By no means am I claiming to be a philosopher, but during this ride I had a fair amount of time to contemplate and reflect on the trip so far. I'm not at all surprised that I would make it. I knew that on Monday, 15th June, I'd be standing in Auckland with my trusty … Continue reading Day 19: Riding Thames to Auckland (philosopher version)
Author: jennydoan90
Day 19: Riding Thames to Auckland (cyclist version)
This ride was a bit of a mixed bag, parts of it were silky smooth, rainy and of course hilly. Nonetheless it was a long day, I left Thames at 7.30 and arrived in Auckland at 5.30, fun times. The first 60km was easy, there were no hills and only drizzly bits of rain so … Continue reading Day 19: Riding Thames to Auckland (cyclist version)
Day 17: Riding Tauranga to Matamata plus Hobbiton
After having a bit of a blue day yesterday, I decided to start off the day with some pleasant activities. First I watched the sunrise while enjoying a cup of peppermint tea, then I treated myself to a hot breakfast. The Med Cafe was just around the corner and it was awesome. My mocha came … Continue reading Day 17: Riding Tauranga to Matamata plus Hobbiton
Day 16: Riding Rotorua to Tauranga
This ride wasn't very interesting, so this will be a short post. I was feeling a bit low on energy and it felt like my bike was way heavier than last time. I only had 60km to go, but there were no stops along the way. After 20km I reached the Mangorewa Gorges, where the … Continue reading Day 16: Riding Rotorua to Tauranga
Day 15: Rotorua, rest day
I came across this café on the way back from dinner last night and knew I had to come back. The name says it all. It was even cooler on the inside; beautiful photographs on the wall, rainbow coloured leather couches and so many pictures of Fat Dog. I took a seat and wrote in … Continue reading Day 15: Rotorua, rest day
Day 14: Riding Taupo to Rotorua
My legs felt as good as new today, the massage yesterday certainly paid off. Rain was forecast for Taupo and just cloudiness for Rotorua, so I was eager to get past the wet part as quickly as possible. Along the way I saw dozens of signs for thermal parks and caves (it got annoying when … Continue reading Day 14: Riding Taupo to Rotorua
Day 13: Taupo, Rest and Relaxation
Today's itinerary was inspired by Tom and Donna from the show Parks and Recreation, "Treat Yo Self Day", basically do whatever you feel like. So here we go: 1. Ride five minutes to Spa Thermal Park to lie under a waterfall and soak in a steamy hot spa. Now, I do have a history of … Continue reading Day 13: Taupo, Rest and Relaxation
Day 12: Riding Turangi to Taupo
For the first time during this trip, I woke up to something unpleasant... sore calves. Since the dominant, logical Jenny was barely awake, the dramatic Jenny kicked in: "nooo, not my calves, I need those. I want to lie in bed all day". Obviously my legs were just sore from yesterday's effort, and while I … Continue reading Day 12: Riding Turangi to Taupo
Day 11: Tongariro Alpine Crossing
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is an epic 20km hike, with incredible scenery and special sites along the way. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great, so the company I booked the tour with, canceled the trip. I ended up going anyway with two other people at the hostel, Alan and Vicky, who were kind enough to drive … Continue reading Day 11: Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Day 10: Riding Ohakune to Turangi
After the big ride yesterday, I slept like a log. I felt fortunate to have stayed in awesome hostels for three consecutive towns, which seemed too good to be true. So I was reluctant to leave, also because I met some cool people here, and the pizza place down the road was amazing. There was … Continue reading Day 10: Riding Ohakune to Turangi
Jenny on Wheels 