Russell to Whangaruru (Bland Bay)

Our time in Russell was up but it was an unforgettable stay. Getting the ferry from Pahia to Russell with all our gear made our arrival quite special and we felt a bit more adventurous than usual.
The campsite we stayed on is beautiful with great cooking facilities and we met some fantastic people here. If you are reading this Steve, you must have made it over the Helena Hill and I am sure you agree it was an easy climb! We hope to see you somewhere on the way south. We are in Auckland at the moment until saturday. We took the Northern Express from Whangarei because we just could not find a decent alternative route for the Highway 1 into Auckland. Safety first ofcourse but we still feel bad about not having cycled the whole way. Anyway, go for it Steve and don't smoke too much!

A big hello to the lovely couple from California, get in touch!

Russell to us was more than just a nice colonial style town. We saw dolphins and a Bryde's whale with calf for the first time in our lives. It was the best experience you can imagine.

The morning we left we did not quite know what to expect because everybody kept saying how hilly the coastal road to Wakaphara was. No sooner had we left the campsite and we got confronted with a short but ridiculously steep hill. That should get the legs started. We did 34 km in total on seriously hilly terrain but we had the day of our lives. We were just unstoppable and climbed those hills like proper EPO-shooting professionals. I guess the scenery took our minds off the pain. The 34 km between Russell and Bland Bay via the coastal run through some amazing forests, bays and cliffs...and it's virtually empty as well. There are no villages and we hardly saw other people. We had lunch on a beautiful little bay infested with sandflies, nasty little creatures. I have to say we are a bit surprised not to see more wildlife. I don't know if this is because they are so hard to spot and more elusive than in Europe but we hardly see any birds and mammals are nowhere to be seen. It feels a bit empty.
The last 7 km to Bland Bay are through some amazing scenery of rolling green fields and a pine forest but we had enough of hills for today. When we get to the village, it turns out there is no shop and the campsite is closed. We are scarce on food and water and luckily we find a B+B right on the beach. Our hosts cook us a beautiful dinner with fresh mussels and veggies from the garden. I can't tell you how good that tasted after a hard day cycling.

Just besides the B+B is a Pa, an ancient Maori fortress with a buriel/battle ground in front of it. Our hosts tell us that from time to time, heavy storms uncover bones and skulls of battles long fought. You will do well not to touch them.

We sleep in a real bed for the first time in two weeks, not the worst experience I can tell you! Good night.