Adventure Magazine 226

TO THE ISLAND
By Lynne and Steve Dickinson
“The world is beyond us,
It's too enormous
But oh, the island is just right,
It's the perfect size”
Day one: Weather with You:
“Everywhere ya go, always take the weather with you”
When I noticed Crowded House’s “To the Island Tour”
were performing at Church Road in Napier at the same
time that THL Holdings were offering specials on their
campervans, it was like a ‘perfect storm’ for a road trip.
It was the end of March and the day we picked up our
camper the sun was shining and the temperature gauge
read 25 degrees and the forecast for the week was
nothing but sun. With recent mountain bike purchases
itching to clock up some miles we booked a camper
with bike racks and off we went. Often one of the issues
hiring a campervan for a short trip, is the hassle of filling
in the paperwork, picking up the van, however, this was
far from our experience; when we picked up our Maui
camper, it was slick in and out and on the road.
Little Waipa Domain on the banks of the Waikato River,
our first stop, is not far from Lake Karapiro. This free
camping spot had plenty of space, and to our surprise
plenty of lake edge parking. We backed up to the river's
edge, unhooked our bikes, locked the doors and headed
off on the Waikato River Bike Trail. One of the joys of
having a campervan is that you are right near where
you want to be, in an amazing setting and it’s super
convenient.
The Waikato River Trail officially begins at the
Pokaiwhenua Stream, just off the State Highway 1 on
Horahora Road. I had unwittingly stumbled on the trail
during the Spring Challenge Adventure Race at the end
of 2020 and was keen to revisit it again. The trail covers
over 100km and takes in 5 lakes and 4 hydro dams, but
the trail is accessible from many locations along the way
so you can bike as much or as little as you like.
We started at the Little Waipa Reserve, an undulating
section that follows a distinct path alongside the Waikato
River. It is incredibly picturesque and it meanders across
a well maintained gravel track before hitting the 500m
continuous boardwalk over the Huihuitaka Wetland.
According to the map and web research, the 6.2km ride
is graded intermediate, however I would have graded it
a little less.
One of the issues with spending the afternoon biking is
the need to feel clean at the end of the day. Although
our camper was completely self-contained, we were
surprised to find that the Little Waipa Domain offered
toilets and not just showers but hot showers! This is not
how remembered freedom camping in NZ. Impressed.
Day Two: Now we're getting Somewhere
“Lay me out with your heart
Now we're getting somewhere
Push me back to the start
Now we're getting somewhere”
One of the keys to an interesting road trip is to stay off
the main roads. So although we were heading towards
Taupo, we stuck to the backroads via Whakamaru Dam.
It was here that we picked up the Waikato Bike Trail
again. This section of the track goes from Whakamaru
Dam to Atiamuri, a distance of 24 km, graded
intermediate. On the entrance to the trial is a number for
a shuttle service so if you don’t want to do the return trip
you can organise to be picked up. We decided to bike for
a while and then simply turn round.
The start of the trail had no elevation but wound
backwards and forwards through the trees along the
river edge with large rock faces and pastoral lands
creating an impressive backdrop. A couple of km along
we reached the Lake Whakamaru Reserve, another
fantastic free facility right on the river's edge.
From here the trail became more technical as the path
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