Black Swans on the tidal lagoon by Clive on our ride to lunch
It was evident to both Mike and I that Anne and Keith are more recreational riders than we are and todays planned ride of close on 75km would be too much for them. Anne had also just put her home in Havelock North up for sale and later this morning the second open house was taking place. She and Keith needed to sort a few things out to get it into ship shape for the viewings.
So that we could spend some time together Anne booked a table at the Clearview Estate Winery for lunch with the goal that we would meet them there and then cycle back to Havelock North together where we needed to return our bikes. Logistically it was a bit pressured, both getting to lunch on time and then making sure we could return our bikes before the shop shut. Although we were hiring them the following day for another ride we did not have the chargers with us or anywhere to securely store them at Anne’s. However, it all worked out well.
The owner of the bike shop (Revolution Bikes) fitted us up with an excellent set of e-mountain bikes. I also bought a phone holder from him which was really nice. We headed out of town quickly getting off the tarmac onto a gravel track which was fun. We had decided to follow the Hastings wine trail. Must admit my imagination of what it would be like was better than the reality as the area was farming on an industrial scale, very flat landscape and not really that pretty. Definitely in need of a coffee so stopped at the first real option – Oak Hills winery.
That was delightful and we decided that as well as the coffee we would have a glass of sparkling wine each. I went for the Rose whilst Mike had the Blanc de Blanc. We both preferred his, so I bought a bottle to go into the panniers to be enjoyed at the end of our holiday. Unfortunately as I discovered later we were charged for 2 bottles, however, once I rang up the owner a couple of days later when I discovered the overpayment he was quick to refund us and I was very happy with his response.
A leisurely stop had put us a bit behind and we were up against the clock. Unfortunately heading Eastwards back into Hastings the wind was into our face and had strengthened considerably. The good thing was that we were on great bike tracks on the berms built up to protect from sea inundation and flooding. There were however many gates that we had to get off to go through. Bit of a nuisance hauling my heavy e-bike round and through these gates, some of which were a bit on the small / narrow size to get through.
It was lovely getting to the coast and looking up the coastline towards the cliffs on Cape Kidnappers. One of the coastal hikes I would have liked to have done but it is not practical unless the low tide times are favourable. We did skip off the bike path to make up a bit of time and arrived for lunch within 5 minutes of our agreed meeting time. A mean feat, definitely felt we were time trialing after our coffee break! Alas we didn’t really take any photos today.
Lunch was in a delightfully beautiful rustic setting but we didn’t really have long enough to enjoy it as the table was booked for 14:00 and we needed to have the bikes back by 16:00, so we only really had just over an hour. Would like to have relaxed for longer.
The ride back with Anne and Keith was at a slower pace and it was nice to ride with them and chat along the way. That evening we took them out to a Japanese fusion restaurant in Havelock North. Really enjoyed the meal and the way that spice had been used in the dishes (very un-Japanese). I think the open house viewings went well but although Anne did receive an offer later in the week it was not enough for her to accept. Financially difficult times for her and I hope that she is able to get a buyer who makes an acceptable offer soon. As a Postscript she let us know whilst we were in Sydney that they had accepted an offer which although they would have liked to be more allows them to move on. Time to celebrate with some bubbles.
