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September 28th 2019

It’s been almost 2 years since I last posted and yes …. very remiss of me. It’s actually more disappointing for myself that I had all these great intentions of sharing my stories and pictures and didn’t follow through … and I’m not going to make excuses for it, rather tackle it by now picking this back up.

I really enjoy where I live, 10minutes from the beach and I often start out my weekends with a good morning walk. Last weekend was no exception to that and the weather was stunning. On days like this it’s just fantastic to wake up at the crack of dawn and soak up the early morning sun. Even better when you can round it off with a great smoothie at my favourite juice bar.

While on my walk I caught site of this beautiful 1950’s cadilac, in immaculate condition. Hate to think what this costs to fill up.

As it was such a stunning spring day I decided to take the bike out for a spin. Made a small detour to my old haunt Muriwai. Although I really enjoy Orewa, I consider it a paddling pool in comparison to Muriwai. Out on the West coast you really get the feel for the rough ocean views and there’s something very energetic about the crashing of those waves that’s quite invigorating.

Feel that energy flow

The gannets are now fully settled in on Maori bay and their chicks will start to hatch soon.

One great thing about Muriwai, you’ve got a beach you can walk on for miles

Orewa, July 24th 2017
Well, the weather took a nasty turn this last week. There was considerable flooding across the country but luckily we were spared in Auckland of any major deluges. Nevertheless, there wasn’t any chance of a road trip this weekend. I did see some friends of mine in Auckland central for an afternoon of board games. Following the weather report it was supposed to be moderately dry so decided to suit up and ride the motorbike into town. As luck would have it though, by 8pm the weather turned again with a nasty drizzle that pretty much reduced my visibility. It started me thinking, why in all these years has no one ever come up with a suitable visor wiper for helmets? There are probably safety reasons for that, but surely there must be something. 

My clothing gear keeps me very dry and warm though. It’s quite impressive how the clothing manages to keep the wind and rain out when you’re riding down the highway at speeds of 100km/h and more. 

To be honest though, I do appreciate the experience. You don’t learn good biking skills by being the proverbial Sunday rider. Experiencing extreme conditions is what will give you the opportunity to hone your skill. 

For this blog I’m going to post a couple of pictures from the archive of Orewa beach. I love the area, it’s a nice litle suburbian township about 40km North of Auckland. I moved here just over a year ago after living for more than 2 years on the West side of Auckland in the beach township of Muriwai (more on that in another post). 

Orewa Town

The township has grown substantially, with Auckland city getting cramped for space more and more people are opting to live outside of town. Orewa used to be a major holiday destination in the 70’s and 80’s for Aucklanders wanting to eacape the city. There are a few camping sites around the area. Funnily enough, the 2 lane highway wasn’t extended to Orewa till around 2005, with the traveller having to take the scenic coastal highway. Recently some major subdivision construction projects have started up to meet the housing demand. 

Millwater

I like Orewa, even though there’s a commute to work I prefer living outside of the city. It’s got a fantastic beach and bush for walking, plus … I’m just a quick ride away from Northland destinations or boat rides away from fishing around the bay of islands. I’m 10min away from the beach and live going for early morning walks followed by a coffee at my favourite cafe Oliver’s. 

I will finish this posts with some of my Orewa beach shots. 

July 16th 2017

Well they do say that once you’ve caught the biker bug there’s no turning back … and so it is. We’re full into the winter season now in New Zealand and the weather hasn’t been the best these past couple of weeks. So not only did I wind up being struck down with a bad head cold, I also got struck down with withdrawal symptoms with not being able to take the bike out.

The Sunshine did manage to break through a few times on the weekend, but only long enough for some very short rides. In those cases I would do a small trip to Puhoi which is a historical village just 15min drive from where I live. The village has a very interesting history, having been settled by German migrants in 1863. They were given parcels of land to cultivate and pretty much left up to their own devices. They endured considerable hardship and had to rely pretty much on their own. Because of the German heritage this village was nicknamed the Bohemian Settlement. You can read a bit about the local history on the following links,

Puhoi

Puhoi Historical Society

The village has a very quaint pub, The Puhoi Pub, established in 1879. The interior is fascinating, full of old artifacts and people from all over the world have left their mark by stapling bank notes from their home country and pictures. Some of the more “adventurous” ladies even went so far as to leave their signed bras hanging on the front door.

Spotted this little notice on the side of the piano as well, although I’m glad to say I won’t be needing their services.

On the weekend’s there are many a biker who rock up to the pub for a pint after a nice days ride. Last weekend when I met a Bulgarian biker called Laci, who came out to from Auckland central testing out the new tires on his BMW. He’d emigrated to New Zealand about 16 years ago. We shared a few stories over a drink and he told me that he’d been riding bikes since his youth and his current BMW was his 30th bike …. and there I was with my first.

The surrounding country side of Puhoi is beautiful, unfortunately the weather being the way that it was, I could only take pictures with my iPhone.

Well …. I hope the weather will start to improve over the next couple of weeks so I can journey out a bit further. I leave you with my trademark picture …. spot the helmet.