A bit of variety

There's been plenty going on in our neck of the woods over the last fortnight.  With national school holidays, pretty nice weather and no lockdowns, families have been flocking into our area which is a popular tourist region.  Good for the economy, even if the number of stupid people on the road also increases.  There have been a couple of events too.  One was the annual Illume festival where the village is lit up at night, as indeed are the locals together with a lovely firework display.  Pretty darned good for a static population of around 1600.  The photos are ones I took a couple of years ago as I didn't bother this year.  The fireworks were taken from our deck, about 1km away from the action.

Family fun with an umbrella

Local H-D's festooned with LED's

Shane, the local butcher on his bike

Village shopfronts

Trees in the village

Awwww.... pretty!

It was also the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the visit of the Royal Navy ship HMS Coromandel, after which the village was named.  Naval vessels visited Coromandel and other northern locations on a regular basis to harvest Kauri trees which were knot-free and made wonderful spars for their sailing vessels.  You could call it rape and pillage of natural resources but we won't go there!

Kauri trees near our place

Anyway, to mark the occasion, there was an unveiling of a seriously cool commemorative sculpture.  A young local artist made a representation of HMS Coromandel with a ceramic hull and stainless steel sails.  It was housed in a glass case made to look like a ship in a bottle and the timber surround was made from floorboards from the 1800's local settlers hall when it was recently refurbished.  Pretty darned nice!

HMS Coromandel representation

 

A really nice commemorative work of art

The climate in Coromandel is benign and the number of (slight) frosts we get in winter can easily be counted on one hand.  It's a perfect climate for growing semi-tropical Bromeliads in the garden.  Two large examples which we planted 5 years ago as just small plants have just developed flower spikes for the first time.  They haven't opened yet but I'm worried that they might turn out to be killer Triffids as per John Wyndham's 1950's post-apocalyptic horror story!  That aside, they're looking pretty cool.

Flower spike 1.5 metres tall

Flower spike 1 metre tall

Motorcycles haven't been forgotten though.  Just over a week ago, I took out a serving Highway Patrol Officer for his Advanced Roadcraft Test.  Trevor drives a patrol car in NZ but in the UK, he was a Class1 motorcycle cop - the best of the best and it showed!  It was a near-flawless ride with a running commentary to match and boy, could he make his ST1300 shift down twisty, narrow country lanes.  Made it look easy, which it wasn't of course.  A really nice chap and a joy to spend the the day out with him - it's a tough life!  He just rides in his spare time here and owns several modern "classic" cars and bikes.

Trevor and his ST1300

Saving the best until last, yesterday was supposed to be an IAM monthly meeting where we do some coaching or go for a spirited social ride in the back blocks.  I should have smelt a rat when Jennie asked me a couple of times during the week whether I intended to go!  

Rocked up at the meeting point cafe some 100 km away and not only were there members from our local group there but a bunch of them from Auckland too.  The common thread was that over the past few years, I'd either coached them directly or had a hand in coaching them to pass their advanced qualifications.  STILL DIDN'T CATCH ON!  It wasn't until my good mate Tony stood up and said that we were all going to have a social ride together on the 200 km Coromandel Loop as recognition of our long association.  Apparently, my face was a sight to behold!  I felt pretty humbled and we had a wonderful time riding one of the great north island motorcycle routes together.  We even stopped at the Coroglen Tavern for lunch.  Not for a beer, but so that I could enjoy my all-time favourite scallop burger!  The ride finished on Coromandel Town wharf, only a few hundred metres from home which was just perfect.  What an incredible day and I'm really privileged to have mates who would do something like that.  Must have a bit of dust in my eye or something..... 

Memorial to Sir Keith Park, a Kiwi who played a major role in the WW2 Battle of Britain

Arriving at the Coroglen Tavern

Some of the team next to a mussel boat - Coromandel Town wharf

Great variety of machinery on Coromandel Town wharf

Some old geezer front and centre with great mates

 

Nice bikes, nice people

I got an email yesterday from my long-time riding partner, great mate and fellow IAM associate Andy.  He and some fellow Auckland riders were going to finish the working week a day early and come for a "quickish" ride round the Coromandel Peninsula and would I like to join them?  Hard choice actually as a trip out in the boat for a spot of fishing was also on the cards.  However the ride won out and I met Andy and his friends a couple of km from home.  I'm normally a bit wary about riding with people I don't know, but trusted Andy's judgement as always.  Lord knows why,  seeing as Andy's a respectable banker by working day and a complete hooligan on 2 wheels!  Actually, he's a top class rider and exceptionally quick if he has the mind to boogie :-).  Andy did the introductions and I felt immediately at home - really nice people.

Meet Andy and his brutal K1200R

Nice Ducati Multistrada kitted for touring

No good for me - I'd need a step ladder!

A Multistrada in tasteful black sir?

Nice KTM and BMW F800

Note the badges - more on this in a moment

After gassing up, we set off for the Eastern side of the Peninsula - great sweepers and twisties the whole way.  Being the local yokel, I lead the first 40 km to Whitianga.  Trying to set an acceptable pace for people you've never ridden with before isn't always easy but everything worked out fine at a "slightly" illegal pace, even if that phrase would have zero credibility with the boys in blue :-).  It very quickly became apparent that the other riders were really smooth, very patient and extremely competent - a pleasure to ride with.

Andy took over up front for the leg from Whitianga to Tairua.  His IAM training really showed through with great positioning and well-judged overtakes and everyone was enjoying his lead.  Easy to make good progress when there's a really smooth rider up front taking the stress off everyone else.  We all pulled into Tairua for refreshments and it was here that I learned that Jane on the F800 and her husband had ridden the length of South America last year.  A really impressive feat but sadly, I didn't have the opportunity to quiz them on the adventure.

All to soon, it was time for me to turn north and head for home and for the others to head south, then back to Auckland.  Yet another unexpected afternoon ride this week and just as enjoyable, albeit for different reasons to the one in the previous post.

Cheers Andy and thanks so much everyone for a wonderful afternoon!

Antidote for blue Mondays

After a wet weekend and no riding for 3 weeks because of more pressing priorities, Monday dawns fine and warm.  Too good to miss a ride, even if there are things to do later in the day.  An early breakfast and a 200 km trip round the Coromandel Peninsula Loop would be a perfect wake-up!  If you'd like to come for a ride, throw a helmet on and hop on the back for a guided tour........

 
First port of call ('scuse the pun) is to have a look at the Kia Toa fishing boat down in Coromandel Town which is shortly to undergo restoration.  She has quite a bit of history. It may look like an old hulk but she's clearly a magnificent sea boat as it regularly used to motor up the 6000-odd km to Mururoa Atoll in the Pacific to protest against the French holding nuclear tests there.  Must be a tough old girl with her double-planked wooden hull!

Heading south toward Thames, the next stop is at a lookout in the hills that affords a 180 degree view of the Firth of Thames.  The first photo is looking north to Manaia Harbour, the second is looking directly down to a sheep and beef farm with its own bay and launch ramp (cows and sheep are bred with one pair of short legs to compensate for the hilly terrain) and the third is looking south across the Firth through the misty conditions to the many commercial mussel beds.

A slowish jaunt along the waters' edge towards Thames as I feel a bit rusty.  The sea is like a mill pond, just stunning. Pulling up just north of Thames shows the old weatherboard holiday homes by the water.  These are called bach's in the north island - short for bachelor pads.  The second photo is of a newly-restored old hotel in Thames which is now a private dwelling.  There was a proliferation of such watering-holes in the 1800's to satisfy the considerable thirst of the gold miners in the area!

After Thames, it's out into the hills on the Kopu to Hikuai road which runs from west to east across the Peninsula.  Through steep hills with a mixture of sweepers and twisties - a biker's delight.  However, no high speed antics this morning on account of wet roads and probably slippery too in shady parts thanks to a massive thunderstorm in this area last night.

Leaving the wet hills behind and heading north up the dry east coast, a comfort stop in Tairua is necessary - perhaps too much coffee for breakfast!  The photo taken during the stop is across Tairua Harbour to the extinct volcano called Paku.  At least, we hope it's extinct as there are a lot of homes on it now!

Continuing north through the twisties at a good clip with hardly another vehicle in sight, the stomach starts rumbling in anticipation of a scallop burger at the Coroglen Tavern.  The scallop burgers are a sight to behold, all the normal trimmings but packed with local scallops shown a buttery hot pan for a few scant seconds - just divine! This place is packed with bikers at the weekend but on a Monday, where is everyone?  Working presumably but heck, I've miscalculated the time and they don't open for 20 minutes - oh nooooo....!

Despite the strong pull of a scallop burger, I'm hungry and can't wait that long for a feed so it's back on the bike for the short(ish) ride north to Whitianga.  There are lots of good eateries here which would please even the most discerning palate (blogger and foodie Bobscoot to mention just one).  Sadly, a leisurely "slow food" experience isn't an option today as I have an afternoon appointment so to be safe, a relatively quick stop at Subway is made.  It's down the dining scale a bit but healthy and nutritious, not to mention easy on the wallet.

Feeling refreshed, it's a reasonably rapid journey over the section of the Coromandel Loop of which the Triple knows every centimetre, back to Coromandel Town.  Half way back, a quick double-take and photo from the saddle of some creatures in a field which look like they've come from a Stephen King novel, perhaps the Langoliers - can you guess what they are? No prizes for the sheep in the background, but the other two?

They're actually made from the lower part of palm leaves (the NZ Nikau palm) where they attach to the trunk - really clever but nightmarish if you've had a drop too much to drink!

Back in Coromandel Town, The king tide 2 days previously has brought some interesting boats down the creek nearly into the town centre so a quick stop is made to see what's about . The vessel shown in the photo is Sirius, a local all-alloy crayfish (rock lobster) boat which has probably been slipped for its annual marine survey.  Looks pretty big against the Striple!

All in all, a wonderful way to start any day - must do more of it and hope you enjoyed the quick trip round the Coromandel Loop.