Riding the Hauraki Rail Trail
The Hauraki Rail Trail is described as the easiest of the 22 NZ Cycle Trails, because it is mainly across the flat as a pancake Hauraki Plains, and the trails are wide off-road, mostly gravel surfaced with excellent signage. The only complication comes from the occasional haphazard measurement of distances.
The Trail has a hub and spoke arrangement with Paeroa at the hub, so there are many ways to cycle the Trail, with and without the assistance of shuttle services to start your day or return you to a vehicle. We camped at Paeroa, a very campervan friendly town, which is the home-town for the world famous in NZ drink, L&P. Two days we rode there and back, on the third longer day, we booked a shuttle to start our day and rode back to Bella.
Day 1: Paeroa to Te Aroha and back again, 3 August 2018
On the first day, misty weather made for a slow start. It was mid-afternoon by the time we were in the saddle so we chose the shortest leg to begin with and set off fast across farmland to the delightful Te Aroha. The domain has a number of charming original Edwardian and Victorian spa buildings, the most original buildings of any spa town in NZ. However, worried by the fading light, rather than lingering to explore the spa buildings, we rode back even faster than we came, across the flat farmland. Our ride was enlivened by the occasional bridge or cattle stop, and delayed only by the beauty of the sunset enhanced by the silhouettes of wintry trees..
Day 2: Miranda Shorebird Centre to Paeroa: 4 August 2018
Day 2 got off to an early start with a shuttle transfer, to Miranda on the Firth of Thames where there is a wonderful Shorebird Centre. The drive north began in mist which gave a wonderful eerie atmosphere to the still water at Miranda where the shorebirds congregate.
2700 wrybills live there, 65% of the world’s total population of wrybills. They were a delight to watch, as they feed relentlessly, darting their wry bills into the estuary first to the left, then to the right, hopping about energetically. The stilts and godwits seem positively dignified in contrast to the wrybills, feeding at a much more sedate pace.
By the time we tore ourselves away from watching birds, and the wonderful book shop in the Bird Centre, it was nearly mid-day. The ride across the bottom of the Firth of Thames was rather mundane. Though the first few kilometres provided some excitement from navigating soggy patches caused by the big storm of 5 Jan 2018 (which had caused us csuch difficulty on our summer Coromandel cycling trip). There was a great deal of nothing much to see, although we knew the sea was only a few hundred metres away, it was mostly out of sight.
As there seemed unlikely to be anything of great interest materializing, we ate lunch by the side of the road, with nothing much in sight and pressed onto Bugger Café, Pipiroa which had been recommended by our shuttle driver. There were many photographs of bugger moments to entertain and the food and coffee were splendid.
The scenery improved after this, as we rode alongside the Piako River, framed by the hills of the Coromandel.
At Kopu, where we were thankful to be finally past the half way point, there is an interesting historic bridge with a section which opens to allow ships through, the last remaining in NZ.
When Captain James Cook arrived in 1779 he sailed right through to Paeroa, which you can’t do any longer as the river is silted since the forest has been cleared and turned into farmland. At Kopu the track turned inland and heading back south down the Hauraki Plains for another 27 km to Paeroa. This was similar terrain to the day before – farmland, herds of cows in churned up fields, bridges and cattle stops.
Day 3: Waihi to Paeroa and back again:6 August 2018
After an intervening rainy day where we explored Waihi and shifted Bella (our campervan) to Waihi Beach, the day dawned crisp, clear and sunny after the previous day’s consistent rain. Our plan was to drive to Waihi and ride to Paeroa and back again. On the recommendation of a friend we had hoped to catch the historic train one way from Waikino to Waihi, but alas the train was off for a fortnight, so riding all the way was our only option.
We had high expectations of this section of the Trail as a number of people had told us that the ride through the Karangahake Gorge was the absolute highlight of the Hauraki Rail Trail. Our expectations were met, and then some. Every aspect of the Trail was an improvement on previous days: the scenery was a dramatic improvement enlivened by being beside the river for most of the day; there were interesting interpretation boards informing us about the industrial history of the areas we were riding through; the trail was a better surface for riding on; the route was much more interesting riding as the terrain offered much more variety.
The first part of the day’s ride, which we began at Waihi Railway Station, was beside a reasonably placid river, with some interesting swoops up and down and tranquil sections beside the fast running river, fringed with wintry trees. I do love the shape of trees without any leaves, as we only see them in winter. So architectural in their shapes.
We zoomed along, enjoying the more interesting scenery that riding beside the river offered compared to the farmland we had spent the previous couple of days amongst.
The section from Waihi to Waikino was not following the railway line, which still exists as a functioning railway. There were segments of it that we would have sworn were former cuttings from a former railway line, lined with ferns and dripping gently.
At Waikino we headed across the bridge and under that highway to check out the Railway Station Cafe, which had a great reputation. We judged it well deserved – the café is atmospheric with the main room in the former stationmaster’s office, adorned with historic photos of Waikino in it’s industrial heyday and railway memorabilia and cheered by a bright fire. The food and coffee were excellent as well.
Next stop was the Owharoa Falls which we had visited the previous day when they were running furious, brown and angry looking. Now that the rain had stopped, the Falls still had plenty of energy, spraying positive ions around, tumbling energetically towards the river below.
The section between Owharoa Falls and the Karangahake Tunnel was a delight. Ross particularly enjoyed the track surface, which supported a good fast riding pace, while I enjoyed the forest most of all.
We stopped awhile at the Karangahake Tunnel to read the information boards about the engineering feat of building the 1086m tunnelcutting which was started in 1900 and finished in November 1905. It was built to help transport mining material and gold in and out of Waihi quickly instead of the old pack horses. The tunnel is so straight, that it’s no challenge to see the light at the end of the tunnel and torches are not necessary for the downhill ride which requires no effort beyond steering your bike.
The two elegant steel bridges on ether end of the tunnel were built and transported from Christchurch.
From Karangahake it’s a straightforward run through to Paeroa, passing right by the house of the friendly bike mechanic who advertises his services as 24/7 and was happy to fix Ross’ broken spoke on a Sunday morning. We ate our lunch in Paeroa, sitting beside the giant L&P bottle, entertained by the visiting groups who came for the classic “I’m in Paeroa” photograph.
On our way back we stopped at the wonderfully quirky Talisman Café which served delicious food and had the best garden with Asian influences in the plantings and in the carvings. A spot of tranquillity that matched the beautiful natural surroundings rather than the turbulent industrial history of the area.
For variety, we chose the route beside the Ohinemuri River, through the Karangahake Gorge.
The path is narrow, and in many places, we needed to walk our bikes. Absolutely worth it – the Gorge is dramatic, especially with the river running fast and high.
The area is full of interesting remains of the industrial past when the gold from Waihi was processed in this area. Victoria Battery is an atmospheric place, with ghosts of its important industrial past when it was considered the largest and most advanced facility to crush quartz in New Zealand.
These huge tanks contained cyanide which was used in the processing and may be the reason for these modern day signs.
It was most active during the Great Depression when men (and they were all men) were grateful for any work, no matter how hard or dangerous it was. The working conditions looked atrocious, although the company made good returns for its owners.
The rest of the ride was an uneventful retracing of the route we had followed in the morning, back to Bella at Waihi Station. A great day’s ride to finish up the Hauraki Rail Trail.