Go East Young Man

With a long weekend in sight a group of us decided to add a daylong ride to a suitable day free of precipitation and an abundance of sunshine. In fact it looked as though to much sunshine might be a problem with temperatures forecast to reach into the thirties and the dreaded 'summer ice' becoming an issue. The choice was made to head east into Central Hawkes Bay and push out to Porangahau and back home via Pongaroa and all done over a variety of less travelled back roads.

The lineup for our little adventure was Rich on the Vstrom, Sir Al on his Sportster, Bruce A on his BMW, Warren on his XJ900, Dave on his Guzzi, Gary A on his BMW 650 twin and yours truly on the GSR 750. After a few quips about the dead possum on my seat we were underway with Al in the lead taking us over the hill via the Pahiatua track and then up to Top Grass road for a back road run to Dannevirke. It was from here things became a little unfamiliar for me as Al took a right hand turn just north of Dannevirke and had us on a road heading for a place called Ormondville. It was a great ride through the back roads of Central Hawkes Bay and we eventually popped out at the Hatuma Cafe for a much anticipated morning tea.

It was an excellent cup of tea and after having heard a lot of praise about the cafe I can see why. We were soon back on the road and heading into Waipukurau so we could take a left turn and head out towards the Porangahau on the east coast. It was a run with many engaging corner's all the way out to the village. The day was getting to be very warm so a refreshment stop was called for and we got to see the comings and goings of the place. Sir Al then had us back on the road and backtracking a little to have us turning off for Wimbledon and our next stop at Pongaroa. What was very noticeable on the road and the countryside was the amount of logging going on. The road from Wimbledon to Waione has been absolutely trashed by the logging trucks. Appalling; and one really feels for the rate payers in the district. At least those of us on our two wheels are very gentle on roads! 

Pongaroa soon appeared and with it being a very hot day some more refreshments were much appreciated at the hotel. We were on the home stretch now and heading west back to Palmerston North. The Puketoi Ranges lived up to its reputation as being a very windy place and it was nice getting back into the relative calm of the Makuri Gorge. It was an excellent day out and having completed over 400 kms, I was certainly thankful I had my dead possum cushioning me. It was a great ride and one that I am sure we will do again.