14 Feb 2023
Day 1 - Cape Egmont to New Plymouth
We arrived in New Plymouth last Wednesday, 8 Feb 2023, filled with anticipation, and some apprehension - this was huge.
Deborah (Hart) and I had driven from Auckland that afternoon, picking up my brother Andy in Ohura where we left a car for him to return to Tauranga. As we assembled our bikes, packs were hefted and items discarded, to be taken back to Auckland - this was going to be a lightweight venture. For the first day, we were riding bare as we were returning to the b'n'b.
We drove into Cape Egmont at 8.30 the following morning, a gloomy day, with a light southerly blowing and the threat of rain. Andy, me, Alexandra (Smith), her husband Jeremy and his business partner Jason (Deane), chilly , the air full of excitement to be getting underway. Also, somewhat disappointed that the lighthouse was not on a rock with crashing waves, but in a paddock some distance from the beach!
As Deborah drove away, I confess to feeling more than a little anxious over what was to come!
A 56km warm up ride, over the Pukeiti saddle, and back to New Plymouth. Easy!
After a leg stretching meander through Taranaki's country roads, we arrived at Parihaka. I was looking forward to this stop, due to its significance in the Taranaki Wars in the early 1860s. The Provincial Government had tried to acquire land near Bell Block, north of New Plymouth, under a highly dubious property transaction. Local Māori had successfully resisted the acquisition, and had driven off the British Army and local militia. In retaliation, a British warship then shelled the peaceful village of Warea, south of Oakura, not far from the coast. Under the leadership of Te Whiti-o-Rongomai, the villagers formed a new settlement at Parihaka. In 1879, 1600 armed constabulary under the leadership of Native Minister John Bryce destroyed the village and imprisoned the community's leaders and those who resisted.
Sadly, there is little indication of the outrage committed there.
The clouds cleared as we climbed through the beautiful bush to the Pukeiti Saddle. We paused for coffee at the visitor centre, then had a high speed descent back into New Plymouth, through the Te Henui Walkway and onto the coastal walkway.
58.37km, 1,050m height gain, average speed 19kph, max 62kph - back at the b'n'b in time for lunch.
