North Island Roadie, Napier
Estuary bike ride
01.05.2021 - 02.05.2021
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North Island Roadie
on Sallyj66's travel map.
1.5.21
16degrees
Southerly cold cloudy
Our night at the freedom camping spot at Perfume Point has cemented in concrete our resolve to stay in camps for the rest of our holiday. We had considered ourselves fortunate with the spot we secured overlooking the entrance to the harbour as it was so picturesque.
Trouble was every drunkard and hood in the area also thought it a good place to frequent during the entire night, consequently we got very little sleep as we were checking every car that came into the area. It was heightened by our neighbour (a very nice farmer and his wife from Kapiti )) in a big Mobilvetta recounting his experience there some while ago when there was an aggressive and belligerent protest there one night by people wanting to reclaim the Point. The Police were called and no-one was hurt but they were shaken. He also told of a story when he was freedom camping at Castlepoint and in the early hours of the morning a ute with flashing lights and men in hi-vis told them to hurry up to high ground as a tsunami was coming. Well the long and short of it was that it was a hoax, so we were well warmed up for trouble. We resolved in the middle of the night that it was the last freedom camp we will stay in in the North Island.
When we spoke with him in the morning he said he regretted telling us. Some drunk and loud men who had been mouthing off around our van he described as harmless - well who would know! Anyway we booked ourselves into a Motor Camp for the next night.
The weather also took a nasty turn for the worse with very cold southerly winds. We still wanted to go the National Aquarium of NZ so after groceries that was our first visit. It was full of very excited children being both a Saturday and the school holidays. Sal loved seeing her tropical fish again.
After this we headed out to the camp at Bay View where we did some serious washing and chores. It is a lovely spot and in the afternoon, despite the wind we had a lovely bike ride through the wetlands and estuary.
A nice relaxed meal tonight finished with an awesome dessert with figs from Mark’s property. We are looking forward to a relaxed night sleep.
Posted by Sallyj66 04:16 Archived in New Zealand Comments (2)