Another early start to catch the 6.30am sailing of the Arahura.

Good spot in the checkin position for cycles in watching all the off loading and reloading (especially the trucks and number of them) before it was my turn to board which was basically last after all the railway wagons were on.

Thankfully David McCormick had let me know the process which was helpful as when on board I was shown to a small area on the side of the ship where there was already a 3 wheeler cycle secured so Mr Scott had to go against this and a mobile welding unit.. There were some rope ties, but the bungy cords with a toggle that I had borrowed from Al were just the trick.

By the time I got Mr Scott sorted, I looked around and seemed to be the only person on the deck and until I found my way out, thought for a few minutes that this is where I might be travelling for the crossing… It might have been a bit too early in the morning, but it took a while to work out that the doors were watertight ones and don’t look like the type that you would normally use. That is my excuse anyway.

When I got up to the lounge and deck level, I was surprised to see that we were already down the sound, I just did not feel the sensation that the ship was moving.

In looking from the deck onto the trucks on the open vehicle deck there was a cattle truck with cows on board and felt sorry for them all cramped in their pens.

Thankfully the strait was relatively smooth and with the Arahura not loosing its propeller or hitting the bottom, she docked in Wellington on time (you can note that KJT) and Mr Scott was still upright. It was sunny, but the wind was rather fresh.. It was good to get off though and walked off with seemingly the end of a shift with another number of workers walking on for the return crossing.

As I had my riding bib on under my shorts, it was easy to get into the riding gear and hit the roads of the North Island. A quick check of the maps application in the tablet refreshed the memory of how to get onto SH2 and although it was also signed, I missed the cycle exit on the flyover, but I was sure that I could still ride on the road, something that my niece Kate and her husband Grant (a very active mountain biker) had confirmed. Despite this, when you are riding on what appears to be a motorway, it is reassurng to reach a major intersection and there is a cycle lane, so phew it is okay.

There is a cycle lane but it appeared to be a bit of broken ashpalt and crossed in front of all the commercial buildings, so it was safer to be on the road and the surface was great.

Like yesterday I was now looking for breakfast, as while I had some carrots with my dinner last night, I did not want to risk breakfast in case the crossing was a bit rough. Found a cafe in Lower Hutt and was good to go after this continuing on SH2 and a really good road surface with generally a very wide shoulder. Again like in France, when it is a busy road, it is reassuring seeing cyclists coming the other way confirming that it is obviously okay.

Out to Lower Hutt there was basically a cycle lane off the road, but I was not going to bother with this and were going to use the road and noticed a number of Police past me and as no one said anything so all good.

The wind was basically not that helpful but from the Dominion I was hoping that the wind would be behind me on the other side of the Rimutakas.

One of the strangest things that I saw on the road today, following a spark plug removal tool yesterday, was a hook with a handle that you would use for moving wool bales. Bloody dangerous that it was just lying on the road.

Riding through Upper Hutt observed a church Saint Peter Chanel, which was a surprise as other than the one named in Motueka and one in the Bay of Islands, I did not know that there was another one.

Before getting to the Rimutaka climb, there was a rather sharp ramp that went on a bit and then it was slightly undulating before reaching the start of the Rimutaka’s which was a lovely climb and went to just over 500m based from my Garmin. About 2/3rds of the way up there was a pipe with a lovely flow of cold water so good to get my feet doused and have a cool drink as it was getting rather warm. On the weather the TV weather showed Blenheim yesterday at 27 degrees which I think was a bit optomistic.

The decent off the Rimutakas was a real hoot and even when you decended to effectively the foot of the valley, it continued to be a decent right into the town of Featherston where it was time for a pie and coffee.

All the planets must have been in align as finally the wind gods were looking after me and while not directly behind, was very favourable and 35 to 40k was achievable, as Les would say, a lazy 35k. This was very fortunate as there were some very long straights in the 40k to Masterton.

Riding through Greytown I was very impressed with the rewnovation of the older buildings with lots of cafes and resturants. The other thing that I noticed was the number of building companies that had built display show homes, so obviously a lot of building is going on in the area.

I need to compliment the authorities for the cycle lane shoulder from Featherston as it is a busy road, but for once the cycle lane was wide and the surface was really great so certainly prepared to use the lane.

Arrived in Masterton and while only 98ks ridden, it was enough as had been a long day for day 3.

It is very hot so a nap was deserving while washing is drying prior to getting up tomorrow and doing it all again!

Al has sent me an email advising that the last day for entry into the K2, being a 200k race around the Coromandel is today, as it would work to do this on the way south, but while tempted I would be a bit frustrated if I got taken out in this which prevented me completing the lap of NZ, so think that I will pass.

By the way for those checking my Garmin and Strava, for some reason while todays ride was downloaded from my mobile, day 2 has not. I have tried uninstalling the application and then applying it again, but no joy and for some reason I cannot download it to the tablet direct from the Garmin, so will need to find another computer to do this.