Couple on course after horror ride | Northland News | Local News in Northland

A reality check had to be done on Wouter van Wezemael's childhood dream of cycling the length of New Zealand when he and partner Vanessa Mudarra faced the terrors of State Highway  1 north of Whangarei.

The dream turned to a nightmare when they cycled just 6km on SH1 from the Oakura turn-off to Hikurangi. After being forced off the road by a truck in Hikurangi, they climbed aboard the bus for Auckland with toddler Ella. Survival had overtaken the dream.

 "I am trying to cast that 6km  ride out of my memory," says Wouter.

He said the main  roads are just as dangerous for cyclists  in most parts of Europe, particularly Spain and Portugal.

" The difference between Spain and New Zealand is that there are also several alternative minor routes to get to the same destination," he says.

"The alternate sealed routes to SH1 in Northland tend to take you east west, so you don't get any closer to where you want to go. Unsealed roads are not an option with a baby."

The Spanish-based couple - Wouter is from Belgium but trained as a linguist in the UK - are biking with their 14-month-old daughter Ella, literally in tow. Wouter tows the luggage and Vanessa tows Ella in a buggy.

After quitting their jobs in Spain, the couple travelled to New Zealand to start Wouter's dream 3000km cycle trip, which began at Cape Reinga on November 1.

While the couple were later to be blown off the road by a truck travelling too close on the nightmare 6km ride, they were blown away by the spectacular scenery of the Far North.

"It is absolutely stunning. I would advise anyone who comes to New Zealand who only knows about the South Island to go there.

"We wouldn't have missed the Far North for anything ."

 
 After safe cycling down from the Cape Reinga where they revelled in the wildness and isolation, they continued  down State Highway 10. Their stops included Whangaroa, Kerikeri, Bland Bay, and Oakura - where they were forced to turn inland to get on to SH1 to go south.

Both dressed in high-viz jackets, Vanessa went in front with Ella, Wouter about 100m behind with orange flag fixed to his bike.

'We decided to stick to the shoulder if there was one and not to stop until we got to the bus-stop at Hikurangi even if Ella started crying. It was not a nice experience."

Wouter said a German friend had told them he had cycled from Auckland to Whangarei.

"He said he would never, ever do it again. He was frightened to death. He said some of the drivers seemed to be almost on the warpath."

Now in Auckland, the couple decided to take a ferry to Coromandel, where they will explore the national parks and then cycle to Tauranga and Rotorua.

"It feels a little bit like defeat but there is no alternative. In the end you don't care - it is safety first.

"As adults we can choose, but Ella is a baby and she doesn't have a voice yet."

They are using the cycling trip to raise money for the Forest & Bird Society to give something back to New Zealand.