We stayed at the cabins up the top of the hill overlooking the inlet , but the weather prevented much viewing . As it passed we sent an envoy out , on a short straw , to find fish and chips for the team back at base . Wayne lost . That night we listened to songs on the phones , and lamented the lack of a guitar , but made a hole in the Scotch , and slept well . We packed up , and discovered an idiosyncrasy of small town life at the local café . Ferries and traffic start around 6:30 , but the cafes don ’ t open until 8:30am for coffee , and 9am for food ! With the ferry leaving on the dot of 8:30am , ( no waiting ) we were unable to secure coffee or breakfast , and crossed to Kohukohu praying that something would open , before our journey into the less populated hinterland . The much anticipated road over the Mangamuka Saddle was closed at the time of our tour , forcing us to take the road to Broadwood and Ahipara before reaching Kaitaia and heading for the Cape and the Lighthouse . Friends had alerted Wayne to turning left from the Kohukohu ferry instead of right , and joining up with the route near Broadwood . ‘ Picturesque ’ and a ‘ great road ’ apparently . Ok . But coffee ...? Fortunately , sanity prevailed , and we turned right first , finding a charming café in the township 4km up the road from the ferry . Outdoor seating with overhead cover , and walls adorned with Frida Stark artwork , the coffee , food and service were incredibly good . Highly recommended . Once again Wayne struck up conversation with locals , who turned out to be working on a film production nearby at Panguru , where the famed Dame Whina Cooper , Te Whaea o te Motu (“ Mother of the Nation ”), the subject of the film , died in 1994 , aged 98 . Heading back past the ferry we found Wayne ’ s road , and it was indeed picturesque and curly , with glorious views down the Hokianga , passing Our Lady of the Assumption , the often photographed church steeple seen from the Rawene side . We stopped to do a little filming , parking near some seldom used stockyards . These roadside stops were welcome , and a great chance to chat about what we were seeing , and compare our pleasures of discovery on the trip . Travelling with companions who are both knowledgeable , highly interested and engaged , is one of life ’ s great pleasures . On mounting up , Cam rolled his scooter back to allow Wayne to pass in front , but as he did so , his rear wheel went down the bank slightly . Unexpectedly , this then turned into a full scale backwards slide , as a frantic grasp of the front brake merely hastened his toppling backwards off the road , and he slid completely down the bank , with a particularly startled look on his face as he disappeared from view . I confess here and now to being a cruel companion , as I found this hysterically funny . Of course , I had no idea what was at the bottom of the bank , and he could have disappeared into a deep farm ditch , but fortunately his descent was completed with falling to the right onto long wet grass with the scooter lying on the same side as the day before . I jumped down to help our fallen comrade and pull the scooter off him , relieved to see him unhurt , but nevertheless slightly shocked at his own unexpected disappearance . Both parties upright , and pushed back up the hill , Wayne and I proceeded to fall about with cackling hysteria . Although Wayne was still snorting in his helmet about it at lunchtime , and was probably storing it away for some future dining story .
GRAVEL OR BUST Through several road-works stops we rolled , and were confused when the road suddenly came to at a terminal T junction ; gravel to the left and a dead-end , and gravel to the right , ending in Mitimiti ; albeit the birthplace of Ralph Hotere , neither was on the visit-list for the day . Back we tootled through the roadworks stops , weathering the bemused glances of the controllers , and looked left onto that gravelled Broadwood connecting road . 22 kilometres of unsealed roads on twelve-inch wheels is something to negotiate . Perhaps it turned to seal out of sight round the corner ?
44 KIWI RIDER