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…