“It was raining quite hard at my camp at Tokomaru Bay, and I lay in my sleeping bag, reading a bit. Suddenly I see a hand coming in from outside and neighbour Chris put a Steinlager bottle in my riding shoes. Not long after that a plastic tray with a roast dinner followed. An older couple in a campervan next to me were the kind suppliers. This was Kiwi hospitality at its finest”.

In the Southern hemisphere summers of 208 and 2019, Geert returned to New Zealand but this time stayed on the North Island. He first rode on his bike Trekky and early in 2019 on the brand new Bomba – which was his maiden ride and a shakedown in preparation for the Western Wildlands Route in the USA, later that year. The hilly, volcanic terrain provided ample challenges.