Day 1 of my tour aotearoa route ride 61 km

Day 1 of my tour aotearoa route ride  61 km

Today's camp is at
Lat/long S 34°45.237 E 172°57.622

A early start to the day packing up before sunrise then on the road as soon as it's light - as I'm packing up some one comes over for a chat(asking why I'm up and packed so early - it's because of the tide that  I'm getting a early start - riding a bike down 90 mile beach is dependent on what's the tide is doing as for how far one gets down the beach before time runs out -turns out that it's some one who knows me from caving (see I can't seem to go any where where with out meeting some one who knows me or of me  : ) (it's a small world) the day's ride starts with a good climb back up the hill I came down to the camp ground on a gravel road (around 2.5 km?) then a 3? Km ride along SH1 to the end/start of SH1 (a round about leading to 2 carpark)  its misty weather so I can see about 100 m around me if that)  stopping to full up on water (there is a water tap(drinking water) next to the loos (though best not to reley on it to much as I'm not sure where it's from or how much water there is ) before heading down to the light house for some photos (in the mist) - there's no one else around (unlike the last time I was here when there was lots of people there) so I start riding up the path back to the carpark  (passing a few people in the mist) as I'm leaving the carpark some people in a van stop and ask me where the nearest cafe is (about 50 + km away) as I'm riding S.H.1 the mist starts to lift as I drop down a hill only to have to soon climb back up yet another hill (lots of hills in Northland : ) then back down hill until I get to the turn off to the gravel road that leads to the big sand dunes - 3 km latter I get to the carpark at the end of the road - from here my route heads in a stream 3 km out to 90 mile beach - in places there is quick sand so following the wheel tracks and spinning in low gear I make my way out to the beach (a lot faster than last time I was here) once I'm on the beach I start riding south with the dunes on the left and the sea on the right : )  easy navigation : )  riding along the beach at around 15 km/h I try to keep out of the incoming water - as the day wears on a few waves chach me out including a Rouge wave that that runs  high up the beach as I'm talking to someone who is walking the te araoa trail to Auckland - will be giving the bike a clean /check over onice I'm off the beach tomorrow - I keep riding until I run out of hard beach sand to ride on around 1:30 pm (though high tide is not until around 4 pm) so I head in the dunes to set up camp for the rest of the day/night  - plan for tomorrow is to get a early start so I can finish off the beach riding and get back on to the (some what : ) easier road riding