#katzemccarthy

Taranaki/Egmont National Park Visitor Centre

The Taranaki/Egmont National Park Visitor Centre is about 28KM from the place I was staying in New Plymouth. To access the side road that leads up to the visitor centre, I took SH3 west out of New Plymouth & after a few minutes I had reached Egmont Village.

The turn off for the visitor centre ia at Egmont Villiage & I turned right…

New Plymouth & NZ Tattoo & Art Festival

This November, New Plymouth hosted the NZ Tattoo & Art Festival, so I of course saw another opportunity for a road trip. The route I chose for this journey was down the West Coast of the North Island.

When heading off on a road trip I like to avoid the commuter traffic so I departed Central Auckland at 06:10 & headed down SH1 as this is the quickest way to exit Auckland. My plan to avoid commuter…

The ride to Musick Point

Musick Point is a fascinating place to visit & the ride there is a short & fun ride. Musick Point is 25KM from Auckland CBD in the eastern suburb of Bucklands Beach. It is a great place if you are wanting to get out for a quick ride with a place to relax at the end. In 1942 Musick Point was named after Ed Musick (an aviator & Chief Pilot for Pan American World Airways from 1927 until his death in…

The ride to Piha Beach

I recently bought myself a new piece of equipment which I’m hoping will enhance my blog. I have purchased a GoPro Hero5 Black. My first venture out with the GoPro attached was just a short but awesome ride to Piha Beach. Piha Beach is a popular surf beach on the west coast of Auckland. I grew up swimming at Piha but for the uninitiated, it is a dangerous swimming spot with many lives taken or…

Riding the East Cape – Day 4

Rotorua to Auckland As I was checking into Aywon Motel, my companions called me to ask if there were any spare rooms as they were not impressed with their accommodation. I asked but was glad that the place was booked out as my motel was not good either. Firstly, the person booking me in wanted to scan my credit card & got annoyed when I told him that he would not be scanning my credit card. At…

Riding the East Cape – Day 3

Gisborne to Rotorua Our night in Gisborne was spent at the Bella Vista which was really comfortable & lovely staff. I have to say when travelling on a motorbike, I feel people engage with you more & there seems a genuine interest in your travels & your bikes. Besides the freedom of travelling on a bike, this is another reason I enjoy the bike as it is such a great way to meet new people. We dined…

Riding the East Cape – Day 2

Whakatane to Gisborne Our second day started with breakfast at Poppy’s Café & a discussion about how we would proceed as there was a potential road closure further down SH2 around Opotiki. As you can guess, we all decided we would give it a go & see what was in store for us as we went. Today the plan was to head out around the cape taking SH35 all the way round. The day was magnificent as we…