October 3 Auckland to Maungakaramea

Ahhhh it was a wet and windy day that I decided to head north to the land of little sun and few humans.

Getting out of Auckland is always a pain but once you are clear of the city and get onto Rt 16 to Wellsford, the open road is yours. Through Wellsford and back onto Rt 1 until I got to Oakleigh. At Oakleigh I called Ann/Nick, Ulysses members, for directions to their place.

Next stop was at the small town of (believe me on this!)Maungakaramea, which means in Maori, "40 year old virgin's tip toeing through the tulips" this on good advice from the evil couple………!

Any way here I was again sponging off another groupie from the Ulysses Motorcycle club for the night. If I had only realized how Ann could talk......to make me feel at home with the wet weather in Auckland, my tent was placed out on the front yard where they had the water hose wet down the tent every 30 minutes all through the night.

Had motorcycle problems once there and with me going north it was prudent to exchange the bike out for another. The rental agency had another one up to me on the same day with a bit of guidance from Nick the local preacher...