Day 9 - L&P Soda
Day 9 - by David Berry (edited by Luc Lafayette)
Sunday 3/10/24
Miranda Hot Springs to Paeroa
60.2 kilometers
Woke up somewhat excited to plunge into the mineral pools of Miranda Hot Springs Holiday Park. Though the smell of sulfur was in the air, it was ultimately a cement swimming pool and the water was not quite therapeutic ...... disappointing.
We rode on a single track trail and we knew it was going to be a hot day. The trail was along the coastal tract ..... no shade, lots of sun. Any chance to get off the trail would be welcome so when the sign for Rooka Cafe appeared we stopped and had cold drinks. Refreshing. There was a large wall-to-wall blackboard in the cafe that travelers would write the names of their hometowns on. There were towns and cities from all over the world! Directly in the middle of the board I wrote in all caps, ALASKA.
We pressed on and stopped at yet another cafe not too long after Rooka’s. Buggers Cafe was simply another chance to get out of the sun, as we were both feeling somewhat listless. We pressed on noting signs to stop at the Cheese Barn in Matatoki. Being hot and somewhat bored it gave us another chance to get off the trail. We got there at just about closing time and sat down at a table. Next to us was a man who struck up a conversation with us and it turned out to be the owner. He treated us to some fine cheeses, drinks and sweets and offered us a place to stay. We declined even though it was tempting as we still had another 24 kilometers to ride to Paeroa. Luc kept reminding me to hang in there. We limped into town not having secured a place to stay as there were no campgrounds, so we booked a room at the Paeroa 1 Star Motel, not the Ritz but we upgraded it to 2 stars as it had a killer shower.
The town of Paeroa is famous in New Zealand for its mineral springs, which provides the unique tasting water used in a kiwi favorite soft drink, "Lemon & Paeroa". A 10 foot high version of the bottle greeted us as we came into town. We naturally had to get a bottle. It was sweet yet subtle! Luc loved the flavor, I wasn’t totally sold.
After settling into our upgraded “2 star” motel room, Luc took me to his favorite dining establishment aka McDonalds! Where he proceeded to indoctrinate me on how to order from a touch screen computer, as the chain had done away with register services. Once ordered, the food magically appeared at our table from a McDonald’s clad employee. After eating burgers and fries we went and got a 6 pack of ice cold Heinekens and headed back to our place of refuge for the night.
We played some gin rummy on our room’s patio until the sun set. Luc mentioned in his journal that tonight was one of those simple, yet really great moments in life. Though we may not have made our goal of reaching Te Aroha, we are two friends enjoying each other's company and enjoying the journey and whatever may come our way. Life is good. Appreciate these moments.
