Day 2 Northland

We went to pick up our bikes a at 9AM. I rented a Harley and David rented a Honda so I had to ride to meet him. It was a little disconcerting because I had to get on the Northern Motorway during heavy traffic a block from where I picked up my bike. I've driven a car in New Zealand but never a motorcycle, so the importance of staying left becomes critical. As soon as I met David we headed north on State Road 1. which is the main north/south hwy. Traffic was pretty heavy and after it became 2 lane it passed through small towns. We were following the Twin Coasts Discovery Highway scenic route and this part of SR 1 was the beginning of the route. It was somewhat scenic but not a lot of fun. The fun started when we turned off SR 1 and took the coastal road to Russell. It was a good road and from the get-go it was filled with the twisties bikers love. The first several kilometers were a twisty climb up a mountainside. It was time for lunch and we soon came to the cafe we were told about when we stopped for gas before turning onto the Russell road. The Gallery and Cafe at Helena Bay Hill was a delight as was the view from the dining deck to Helena Bay. David had a wrap and I had seafood gumbo, both delicious. After lunch we continued on the road to Russell, up and down the mountainsides from pretty bay to pretty bay. There was almost no traffic and we soon felt comfortable negotiating turn curve after curve on the "wrong" side of the road. It took a while to reach the village of Russell which was a whaling port in New Zealands early days. This part of NZ has many holiday homes but is not at all crowded in spite of this being their "high" season. We had a beer at the pub which is part of the Duke of Marlborough Hotel, the first hotel in NZ

We finished our beers and headed for the car ferry which took us to Opua another seaside town and we continued our Northland ride. This area known as the "Bay of Islands" is a popular holiday area but it is not at all crowded. We continued to have a fun ride on good roads with great views, especially Doubtful Bay.

We were headed for Kaitaia a town north of our first B&B stay. It turned out to be an unattractive farm community with only one good restaurant, The Beachcomer where David had the seafood platter and I had the duck.

Our B&B the Plane Tree Lodge was located about 10 klicks south of Kaitaia, where we were greeted by our hosts Rosemary and Mike Wright and their 2 golden retrievers. The lodge is in a quiet country setting with a monster Plane tree in the back yard. Our accomodations were much more than we expected. We had an entire 2 bedroom apartment, which was great since it enabled us to have our own space.

We had a good nights sleep and looked forward to a hearty breakfast to start our day. We got far more than we expected. We started with cereal and fresh fruit followed by a full plate hot breakfast, including bacon, sausage, beans, hash browns, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and toast. As hard as we tried we could not eat it all. Mike and Rosemary were great hosts and we appreciate their hospitality. Mike is about to start a new business with his son selling the 10,000 palm trees he started raising 4 years ago. Say a prayer for his success, anyone who invests that much time before a return deserves it.