We saw some new sections of NZ this past weekend when we drove 6.5hrs north to Rotorua. Steve was participating in the Single Speed World Championships - a 42km mountain bike race where your bike has only one gear. The race is held in a different location every year, and this year just happened to be here in NZ. One of Steve's good friends from home, who builds True North bicycles, attends the race every year, and so we were excited to meet up with him.
This is a view of the Otaki coastline - on the drive north, about an hour after leaving our home. 
The race had 900 participants, and is more of a 'fun race' than a serious race. Of course there are always a few professional riders who come to win (winners are forced to get a tattoo at the finish line), but most come to flaunt creative costumes, drink beer, and enjoy the beautiful trails.
Above is an example of a few of the costumes we saw...
Steve went traditional, and wore his normal riding kit. 
One of the best viewpoints was this stream crossing (Steve is the rider about to cross); nearly 75% of the riders fell in due to a deep, invisible pit under the water that caught the front wheel. No one was seriously injured, everyone came out with a grin, and it made for some good laughs.
Steve was no exception!
A post-race shot of Steve, friend Hugh, and two other Canadians who came over to do the race.
Steve took another spill where he scraped his leg on gravel and had some impressive blood and scabs to show for it. No bruising though, so it's healing pretty quickly.
We spent the rest of the weekend walking around Rotorua with our friends - the gardens were beautiful and we had sunny weather all weekend. I took along my road bike and rode the circumference of Lake Rotorua, which was lots of fun. 
We drove to some of the other nearby lakes to see the surrounding region.
This was taken at a Redwood Forest, with trees that were planted in 1901. 
Steve's friend Hugh and his girlfriend Christine took us up on the offer to return south to Wellington with us, so Steve and Hugh went to work fitting four bikes, 8 wheels, and all our luggage into our station wagon. It worked! We did, however, have to put one bag of 3 wheels on the roof, and pile luggage around us all.
On the drive home, stretching our legs and enjoying the views. 
Mt Ngauruhoe, aka Mt Doom in Lord of the Rings, which Steve and I hiked around in April this year. It looked so different with snow still covering it. 
Back home, on the beachfront looking towards Wellington. We enjoyed Hugh and Christine's company for a couple more days, and showed them a few of our favourite nearby spots. They have gone back up north for the rest of the week before heading back to Toronto. 