what we have just done. We got on the front page of the Southland Times and then decided what to do next. Sheldon hitched back up to Auckland and the rest of us spent a few days in the Fjordland National Park. A day in Queenstown to look around and now we are in Wanaka. We are Staying at a friend of a friend's house. Eddie and Vicki treated us to an amazing meal last night, we got some slalom skating in, Adam has just gone for a climb with Eddie (after cycling to school with the kids and getting lost) and we are just chilling out here before driving north to climb a glacier.
The site will get a big update soon, loads more pictures to go up (I'm on a Mac at the moment and can't figure it out) and then we will be on our own separate ways. Adam and Sheldon leave on the 6th, Kari the 10th, I'm going to try to stay here for a few more weeks and Julia is here till July.
nat
x
Christchurch to Dunedin.
Sorry for the lack of pictures on this one, time is short.
Christchurch was amazing, we stayed in a backpackers, a hotel and a truly amazing B&B. Glenda and Rick opened their house to us and treated us so well. We urge anyone ever going to NZ to go and stay at CoastalCliffs B&B it really is an amazing place.
Day 37 We woke up in Ashburton and knew it would be raining all day again. The roads continued to be straight and very slow.Myself and Adam skated over 'NZ's longest bridge' and I persuaded Kari to come and skate the last 18km with me. By this time the rain had stopped but the wind was pretty much gale force. Just horrible. For the first time since somewhere near the top of the North Island I was skating without some sort of ailment and so I skated with Julia into Timaru. It was meant to be about 6km but turned out to be a lot more. The weather turned nasty and the others took about 2 hours to locate us. We were both freezing and hacked off. We went for a BK.
Day 38 was going to be a long one, Timaru to Oamaru almost 90km. All of us seemed to be up for skating fast today and it was quite early by the time Adam and I rolled into town. We hooked up with a friend of mine from Southsea, Graham and skated his miniramp for a while. Adam voulenteerd to get up at 5 and go and milk the cows.
Day 39 started with a huge hill out of Oamaru. I skated the first section with Adam and it seemed to fly by. The second leg with Sheldon was really hard. We all agreed to meet at the Moeraki Boulders and somehow still managed to get ourselves lost and moody. I think we all need a holiday. We got to Palmerston and realised that there was absolutely nowhere to camp. We drove about for a while and eventually found a house up in the hills that had someone at home. After introducing ourselves and what we were up to, Peter led us to one of his fields and let us camp there for the night. It was exactly what we all needed; free camping in a beautiful place. We all slept really well and were up refreshed for the skate into Dunedin.
Day 40
We knew that the motorway would once again stop us skating Highway 1 all the way into the city. At Waitati we had intended to catch the train over to Port Chalmers and skate in on Highway88. Unfortunately it seems that no trains run anymore so we drove over to the port to skate the last 14km into town. A reporter and Photographer from the Otago Times came and interviewed us for the paper and we posed for the photos (I'll post a pic soon, - Adam looks like a fairy!) It is 'Freshers Week' in Dunedin so the accomodation we had been offered for the first night was a bit inappropriate, we drove out to a campsite and decided upon a rest day.
Day 41
Today was going to be a day of rest. The Otago Times did a really big article on us and we will be in there tomorrow too, as it turns out that Dunedin is home to 'The World's Steepest Street' So this morning Adam, Sheldon and myself skateboarded all the way to the top! Yes ladies and gentlemen. We skated the whole thing. Pictures soon!
nat
Christchurch was amazing, we stayed in a backpackers, a hotel and a truly amazing B&B. Glenda and Rick opened their house to us and treated us so well. We urge anyone ever going to NZ to go and stay at CoastalCliffs B&B it really is an amazing place.
Day 37 We woke up in Ashburton and knew it would be raining all day again. The roads continued to be straight and very slow.Myself and Adam skated over 'NZ's longest bridge' and I persuaded Kari to come and skate the last 18km with me. By this time the rain had stopped but the wind was pretty much gale force. Just horrible. For the first time since somewhere near the top of the North Island I was skating without some sort of ailment and so I skated with Julia into Timaru. It was meant to be about 6km but turned out to be a lot more. The weather turned nasty and the others took about 2 hours to locate us. We were both freezing and hacked off. We went for a BK.
Day 38 was going to be a long one, Timaru to Oamaru almost 90km. All of us seemed to be up for skating fast today and it was quite early by the time Adam and I rolled into town. We hooked up with a friend of mine from Southsea, Graham and skated his miniramp for a while. Adam voulenteerd to get up at 5 and go and milk the cows.
Day 39 started with a huge hill out of Oamaru. I skated the first section with Adam and it seemed to fly by. The second leg with Sheldon was really hard. We all agreed to meet at the Moeraki Boulders and somehow still managed to get ourselves lost and moody. I think we all need a holiday. We got to Palmerston and realised that there was absolutely nowhere to camp. We drove about for a while and eventually found a house up in the hills that had someone at home. After introducing ourselves and what we were up to, Peter led us to one of his fields and let us camp there for the night. It was exactly what we all needed; free camping in a beautiful place. We all slept really well and were up refreshed for the skate into Dunedin.
Day 40
We knew that the motorway would once again stop us skating Highway 1 all the way into the city. At Waitati we had intended to catch the train over to Port Chalmers and skate in on Highway88. Unfortunately it seems that no trains run anymore so we drove over to the port to skate the last 14km into town. A reporter and Photographer from the Otago Times came and interviewed us for the paper and we posed for the photos (I'll post a pic soon, - Adam looks like a fairy!) It is 'Freshers Week' in Dunedin so the accomodation we had been offered for the first night was a bit inappropriate, we drove out to a campsite and decided upon a rest day.
Day 41
Today was going to be a day of rest. The Otago Times did a really big article on us and we will be in there tomorrow too, as it turns out that Dunedin is home to 'The World's Steepest Street' So this morning Adam, Sheldon and myself skateboarded all the way to the top! Yes ladies and gentlemen. We skated the whole thing. Pictures soon!
nat
It's been a while.
Hmm, where were we?
Ah yes. Levin...
Day 23 Levin to Peakakariki.
My toe was still in a state, I think the toenail might fall off. You could tell we were getting closer to Wellington, the traffic was getting crazy again. Sheldon and Adam took on the Km today, with Kari joining then for the last 10. Myself and Julia had a look at what Paraparaumu had to offer and then went to catch the other three up. After driving for a while, I start to say, ‘They sould be around here!’ another 200m, another 200m. We both get a bit worried. After 6km we come across the three of them smiling and waving outside Paekakariki station. A lovely police lady had given them a lift. This section of road is the most dangerous in the North Island - they don’t let cyclists use it. So tomorrow we start from Paekakariki Station.
As we had finished earlier than expected we decided to go for a a swim. As we were looking at the water we were met by Mayatiita and his gorgeous daughter Beri. Maya had only re-started skating a few days before and had been inspired by SkateNewZealand. After some rooting around in 'The Van' we managed to hook Beri up with a Dervish, some chargers and a newish set of pink Big-Zigs, both of their smiles have been the highlight of the trip so far for me.
We still had time to kill before meeting up with Joe and spending the night at his house, so Sheldon worked on his nose pivot to body varial things and the girls set about drinking 2 bottles of fizzy 'pop'. We had a brilliant night at Joes; ate 8 pizzas, Adam played Jungle Fever on the computer and we were joined by Joe's daughter, Grace, who was amazing .
Day 24 Paekakariki Station to Wellington
The next day we were hooking up with a few skaters from wellington; Craig, Maya from the day before and Joe for the skate to town. We all set off in a big group and followed the cycle track in to town. There were a few huge hills and we all blasted them with grins on our faces - This was the last day of skating on the North Island! It was only 40 or so Km to the ferry but is seemed to go on forever. We stopped to have our photos taken for the Dominion Post (The capital's paper) and stoped for Craig had hooked us up with yet more pizza fron Hells Pizza (Cheers Benji!) and we prepared for the Ngaio gorge road. Nat tazzed about on the back of Benji's motorbike taking photos and the boys took on the hill. When all was done we skated into the Interislander port - ready for the South Island!
We had a few rest days in Welly, Thanks to Craig for everything, we went to One Love Reggae festival, went on the radio, appeared in the paper and skated very little. It was amazing.
So Day 27 saw us catching the ferry North (go and look at the map, it doesn't make sense!) from Wellington to Picton. We arrived at sunset and camped up.Day 28 Picton to Blenheim
Today was a short day, we got up early and skated (Julia cycled) the 30km to Blenheim where Nat and Julia went to sample some of the local wine, very nice too.
Day 29 Blenheim to Kekerengu
We knew we had a few 'non-campsite' days ahead of us so we stocked up in New World. The roads were pretty hilly. Throughout the last year there has been a day skating that has been in my mind, the last 10k of the day was this day. I was skating by myself, the sun was out, the mountains were on one side of me and the sea was on the other crashing ont othe rocks. It was what SkateNewZealand was about. We stopped at a place called 'The Store' and planned our camping. After a bit of off-road driving we found a really nice spot right by the sea. We pitched out tents, played with seaweed, made sculptures and went to bed.
Day 30 Kekerungu to Kaikoura 60km
Adam and I got woken up by what we thought was a huge gust of wind. It was only when the 'wind' turned out to be a 'wave' that we started to panic. We dried out and got tready for the day. We are still skating in the hills, but this time we could see the Kaikoura peninsular in the distance. The last 20 were really fast and it was amazing to skate into town. We camped at a wonderful site, it had spa pools, a swimming pool and amazing showers.
Day 31 Kaikoura to Hundalee 35km
A half day today, we went for a walk around the coastal path, did a bit of climbing and set off after lunch. A few huge hills - but the surface is getting better.
Day 32 Hundalee to Greta Valley 67km
We got woken up by roosters and watched as the weather closed in. By the time we drove to Motunau Beach it was pouring with rain. We parked up under a huge tree and set up camp. Everyone was in a bit of a mood and it was made worse by wind and the rain. I don't think any of us slept for more than an hour (apart from Kari who had a 'wonderful night's sleep').
Day 33 Greta Valley to Christchurch 66km
A horrible day for skating. Inches of water on the roads, headwinds and no visibility. Adam and I got stopped in Amberley by a photographer for the local paper and we managed to get into town. A day off was called for. We all booked ourselves into a hostel and did out best to dry off. We went of to eat at the local Indian and Adam managedto complete the 'Suicide Curry' challenge and win himself a t-shirt.
It turns out that the photographer was for The Press, the National newspaper. We got a huge photo and article on the inside cover and spent the next day answering phone calls and being offered accomodation. So here we are, in a beautiful B&B in Redcliffs. We skated yesterday, about 50 or so Km and it is absolutely pouring with rain this morning.. It's the coldest day too. None of us want to leave. We are going to go and get Julia's bike from in town and put out wet weather kit on for the day. Then its south to Timaru.
I'll upload some more photos as soon as I can. Thank you for all the concerned emails, we are still alive!
nat
Wellington is near.
We are in Levin. That is to say, we are just 2 short day's skate from the capital, Wellington, and the end of the South Island.
We needed the rest at Rotorua, everyone was feeling it. We always knew that skating long-distance would take it's toll; and it was beginning to. Sheldon was skating less and less; me and Adam skating every day. Kari was getting frustrated with not being able to skate the distance and Julia was going a bit stir-crazy in the car. Everything has changed in between there and here. Kari is skating 10km a day, Sheldon IS staying with us for the South Island and has skated two monstrous days and Julia is getting about 10km walking in a day. Me and Adam continue to skate and everything is smiley. If a little mental.
Day 17. Rotorua to Taupo
The road from Rotorua was mad, 88km across huge pine forests. When the dig up the land to plant these forests the run across the stumps and roots of all the original native forests that were there. They put them up in massive piles and just leave them there. it makes you feel like you are in a land of giants. It was a big day and the run into Taupo was fast and smooth through the traffic. Taupo is beautiful.
Day 18. Taupo to Turangi
The day we skated around the lake. It was blisteringly hot and the road was busy. Managed to get a swim in the lake and camped at the YHA where we met a Canadian cyclist who had been travelling for 4 years. He had cycled everywhere, had knives pulled out on him, been robbed and was still going. 'I eat like a dog so I can travel for longer', he plans to keep going for 8 years. He was travelling by himself and was free camping everynight.
Day 19 Turangi to Waiouru.
When we got to Taupo we had seen these huge mountains in the distance. Today we had to skate past them; across the Rangipo Desert Road. The Rangipo Desert is a hostile place, almost 1000m above sea-level it is a dry and beautiful place. There is absoultely nothing like skating down a road surrounded by sand and scrub with 'Mount Doom' on your right hand side. Truly amazing. As the 61km day passed we left the Mountains behind and arrived in Waiouru; an army base, with absolutely nowhere to camp. We spent a good hour scouting for a place to sneakily put up our tents. We are not helped here by the fact that they have bright orange covers and there are vans with lights on checking the security of the town. We managed it though.
Day 20 Waiouru to Mangaweka.
Hilly day today. In fact I would say it was one of the biggest downhill days yet, coming off the desert plain back down to the lowlands. I always base my ability to go fast on Adam. I skate in front for the most part, Adam right on my tail. When it comes to the downhill sections I let Adam go in front and tuck in behind him. He is my safety barometer. So when I go into a tuck and start to blast a hill I am thinking 'If Adam is OK, then I'll be fine.' When I look up from my tuck and see Adam footbreaking, I panic. There was a lot of panicing! We stopped for a photo for the paper in Taihape and then on to Mangaweka. What a beautiful place. We camped right by the river surrounded by huge white cliffs, and got atttacked by hedgehogs.
Day 21 Mangaweka to Bulls.
My worst day yet. I was in a foul mood when I started skating; NEVER skate in a bad mood. Sheldon was not skating and I had a big rant at Adam. My foot was so sore, not the blisters anymore, but my toes kept bashing the end of my shoe making each push painful. Managed to crawl into Bulls, who seem to have based everything they do upon the 'oh-so-witty' idea of putting 'a-bull' on the end of everything. So the the sandwich shop was 'Fill-a-bull', and the tent shop 'collapse-a-bull'. Honestly, there are hundreds of them.
Day 22 Bulls to Levin.
I didn't skate and I hated it. The all-new-and-improved Sheldon blasted it. Everyone was in a good mood. Even though Adam and Sheldon managed to take a wrong turn. Don't ask. 'The signs we are looking for today are ones pointing at WELLINGTON. Wellington, the last place on the South Island, the CAPITAL of New Zealand. The city that is where we have been talking about skating too for the last 3 weeks!!!!
that's all for now. Look at the new pics.
nat
We needed the rest at Rotorua, everyone was feeling it. We always knew that skating long-distance would take it's toll; and it was beginning to. Sheldon was skating less and less; me and Adam skating every day. Kari was getting frustrated with not being able to skate the distance and Julia was going a bit stir-crazy in the car. Everything has changed in between there and here. Kari is skating 10km a day, Sheldon IS staying with us for the South Island and has skated two monstrous days and Julia is getting about 10km walking in a day. Me and Adam continue to skate and everything is smiley. If a little mental.
Day 17. Rotorua to TaupoThe road from Rotorua was mad, 88km across huge pine forests. When the dig up the land to plant these forests the run across the stumps and roots of all the original native forests that were there. They put them up in massive piles and just leave them there. it makes you feel like you are in a land of giants. It was a big day and the run into Taupo was fast and smooth through the traffic. Taupo is beautiful.
Day 18. Taupo to Turangi
The day we skated around the lake. It was blisteringly hot and the road was busy. Managed to get a swim in the lake and camped at the YHA where we met a Canadian cyclist who had been travelling for 4 years. He had cycled everywhere, had knives pulled out on him, been robbed and was still going. 'I eat like a dog so I can travel for longer', he plans to keep going for 8 years. He was travelling by himself and was free camping everynight.
Day 19 Turangi to Waiouru.When we got to Taupo we had seen these huge mountains in the distance. Today we had to skate past them; across the Rangipo Desert Road. The Rangipo Desert is a hostile place, almost 1000m above sea-level it is a dry and beautiful place. There is absoultely nothing like skating down a road surrounded by sand and scrub with 'Mount Doom' on your right hand side. Truly amazing. As the 61km day passed we left the Mountains behind and arrived in Waiouru; an army base, with absolutely nowhere to camp. We spent a good hour scouting for a place to sneakily put up our tents. We are not helped here by the fact that they have bright orange covers and there are vans with lights on checking the security of the town. We managed it though.
Day 20 Waiouru to Mangaweka.Hilly day today. In fact I would say it was one of the biggest downhill days yet, coming off the desert plain back down to the lowlands. I always base my ability to go fast on Adam. I skate in front for the most part, Adam right on my tail. When it comes to the downhill sections I let Adam go in front and tuck in behind him. He is my safety barometer. So when I go into a tuck and start to blast a hill I am thinking 'If Adam is OK, then I'll be fine.' When I look up from my tuck and see Adam footbreaking, I panic. There was a lot of panicing! We stopped for a photo for the paper in Taihape and then on to Mangaweka. What a beautiful place. We camped right by the river surrounded by huge white cliffs, and got atttacked by hedgehogs.
Day 21 Mangaweka to Bulls.My worst day yet. I was in a foul mood when I started skating; NEVER skate in a bad mood. Sheldon was not skating and I had a big rant at Adam. My foot was so sore, not the blisters anymore, but my toes kept bashing the end of my shoe making each push painful. Managed to crawl into Bulls, who seem to have based everything they do upon the 'oh-so-witty' idea of putting 'a-bull' on the end of everything. So the the sandwich shop was 'Fill-a-bull', and the tent shop 'collapse-a-bull'. Honestly, there are hundreds of them.
Day 22 Bulls to Levin.
I didn't skate and I hated it. The all-new-and-improved Sheldon blasted it. Everyone was in a good mood. Even though Adam and Sheldon managed to take a wrong turn. Don't ask. 'The signs we are looking for today are ones pointing at WELLINGTON. Wellington, the last place on the South Island, the CAPITAL of New Zealand. The city that is where we have been talking about skating too for the last 3 weeks!!!!
that's all for now. Look at the new pics.
nat
Whangarei downdwards.
Well we are in Rotorua, home to bubbling volcanic eruptions, mudpools and hot water. We have had a couple of horrible days skating, feet are playing up but we are here...
so let me recap.
Day 7. Whangarei to Waipu cove - 52km
Whangarei seemed a long time ago. from there we folllowed the coast all the way to Waipu Cove. Adam and I were on the last leg and we both got super excited when we saw the sea. There are some amazing jagged islands here, and it looked amazing. A beautiful beach, huge waves and a yet another campsite full of kids who wanted to skate on our crazy boards.
Day 8. Waipu Cove to Warkworth - 62km
A Horrible day. The hottest yet. Skated down some of the most scary roads I have ever been on. I managed to wear through a brand new shoe in one day. Just google earth the road between Wellsford and Warkworth, then imagine it a 12% angle. So so scary. We camped at a place called Sandspit and met the best bunch of people. The two owners donated to us, gave us a reduction and a discount card for loads of other sites. We also met a couple called Derek and Elle who gave us their house in Auckland for the following night. We juat had to skate there in one day!
Day 9. Warkworth to Mairangi Bay - 53
We followed lovely roads that ran along State Highway 1, it was so nice to get off the chipseal. We met up with Grason at Orewa and got given a load of free t-shirts and stuff from UndergroundSkates. We had mexican for lunch then pushed on towards Auckland. Along the way we hooked up with Craig and bombed some of the fastest hills I've ever been on. Truly, truly scarily fast. Craig was going to do a similar skate journey across NZ, so it was good to finally meet him. We skated all the way to Mairangi Bay and the beautiful home of Derek and Elle. House-sitting for them Jesse; the biggest Maori guy ever. He was the funniest guy ever and we had an amazing night. I think he is going to buy a van and come and join the circus that is SkateNewZealand in Wellington.
Day 10. Mairnagi Bay, over the ferry to South Auckland - 22km
Street skating agian. The road down to the ferry was fun, fun, fun. Adam and I chilled on the ferry while the others drove over the bridge. We then skated up Queen Street back to Cross Street Studios. We then drove 15km South out of the city and skated back into town. It was Sunday and the Great South Road was pretty quiet. We spent the next day chilling out, getting 'The Van' serviced and updating photos. It was good to be back in Auckland, but we wanted to keep skating.
Day 12. South Auckland to Tuaku - 54km
We got up and walked into town for a radio interview at Fleet fm. Then picked up 'The Van' from the garage and drove south to where we stopped 2 days before. It was absolutly pouring with rain and we were skating through huge puddles. As the sun came put it dried and we were all feeling good. Afterwards everyone felt that we are finally in proper shape. Oh, and I got hit by a car. As you do... We camped right out at Port Waikato, I thought I had really sweaty feet, but infact it was raining.
Day 13. Tuaku to Ngaruawahia - 64km
We drove back to where we finished and skated across to re-join State Highway 1. The whole of the day we were skating on the roughest top-seal yet. all day. This is when it becomes a mind-game. Searingly hot sun and rough road for miles and miles. On the downhill sections you are pushing 5 or 6 times and rolling about a metre. so you do the same again and again. If you do get any speed up, your feet go numb. At one point a police car pulled up infront of me and a grinning Sheldon got out. People had phoned worried about our safety. We chatted for a while and the police were completely happy with what we were up to. The even offered to take Sheldon back to where they picked him up! We had been getting text messages all day about staying at Hamilton with Josh and his family. So glad we did!
Josh and his mate Mark, along with the rest of his fantastic family, seem to be running the most amazing boardbuilding company. check out bombadierlongboards and show them some love.
Josh's parents made some amazing food, Adam got a wrestle in, then got beaten at arm wrestling by Josh's dad. We did washing and slept well.
Day 14. Ngaruawahia to 10km East of Tirau - 65km
we drove back out to Ngaruawahia and skated into town where we met Josh (snazzy socks fella!), Mark Tim. Mark and Josh were going to skate with us through Hamilton and onto Cambridge. So 5 of us skated through town and out the other side. It was really amazing sight. I love it when there are lots of us, I would never want this to be a solo skate. My 3rd shoe finally died on me and I managed to get 2 replcements from Cheapskates for $45! We camped in a random field and had an early night. Adam took pictures.
Day 15 10km East of Tirau to Rotorua - 64km
We knew we had to get to 'The Stinky City' in one day, the roads were truly horrible again. I got a fresh blister and Julia walked 14km in flip-flops (Jandals!) I think cabin fever was setting in. We managed to get to town and I did a radio interview surrounded by bubbling mud and hot pools. The campsite we are staying hat has steam cookers and 3 hot spas, perfect for achy feet. We went down to the shore and dug holes in the sand which filled up with blisteringly hot water. The whole town smells of sulphur and we are having a rest day here today. Tommorrow we are heading for Taupo.
nat
so let me recap.
Day 7. Whangarei to Waipu cove - 52km
Whangarei seemed a long time ago. from there we folllowed the coast all the way to Waipu Cove. Adam and I were on the last leg and we both got super excited when we saw the sea. There are some amazing jagged islands here, and it looked amazing. A beautiful beach, huge waves and a yet another campsite full of kids who wanted to skate on our crazy boards.
Day 8. Waipu Cove to Warkworth - 62km
A Horrible day. The hottest yet. Skated down some of the most scary roads I have ever been on. I managed to wear through a brand new shoe in one day. Just google earth the road between Wellsford and Warkworth, then imagine it a 12% angle. So so scary. We camped at a place called Sandspit and met the best bunch of people. The two owners donated to us, gave us a reduction and a discount card for loads of other sites. We also met a couple called Derek and Elle who gave us their house in Auckland for the following night. We juat had to skate there in one day!
Day 9. Warkworth to Mairangi Bay - 53
We followed lovely roads that ran along State Highway 1, it was so nice to get off the chipseal. We met up with Grason at Orewa and got given a load of free t-shirts and stuff from UndergroundSkates. We had mexican for lunch then pushed on towards Auckland. Along the way we hooked up with Craig and bombed some of the fastest hills I've ever been on. Truly, truly scarily fast. Craig was going to do a similar skate journey across NZ, so it was good to finally meet him. We skated all the way to Mairangi Bay and the beautiful home of Derek and Elle. House-sitting for them Jesse; the biggest Maori guy ever. He was the funniest guy ever and we had an amazing night. I think he is going to buy a van and come and join the circus that is SkateNewZealand in Wellington.
Day 10. Mairnagi Bay, over the ferry to South Auckland - 22km
Street skating agian. The road down to the ferry was fun, fun, fun. Adam and I chilled on the ferry while the others drove over the bridge. We then skated up Queen Street back to Cross Street Studios. We then drove 15km South out of the city and skated back into town. It was Sunday and the Great South Road was pretty quiet. We spent the next day chilling out, getting 'The Van' serviced and updating photos. It was good to be back in Auckland, but we wanted to keep skating.
Day 12. South Auckland to Tuaku - 54km
We got up and walked into town for a radio interview at Fleet fm. Then picked up 'The Van' from the garage and drove south to where we stopped 2 days before. It was absolutly pouring with rain and we were skating through huge puddles. As the sun came put it dried and we were all feeling good. Afterwards everyone felt that we are finally in proper shape. Oh, and I got hit by a car. As you do... We camped right out at Port Waikato, I thought I had really sweaty feet, but infact it was raining.
Day 13. Tuaku to Ngaruawahia - 64km
We drove back to where we finished and skated across to re-join State Highway 1. The whole of the day we were skating on the roughest top-seal yet. all day. This is when it becomes a mind-game. Searingly hot sun and rough road for miles and miles. On the downhill sections you are pushing 5 or 6 times and rolling about a metre. so you do the same again and again. If you do get any speed up, your feet go numb. At one point a police car pulled up infront of me and a grinning Sheldon got out. People had phoned worried about our safety. We chatted for a while and the police were completely happy with what we were up to. The even offered to take Sheldon back to where they picked him up! We had been getting text messages all day about staying at Hamilton with Josh and his family. So glad we did!
Josh and his mate Mark, along with the rest of his fantastic family, seem to be running the most amazing boardbuilding company. check out bombadierlongboards and show them some love.
Josh's parents made some amazing food, Adam got a wrestle in, then got beaten at arm wrestling by Josh's dad. We did washing and slept well.
Day 14. Ngaruawahia to 10km East of Tirau - 65km
we drove back out to Ngaruawahia and skated into town where we met Josh (snazzy socks fella!), Mark Tim. Mark and Josh were going to skate with us through Hamilton and onto Cambridge. So 5 of us skated through town and out the other side. It was really amazing sight. I love it when there are lots of us, I would never want this to be a solo skate. My 3rd shoe finally died on me and I managed to get 2 replcements from Cheapskates for $45! We camped in a random field and had an early night. Adam took pictures.
Day 15 10km East of Tirau to Rotorua - 64km
We knew we had to get to 'The Stinky City' in one day, the roads were truly horrible again. I got a fresh blister and Julia walked 14km in flip-flops (Jandals!) I think cabin fever was setting in. We managed to get to town and I did a radio interview surrounded by bubbling mud and hot pools. The campsite we are staying hat has steam cookers and 3 hot spas, perfect for achy feet. We went down to the shore and dug holes in the sand which filled up with blisteringly hot water. The whole town smells of sulphur and we are having a rest day here today. Tommorrow we are heading for Taupo.
nat
adam's thoughts
Hey ho folks,
So some new news attack. Went grocery shopping and the lady asked me if she should put the food in the "trolley" i thought it was cute, yes i like using the word cute. shopping cart equals "trolley"
Have you ever had a meat pie? They are yummy. If you are ever in Auckland you have to eat at the cafe called "Revel" and you got to try the porrage or the museli which is the NZ term for granola.
The team is doing swell. We have all been smiling super big because we have bombed some amazing hills. Some of the hills we have to foot brake like all hell and run off on the shoulder because huge milk, logging or rock carrying trucks are threatening our lives but man it is such a rush. It is you vs the cars. Some times you just go for it, look over your shoulder get in your tuck and take up the whole lane and you are just racing the next line of traffic to come down the hill. You peer over your shoulder and bam here comes a mountain of cars coming at you but wait you are getting near the bottom you can make it before they catch you, you think. So you get a little lower in your tuck to get some extra speed and go for it. So much fun, you judged right, you get to the bottom pull of the road a bit and the cars go past. Some times you don't make it in time and cars go by so close you can touch them or you just be bold and signal them to hold off and finish bombing the hill.
Shoes have been taking abuse, Nat has worn through 2 pairs in 2 days. Chip seal pavement combined with steep hills and semis kills your shoes.
As far as camping goes, mostly ever night and it is so lovely. We camped at a camp site that smelled like poo and in the middle of the night you would get this huge wiff of it and i woke up with a sore throat. Also the campsite had these super loud ducks that would just wander around your tents yelling. I threw flip flops at them frisbee style and missed everytime but scared them off. It was fun.
The mental edge..... this kind of sums it all up. We have only been on the road for 9 days and it feels like 1 month. So much goes on mentally and physically, so much constant change and movement that time does fly by but when you look at the overall picture it goes so slow. We are slowly becoming machines, muscles are bulging, lungs are getting stronger and crappy pavement is conquered with daydreaming or mind power. We are excited for Kari's foot to heal so she can join the skate and get huge legs and muscles, mwa hahha. Also, the distance of 50k- 70k might not seem like a lot and yes it can be easily pushed but what makes this challenging is you got to do this distance day after day after day, and the conditions can just be horrible. It is this repetition that can break you but to help right after you get done skating, drink tons of water, and have a feast and then another and get rest. I love these trips because i can eat 3 dinners and not feel guilty because these dinners are rebuilding our muscles and shall be fuel for the next day. You can be cheap and try to save a bunch of money but it is really not worth it all the time, you need quality hardy food to keep you healthy. We all have been doing great eating lots.
The one fishy problem that comes about on a lot of distance trips in the past is we have run into problems with the support team. Sitting in a car all day can wear on ones mind and make them turn into man eating monsters. Not this support team. We have adopted the strategy that 2 people shall be apart of the support team and we are so lucky to have Kari and Julia apart of it. When Kari's foot gets better we will just all alternate driving and every driver shall have a buddy for company. We have also adopted the strategy that 2 people shall be skating on the road at once, so if Nat, Sheldon or I get tired, hurt what not we can opt to sit out a lege or a day. The goal is not for one person to skate the whole way, but for the whole team to make it to the end happy.
Girls in NZ are cute.
Kisses, Adam
So some new news attack. Went grocery shopping and the lady asked me if she should put the food in the "trolley" i thought it was cute, yes i like using the word cute. shopping cart equals "trolley"
Have you ever had a meat pie? They are yummy. If you are ever in Auckland you have to eat at the cafe called "Revel" and you got to try the porrage or the museli which is the NZ term for granola.
The team is doing swell. We have all been smiling super big because we have bombed some amazing hills. Some of the hills we have to foot brake like all hell and run off on the shoulder because huge milk, logging or rock carrying trucks are threatening our lives but man it is such a rush. It is you vs the cars. Some times you just go for it, look over your shoulder get in your tuck and take up the whole lane and you are just racing the next line of traffic to come down the hill. You peer over your shoulder and bam here comes a mountain of cars coming at you but wait you are getting near the bottom you can make it before they catch you, you think. So you get a little lower in your tuck to get some extra speed and go for it. So much fun, you judged right, you get to the bottom pull of the road a bit and the cars go past. Some times you don't make it in time and cars go by so close you can touch them or you just be bold and signal them to hold off and finish bombing the hill.
Shoes have been taking abuse, Nat has worn through 2 pairs in 2 days. Chip seal pavement combined with steep hills and semis kills your shoes.
As far as camping goes, mostly ever night and it is so lovely. We camped at a camp site that smelled like poo and in the middle of the night you would get this huge wiff of it and i woke up with a sore throat. Also the campsite had these super loud ducks that would just wander around your tents yelling. I threw flip flops at them frisbee style and missed everytime but scared them off. It was fun.
The mental edge..... this kind of sums it all up. We have only been on the road for 9 days and it feels like 1 month. So much goes on mentally and physically, so much constant change and movement that time does fly by but when you look at the overall picture it goes so slow. We are slowly becoming machines, muscles are bulging, lungs are getting stronger and crappy pavement is conquered with daydreaming or mind power. We are excited for Kari's foot to heal so she can join the skate and get huge legs and muscles, mwa hahha. Also, the distance of 50k- 70k might not seem like a lot and yes it can be easily pushed but what makes this challenging is you got to do this distance day after day after day, and the conditions can just be horrible. It is this repetition that can break you but to help right after you get done skating, drink tons of water, and have a feast and then another and get rest. I love these trips because i can eat 3 dinners and not feel guilty because these dinners are rebuilding our muscles and shall be fuel for the next day. You can be cheap and try to save a bunch of money but it is really not worth it all the time, you need quality hardy food to keep you healthy. We all have been doing great eating lots.
The one fishy problem that comes about on a lot of distance trips in the past is we have run into problems with the support team. Sitting in a car all day can wear on ones mind and make them turn into man eating monsters. Not this support team. We have adopted the strategy that 2 people shall be apart of the support team and we are so lucky to have Kari and Julia apart of it. When Kari's foot gets better we will just all alternate driving and every driver shall have a buddy for company. We have also adopted the strategy that 2 people shall be skating on the road at once, so if Nat, Sheldon or I get tired, hurt what not we can opt to sit out a lege or a day. The goal is not for one person to skate the whole way, but for the whole team to make it to the end happy.
Girls in NZ are cute.
Kisses, Adam
Rest day in Whangarei
Day 1 - Cape Rienga to Te Keo 23km
On Day 1 we drove up to the Cape Lighthouse and took a few pictures, Adam did a couple of backflips and we headed south to where the gravel stopped and the road started. Beautiful clear empty hills and 23km later we stopped, buzzing from skating the first day. We camped right on the beach and went swimming in the sea.
Day 2 introduced us to the legendary NZ 'Chipseal' - basically rocks stuck in tarmac. We also got used to blasting hills and managed to get to Ahipira. We camped in the nearest town, ate chinese and met a cool girl Maori called Ata who we taugh to skate.
Day 3 was yet more hills, really big ones. We skated through some beautiful little places and jumped in rivers. We made it to a campsite and got to see an amazing sunset over the harbour. We had a mini skate session with all the kids from the campsite in the morning and headed south.
Day 2 - Te Keo to Ahipara 42km
Day 3 - Ahipara to Whangaroa Harbour 54km
Day 4 - Whangaroa Harbour to Pahia 59km
Day 5 - Pahia to Whangarei 71km
So so much has happenend in the past 5 days. We have skated some absoulutely brutal roads; the worst surface I have ever seen, some of the craziest downhills (just under 70kmh so far) and met some of the best people.
On Day 1 we drove up to the Cape Lighthouse and took a few pictures, Adam did a couple of backflips and we headed south to where the gravel stopped and the road started. Beautiful clear empty hills and 23km later we stopped, buzzing from skating the first day. We camped right on the beach and went swimming in the sea.Day 2 introduced us to the legendary NZ 'Chipseal' - basically rocks stuck in tarmac. We also got used to blasting hills and managed to get to Ahipira. We camped in the nearest town, ate chinese and met a cool girl Maori called Ata who we taugh to skate.Day 3 was yet more hills, really big ones. We skated through some beautiful little places and jumped in rivers. We made it to a campsite and got to see an amazing sunset over the harbour. We had a mini skate session with all the kids from the campsite in the morning and headed south.Day 4 was about getting to Pahia for lunch. Sheldon took the day off so it was Nat and Adam all the way. Julia met us for a beer and is hanging about for a while. Pahia is a really pretty place, right in the middle of the Bay of Islands. We camped by the sea and woke up the next day for the 70+ km to Whangarei.
Day 5 (yesterday) was a big one. We managed to get the 70km done but started to witness some of the NZ driving we have to get used to. Trucks, crazy overtaking and some huge, huge hills. The traffic became more of a problem as we headed into town and we happily had a few beers in town last night. Rather bizarrely, Kari found a 2 page article all about the trip in a paper as we were leaving the pub. We also got eaten alive by mosquitos
Today we have shopped, done the tourist thing (Nat, Julia and Adam climbed under a waterfall) and hooked up with Derwin and Anthea (owners of the local skateshops) where we are staying at the moment.
Tomorrow we have press photography at somepoint on the road and the editor of a NZ skate/surf/snowboard magazine is going to catch up with us too.
Happy days.
x
Got to go to sleep. So will post more soon.
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