This day turned into a lot of physical exercise. We were en route Orewa - Whangerai (pron. "fonger-eye") with stops for some minor attractions. There turned out to be more stops than planned.
Daunted
First stop was the Dome Forest Walk, according to the Rough Guide a steep trail leading to superb views. Well, the steep part was no lie. It was mostly stairs.
This led us into woods that seemed familiar. Where have we seen this... oh, right. "Xena, Warrior Princess" and "The Lord of the Rings"; both featured woods exactly like these.
After 334 (!!) upward stairs we found a sign, "Lookout 20 minutes" and we agreed that we'd been daunted. Headed back. "Had enough exercise for the day," we said. Hah!
Hole in One
Heading on we passed through a highway construction zone and apparently ran over a sharp rock. Then we turned off onto a secondary road... and the rest can best be told in pictures.
A friendly local came out of a nearby field to help.
A few miles down the road, folks at a gas station directed us to a tire repair shop. The holed tire was quickly patched and went into the spare-tire rack and we continued into Whangerai. Another nice campground, a grocery stop, a nice dinner.
1 comment:
The dark rain forest reminds me of the West side of the Olympia Peninsula in Washington.
Were the tires old, worn, or overloaded? When I have not bought the expensive Continental tires for the Rialta, mainly because the weight is large for single tires.
Enjoy (but not flat tires!),
Bill & Jean.
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