New Zealand
February 12, 2004
Kaka Point
17 km today / 1135 km to date (in 1:30)
It has been very windy and there have been spatterings of rain carried in by the rapidly moving clouds which frequently separate to let warm sun through. A great day to R&R and look out at the beach and ocean. Another coffee, please.....
Late in the day we cycled 8 of the 11 km to Nugget Point; very rough gravel, corduroy road, so nice to be without panniers. We went as far as the hide and, even before getting there, had spotted our first yellow-eyed penguin. Once in the hide and with two sets of binoculars panning around, as well as the help of about 8 other people who came and went, we spotted three. All looked slump-shouldered, like they were scrunched up to avoid the wind which was blowing 40 kph, gusting to about 70; we were facing SE toward the Antarctic winds. It was actually hard to hold the binoculars steady. Cycling back, Brent sighted another on a craggy rock island a few feet offshore. Unlike other penguins, the yellow-eyed is a solitary nester, preferring solitude to nesting in a colony. This means they cover a wider area, but are much harder to spot. Good going, Brent!
Nugget Point, reached along this coastal road, and Kaka Point, with its beautiful views and solitary beaches, are hard to beat. Two days next time, unit #6.
February 13, 2004
Kaka Point to Dunedin
117 km today / 1252 km to date (in 8:34)
It was not until I sat down to write this that I realized today is Friday the 13th. I should have figured it out.
Leaving beautiful Kaka Point we started along a scenic coastal route then, as it joined the Southern Scenic Route through pasture land we reached Balclutha (pop 4,000) where we had a second breakfast at 10:00 (some things about cycling you just gotta love) and read the newspaper -- about the upcoming sheep-shearing contest (must be the hundredth we've heard of) and saw that Balclutha is receiving Internet accessibility through the government's Heartland Services program.
After this the day got tough. The Scenic Highway is synonymous with Hwy 1 for a 40-kilometre stretch, so it is full of people jealously guarding their lane and giving not an inch to a cyclist. Every second vehicle is a double trailer freight truck which in Australia are called road trains for a good reason. There are lots of hills, but none big enough to mention by name. I'd use the term ugly suckers, but really need to reserve that for the side road we took to get off the highway which quickly turned into loose gravel and sand, 330 metre vertical (one Malahat) over 3 kilometres. Since there's loose traction, I pushed my push bike as they call them here -- another Kiwi term now explained. Then inched downhill about as fast as I crawled up. Took 1 1/2 hours or more to cover this 10 km section. Brent being his usual cheerful self helped a lot.
The motel expected at Taieri Mouth didn't exist, at kilometre 96 the camp at Brighton was full. At this point the coastal scenery is gorgeous, long beaches, lots of bird life, sand dunes. But we're into a headwind and I can't stop myself from looking at my odometer as often as I look at the Oregon-like coastline. For the final 150 meter vertical hill before Dunedin I see the road in fine detail, since I'm climbing at about 5 kph. Then we're here! 8 1/2 hours cycling time over about 11 hours elapsed time. Our longest day yet (cycling time, not distance).
We coast down Jacob's Ladder, along the flats of the city coast (hmmm..) and into the centre of the town. With only 130,000 people it's laid back. Given its historic importance as NZ's biggest southern city set near the goldmines of the 1800s mining fever, it has some terrific public buildings. An ornate train station, historic law courts, etc. The suburbs we passed were mixed -- some quaint cottage-style houses and the worst of the 1960s. Leaves quite a mixed impression. But we're here, Friday the 13th notwithstanding.
February 14, 2004
Dunedin
We've made reservations for a train ride tomorrow -- short, but highly recommended as one of the world's great train journeys. We had planned to do a day cycle trip to the Otago Peninsula, but the early drizzle caused us to change our plan to chores -- shopping, laundry, hair cut, optician, Internet, and on it goes. And a Valentine's Day present -- knee warmers! I could blame it on New Zealand's weather but it might be more honest to admit that some parts of being middle-aged are really the pits.
Valentines dinner at Bennu, the same place we had lunch, with creative menu. The city is surprisingly busy in the evening because it has a good-sized youth population. Of the 130,000 people, 27,000 are students at one of the three post-graduate institutions -- college, university or poly-technical institute. Despite the chill evening air, the many sidewalk cafes are busy with the hum of conversation.
February 15, 2004
Dunedin to Waipiata
78 km today / 1330 km to date (in 5:17)
The Taieri Gorge rail line was once 235 km long, constructed in stages between 1879 and 1921, thereby being completed not long before other forms of transportation became more competitive. In response, the government protected it from road transport competition until 1983 (seems unbelievable) and it closed shortly thereafter. The City of Dunedin purchased a 60-km section and a Trust now runs an excursion train up the Taieri Gorge; the remainder is a bike trail. "Rails to Trails" they call it; where have I heard that before?
It's an interesting ride -- it follows a river so it's scenic, in most places there is no other access so it's isolated and relatively undisturbed, there are trestles (called viaducts here) made of stone or of steel built in Scotland and reassembled here (as long as 200 m and as high as 50 m), the gorge is deep and dramatic in spots and the route traverses some areas of schist (hardened sedimentary rock which has lots of decorative uses here) so its of geological interest. The rail cars are really cool -- refurbished in 1920s style so all wooden interiors.
If you are from British Columbia and have taken scenic trains, its not a patch, much less "one of the world's great train journeys". But they make the most of it. I compared it in my mind to our trip on one of the E&Ns many "final journeys" last spring. No one cared a whit that we and other passengers were on it and aside from unintelligible station announcements, a tourist would have no clue what they were seeing. Taieri had a running commentary, identifying points of interest, history, bird life, etc. It stopped twice and let us off the train so people could take pictures. All in all, folks were interested if not enchanted and left feeling it was a good trip, rather than climbing off looking bored. We could learn something from Taieri.
The train dropped us in Pukerangi, picked up two cyclists going the other way and, with otherwise the same passenger load, headed back to Dunedin, about 4 1/2 hours round trip. Meanwhile, we stood stranded, looking around in the rain. Aside from rail tracks and gorse, there was not much.
The ride to Middlemarch was on paved road following the railway track, but after that was along the now-lifted track line. Quite easy riding. Mostly packed dirt, some gravel, only rare bits of sand, sharp rock once in awhile (maybe 5% all told). Very similar to the KVR trip we did 1 1/2 years ago. Entirely gradual gradients -- the joy of rail lines!
The route is in the Central Otago Plateau, so is a bit windy and desolate-looking. In fact, the part near Pukerangi looks like a moonscape, complete with rock tors, something which until today was only a crossword puzzle definition to me. But before long we were into sheep territory -- never very far away in New Zealand. We were constantly getting off our bikes to open and close gates. Some gates keep sheep in; some keep sheep out. Whichever, it means alighting about 100 times (a smart cyclist is second in line!). My best vision of this route is Brent riding along, ringing his bell, calling out to the sheep and them all running ahead, too dumb to do anything but run in front of him. A shepherd with a bicycle bell!
The night at "Pete's Farm Hostel" near Waipiata was quite a hoot. Pete gives his customers run of the whole farmhouse -- whether they are camper-van-types, tenters or roomers. Cats, sofas, drafts. An experience. Brent and Pete sat up until the wee hours talking about computers, business principles, wood-working, nervous disorders and heaven knows what else.
February 16, 2004
Waipiata to Alexandra
99 km today / 1429 km to date (in 6:51)
The Otago Central Rail Trail continued through fairly desolate land, more gates, more sheep. It crossed a number of bridges, all rebuilt for the new trail use --some over only irrigation ditches, others quite substantial. A couple of spooky tunnels made of basalt stone, impressive examples of the work all done by hand a century ago. We passed through Ranfurly (pop 800), the 618-metre summit just past Wedderburn (pop 100), Oturehura, Lauder and Chatto Creek, each tiny places but always with a cafe and B&B -- the trail creating new businesses along its route.
All in all the trail was fun. It was a treat to be away from cars. Most people would spend four or five days doing it and that would be a comfortable relaxing pace for any group or family. Gravel travel is always tougher than pavement but the dead-easy gradient more than offsets. But the KVR has it beat. Imagine what the current E&N line would be like.
We took the trail the whole way except the 17 km stretch from Chatto Creek to Alexandra, deeking off because it was getting on into the late afternoon, the trail seemed to be degenerating into sharp rock of the tire-slashing variety and the headwind seemed to be strengthening from a tough 25 kph to something approaching storm proportions. We probably were no better off on the road because it was hilly, up and down, up and down. But who was to know?
It was raining as we pulled into Alexandra (pop 4,600). What astonishingly good luck. Rain for only the first hour of the trail yesterday, fair weather for two days, with rain starting again just minutes before we finished. No wonder we like cycling.
February 17, 2004
Alexandra to Wanaka
91 km today / 1520 km to date (in 6:06)
Alexandra to Cromwell is a pretty route (with lots of minor up and down) following the shore of Lake Dunstan (formerly Cromwell Gorge) which has been helped along by hydro's Clyde Dam. Cromwell (pop 2,600) was once one of many small centres in gold-mining times, then a centre for the fruit-growing in the area. The old town was flooded with the installation of Dunstan Dam and the new town looks poised to capitalize on the resort potential of the area -- as do so many places in New Zealand. Continuing along the lake shore, not much traffic, fruit trees and vineyards, its mildly similar to some Okanagan spots. We eventually make our way into Wanaka, completing a loop that is shaped like a figure "6" over 1,500 km, which we plan to turn into something more like a figure "8" over the next couple of weeks.
Its still an expensive, touristy town, but its still beautiful and, after being on the road for so long, there's a strange sense of "being home" whenever we return to a town.
February 18, 2004
Wanaka to Makarora
66 km today / 1586 km to date (in 5:18)
Today we left the farmland we've been traveling in for the lost couple of weeks and reentered the hills heading to the West Coast. Past Lake Hawea, 35 km long, which was raised 60 feet in the 1950s in aid of power generation, crossing "The Neck" (405 m elevation), a narrow isthmus which links to Lake Wanaka, and then tracking the shore of Lake Wanaka for about 10 km at the far end from the town. Heading into Makarora (pop 40) the road follows a gentle river valley and flats. This is one of the most scenic routes we've travelled.
It was hard to enjoy it, though. We faced a brutal wind all day. Twice we came to a dead stop, unable to make an inch of progress against seriously gusting winds. Generally it was just a grind. Were it not for the gorgeous scenery and false pride (not necessarily in that order) I would have tried to hitch a ride. We averaged 12 kph over the day.
But we made it in spite of the wind - a sure sign that we're getting very strong. Shortly after we checked in, it started to pour. We poured too (but a glass of wine), sat on the porch of our cabin looking out over the valley up at the mountains, and all was right with the world!
February 19, 2004
Makarora to Fox Glacier
(by bus)
The weather forecast has been for rain and thunderstorms on the West Coast. Everyone in the country lives for the 6:50 national forecast each evening, we included. We cheated the weatherman yesterday, but didn't dare take a chance again and booked a seat on "Atomic Shuttle".
When the shuttle arrived it appeared every cyclist had the same idea. Two cycles on the front, one on the rear, two in a trailer, one strapped on top of the trailer and now three more (the two of us and a German fellow). All in a 20-passenger van. The van was full of panniers and packs and people. The defrost couldn't keep up with the condensation. It was pouring when the van arrived and poured most of the 200 km to the town of Fox Glacier (pop 300). I'm glad we were on a bus. We actually passed 5 cyclists toughing it out.
Its easy to see why, despite the inclement weather, people come here (5 - 8 metres of rain annually). The road touches the coast sometimes with its West Coast surf and rock, it travels through Mt. Aspiring National Park, with its beautiful, protected forest. The rain means its green, mossy, lush, dense. The mountains are in the background and sometimes in the foreground. It is spectacular, not to be missed.
We expected Fox Glacier township to be a mini-Whistler, but its about 1/100th the size. Small, quiet, 5 visitors for every local.
February 20, 2004
Fox Glacier
3 (yesterday) + 23 (today) = 26 km / 1612 km to date
Fox Glacier is like any other glacier, but fun in that it is so readily accessible. 6 km bike ride along a good road, and only a few steps until you can see the glacier. A half-hour walk and you are within a few feet of the terminal face. It towers about 35 metres. Its great crevasses reflect the ephemeral blue of glaciers. Its edges are sharp and jagged.
The glacier has had periods of advance and retreat. In the last few years it reversed its retreating pattern of much of the last century and began advancing at a rate of up to 1.5 metres per day. Amazing. It takes only 5 years for the snow to pass all the way through to the face, so movements today reflect snowfalls and conditions of five years ago. I'd estimate that about 500 people visited the glacier today. Also amazing. What's even more amazing are pictures from 1904 of tourists to the glacier. Women in long dresses, men in suits and top hats using ice picks to climb the slope of the glacier. Fantastic.
Lake Matheson is about 3 km the other direction from town so we made our way down there and did the short (5km?) hike around the lake. Its claim to fame is as a "reflective lake" -- love the name but it doesn't mean contemplation. Apparently on a still day, at the far end of the lake, you can see the Fox glacier and Mt Cook and their reflections in the lake. Since we've had few sunny days and certainly no still ones, it's hard to believe this can be anything but theory. But I'm told it's a stunner when it occurs. We enjoyed the walk anyway. The plant life on the West Coast is unique to New Zealand -- unlike many other parts of NZ which could be England of the Falklands or .... We have more pictures of strange ferns, lichen, moss, vines. The undergrowth is sometimes dense and other times almost walkable. The trees are rimu, rata, fern trees. Flax grows right in the water. And the incessant wind makes music in the leaves in the trees. Sometimes a walking pace is just perfect.
February 21, 2004
Fox Glacier
We unwittingly made a great decision when we decided to spend two days here. With no more sophisticated analysis than it will likely rain one of two days here, we booked two thinking we'd walk one and wait the other out. We walked yesterday and it rained all day today. We caught up on sleep, books, research, Internet. Ate home cooked meals. Now we're anxiously waiting for the 6:50 weather forecast -- silly as that is because half the time its "who knows?" and the other half its a bit of everything -- rain, sun, showers, clouds, winds, gales, thunderstorms. No matter what they say, I'll be keeping my raincoat close at hand.
February 22, 2004
Fox Glacier Township to Greymouth
26 km today / 1638 km to date (in 2:04)
The 25 km between the towns of Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier is stunning. Big hills, interesting forest, streams, creeks, waterfalls seeping everywhere out of the moss. Franz Josef township is twice the size of Fox, which makes it about 1/50th the size of Whistler; that is, quiet, quaint, relaxed. The downside is that the mountains in which the glaciers form are also the geological feature responsible for the significant snowfall or, at this time of year, rainfall. Although we got some good exercise (about 500 metres of vertical) over the short distance we cycled, we also got damp, wet, and eventually drenched. By the time cold and chill were added to the equation, we were done for the day. We parked in a cafe and waited the two hours for the daily shuttle bus which zips up and down the coast.
Through Whatoroa (pop 200), Harihari (pop 600), Ross (pop 450), Hokitika (pop 3,300) and into Greymouth with a population of 13,000 which makes it by far the West Coast's largest city. All told, 175 km on the bus. And who's surprised that once we left the mountains and tracked the ocean coastline or flat pasture land, it was sunny and warm. A pretty stretch of raod.
Greymouth has mining history and there's no particular draw to the city. As with many places, its the journey, not the arrival, which is the fun.
February 23, 2004
Greymouth to Punakaiki
50 km today / 1688 km to date (in 3:13)
Another lovely stretch of the route, some good chunks hugging the coastline with Oregon-like scenery of rocks, surf, birds circling overhead. The road winds and twists and circles and bends and rises over small headlands, drops quickly back down to sandy or rocky bays.
At Punakaiki there are rocks which have been eroded into interesting shapes and features. Old sedimentary rock has had layers of clay washed away by the pounding surf leaving great stacks of what they fittingly call pancake rocks. That's what they look like, if one can really imagine stacks of pancakes that are 20 metres high and 2 metres across. I of course can easily imagine this! There are also four terrific blowholes. We've spent a lot of time over the years trekking to places to see blowholes, only to stand by wondering what the big excitement is when there's a whoosh or a bit of spray comes through. But today we were at the best -- rough sea, high tide, great thunderous sound and streams of water showering out at the top of the blowhole. Not exactly a miracle -- its pretty straightforward how it works -- but lots of visual appeal all the same.
For some reason I was tired today. I guess that's what four days off gets you. So we packed it in early and relaxed. I forget sometimes this is a holiday as well as a biking trip!
February 24, 2004
Punakaiki to Westport
56 km today / 1744 km to date (in 3:32)
I'm finding it hard to write in my journal, because its beautiful but not remarkably new. The shoreline today is again beautiful. Again I am struck that only a country with so much shoreline, so many sheep and cattle, and so few people would have this oceanside real estate used as pasture land. But it sure makes for lovely scenery.
Aside from that, we are seeing in spades the West Coast which some cheekily call the Wet Coast. Every day we get soaked, every day people tell us this is the worst summer in memory if not on record. But everyone is also grateful to be here and not in those parts of the North Island that are getting terrible floods, causing millions of dollars of property damage and lots of upheaval. I guess I'll just put on more warm clothing -- which means shopping, since I'm generally wearing about 5 layers of clothing -- virtually everything I've got!
February 25, 2004
Westport to Murchison
99 km today / 1843 km to date (in 6:11)
Hold everything! The sun came out!! So, I
- stopped my buy order for all available shares of Stanfield long thermal underwear
- postponed my flight to Hawaii
- pedalled like crazy and passed the 5,000 km cycle threshhold for this trip!
For the last few days we've had the Tasman Sea on our left and the mountains on our right. Today we turned inland and followed the path of the Buller River the whole day, so started with the Buller on our left and native beech forest on our right. For part of the day the river valley would widen, the route rolling gently through plantation, forest or pasture land. In the middle section, the valley narrowed to a gorge, the road undulating fairly steeply up and down through damp, mossy, fern-covered areas. The former like West Saanich Road, the latter like Goldstream. With the sun shining and cool temperatures, it was an excellent cycling and sight-seeing day.
This is an earthquake-prone area and evidence of the 1968 shaker still scars the hillsides with barren areas of rockslides, landslides and slips. We also crossed a faultline today. It's amazing how the land shifts (metaphorically as well as literally) from the rock of the West Coast back to the schist and stone of the north-central areas. It is enough to make those educational films of shifting tectonic plates over millions of years seem real.
There is not much to Murchison (pop 850), but its location on the Buller Gorge makes it attractive to white-water rafters and kayakers, as well as trekking, horse-riding and the usual impressive array of outdoor and adventure activity. New Zealand is quite a place.
February 26, 2004
Murchison to Tapawera
85 km today / 1928 km to date (in 5:17)
Murchison to Tapawera requires crossing the Hope Saddle, a surprisingly easy elevation gain of 555 metres, and then coasting through pasture land and plantation radiata pine. We traded route ideas with two English gents who had pre-planned their entire 3-week route and transport using the Internet. Train bookings, ferry bookings, hotel accommodation. Good note and maps. Wow! The downside for them is that no matter what the weather they have to get from A to B. It was particularly challenging during the windstorm of a few days ago when trees came down across the road. In addition to scaring the daylights out of them, they had to help clear the road before they could proceed!
Our cabin at Tapawera (pop 45) is pretty basic; the owner is unaccountably proud of his agglomeration of shacks. But Brent manages to cook dinner and breakfast on one element with one temperature setting -- called "On". We eat sitting on the bed. What a guy! Who can complain?
February 27, 2004
Tapawera to Collingwood
110 km today / 2038 km to date (in 5:44)
We did a last minute change to our route yesterday so that we could make a side trip to Farewell Spit at the top northwest corner of the South Island; from there we'll go to the northeast corner to catch the ferry to the North Island. Farewell Spit is a protected area of international significance for birds from the Arctic which summer here. The only hitch was an 800 metre steep hill over the headland (2 1/2 Malahats). But where birds are involved, one must make sacrifices. Our sacrifice involved cash!
We zipped in record speed from Tapawera to Motueka, a quiet pastoral route, and got on the phone to bus companies. Could any take us over that hill? You bet. They all do. Twould appear not many cyclists are keen to climb the hill. Since there would be a five-hour wait, I took a flyer and called a taxi company. You bet. And cheaper, too. In half-an-hour we were at the top of the hill and $50 poorer.
This part of the world seems to have its own micro-climate. It is often warmer here than elsewhere on the South Island -- I notice these things on the nightly weather forecast. It manifests itself in local crops -- orchards, vineyards, hops, kiwi, currants.
But not warmer today. After coasting the 10 km to the bottom of the hill, and pedalling another 20 km to Takaka (a funky-looking two of cafes, galleries, etc.), the rain settled in. Not one of those short-lived showers, but the heavily overcast solid grey skies that arrive to stay. When you have no choice, and as long as its not too cold, these occasions generally result in a fatalistic resignation to our plight. Grin and bear it -- or at least bear it. Think about something else. Turn the pedals and in a couple of hours you are there. Wet, but none the worse for wear.
February 28, 2004
Collingwood, New Zealand
Farewell Spit can only be reached by 4W-D through a company which is licensed by the Department of Conservation, because of its fragile system and migratory bird sanctuary importance. All trips today are cancelled. It is raining like stink. Collingwood threatens to become Collingwood Bay. The road looks like a river. I think the ocean is rising. Tell me again what New Zealand is like when its not having its Annus Horribilus -- or whatever that regal expression is.....
February 29, 2004
Collingwood
Yesterday by the 6:50 news, farewell Spit had 135 mm of rain -- I think that is about what Victoria gets in all of February! A raging wind this morning therefore seems like relatively good weather, since the sun is shining brightly. The 4W-D trip out the 35-km spit wasn't without incident. The truck broke down, it took two hours to fix. But Brent came back content with having seen some interesting birds (great white heron, godwit, gannet), explored the lighthouse (once manned by three people with kerosene lanterns; now a convex piece of plastic and a 50-watt bulb). The delay meant it was too late to start cycling; c'est dommage. A relaxing afternoon and dinner at the funky Courthouse Restaurant, circa 1901.
March 1, 2004
Collingwood to Pohara
41 km today / 2079 km to date (in 2:35)
Retracing our route to Tanaka along the coast road, lunch at Tanaka and find the water taxi is overbooked. So settle into nearby Pohara to await the 10:30 water shuttle tomorrow. Pohara is a small (tiny), unhurried summer resort. Our cabin is only a few steps from the beach. This whole area -- Farewell Spit, Tanaka, Pohara -- would be a good base for an easy comfortable few days. Lots of walks, kayaks, beaches, restaurants. Outdoor stuff with all the mod-cons.
I've used my leisure time lately to plan the next two months. We have decided to drop Peru for now (Machu Pichu does not appear to be a bicycle type trip), extend New Zealand two weeks, then spend the last 4 weeks in South America - primarily Uruguay.
On to Brenda's next New Zealand diary.
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