Invercargill to Bluff

Day 34 - Wednesday 31 March 2010
Dist: 38 km. Av. Speed: 21 km/hr. Cal: 600. Ride Time: 1 hour 45 min

Sander and I coasted through the Bluff township just before lunch, admiring all the majestic old buildings and wondering about their past glory days. We slipped past the old paua house and around the beach front with the cool 40s bungalow era architecture, then around the final right hand bend… and there in front of us… was the sign marking the end of the road.

I rode straight to it, jumped off my bike and hugged it. It was over.

It was a wonderful feeling to have accomplished the goal of riding my bike from one end of my country to the other - but it was more than that. I’d successfully connected with family and friends from top to bottom - and through the middle - and shared some great times that I’ll never forget. I had many ‘moments’ when it just felt great to be alive and I reflected on how lucky I am to have been born in godzone country and how privileged I am to call so many great people friends.

Wow - what a trip! Six months of planning, 34 days to complete and memories and experiences that will last a lifetime.

Thank you to everyone who has helped along the way, with encouragement, texts, blog posts, logistics, food, beds, pick-ups, drop-offs, drafting and lots of laughs and good times. It’s been an absolute blast and a hoot to have shared it with you all. I couldn’t have done it without you.

There were a few showers last night and for a fleeting moment I thought my blessed run was over. But by dawn they’d gone and although the concrete coloured sky (thanks Bic) looked threatening it was yet another perfect day for a bike ride.

Sander and I set off for the final push to Bluff (via the offy) about 10:30 with a slight tail wind and carrying only minimal gear. We wove our way through the suburban streets of Invercargill and out on to the highway south. The road was pretty flat and it passed through wetlands and deer farms with Bluff Hill prominent about 25km in the distance. We made good speed and were soon entering the Bluff built-up zone past the massive freezing works that closed in 1991 and the ships graveyard where most of the once busy Foveaux Strait fishing fleet have been scuttled.

We found the sign pointing us up the infamous Bluff Hill, took a photo, and several deep breaths then started to climb. Now this is a serious hill and deserves respect. I was down to the granny gear almost immediately but determined not to walk it, so my strategy was to zig zag. It worked really well and gave me a chance to look back down the slope at the view as well. After lots of panting and grunting and talking to my weary legs I finally entered the last left hand bend and a nice tail wind popped me up on to the top and into the car park. But that’s not the top… the lookout has a ramp that spirals around the rocky knob and delivers you to the highest point for brilliant 360 degree views over Southland, Stewart Island and Foveaux Strait.

We met a family from Tauranga at the top and got them to take the necessary photos (for the pool room) before we descended back to Bluff township and around the waterfront to the end of State Highway 1.

Sander cracked the bubbles from the offy- while I sent texts and pixts - and we savoured the moment amongst the tourists, the mutton birds and the vicious sandflies.

It was past lunchtime by now and “The Drunken Sailor Café was right there, so what could we do but sample some local produce - the blue cod and oysters of course. Actually I can take or leave oysters and I’m yet to taste good blue cod, but it was a nice café with a perfect view over the strait.

After the massive lunch we set off back to Invercargill with far less energy and enthusiasm than we’d had on the way out, completing the 73km round trip about 4:30. Mission accomplished - awesome!

Some stats off the top of my head…

Days away: 34

Days with no pedalling: 4

Days paddling: 3

Days of rain: 0

Hours of rain: 0

Minutes of rain: 15 (yep, 15 minutes and that was just a sun shower)

Days of head winds: 1.5 (Wairau Valley and Hakataramea)

Crashes: 1 (my own stupid fault)

Close calls: 1 (my fault again, and I nearly took Butsy and Andrew down too)

Injuries: 0

Existing injuries that healed: 2

Special ‘moments’: 7

Friends/Family who pedalled: 7 (about 900km)

Friends/Family with beds: 7

Friends/Family with support: 7

Thanks to everyone for your words of encouragement and congratulations. It means a lot to have your support and is very much appreciated.

Below are some of the texts I received today... I hope you're all OK with me publishing them here...

Shari: Yah 4 u! Wel dun! C u friday!

Mum: Wot a gr8 sens of achievement u must b feeling ! Harty congrats ! ! !

Shelley: Wahooo! Looking 4wd 2 catching up on the weekend.

Tim & Sharon: Are u there yet??? Congratulations u officially qualify for the "U are a bloody legend !!"

Eddie: Outstanding work. You're a legend and it's certainly an adventure to be proud of!

Buttz: Congrats mate. Well done! That was easy.;-) what a fantastic achievement!

Frances: Woohoo! Comgrats! Savour th moment 2mrrw wit sander

Almo: LEGEND! Awesome mate! Enjoy...

Keith: U r a legend

Joris: Awesome! Congrats, was just checking your blog. Cheers for letting me join you for a bit. Hi to Sander & Catherine.

Rich: Well done ur a legend mate. C u soon Rich.

Stewart: Congratulations -fantastic achievement!!! It will be something to look back at with great pride.

John: Not quite there, you have Stewart Is to do yet! Na good on ya mate you're a legend. Respect. Cheers.

Kel: Congrats good effort b special dina nd drinks 2nite

Garston to Invercargill

Day 33 - Tuesday 30 March 2010

Dist: 126 km. Av. Speed: 26 km/hr. Cal: 2648. Ride Time: 4 hours 50 min

What a blast - today reminded me of the Hanmer to Christchurch leg last Sunday but this time the bike was fully loaded and I was without Joris to share the drafting work. Conditions were absolutely perfect; 20 degrees, overcast, 8 knot tail wind and generally downhill all the way. It was so good, and I made such good time that I decided to carry on to Invercargill and still arrived before five.

It wasn’t the earliest of starts. I finished and posted yesterday’s blog entry, Bev made me a lovely breakfast and I had to do some running repairs to the pannier carrier, but I finally pulled out of the B&B driveway just before 10:30. I decided against swapping the mtb tyres for the road tyres for this leg, mainly because I couldn’t be bothered and time was ticking along as well.

There was a warm northerly breeze blowing down the valley and it picked me up and got me quickly up to speed as I turned left on to the highway south, and the end of New Zealand. There was rain forecast and heavy rain warnings for Fiordland and Stewart Island so I was keen to get some distance under my belt before anything changed.

The highway follows the valleys in the shadow of the mountains and snakes its way southward only changing grade to rise up over the old glacial moraines before rolling into the next valley. That was the general pattern as I sat on about 30km/h for most of the morning grinning away to myself because it’s just good fun biking in those conditions (even on mtb tyres). On the flats and slight descents my legs felt fine but I did find though that after yesterday they died very quickly at the slightest hint of a climb - it would have been a long day with a head wind!

After lunching at Lumsden I noted the sign saying 44km back to Garston and 50km on to Winton and the time was 1:00pm as I got rolling again. As if conditions weren’t good enough, they got even better after lunch (or was it the chicken pie) and before I knew it I was almost in Winton.

At the 80km point I experienced another ‘moment’… I’d struggled up a fairly easy but longish grade and the road swung around to the right at the top of the rise, I was admiring the scenery to my left looking down the valley but as I swung back to the front and passed through a cutting in the road all of Southland seemed to open up in front of me and there in the background was Stewart Island. I laughed out loud as it suddenly dawned on me, there was no more New Zealand after that. I was almost there.

The 10k down to Winton was over in a flash and I’d arrived before school got out. I’d made such good time that I decided to cancel my motel there and carry on to Invercargill, only another 30km down the track. At the rate I was going I’d be there in a shade over an hour.

A quick stop for more sustenance helped and I charged on down the slope to New Zealand’s most southern city feeling fantastic and fuelled by enthusiasm. It was a huge buzz to be entering Invercargill and I was tempted to carry on to the Bluff just because I was feeling so good. But it would have been a 60km round trip on top of the 125 I’d already done, so luckily my rational brain took over and said “stop here”.

Saucy Sander met me at the town clock as it chimed five times and we battled through rush hour traffic (yeah right) to meet up with Katherine and the kids back at their lovely home.

So just a short day tomorrow, then I’ll pack up the bike ready to head home. I’m looking at staying an extra night here in Invercargill so we can go to a Southern Sharks basketball game at Stadium Southland on Thursday night and will then I’ll fly back on Friday, catch up with the family at the Baeur Cup in Auckland, hitch a ride back to Waihi with Almo on Saturday morning ready for the Waihi College reunion on Saturday night.

Cromwell to Garston (via Nevis Road)

Day 32 - Monday 29 March 2010

Dist: 82 km. Av. Speed: 14.2 km/hr. Cal: 1117. Ride Time: 5 hours 43 min

Well, talk about leave the be(a)st till last…today had the biggest climb so far, by far but some of the sweetest ‘rewards’ as well.

I was woken at 4.51am by the sound of Trevor hurling - Trevor was my Aussie neighbour at the campground, and he and his wife Meg had asked me to join them for dinner at the local Thai restaurant last night - Trevor had the seafood green curry!

It was a pretty cold night and people were talking frost but luckily I didn’t need to be up too early because I needed to get my front tyre attended too at Cycle Surgery before I could leave and they didn’t open until nine anyway. I got them to replace the tube (and bought a spare) while I went in search of breakfast. Unfortunately I timed it just as the Kiwi Experience bus arrived at the café with a load of hungover, spotty, loud, pommy gits (and gittesses) all smoking and talking up last night’s drinking session. No comment.

I stocked up on food for what was going to be a short 80km cruise up the valley, over a wee saddle and down into Garston… or so I thought.

I picked up my bike and pedalled out of town toward Bannockburn at the foot of the valley, my large plate of muesli weighing me down and the mid-morning sun overheating me on the first short, steep climb from the lake up to the pub and café.

It was only 20 minutes into the day and had to stop and shed most of my layers, apply sun block and grab a cold drink in preparation for the forecast 27 degrees. The café had some great looking passionfruit muffins and they sold jet planes - both would prove critical later in the day.

So, lighter and well stocked I zoomed off up the valley on the sealed road, past vineyards and sheep, gradually climbing and getting great views of Lake Dunstan in my rear view mirror. It was amazingly quiet, with no wind at all, until boom… boom… boom… I thought I was being shot at but it was just those damn bird scarers from the vineyards. I could still hear them, the only thing breaking the total serenity, half an hour later.

I came to a fork in the road and it turned to gravel. I laughed to myself when I saw the sign on the Nevis Road fork that said steep climb - next 9km! I thought “ha, it can’t be as steep as Dansey’s and it can’t be as long as Waipoua”. It was 10.45am and I was immediately in the granny gear and didn’t get out of it until 1.30pm when I finally reached the summit. It was way steeper than Dansey’s and way longer than Waipoua! And there must have been fifty false tops.

I’d decided not to use the iPod today, because I wanted to enjoy the serenity, today was all about the serenity (darl) and perseverance - it was amazingly quiet.

I vowed I wouldn’t walk any of today’s climbs but unfortunately some got the better of me and I had to push, but even pushing I could only go 20m, rest, 20m, rest… The view was stunning and on a good day you can apparently see Mt Cook - Aoraki but there was a small amount of cloud over the mountain tops to the north.

The summit sign was a very welcome sight. It declared that this road was the highest public road in New Zealand rising to a height of 1,300m. That was it, the highest point on my journey, it was all down hill from here right? Well except for a few more wee climbs…

The descent to Nevis Crossing (a bridge) was so steep I was hard on the brakes the whole way down as I rapidly dropped 500m down to the Nevis River - the only river in the Southern Hemisphere that flows directly South to North.

A slight tail wind had kicked in (Doreen, I’m beginning to think you’re right - thanks for the phone message) as I turned and followed the river up the wide valley floor and my progress improved dramatically. The Nevis Valley is like another world, completely isolated and stunningly beautiful - and of course there’s the serenity.

I stopped for a snack at the old ‘township’ which was built around the gold sluicing boom in the late 1800s then ventured on south through gorges and wide open grassy plains and across 25 river fords. I came across four vehicles during the day and two of them stopped for a chat. They were the farmers, driving a flock of marinos off the tops for the Autumn and they gave me good information about the valley and the road/rack ahead.

My carrier that holds the panniers broke again today. The same ‘injury’ as happened back in Hamilton but this time to the other side, so I had to slow down a bit to ensure it didn’t come to grief all together and bring me to a stop.

The final ascent up to the last saddle was a bit cold, grey and blustery but the view down into the patchworked Garston Valley was incredible with the sun going down behind the mountains and a few back-lit showers sweeping down the valleys. I paused to take it all in. Realising that this would be the last time I’d be in this environment on Le Tour I tried to absorb it all. An amazing landscape - what a beautiful country.

Another rapid descent, hard on the brakes down to the valley floor, the main road, traffic and the Garston Pub and then it was on down the road to the B&B I’d booked some months ago. Bev and Matt were great hosts, treating me to lovely vegetable soup, a mutton roast and Matt’s tasty home brew.

I slept very, very well.

Naseby to Cromwell (via Otago Central Rail Trail)

Day 31 - Sunday 28 March 2010

Dist: 129 km. Av. Speed: 21.8 km/hr. Cal: 2101. Ride Time: 5 hours 53 min

Well, well, well… so I’m biking along the Otago Central Rail Trail about 20km north of Alex minding my own business… I’d just spun up in third to top gear and clicked into second top, the speedo climbed up to 33 and I assumed the tuck, ready to clock up some cheap ks down the gentle slope with the slight tail wind… when out of the blue I hear a shout, “hey Sammy” - the voice had gone past me quickly so I looked over my shoulder to see the grinning face of the big man inside, Sander Vlade Meijer! What an awesome surprise. The cunning sod had been texting me to see if I was on schedule and I’d assumed it was so he could arrange leave to join me from Winton to Bluff, but oh no, he had another plan. He’d driven all the way up from Invercargill, got on his bike at Alexandra and cycled up to intercept me on the trail. Fantastic mate - what an amazing surprise. I’m stoked.

Up until then the day had gone pretty much as expected, although the chilly three degrees at Naseby (2000 ft above worry level) when I left at 8.15 wasn’t in the plan. There was nothing open in Naseby at that hour and the sign on the café door saying that it “opened at 9ish” didn’t instil a lot of confidence, so I shoved down a One Square Meal and my usual cup of Barley Grass and headed off, hoping to find sustenance 20km away in Wedderburn.

I joined the Rail Trail about half way between Ranfurly and Wedderburn, almost at its highest point, and pedalled west as the sun rose above the mist and started to thaw my finger-tips, nose and toes.

The trail looked like great biking with nice scenery and I started to count, and try and scope the demographic of the ‘punters’, collecting data for our own section of National Cycleway. I gave up after 40 in the first half hour.

I stopped at Wedderburn for food but the pub was still shut. I got chatting to a group of three couples in their sixties who told me that their hire company alone rents out 600 bikes per day - that’s not a typo, 600 every day! They also told me that the most popular user was women over 60, and I can confirm that with what I observed over the rest of the day.

Wedderburn is the middle of the trail so it’s a drop off and pick up point and hence quite busy, but the only nourishment I could get was a cocoa from a vending machine and two ginger nuts. That was until one of the nice ladies in the party of six offered me a couple of chocolate digestives - superb.

So it was off down the trail again toward the next wee town, saying “good morning” to cyclists about every two minutes as they toddled along in the opposite direction. It quickly became apparent that I was ‘speeding’ and definitely not doing the ‘typical’ Rail Trail experience. I asked one group if they were cyclists and they all laughed, saying things like they hadn’t been on a bike in 20 years. It was obvious by the skill level of some of the other punters that biking was pretty foreign to them too. So it was a bit of an eye-opener for me, who thought that the Rail Trail was for cyclists and probably males in their forties, to find out that the market is actually non-cyclist women over 60!

Drama at Idaburn. I finally found food at the general store here and was pleasantly surprised to see that they sold some biking bits and bobs (mainly spongy seat covers) so I bought two tubes so I could replace the one which has had a slow leak for the last couple of days. That was fine, I pulled the wheel off, dropped the old tube out, went to put the new one in but discovered it had a Schroeder valve so the stem wouldn’t fit through the hole in my rim which is made for Presta valves - doh! So I threw a patch on and put it all back together but the patch didn’t work and I had to stop and pump it up every 20km or so.

I finally found a good lunch café, The Muddy River, in Omakau about 2pm and received a text from Sander asking how I was getting on - I didn’t twig. So after and average plate of muesli (I missed breakfast remember) it was back on the trail and down the decline to Alex and on to the trail head at Clyde - or so I thought.

It was only about 10 minutes after lunch that Sander intercepted me and after a bit of a “how’s it going - what a surprise - awesome mate” we cruised off and before we knew it we were in Alex looking for a tube (no luck) and then in Clyde (no luck) so we went for coffee at ‘The Bank’ but it was just closing, soooo, the only alternative left was the pub!

We sat outside chewing the fat and enjoying the late afternoon sun and a coldy for a while before Sander retraced his pedal spins back down the other side of the river back to Alex and I braved the highway along the side of Lake Dunstan to Cromwell for the night. It was a pretty easy and picturesque ride along the lakeside but it felt very strange to be back in traffic again after three days on gravel.

Cromwell Top 10 wins the prize for the most expensive cabins in New Zealand - a 3m x 3m box for $50 per night! I’m in my tent.

Cromwell looks really nice, with it’s wee mall with the stream running through it and piped music - it even has a bike shop so I’ll be chasing a tube with a Presta valve before heading over Nevis Pass, supposedly the highest road in New Zealand, tomorrow.

The Otago Central Rail Trail is now on my must do list for all Kiwis - it’s great.

Kurow to Naseby (via Dansey’s Pass)

Day 30 - Saturday 27 March 2010

Dist: 91 km. Av. Speed: 15.3 km/hr. Cal: 1248. Ride Time: 5 hours 54 min

A tough day in the saddle! Note the average speed - the calories are nonsense. Today was all about persevering several long climbs, it’s the longest I’ve spent (by far) in the small chain ring and the time I spent in the granny gear would be quadruple what I’ve spent in it for all the rest of the tour combined.

The trip down from Kurow to Duntroon was uneventful, apart from seeing two other cycle tourists - dressed in black and riding two abreast - bloody mad. I stopped and looked at some Maori rock art, the first time I’ve done anything ’touristy’. Duntroon has several historic buildings and one café, The Flying Pig, where they “don’t make fluffies any more due to the amount of breakages and the mess”, and they charge city prices.

There’s a lot of new dairy in this area with massive irrigation schemes that have turned the normally parched brown terrain into what looks like the Waikato.

Duntroon is the turnoff to Dansey’s Pass which is the route over the ranges to the Maniototo, and curling country. It’s a popular drive on weekends for those who want to ‘drive a road less travelled’. I saw about six vehicles in four hours.

The pass starts at around 150m ASL and gradually climbs via a series of false flats up to a camping ground. After the camp, the gravel and the fun starts. It quickly rises to 440m, drops to 350, rises to 500, drops to 340 then just when you’re feeling a wee bit jaded the real climb starts, a 40 minute continuous grind in bottom gear up to the saddle at 900m.

There was no view to enjoy at the summit because I was up in the clouds but it was too cold to linger anyway and there was a brilliant 300m drop down to the Dansey’s Pass Hotel to enjoy. The dampness made the road surface very predictable and the bike tracked perfectly in the corners so it was 15 minutes of big fun until I rounded a corner and had to brake to enter the 30km/h speed limit approaching the pub.

Dansey’s Pass Hotel has the equal best (with Mangatoroto) green tea and their infamous open fire was hard to get away from but I had another up and down 18km to get to Naseby for the night.

The temperature can’t have reached double figures today, especially on the south side of the ranges and the Birchview Campground in Naseby feels like a Canadian ski area campground. Naseby has put itself on the map by marketing itself as New Zealand curling capital and is also one of the most popular mountain biking areas in the South Island. The Royal Hotel was chokka!

My legs are getting a bit weary with all the climbing over the last two days and my ‘pressure points’ are starting to show the early signs of wear and tear so I’m looking forward to a ‘flat’ day tomorrow on the Otago Central Rail Trail. The section I’m doing from Wedderburn to Clyde drops about 500m over 50ish km but I think I’ll carry on the extra 20km to Cromwell if I make good progress so that I have a shorter day on Monday over the Nevis Pass, the final big climb of Le Tour.

Fairlie to Kurow (via Hakataramea Pass)

Day 29 - Friday 26 March 2010

Dist: 124 km. Av. Speed: 19.4 km/hr. Cal: 2145. Ride Time: 6 hours 23 min

Wow… can this country get any more stunning? I have another “must do” for all Kiwis - The Hakataramea Pass. It’s just fantastic and if you can do it on a bike, then even better. I hope the photos do it justice. The most impressive landscapes to my mind were at the northern end near where the Snow River meets Grays River and also just over the pass as you drop into the southern catchment and the headwaters of the Hakataramea River.

Aside from the amazing scenery, today was really tough! There was a strong nor-wester blowing which meant the first two hours and the last hour and a half were just hard work. The middle three hours were awesome though.

Today’s post is going to be a bit different because I’m toast and I need to get to sleep. There’s a bit of a climb and a southerly forecast for tomorrow so I’ll need to recover as quickly as I can.

So I’m just going to list all the things that were great about today. Here goes…

The muesli breakfast at ‘Eat Deli and Café’ in Fairlie.

Burke’s monument at the top of Burke’s Pass.

Reaching the top of Burke’s Pass.

My iPod.

Turning off SH8.

Looking up Hakataramea Pass and feeling the tail wind on my back at last.

Watching my speedo climb from 15 to 30+ with no extra effort.

My iPod.

The chicken wrap I had for lunch from Eat Deli and Café.

Resting for lunch, a tiny spec in the massive valley.

The awesome cloudscapes (for you Doreen).

Finding the right turnoff up the pass.

Filling my water bottle from a clear mountain stream.

Reaching the saddle of the Hakataramea Pass.

My iPod.

The brilliant view from the top looking north and south.

Blasting down the gravel descent at 45k with a tail wind.

My iPod.

Finally hitting the sealed road again.

The fact that everyone waves to you down here.

Seeing the “Kurow” sign seven and a half hours after leaving Fairlie.

The two cokes, bowl of fries and mixed grill for dinner - hey, I earned it.

The friendly welcome by the locals in Kurow.

That my EEEPC is still working after 50km of corrugations and potholes.

Washing and drying my clothes after three days being smelly.

My iPod.

My bike - it rocks.

Off to sleep now…

Ashburton to Fairlie

Day 28 - Thursday 25 March 2010

Dist: 107 km. Av. Speed: 21.7 km/hr. Cal: 1805. Ride Time: 4 hours 55 min

What an interesting day… clear skies and cool air greeted me as I stepped outside the cabin just after dawn (that‘s dawn with a small d). I’d turned the heater on full blast and turned my room into a dryer to get my clothes ready for the day’s ride.

Breakfast was at a nice little side-street café called Nosh - and they did a very good one.

As I headed away from the café I notice the two women who’d been tenting at the same campground as me, cycle past on their way south too. I thought about catching up and saying hello but as I followed about 75m behind and watched their road craft I decided against it. They were dressed mostly in black and grey and riding right out in the left wheel line. When they came to the Ashburton River bridge which is narrow and busy they pedalled straight across, ignoring the cycle lane/footpath on the left hand side. They only went about 2km before they stopped to remove some layers and as I rode past (within about 1m) they didn’t even notice me. Hmmm an accident waiting to happen. I didn’t see them again.

I veered off SH1 asap and turned inland toward Geraldine at good pace on the flat road with no wind at all. My progress was slowed after about 20km however when I hit gravel again, but this time it wasn’t fresh so it was quite manageable. The 30km route from Winslow to Arundel is basically two straight lines - one is 20km long and the other is 10km and it passes through classic Canterbury Plains irrigated farm country. It was a really picturesque ride with almost no traffic, blue skies and the distant mountains lightly dusted with snow from last night’s southerly squall.

Geraldine arrived in just over two hours as I’d managed an average speed of a shade over 25km/h. My timing was perfect because the staff at The Village Bistro in the town centre were just putting out the tables for lunch and it looked like an ideal venue to stockpile. I enjoyed a very nice lunch and the staff were even kind enough to ask if I’d like to take some bread away for the rest of the journey.

It was hard to leave Geraldine (more terrible puns sorry), I could have sat there enjoying the sun all afternoon, but there was 47km to go, 400m to climb and a forecast head wind to confront. The road shoulder deteriorated to almost zero after Geraldine making it a bit dicey with so many campervans on the road. The only minor incident was at some road works; my lane got the green light to go so we progressed through, but the phase wasn’t anywhere near long enough for a bike, yet the impatient idjits coming the other way decided to come anyway. It would have been alright but I was engaged with the roller driver who was giving me arm signals describing the highway ahead. When I looked back at the road a sedan was coming straight at me and not looking like veering out of my way, I swerved and glared but he didn’t falter, however the driver of the Nissan Terrano behind him got an earful and a crack on the wing mirror - which probably hurt my hand more than the mirror.

The breeze had started to fill in by now and the road was getting progressively more lumpy so the average speed took a bit of a dive as I slogged over the Kakahu Hill and into Beautiful Valley and Cattle Valley. It took an even steeper dive going up the pass toward My Michael but I was relieved to see a sign saying ‘Farm Barn Café - 1km’… a lifesaver!

I’ve noticed an increase in the general friendliness of people today - they seem to take just a little more time to say hello and seem genuinely interested.

After loading up on carrot cake I flew down the drop in to Fairlie and the Top 10 camp ground.

I’m tenting tonight because it’s nice and warm and calm, so after setting up ‘home’ the next job was to change out my road tyres for MTB tyres for the gravel grovel over the Hakataramea tomorrow.

Dinner was an colourful experience as I inadvertently acted out a scene that could have been from a Fawlty Towers episode. It was one of the clutsiest things I’ve ever done. I hope it’s not anything to do with turning 50! It went like this… I’d ordered the blue cod (because it’s supposed to be amazing - it was rubbish) and was filling in time until it arrived by reading a few maps and planning my tomorrow. I got so engrossed in the map that I failed to notice it had caught fire from the stupid table candle - why did I need a candle, I was by myself? By the time I smelled the smoke about 1/5th of the map was gone, the flames were about 6” high and the table was covered in an amazing amount of ash. Talk about doh! I calmly grabbed another brochure and quickly smothered the flames before the waiter came back but there was no hiding the ash (or the smell of burning map) and he busted me in the act of cleaning up. He admitted that he’d never seen that happen before and I replied that I’d never done it before either. I was laughing away to myself but I don’t think any of the other restaurant patrons even knew what had happened.

So I consumed the cod in about five minutes and left, quitting while I was ahead.

Told you it was an interesting day…

Diamond Harbour to Ashburton

Day 27 - Wednesday 24 March 2010

Dist: 114 km. Av. Speed: 22.6 km/hr. Cal: 2035. Ride Time: 5 hours 03 min

I’m not sure if my alarm woke me or if it was the unfamiliar sound of rain on the roof. I know it was dark and not particularly tropical, and given the chance I’d probably have stayed in bed and rested my quads, still stiff after Richard’s ‘wee’ billy goat run in the Port Hill yesterday.

However Ashburton beckoned and there was re-packing to be done before setting off. And by the time I had my cargo organised the sky had become light and the rain had stopped so I wandered up the path for breakfast with Ann and Jim. From the breakfast table we watched the Diamond Harbour Ferry sneak across from Lyttleton and drop Richard off at the Jetty. It was time to get moving.

We said our goodbyes and thank you to our hosts and pedalled off up the slope to the west. The road from Diamond Harbour to Charteris Bay was slowish going as we struggled to get in to a rhythm due to the rollercoaster profile. Once we hit the flats we gathered speed and motored on to Teddington before being confronted by the infamous Gebbies Pass - another favourite training hill for Christchurch cyclists. After grunting up to the saddle we raced down the other side and conveniently discovered the Blue Duck Café - great berry fruit muffins!

The next stretch was as flat as the Canterbury Plains (because it was the Canterbury Plains) and we weaved our way via back roads towards Leeston. We were confronted with an amazing array of odours over this stretch, from cowshed effluent pond, silage, pig farm, horse stables and finally cauliflower paddock!

We nailed the 30km to Leeston in just over an hour so rewarded ourselves with a hearty lunch before tackling Richard’s final leg to Rakaia. The journey started really well as we kept up a good average speed and then got even better when we were overtaken by a monstrous Canterbury 4x4 tractor cruising along at about 30k… hmmm, what could we do… it was creating just too much vacuum behind it to let a chance like that slip by. So we pedalled hard to catch up, then enjoyed an effortless ‘tow’ for the next 10km - awesome! (next time we bike 90 Mile Beach Shari, we need to borrow a tractor) But we paid. We eventually hit the gravel and it became a bit dodgy at that speed, fully loaded on road tyres so we were forced to back off to a more manageable 18k. Unfortunately I’d made a poor route choice here and although shorter it was definitely slower because of the gravel. It probably wouldn’t have been too bad except that the gravel was brand new and down here they use Rakaia River stones (ie 20mm marbles).

After a bit of a slog - I got my revenge on Richard for the run - we eventually arrived at SH1 and the dreaded Rakaia River Bridge. 1.6km of narrow, fast potential danger! Our strategy was to wait for a long gap in the traffic and go like mad, two abreast so cars wouldn’t try and overtake and squeeze us against the rail. It worked out pretty well and sure got the heart rate up.

We found Richard’s father as planned and after a quick beer together I pedalled off to tackle the final 30k to Ashburton and Rich and his Dad headed back to Christchurch.

I was aware a southerly front was forecast for sometime in the afternoon but there wasn’t any sign of it along the dead straight, dead flat, busy and dead dull stretch of highway to Ashburton. Luckily the light nor-wester was still behind me and I made good speed because after checking in to my cabin and jumping in the shower, the southerly squall hit. It lasted just long enough to allow me time to get organised, then cleared so I could walk across the road to Robbie’s Bar and Bistro for a big old roast dinner.

Thanks for your help and company today Rich. It really does help having someone to talk to, a pacemaker and a drafting partner - as you discovered behind the tractor! You did great mate… C2C 2012... The list is growing… ha!

Rest Day (sort of) - Christchurch to Diamond Harbour

Day 26 - Tuesday 23 March 2010

Dist: 20 km. Av. Speed: NA. Cal: NA. Ride Time: NA

An hour long run from ‘Sign of the Takahe’ up Sugar Loaf Hill and back followed by a cycle up Evans Pass probably isn’t exactly a rest day but never the less it was excellent to experience a couple of Christchurch’s more infamous training spots. Richard and I went for the run in the morning; it was a spectacular trail as it climbs and spirals up the Sugarloaf through open grassland and native bush full of the sound of bellbirds.

The views are tremendous in all directions and it was amazing to be able to look north and see where we’d come from on Sunday, then swing around to the south and see all the way to where I’ll be going tomorrow.

After lunch it was time to pack up all my gear and get it sorted for carrying on the bike once again. It’s been four days so it was a bit of a mess. It didn’t take too long though and soon we were heading up the 11% grade over Evans Pass to Lyttleton to catch the ferry to Diamond Harbour.

The ferry only takes about 15 minutes so I was at Ann and Jim’s Diamond Harbour Homestyle B&B in good time. My room is the old wheelhouse of the wrecked coastal steamer SS Breeze, and my bed is one of the bunks from the same ship. It’s very cool, with a fantastic view across the water to the busy port of Lyttleton.

I was made very welcome here and enjoyed a wonderful home-cooked meal with my lovely hosts. Thank you so much, it was brilliant

Rest Day - Christchurch

Day 25 - Monday 22 March 2010

Dist: 00 km. Av. Speed: 00 km/hr. Cal: NA. Ride Time: NA

For a rest day, it was actually really busy… the first task was to take my bike in to R&R Sport for a service and to grab a bike box to transport Joris’ bike. We got that organised then delivered the box and surgically placed Joris’ disassembled bike into it ready for his flight back to Wellington.

The next thing on the list was lunch and a catch up with Meg in the city centre. You’ll know her husband Keith, he’s the one posting all the ‘stirring’ comments on the blog, but unfortunately he’s away coaching volleyball at the secondary school national champs at the moment. Cheers Meg, it was nice to catch up with you.

The airport was next, to drop Joris off and then it was time to organise my own gear, pick up my bike from R&R then catch up with Monique and Richard Hurst-Long. Thanks for the wonderful meal Monique and the great night’s sleep.

Maintenance on my bike included new pedals, another new spoke nipple, new derailleur idlers, new brake pads and truing up both wheels and aligning the disc brakes.

Hanmer Springs to Christchurch

Day 24 - Sunday 21 March 2010

Dist: 139 km. Av. Speed: 30.1 km/hr. Cal: 3340. Ride Time: 4 hours 36 min

An early start was exactly what we needed (not) to back up after yesterday’s race! However I was up at first light to change my tyres back to road slicks for the trip into Christchurch and swap out yet another broken pedal. Thanks Pete for the loan of your pedals for this leg - they go fast mate, I couldn’t hold them back!

After the others arose we scoffed some breakfast, organised some lunch and packed up Kim’s wagon with all the gear Joris and I didn’t want to carry for the day. I hope that’s OK with the rules adjudicator?

Again the weather was perfect for cycling and Joris and I were expecting to make good time to Christchurch as the road drops about 350m over the 140km. However we surprised even ourselves with how good we felt and just how fast we could travel with no gear as we rolled out of town before the traffic started.

Our first stop was in Culverden around 30km down the track and we reached it in just over an hour, working really well together in tandem to keep the average speed up over 30. The rest of the crew had a big nosh-up in Hanmer before they left and they caught us just as we were tucking in to our date scones, so they joined us for a quick break at the café.

The next milestone was Weka Pass for lunch, then out on to SH1 at Waipara and south toward Christchurch. The highway was pretty busy as people returned to the city after the weekend but the wide shoulder felt safe enough.

Our average speed was still way up there but took a bit of a knock as a slight cold head wind kicked in for the last section of SH 7.

We called in to say hi to Rangi in Leithfield, just as he was pulling a tray of savouries out of the oven. Thanks Rangi, it was good to catch up with you and Nicki.

The final push into Christchurch down Marshlands Road was a wee bit slower due to the traffic and the fact that we were running out of legs, but we still got to Joris’ accommodation just after 4pm happy with an average speed of just over 30km/hr for the day. I think that must be some kind of record for a Hanmer - Christchurch two-man time trial on mountain bikes with handlebar bags!

The riding was awesome today thanks Joris - I was worried it was going to be a really tough day after yesterday but it was a blast. Thanks for joining me since Wellington, it’s been really fun and you’ve been a huge help getting me almost a third of the way down the South Island already.

Thanks too, to Kim and Frankie for the pickup, bed and dinner tonight - your hospitality is greatly appreciated.

St. Arnaud to Hanmer Springs - Rainbow Rage

Day 23 - Saturday 20 March 2010

Dist: 106 km. Av. Speed: 16.9 km/hr. Cal: 1498. Ride Time: 6 hours 16 min

Well Le Tour just keeps getting better! The Rainbow Rage was just fantastic. It was awesome to be in a field of over 500 riders all snaking up the stunning Rainbow Valley together heading for a hot swim at Hanmer.

It was another perfect day, cool but clear as we arrived at registration at 7.30am. Kim discovered I had a flat tyre overnight so that needed to be fixed before we got going but it wasn’t a drama.

Our team all assembled on the start line for the briefing at 8.45, ready for the 9am gun. Unfortunately some practical joker had decided to leave one gate locked on the road so the start was delayed while that got sorted out; but 1000 wheels finally rolled off the line at 9.30am.

The first 10km were single lane sealed road through sections beech forest and pasture and then we struck the gravel as we entered the valley proper and ventured deeper into the Rainbow Station. It’s a gradual climb with lots of sub-climbs onto various flood plains and back down to the river as you follow the line of power pylons south.

Pete disappeared soon after the rolling start, not to be seen again until the finish as he pushed for class placing. Joris, Frankie (in her first ever MTB event) and I pedalled at a more sedate ‘touring’ pace and took in the amazing scenery. We North Islanders awed at the massive scale of the landscape and I stopped often to try and capture ’that’ photograph.

Joris eventually pulled away as he got into a duel with some other riders and showed his climbing prowess on the hills. Meanwhile the ‘tourists’ stopped for lunch at around the 50km mark before heading into the saddle and the more serious climbs. The next 15km were tough and lots of people were really struggling as the head wind kicked in and the grade steepened. I was worried that we wouldn’t make the cut-off as our average speed dropped to around 7km/k for quite a long time. Then just when most riders were pretty toasted, Island Saddle appears with the sight of about 100 bikers all pushing their mounts up and over the steep hill before dropping into the next valley.

After the saddle, the breeze turned to a tail wind and the grade became a gradual descent so we happily blasted along at 25km/h again past Lake Tennyson and south toward Hanmer.

The final ascent over Jack’s Pass is short but a bit steep just to really finish you off before the super-steep gravel descent and the very welcome sight of the finish line at Hanmer Domain. 106km, 6 and a half hours on the bike and a well deserved bronze class medal for Frankie. A class bronze for Pete too in just over four hours and a very respectable time for Joris (remember he’s got 140km to do tomorrow too) and also a very handy time for ex-Waihi boy Mark Snalom, who we’d stayed with on Wednesday night in Renwick.

Well done everybody - what a fantastic day. And special thanks to Kim who did a wonderful job of support crew making sure everybody had what they needed, when they needed it - it makes a huge difference.

And of course the hot swim was perfect.

Rest Day in St. Arnaud

Day 22 - Friday 19 March 2010

Dist: 00 km. Av. Speed: 00 km/hr. Cal: 1000 (in). Ride Time: 0 hours 00 min

What an awesome sleep. I didn’t wake up until 8.30 which was brilliant. The lodge supplied us with a good hearty breakfast but Joris was suffering without a caffeine fix so we went in search of coffee at the café down the road before starting on the day’s chores.

The job list included washing clothes, changing road tyres to MTB tyres, fixing the broken spoke and lubing our chains. Exhausted after all that exertion we had to struggle back to the café for lunch (and more coffee for Joris) before the next big task which was getting the washing in! There was also quite a bit of prep work to do to sort out what we needed to carry for the Rainbow Rage tomorrow and how best to carry it and what we’d get the support vehicle to take around to Hanmer Springs for us.

For those who don’t know, the Rainbow Rage is a 105 km mountain bike race/adventure ride from St Arnaud to Hanmer Springs via the Rainbow Road which traverses the Rainbow Station and Molesworth Station. I decided to enter this event because it’s a great short cut to Canterbury from Marlborough and it’s one of New Zealand’s classic mountain bike events so it would be good to experience it and tick it off the list.

For the race Joris and I will be joined by two Cantabrians, an old friend of mine - Frankie (a first timer) plus her work mate Pete who is a Rainbow Rage veteran and MTB legend. Frankie’s husband, Kim will drive the support vehicle, transporting us to the start line then taking all our gear to the finish at Hanmer.

Renwick to St. Arnaud

Day 21 - Thursday 18 March 2010

Dist: 98.5 km. Av. Speed: 16.2 km/hr. Cal: 1075. Ride Time: 6 hours 04 min

Well it had to happen eventually!!!! Nearly 100km to cover - over 6 hours in the saddle and battling a head wind for 5 of those! The day started really well; crisp and calm and the ladies in the superette were talking about frost on their tomatoes.

So Joris and I cruised away from Renwick fully stocked with food about nine, not in too much of a rush, just enjoying the sun. We’d been pedalling through the grape vines at a nice touring pace for just over an hour and making OK progress when all of a sudden out of the south came the wind! It went from dead calm to about 12 knots in a matter of seconds and our speed dropped from 25km/h to 15, then to 10 within about a minute.

We’d been told that this wind was expected but probably not until mid afternoon - it had arrived early! I quickly did the maths on distance to destination vs. likely average speed. It wasn’t good news. The 100km of highway from Renwick to St. Arnaud up the Wairau Valley climbs about 700m over its length so it’s not a steep grade, but it’s steady and definitely noticeable on a bike.

So it was just a day to knuckle down and get it done, nothing fancy, just slog it out. There aren’t even any cafes or shops on this trip to break the journey and the road is dead straight with just slight bends every 5 or so km. Rest stops were frequent and the distances between them not very impressive.

Our lunch stop was just out of the wind, on the side of the road. Not long after lunch we came across a young Swiss lady cyclist ‘enjoying’ her picnic on the roadside too so we stopped for a chat. She’d come from Blenheim so had an even longer day ahead of her than we did. She compounded her ‘degree of difficulty’ by carrying about 25kg of gear! She was only about 5’ 5”, on a mountain bike without cleats and had two very full panniers on the back plus a full size tramping pack layed across them. And then to top it off she had a 75 litre pack on her back. A tough rig to haul up the Wairau Valley on a windy day.

So we offered her a ‘tow’ which she gladly accepted and for the remaining 60km Joris and I drafted each other for five minutes at a time with our new Swiss friend tucked in as close as she could behind us. We still had to take a break about every 20 minutes and it was a bit depressing to find that we’d only covered around five km between rests. It did help pass the time though and eventually we arrived at the Tophouse saddle that leads into St Arnaud.

We checked in to the Travers - Sabine Lodge at 5.30 and headed directly for the spa to soak the weary muscles. Food was the next priority so we wandered over to the lodge next door for dinner where I polished off a massive plate of lamb shanks and veges. Our Swiss cycling mate was in the restaurant too so she joined us and we discovered that all that gear she was carrying was just for three days! She’s heading up to Nelson tomorrow.

Wellington to Renwick

Day 20 - Wednesday 17 March 2010

Dist: 44 km. Av. Speed: 22.7 km/hr. Cal: 635. Ride Time: 2 hours 08 min

John kindly dropped me at the Ferry terminal where Joris was already checked in and waiting. We then waited until the very end and were last ones on the ferry.

It was quite a rough crossing with maximum wave height of 7.5m. They were handing out sick bags but we were all good.

We met another cycle tourist called Ramon who had just returned from two months cycling around Iceland.

I had my first crash today - making a clown of myself in front of a lot of people in Picton - damn sticky cleats!

It was a gusty pedal to Renwick and we arrived at Mark & Glenda Snalom’s (old school mate) place just after 5. They looked after us really well with a lovely meal, wine and good conversation. Mark is doing the Rainbow Rage on Saturday too so we picked his brain and got some good information.

Thanks Mark and Glenda, we really appreciate you taking the time to track us down and offer us your home for the night.

Featherston to Wellington

Day 19 - Tuesday 16 March 2010

Dist: 83 km. Av. Speed: 21.2 km/hr. Cal: 1630. Ride Time: 3 hrs 54 min

The sound of hoof beats just managed to drown out the ’dawn chorus’ (of heavies on the highway in the distance) as my alarm woke me at 6:30am. It was a clear, crisp morning with fog hanging over the race track as the trainers put their horses through their early morning workouts.

I packed up quite efficiently this morning and was on the road by eight, making my way back to Featherston for breakfast at Sass Café. The friendly staff whisked up wonderful bacon and eggs and even took the time to ask “would I like my cup of tea during or after the meal”, the first time this has happened on this trip - well done Sass Café.

After filling my water bottles at their cooler I headed toward the Rimutakas, but swung left toward Ferry Landing at the western end of town toward Cross Creek Road and Lake Wairarapa. Cross Creek Road is the eastern access point for the Rimutaka Rail Trail which is the historic rail link between Wellington and the Wairarapa via the Rimutaka Ranges. The track begins with an impossible ‘chicane’ that forced me to take all the bags off the bike - lift it over and around like a Rubik’s Cube - then put all the bits back on again! It didn’t get much easier for the next two km which was all tight gravel single track with some rough gnarly bits and steep drops. It would have been a blast with no gear but was marginal (but still good fun) fully loaded and with slicks. This is just a connector track that takes riders through to the beginning of the 18km Rimutaka Incline Rail Trail proper. Once on the trail it widens to 4WD track standard and the consistent grade soon has you winding deep into the ranges. There’s very effective interpretation signage telling the story of the Fell Engines that once hauled heavy trains up to the summit for the ’normal’ locos to hook up and pull them in to Wellington.

There was one steep-sided creek crossing and three tunnels to negotiate. My bike light is a bit random so luckily the unlit tunnels weren’t too long.

After battling the cold south westerly head wind up the 1 in 15 incline for nearly an hour, I was glad to reach the summit and start making my way downhill to the Hutt Valley.

On the way down I bumped in to a young bloke who’d just finished a Reinga to Bluff trip- it only took him 22 days though but he’d free-camped the whole way!

Headwinds slowed progress into the Hutt Valley a bit but after 54km I eventually found a lunch spot in Upper Hutt to re-fuel and rejuvenate.

By this time the wind was abating and had swung to be more on my back so I abandoned the idea of taking the Hutt River Trails in to town and instead went for the ‘ wind-assisted’ highway option straight down SH 2. There was obviously more traffic but it has a huge shoulder, smooth bitumen and a bike lane in some places so you can go really fast. I’d no sooner pulled out on to the main road and got up to speed when my old friend John F (who’s place I stayed at) pulled on to the road as well, having come from the opposite direction. Small world.

I shot into the city at excellent speed and arrived at Wellington Station at 2:15 - buzzing - realising I’d just ridden a damn bike and paddled a canoe 1200km from Cape Reinga for goodness sake!

John was there to pick me up from platform 9 ¾ then we made our way around to Breaker Bay to catch up with Joris and sort a few things for the ferry crossing and ride to Renwick tomorrow.

John, Jan and I enjoyed a great evening with a cracker dinner, cold beer and good wine, and John was able to show me heaps of good photographs and give me some good insights into the South Island gravel passes I’ll be tackling over the next 10 days.

Thanks heaps J & J for your wonderful hospitality and taxi service - it is very much appreciated and was great to catch up with you guys. Rainbow Rage 2011 John J

Eketahuna to Featherston

Day 18 - Monday 15 March 2010

Dist: 85.5 km. Av. Speed: 25.3 km/hr. Cal: 1708. Ride Time: 3 hrs 22 min

What a great day - again! It started off pretty cold but at least the wind was on my back yet again. I started a new eating regime today too - eat less! So breakfast was a small can of creamed rice, a banana, an orange and an ‘Up ’n’ Go. It seemed to work OK and I didn’t feel hungry for the 40km pedal to Masterton.

After listening to trucks roar up and over the rise that is Eketahuna all night I decided to avoid SH 2 for the morning and take the back road via Mauriceville to Masterton. It turned out to be a good plan because I got to see a wonderful section of Wairarapa countryside and only came across eight other vehicles over the whole stretch. The first 15km was gravel and reasonably easy at first but then there was a section of newly spread stuff which was like riding on ball bearings. Once I hit the seal the riding was fantastic and even when I met up with SH 2 the traffic was light and I made good time into Masterton for an early lunch.

After Masterton there was really no alternative than the highway but the traffic was still light and well behaved and there was a really wide shoulder as well. Carterton and Greytown came along pretty fast as the sun started to shine and the wind dropped off. I rested in Greytown for a short time then decided to push on to Featherston because there was a camp ground shown on the map. Unfortunately the map was out of date and there’s nothing, not even a motel in Featherston!

So I made some enquiries at the library (because the Information Centre was closed) and chased a couple of leads, ending up at the Tauherenikau race course camped in the bush behind the grandstand. It was a great spot but there weren’t any showers - just a toilet - so it was a cold splash under the outside tap.

Dinner options were limited on a Monday night so I ended at a local pizza place enjoying the local special with a cold Mac’s.

Tomorrow is the final North Island leg, 60km into Wellington City via the Rimutaka Rail Trail and Hutt River Trails. Should be a nice ride. It’s hard to believe the North Island is almost complete - what a hoot!

Feilding to Eketahuna

Day 17 - Sunday 14 March 2010

Dist: 85 km. Av. Speed: 22.7 km/hr. Cal: 1508. Ride Time: 3 hrs 44 min

Luxury! Today I was upgraded to Business Class… before I left the (interesting) Feilding camp ground I had a play with my seat position because I just haven’t been able to get totally comfortable. I moved it forward 10mm, tilted it down about 5 degrees and dropped it about 10mm… instant luxury! It was like moving from Cattle to Business; brilliant!

I celebrated with breakfast in downtown Feilding at Sage Café, the same place I had dinner last night. I’ve decided to end the cooked breakfasts and go for the low GI muesli and fruit option. Today’s version was fantastic.

To get out of Feilding via the back roads I briefly had to head north, then swing east which put the wind on my back again. The road was reasonably flat and I made good time to my first stop in Ashhurst. This is obviously the route of choice for Sunday morning cycle training out of Feilding because I passed (going the opposite way) lots and lots of groups out on the road. It was amazing to see Mt Ruapehu from one of the high points on the road which makes you realise just how small this country is. Another highlight was the ghostly wind farm ‘sculptures’ on the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges overlooking Ashhurst and Palmerston North. Very cool.

The Manawatu country towns all seem really well looked after - there’s no sign of graffiti and the streets are very clean - and Ashhurst’s Fusion Café has wonderful apple and rhubarb pies.

The next leg was a mad dash through the Manawatu Gorge to Woodville and in to the Wairarapa. I had a strong tail wind through the Gorge which pushed me through at around 30km/h so the seven km ‘high accident’ stretch was over in a very short time and without incident.

At Woodville I needed to turn south so unfortunately the tail wind was now a cross wind so I slowed a bit but still cruised along OK. I was looking for a scenic reserve to stop for lunch but must have missed it and ended up at the Tui Brewery in Mangatainoka - oops! It turned out that the Brewery was the start/finish for the annual Bush Cycle Tour today so I pulled in and made myself at home amongst all the roadies. It was a beautiful afternoon and they had a band playing on the lawn and food and of course, beer. But no Tui girls! I spent a couple of hours lounging about on the grass but didn’t win a spot prize so carried on to Eketahuna - or Eke (Eckie) as the locals call it.

The wind - and the road - had swung a bit since I stopped so the last 30km dropped my average speed for the day considerably but I still got to Eke about 4:15.

The camp ground here is just a field by the river with a cook house, two cabins and three power outlets. It’s only $5 for a tent but there’s no manager on site so I’ll just have to leave the money with somebody else if nobody shows up by the time I leave tomorrow. It has the best hot showers yet though!!

I walked in to town to see what was available for dinner with very low expectations after observing the main street as I arrived. It seems that Eke missed out when all the other towns around the region were being spruced up for some reason. However I was pleasantly surprised to find the rough looking café/craft shop (from 1978) with the creaky floor did a wonderful sausages, eggs and chips, with a salad and the lettuce was diced in strips - not broken and tossed… superb!

I’m going to change the plan slightly tomorrow and ride on through to Featherston instead of stopping at Greytown. This’ll make Tuesday a shorter day which will give me two short days in a row so that will be my taper for the Rainbow Rage on Saturday. I might also take a different route that uses more back roads to get me off SH2 as much as possible.

Wanganui to Feilding

Day 16 - Saturday 13 March 2010

Dist: 78 km. Av. Speed: 24.2 km/hr. Cal: 1576. Ride Time: 3 hrs 12 min

We had to do a major sort-out of all our river camping gear and my riding gear this morning to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind or take along anything extra.

After getting it all organised we went and picked up my bike from the Avanti Plus store where they’d replaced the broken spoke, tuned the front derailleur and checked the headset. Nothing dramatic was wrong and it’s all going great now.

We cruised the main street looking for brunch and I picked up some good maps. The directions I’ve downloaded from AA Maps are pretty hard to follow in isolation but make good sense once you’re looking at them in conjunction with a decent scale map.

After a snack Shari and the boys drove off north back through Raetihi and eventually on to Waihi - while I pointed the bike east toward the flat country and with the following wind. My destination was Feilding via Marton. There was nothing special or spectacular about the day’s riding except that the tail wind made it easy to keep a good average speed with minimal effort and I made great time to Feilding despite a couple of surprisingly long and steepish inclines.

Feilding looks like a very nice wee rural New Zealand town. It looks a proud town and seems very well looked after.

It was good to get on the bike again and I’m looking forward to the next few days which are generally short and relatively flat - I’ll be keeping fingers crossed that the tail wind continues.

Pipiriki to Wanganui (from Raetihi)

Day 15 - Friday 12 March 2010

Dist: 79 km. Av. Speed: 22.4 km/hr. Cal: 1498. Ride Time: 3 hrs 32 min

It was cold and drizzly as we made our way to Angel Louise Café in Raetihi for breakfast about 8am. Score 7.5. Very nice setting and great service. A perfect place to stop if you’re looking to take a break in Raetihi while travelling SH 4.

The cloud lifted as we drove back down to Pipiriki to re-join my route and resume pedalling south to Wanganui. It was a relatively short and easy day following the river as it wanders through farmland to the coast. The first 15km were gravel, followed by a section of brand new seal then regular sealed country road after that. It was quite windy and narrow with a few good climbs, especially the last one with the lookout just before the intersection with SH 4.

Out on the road I caught up to a lady who must have been into her sixties pedalling quietly along on her way to Wanganui too. She’d started the day at Jerusalem, but home was Whakatane and she was heading back there via Taihape and Napier. Her old mountain bike with its off-road tyres was loaded with far more gear than mine and she was wearing sandals and socks without cleats. She must have amazing patience.

We broke the day in to three 25km legs and cruised into Wanganui about three o’clock for tea and hot cross buns at Donna’s. Thanks Donna, it was great to catch up.

After dropping my bike off at the Avanti Plus store for a check-up we moved in to our motel and made directly for the spa to sooth the legs.

We had a great dinner at Stellar in downtown Wanganui.

Tomorrow the family will head back to Waihi after I get my bike back, and I’ll make my way solo to Fielding for the night. The legs feel a bit jaded at the moment so I think it’ll be a pretty sedate stage.

Tieke Kainga Camp to Pipiriki (then Raetihi)

Day 14 - Thursday 11 March 2010

Canoe Dist: 20 km? Canoe Time: 3 hrs 30 min.

We were up and away early this morning, yep, we even beat the Dutch crews off the beach. The Germans cheated by sleeping in the hut so they didn’t have to pack up their tents and mats - so they were disqualified in my book even if they did get away first.

Day three has two good rapids that actually have names! The Dutch were quite concerned about them asking lots of questions of anybody and everybody. Maybe that’s why they were last to get into their canoes today?

It’s probably the most interesting day in that there’s a lot going on in quite a short distance. There were jet boats delivering people up river, caves to explore and the two exciting rapids. Shari showed her steering prowess on both rapids, showing off by positioning her boat perfectly for the smoothest (driest) ride. Reid and I on the other hand went for the more “Lethal Weapon” rollercoaster experience - straight down the guts! We got soaked and took on quite a bit of water but had a good laugh.

After a couple of stops for gummy bears and jet planes we arrived at Pipiriki about an hour ahead of schedule at 1.30 ready for our pick-up. All three other kiwi boats were well gone, the Germans put on a turn of speed, fleeing for the boat ramp as if they were being chased by something (did they hear banjos?) and the English snuck in quietly ahead of us all ‘stiff upper lip‘. We never saw the Dutch crews again, they were very late… maybe still pondering whether to portage the rapids or actually paddle over them? I hope they’re OK.

It was a happy/sad moment to arrive at Pipiriki. Happy that we’d completed our journey (and could have a hot shower) but sad to be leaving such a beautiful environment and ending such a wonderful experience.

If you’ve been thinking about doing this trip but putting it off… book it NOW. It’s a ‘must do’ for Kiwis and right up there with the Milford Track in my book.

We met a local Maori boy called John at the ramp and he gave me a bottle of Tutu oil that is supposed to be a magic remedy for most aches and pains. He reckoned it would be just the ticket for the rest of my biking trip. It also keeps the sandflies away.

Our vehicle was delivered as planned and after loading up we drove back to Raetihi to check into the camp ground and take that hot shower. We drove over to Ohakune for dinner because we were told there are several restaurants to choose from. We selected “The Bearing Point” and had a wonderful meal, the highlight being Adam devouring pork ribs with his bare hands. Like any good father I showed him how to make cave man-like grunting noises while he chomped and how to guard his chips from a marauding little brother.

I haven’t scored this restaurant because it was experienced under different conditions to the others so far and so it wouldn’t be fair, but it’s very nice.

From the “It could only happen in NZ” file, we were sitting in the restaurant when two Boart Longyear utes drove past and parked. I was curious to see if I knew any of the boys, and of course I did… but that’s not all, a few minutes later in walked the English crew - ha, we beat them to the food anyway!

Whanganui River: John Coull Camp to Tieke Kainga Camp

Day 13 - Wednesday 10 March 2010

Canoe Dist: 35km? Canoe Time: 7 hrs 15 min.

Day two is the biggest day but we didn’t wake up until late and by the time we’d had breakfast we were second to last to leave the camp, just ahead of the Germans. The Dutch were away first of course, the kiwis didn’t care and English couple were happy just to beat the Germans.

The fog was only just lifting as we hit the water and the sun struggled over the high, bush clad riverbanks. We slipped away down river barely making a sound, sliding past the ducks sitting like sentries on the dark grey rounded boulders. It was like a scene from “The Deer Hunter” and we half expected to be ambushed by Viet Kong. I think this part of the world is even too remote for banjos, and we certainly didn’t hear any squealing pigs!

More amazing rock formations today and lots of flat water paddling in between the all to brief rapids today. The river was about 400mm below normal flow which makes for extra paddling but better rapids. The weather was perfect again with clear blue skies and a very slight tail wind in some sections.

We braved the chilly water for a swim today. Well, at least I did. The others spent so long procrastinating on the muddy bank that they must have disturbed an eel who thought it would be fun to first nip Shari on the leg, then pierce its teeth into Adam’s foot, drawing blood and sending a screech echoing up the canyon. That got Reid heading for high ground too and so was the end of our Whanganui River swimming experience.

The “Bridge to Nowhere” walk is on this section of river so we pulled over to the bank and tried walking instead of paddling for a change. Reid and I decided to run up the trail to the bridge which only took 15 minutes or so. At the bridge we met a bloke on a mountain bike who’d ridden 33km from Ruatiti and gave me all the scoops on the best way to mountain bike the Ruapehu region. We’ll be back.

Seven hours is a long time sitting in a canoe and we were sure glad to see Tieke Kainga Camp at about six o’clock. We ended up overtaking the Dutch as they stopped to fix a stopbank or something? We paddled past the English sunning themselves on deck chairs and the Germans must have got side-tracked invading Australia (or maybe the Frenchman surrendered?) but we didn’t see them until very late that evening. By then the other Kiwis had drunk most of their beer and were ready for bed.

About 3am I crept out of our tent to check the stars and it was just incredible. With no light pollution and very little moon, the milky way was a glowing white streak across the sky and Crux and Orion’s Belt shone brightly on opposite horizons of the river valley.