The bike can take us to unique places. It’s a portal between us and the environment, offering insights and perspectives of the land and its dynamics. For me, it’s quite something to reside in New Zealand (Aotearoa), which is really a small island community in the South Pacific that’s rich in landscape, history and storytelling.
One of its special locations is Te Tai Tokerau (the indigenous Māori word for the Northland region), which offers a raw, rugged beauty unlike anywhere else in the country. I was eager to explore this remote land, which is instilled with a turbulent history, at a slower pace, by bike. What I didn’t expect was how this journey would flip my perspective and immerse me in another world.
Matua’s connection to the area, especially on the west coast, resulted in him either knowing or being related to that person. A hug, a few jokes and lots of smiles were always shared.
A ride experience like this is better shared, so I reached out to the cycling community to find a rider who had connections to the region. After some dialogue, coffees, lunches, rides and getting to know one another, I knew that Matua Murupaenga was the right partner to have alongside me. I shared with him my rough itinerary and his immediate response was: “I’m in, bro.” Matua would not only be my riding companion but also my guide to Māori customs, protocols and knowledge. He was most excited about riding across the land of Tīpuna, his ancestors’ land.
Ahead of the trip, Matua said: “Riding bikes is the purest mode of transportation and exploration. It’s something difficult to explain, but cycling in all its forms opens endless possibilities for our body to connect with the land. For me, it was obvious from the moment I was approached to be a part of this kaupapa that it would be something special. Being in Te Tai Tokerau is one of the places I really feel happy but it’s not often I get to go there to ride bikes. Going back to childhood memories, images of my teenage years getting the bus up to Hōreke for school holidays, visiting my mum who was living there at the time. This trip was an opportunity to revisit places in the Hokianga on my own terms.”
Our road trip north was filled with chats and Māori musicians that Matua introduced me to. The rat race was left behind as we transitioned to a slower pace. So, with that in mind, it wouldn’t be a hard ride from A to B, but rather a “tiki tour” across the region. This would allow us to be present during the ride, see landmarks along the way, meet unique characters and allow the stories to unfold organically.
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