Although England is congested, the country’s dedication to bike lanes and sidewalks , especially in urban areas, is noticeable. Everyday, I either wander around on foot, or ride my bike, with no real destination in mind, however pubs are usually the end result!
I have week left here in England and then off to Danmark, Sverige and Norge!
Happy October! Autumn is in the air!
… while cycling out to the Needles on Isle of Wight!
My rain clothes and cycling computer arrived and I jumped on the ferry to Isle of Wight!
It was a quick sail from Portsmouth to Ryde. Since I hadn’t had breakfast nor coffee, first stop was a no brainer…
I set my Strava to my Airbnb in Niton, and began my journey along the coast and through many little villages.
I checked in and did a stretch all the way to the pub! Beer, fisherman’s pie and France in the background!
Tomorrow…. Another day in the saddle!
https://strava.app.link/nFbb9jozVWb
https://strava.app.link/QSoyagXyVWb
…to get back in the seat and tour England!
Touring around was never something I found particularly exciting. Aside from a great way to commute, riding a bike for me was more about the social piece. Sharing the trails with friends, flying down mountains laughing…looking at jumps and gaps, talking about how to approach and where to land…with friends! Since mountains are scarce here, bike lanes are plenty, and I have lost my grit, it was time to buy a simple but reliable bike to explore and get to and from places. I also do not have a car so a bike it is. And it’s a lot less money! My plan is to tour southern England, starting with Isle of Wight and South Down National Park, which stretches from Eastbourne to Winchester.
Isle of Wight is a quick ferry ride from here, Portsmouth. In addition there are numerous ferries sailing to France, Spain and Netherlands. With this in mind, perhaps I will jump on the ferry to Netherlands and cycle through Denmark to Sweden in the near future!
I have two more weeks here in England. I’ll continue to enjoy spending time with my daughter, her fiancé and my Kosmos. visit pubs by bike and by foot, before continuing on to Sweden and Norway! This time, I’ll leave by bike behind in England! Next time, I might venture further!
…. I enjoy the scenery at a slow pace! Southern parts of England!
And in the evenings, enjoying a cuppa tea at my daughter’s quaint house in Waterlooville!
I had been chasing wind to get some sessions of windsurfing in and stumbled onto this area just north of Auckland! Like so many other places in NZ, The Shakespeare regional park is a Nature Reserve. This is not a Freedom camp ground and a hefty 20 nz$ will give you a private beach, showers, clean toilets, fields to wander, birds singing and complete silence at night! Well worth the twenty bucks, I think!
During my evenings I’ve been reading “a Different Kind of Power”, an autobiography of Jacinda Ardern, one of the previous PMs of NZ! Well worth the read! She is an ordinary yet extraordinary woman, who was elected fortieth prime minister at the age of thirty seven, becoming the country’s youngest PM. Perhaps she is best known for reforming gun laws in just ten days, and therefore a hero in my eyes! All she wanted to be remembered for was her kindness.
As the evening approach, it sounds like I’m in a bird sanctuary. The swamp hens are chasing each other as the males might be competing for the only female. The lush hills, exotic plants and birds in the trees surround my van. I lay here reading a novel with all doors ajar. A bit chilly, but if I close my eyes, I get the sense I’m in a jungle.
A nice last evening in the van in New Zealand!
And now back to Auckland for two days …
On my way back I decided to stop at one of the parks in the outskirts of the city.
Seems like the government is working hard to protect NZ’s land, as well make sure children grow up with access to New Zealand’s nature!
Hard to believe I’m actually in Auckland, with this nature around me!
Goodnight…
…and a sulphuric bath right downtown.
…”imported” in 1902 from California. After the WW2 they made the Whakarewarewa Redwood Forest Park a WW1/2 memorial site. These trees are spectacular today and are surrounded by giant ferns that look like palm trees.
The mountain biking is also spectacular! I sooo wish I had a bike! Speaking to riders in this area, I learnt that there are trails for everyone, from beginner to experts! I thought our trails on the west coast of Canada were amazing… as with most things, New Zealand has taken it one step further.
Ōtamarākau
It’s time to bathe!
… the Kiwi!
A learned day, at the Kiwi National Hatchery. I’ve been looking for the Kiwi for two weeks now and today I realized the reasons why I haven’t seen them. They are nocturnal and sleep for 16 hours. Without the hatchery these birds may be extinct today. In the wild only 50 % of eggs survive and only 5% of chicks reach adulthood because of introduced (predators) species in the past couple of hundreds years.
Scientists go out into the woods and collect eggs and bring them to the hatchery where 97% of all eggs hatch and survive. When the chicks weigh 1 kg they are released into the forests and then live for 20 years on average. A few live up to 50 years of age.
I had the pleasure of seeing three kiwis in their artificial habitats today (no cameras allowed). During my visit two eggs arrived to the hatchery.
Scientifically, the beak starts at the nostrils. A Kiwis’ nostrils are located very close to the tip of the beak. Therefore it’s the shortest beaks in the world!!!
… of how important it is to share land. Throughout my time in Canada I always struggled to understand the notion of ownership of land and the inability to walk and visit beaches above tide lines. In North America people can own land that stretches all the way to the tide/waterline. As a visitor here, in NZ, I notice that private homes and land begin and ends far above the tide line. This coincide with laws in Scandinavia and many countries throughout the world. It surprises me how in North America, land being stolen from indigenous peoples, and yet land is not shared. On many occasions in Canada, not just the west coast but also lake country in Ontario, I was chased off beaches, rocks and sea grass area, because it was “Private properties”. So when water has reached high tide lines, these waterfronts are difficult to use and land owners a struggle with sharing. As a paddler, diver, swimmer and lover of nature, I think these laws of “no trespassing”, needs to change somehow. I’m not a politician so I am not entirely sure how… the bottom line here is that we are all visitors and private ownership of land is a strange concept, especially in colonized countries, such as in North America and Oceania. I particularly remember, coming up to the surface after a dive outside Nanaimo, and swimming towards land and being yelled at “this is private property”. They even sent a dog out, and yelled “he is aggressive”. I understand this is not the norm, however I wonder if the sense of ownership results in inability to share and be a decent human.
As a side note, in Sweden we have a law called “Allemansrätten”, which ensures that all persons have the right to spend 24 hours on any land. People have some common sense and do not pitch a tent in someone’s garden, however, if needed they can pitch a tent in someone’s field or on the beach in front of a house. I believe that humans are for the majority kind and respectful and will honor privacy of others.
During my short visit here, I find people friendly, community oriented and open to tourism. They seem authentically willing to share their land, and therefore have free camping and the ease to use public land. Again, we have so much to learn.
Sailaway Sarantium 