Road bikes masquerade as mountain bikes

No post yesterday as on an unusual day of sunshine we were trapped in the car driving 500km from Ashburton to Nelson, with 2 hours added to the time as the main coast road is still closed after November's earthquake. It was slow and tedious, despite the scenery and doubly frustrating due to a rare weather window.  We arrived in Nelson at around 4.00pm after 8 hours on the road and then headed straight out to the Tourist Office for information on bike trails etc, followed by the supermarket. We fitted in a walk by the sea, but of course by the time we had arrived here it had clouded up. The accommodation is very smart, and spacious - so staying for three nights will be no hardship. Just as an aside, before I get on to today, I like the way Kiwis get straight to the point. In the UK we see signs for well rotted manure, or horse manure - here you see signs for 'Horse Poo', so no messing around.

Today we woke to warmth but grey skies (just for a change), but light winds for a change. After 2 early starts we had a bit of a lie in and didn't actually leave here until after 10.00am. Our plan was to cycle part of the 'Taste Trail' and call in at one or two of the 25 wineries here (as opposed to the cheeserys, cideries or breweries). As often happens with us things went slightly awry!  We followed the off-road bike path 6 miles to Richmond where we wanted to go to a cycle shop to pump up the tyres to full pressure, also to check the balance on our currency cards - the latter seeming to have about the same  amount of NZDs on them as over a week ago - which given we have used them for all our accommodation and much of our food is a bit puzzling. I was tempted to withdraw it all and disappear!

Anyway I digress (again). We decided we might as well have coffee and cake while we were there, so it was late morning before we were back on the road - which was busier than anticipated so we diverted back on to the Taste Trail, which was no longer Tarmac but mixed gravel, boardwalks, swing bridges and sand. Quite a test for the road bikes and having gone a mere 16 miles we found we either had to get a ferry across one of the many inlets or return the way we had come. Not fancying a second helping of soft sand and tree stumps, we took the ferry (bikes and people only) across to Mapua and reckoned we could make our way back on quiet roads. To be honest it is a miracle we arrived back in Nelson at all - none of our various maps showed all the roads and we had to double back several times, plus ask slightly amused locals where we should go. Let's just say it took us 16 miles to get to Mapua and 30 miles to get back..........Luckily we found a little shop in the middle of nowhere that was able to provide us with our daily fix of ice cream (Tip Top hokey pokey for Jeff's benefit!)

Trying to scrub the dust, sand and flies off my heavily sun creamed legs this evening was a struggle and we still haven't made it to a winery.........Good news is that our motel is situated near to a 'Wellbeing Hub' where some crystal therapy should soon see me right.  Tomorrow we try the wine tour again and will hopefully find out what an 'organic biodynamic grape' might be.

Finally in the ongoing saga of the stroppy car I can report that over the last couple of days one of the ba k doors has refused to stay open and practically took my arm off closing itself on me, while on the other side it has been spontaneously putting the child lock on so that you can't open it from outside.

Clickety Clack........

After the Chinese Morris dancing last night we were prepared to be underwhelmed by the fireworks at 10pm, so we didn't bother going out to see them - just watched from the window of our room. Underwhelmed is itself an understatement!  The floodlighting of the police yard opposite and the ghastly racket of their security gate opening and closing every time a squad car or a member of staff went in or out were far more impressive - although not in a good way.  

We were up early today to get some exercise in before sitting on a train for 5 hours (with an hour in the middle to take a walk etc). We were on a heritage rail trip up The Taieri Gorge to Middlemarch on a line that closed in 1990. The route was amazing with tight bends, vertiginous viaducts and miles of deserted countryside. As we rolled out of Dunedin we both had a little chuckle as the guy doing the commentary talked about when the area was settled and said in hushed tones that some of the 1860s houses were still standing. Would you believe it - a house can stand for that long without falling apart, our Royal Family will be delighted to hear that I'm sure........

Anyway the journey was good, as was the Southern hokey pokey ice cream we managed to source at Middlemarch. The main problem with this sort of trip is that you just come back on the same route and the novelty wears off before you get back.  Once off the train in Dunedin we were straight in the car for a three and a half hour drive north to Ashburton, which is itself an hour south of Christchurch. With the main road to Marlborough still blocked after the earthquake the drive has become long and slow, so we changed our original plan to break it into two more manageable chunks.

Now tired and ready for bed, so will finish here with a few pictures - not great as most taken from a moving train, some through the window (others from the small viewing platforms)

Year of the Rooster

Nothing much to report today, one of those moving on days with no spectacular scenery, no extreme weather and nothing of note to comment on. We drove from Cromwell to Dunedin through pleasant but unexceptional countryside, ending up in Dunedin around lunchtime. We can tell that tonight is not going to be a good one with regards to sleep - the hotel is on the main road through Dunedin, our window looks out over the police station, opposite the gate that opens and closes extremely noisily every time a police vehicle goes in or out. The room is tiny with narrow beds, complete with mattresses which could double as trampolines, so no great expectations of a good night.

We had a walk round Dunedin, but like many NZ towns there is only a small area of any interest (or age) and we didn't want to take the car out again to explore the surrounding countryside. Today being Chinese New Year there was a 'big' celebration going on in town. The local paper was predicting 10,000 people taking part, but we reckoned about 200 at the start of the Dragon Parade, which we went to see. Picture female Morris dancing without the movement and a long brightly coloured piece of paper being held up by a load of blokes in pyjamas and you more or less have it (plus all the participants were about our age). 

Given the very limited space and facilities in our room we decided to get a takeaway pizza, but the only place we could find was a bar doing them - Biggies Bar. Given we had to wait 15 minutes it seemed rude not to sample the local beer / wine, hence the picture below of C propping up the bar in 'Biggies'.

By the way it is apparently the worst summer in living memory for rain, wind and cold and we couldn't disagree - especially as the series of fronts crossing the South Island looks set to continue into next week. Random photos of today - if no post tomorrow it is because we arrived too late in Ashburton, will appear on Monday

Finally - payback time!!!!

After heavy rain yesterday evening and overnight, we woke to leaden skies, wind and spots of rain. Luckily it was a short day (40 miles) and the overall route was downhill (only 2,500ft of ascent), with the added bonus of the wind being at our backs and the clouds clearing by late morning. We were riding a main road, but it had a good cycling shoulder and after about 12 miles much of the traffic turned off to go up over the Crown Ranges, the way we descended into Queenstown.  Our first stop was at a bungee jump site, 50 metre drop, with the option of a water touch. Not for us, although I did offer to give C a go as his birthday present - strangely enough he refused in a rather impolite manner!

We watched for a while, the headed on through the Kawaru Gorge, which would have been a long drag going the other way, but a pleasant descent for us. We stopped for lunch at the Roaring Meg lookout - I was expecting a spectacular waterfall, but in fact 'Roaring Meg' referred to a dancer who was carried across the stream by a group of miners in the gold rush, but made a terrible fuss about it. The second dancer had a creek named 'Gentle Annie' in her memory, so you can figure out she didn't make a fuss.  The weather just got better and better as we approached Cromwell - where we set out from 4 days ago. We thought the artwork (pictured below) was a giant chicken at first, but closer observation shows it is a bunch of fruit - which the area is famous for (allegedly).

Reunited with the car and our non-cycling luggage we did a massive washing run which we were able to hang out in the grounds of the motel. With the strong wind and bright sun it dried in no time and has now been repacked. The photo below is the initial chaos of our arrival! 

So today's puzzle concerns waste bins: 'Two new state of the art Big Belly bins are being trialled in Queenstown.  The solar-powered waste bins are connected to a cloud based asset management system that reports on how full they are and sends alerts when they need to be collected. The Council hope that they will offer the ability to better understand waste levels in real time...........'

Do we really need electronically monitored rubbish bins......????

Ukulele Festivals, Funyaking and much more!

Today was a bit of a non event as far as cycling went. The plan was to head off on unladen bikes and ride to Glenorchy and back - a total distance of about 56 miles. I took the precaution of using some mapping software to check the climb involved after yesterday and we felt 3,200ft was OK. It was only in bed that I realised I had doubled the distance (out and back) but not the ascent and since the route started and ended on the shore of the same lake it meant the total climb was 6,400ft. Given we did around 5,000ft yesterday this simply was never going to happen!  We decided to set off and see how we felt - however when we went to pick up the bikes from the ski room(!!) it was to find I had a soft rear tyre. We couldn't find the problem, so changed the tube and pumped up the old one, which was still hard as a rock when we checked 7 hours later 😡

As a result we didn't get started until 10am and the weather was fairly rubbish - low cloud on the hills, spits and spots of rain and the inevitable headwind. The hills weren't long, but they were relentless, and our hearts weren't really in it so we turned back before lunchtime and came back to explore Queenstown and walk by the lake. In so doing we managed to just get back to the motel, with the food for dinner, when the heavens opened - summer continues apace 😥

Queenstown really isn't our sort of place, but it was interesting to see hundreds of tourists trying to occupy themselves on a dull chilly day. Some were doubtless in the Adult Fun House (don't ask), or the Winery - where at great expense you can sample up to 80 NZ wines, by putting your purchased wine card into a slot by the appropriate wine and choosing how much you want 25ml = a taste, 75ml = half glass and 150 ml = whole glass. The relevant amount is deducted from your card and you carry on until you are either comatose or broke (possibly both).  We had been thinking of doing some kayaking when we get up to Marlborough but it would appear that Kayaking is so last year - now you want to be 'Funyaking', which just sounds too naff to contemplate.

Of course if you don't fancy anything too energetic you can spend the whole of the weekend at a Ukulele  Festival.  Did you appreciate that you can travel the world by searching for ukulele groups on Facebook?  Me neither!  Or how about a horizontal bungee jump (???) through a carpet of ripe cherries  there really is no end to the fun to be had over here.  

Random photos from today, including Chris making up for no pub at lunchtime and us posing with a statue of a Tui bird at Bob's Cove, where you can purchase 'Landscape, Luxury and Lifestyle' - or a holiday cottage to you or I.............

 

We change direction - and so does the wind!

It blew a hooley last night with things crashing around outside. Very little rain, but lots of branches down and the warm northerly wind changed to a cold west / south west wind to match our change in direction. We started with a 26 mile climb up to the top of the Crown Ranges, the highest surfaced road in New Zealand. It was only really steep for the last few miles, but by then our legs were sapped by the endless upward grind. The wind wasn't too much of a problem on the way up as we were sheltered by the mountains but it was absolutely freezing on the top - this is the area that saw a foot of snow just last Sunday!  We were joined on the top by two young British girls on a working holiday, who were doing a bit of cycling to see the country - we were amazed to see 2 youngsters riding up the pass with fully laden bikes and they were equally amazed to see 2 pensioners doing the same! 

The descent was very steep, twisty and scary, especially as we were now being buffeted by very strong winds and our hands were so cold we were struggling to brake safely. We finally made it down and took a detour via Arrowtown (used to be a gold mining town) for lunch, hot drinks and then, as we warmed up, ice cream. We eventually made it to our accommodation in Queenstown at around 4.00pm having had to battle into a ferocious wind for the last 15 miles. I forgot to mention that on the top of the pass a motorist got out of his car and presented the four of us with a peach each, as he had been so impressed at the fact we had ridden all the way up! 

Queenstown is full of tourists / backpackers and the like and as it was a last minute decision to stay here rather than press on for another 28 miles, we are lucky to be staying in a pretty decent place. We had a fairly lengthy walk to get food, but are now relaxing ready for the next stage tomorrow.

Thought for today - a garage sale in this area last weekend was selling a selection of random items and I am wondering who, if anyone, bought the single ski (???), 200 flys, antique fire dogs or the Agee processor.  And finally does anyone have any suggestions on this advert: Wanted - 4 X Sheets of rib and 4 X bales of pink batts..................the worry almost kept me awake

First rule of cycling:

The wind is always in your face!  It took us a while to get going today as we had to extricate the bikes from the car and get the wheels on, pack the panniers and then sort out where we were leaving the car and the rest of the luggage (on a piece of scrub land behind the motel, hidden from the road and part of the motel property. It wasn't supposed to be a long ride today (more of that later) so we didn't rush around and it was probably 9.45am before we left. I have been doing some rearranging of our plans since we got here and what was originally a 200 mile 3 day bike tour has become a 200 mile 4 day trip. This was when we realised that consecutive 75 mile days taking in the highest sealed road in NZ was somewhat optimistic, especially given the erratic weather.

Anyway the day started sunny and warm, but with a vicious wind from the north / north west - the exact direction we were to be cycling all day.  We had expected a really easy day as the route was essentially flat with only minor undulations.  The problem with this is that there is no respite from the wind howling across the wide valleys!  We made slower progress than expected, but were still only about 8 miles from Wanaka at lunchtime. Perhaps foolishly I suggested an additional loop, which turned out to be extremely difficult to navigate and was still straight into the wind until the last few miles, when we finally got a tailwind (having gone past our destination and turned back). It was only 50 miles in total, but I was blown off the road once when we went round a bend and hit a crosswind, while Chris was virtually blown to a complete standstill. Arriving in Wanaka we realised several things:

It has grown enormously since we were last here on Christmas Eve 2006 and has lost much of its charm - heaving with people and incredibly expensive. We only found one shop selling ice cream and we both refused, on principle, to pay 6 NZD for the smallest cone they sold. For less than 5 NZD we bought 6 chocolate muffins instead to enjoy with a cup of tea at the motel.  The motel itself is fine, much further out of town than I thought it was - but therefore very quiet. We trekked back in to get food for tonight at the supermarket and had to fight our way back uphill into the wind, which is already strengthening to no doubt reach gale force as promised for overnight and tomorrow (headwind forecast again😡).

So what is happening in Wanaka I hear you ask.  Well the main headline in the Wanaka Sun is about the increase in 'Boozy Bike Thefts'.  Apparently bikes are being taken late at night from the bike racks on the lake front, but are then recovered the following day from elsewhere in town. Most owners get their bikes back with the help of Facebook!  The police are rarely informed and over the busy holiday period only had a child's bike and a wheelchair handed in (hard to imagine you wouldn't notice the theft of a wheelchair).

Any croquet experts out there? The Wanaka Croquet Club plays both Golf Croquet and Association Croquet (although presumably not at the same time) - any explanations??  Or how about signing up for a 'Wild Child Adventure Session'?  These are for boys 7-12 and consist of a Parent and Child led 'adventure' no agenda...........????!!!

It clouded up quite early today and as I haven't yet mastered taking pictures of the wind, today's selection is rather restricted. The one below set me thinking - do they have a cow on standby permanently waiting for someone to roll up and milk it or is the fresh milk put in a machine for people to bring their own containers - if the latter how long can it stay in the machine before it is no longer 'Udderly Fresh'.  So many questions.........

How things change

The pictures say it all really. After rain, wind and temperatures barely in double figures yesterday we woke to full sun and a clear blue sky this morning. We drove up to Mount Cook village and set off up the Hooker Valley Track to the glacial lake at the foot of Mount Cook - along with what appeared to be hundreds of other people making the most of what was the first clear day for a while.  It would have been lovely if it had been quieter, but I don't suppose it ever is on a good day. I'll let the photos tell the story of the day. We got back to the car park in time for lunch and then set off for Kea Point, which is not as popular and therefore a lot quieter. It is further from Mount Cook but gives great views of Mount Sefton.  It was really hot and I was grateful for my Tilly Hat (which makes me look a trifle mad so doesn't feature in the photos). We were wearing too much as it warmed up, but so were a lot of others, worried about the strength of the sun coming off the snow and glaciers. 

At the end of the walk we drove to Cromwell, which is the jumping off point for the next cycling section starting tomorrow. Lovely motel and they are letting us leave the car for the three nights we are away. Currently packing panniers and checking the weather forecast.  Thought you might like a little local colour from The Cromwell and District News:

 'Free spirit swings into Cromwell'

Jennifer Graham-McNab has a habit of swinging into Cromwell every now and then. Spending her time as a free spirit (is that some sort of new job description?) the colourful and interesting Jennifer stopped in at The Tin Goose cafe and offered her talents to locals.  She read tarot cards and a small crystal ball (cheapskate)  and was accompanied by Esther, a happy and friendly Bichon Frise toy poodle. Jennifer nestled herself into the local cafe and offered her gift of intuitive channel King to those customers interested - apparently she knew from a young age that she was intuitively blessed.

The article rambles on but tells us that she now faces the task of creating her own political party. Please send your name suggestions to me - note that 'The Raving Loony Party' is already taken.

Enjoy the pics!

A few pictures from yesterday

Rain, snow and gale force winds

No matter how cold iSummer still seems to be missing round here. Today 12 inches of snow fell on the mountain range we are cycling across on Wednesday, a summer storm hit Auckland knocking out power to thousands and we had heavy rain overnight and this morning, with a high temperature at the coast of 12 degrees and 10 degrees where we are up near Mount Cook. Surely it has to get better sometime!  Luckily we didn't have much planned for today and had a bit of a lie-in and leisurely start - not leaving the motel until 10.00am. It was only around 100 miles or less up to Twizel and although we stopped at a couple of viewpoints there wasn't much to see until later this afternoon. We stopped in Twizel to have lunch and found an amazing shop - selling everything from bike spares, garden fertiliser and fishing rods to bedroom slippers and children's toys. Anyone from Bristol - it was like Mogfords to the power of 10.

Anyway we arrived an hour before the shop shut (it being Sunday) and Chris managed to get a replacement bike saddle for the one that collapsed yesterday. It is now fitted and will be given a stern test with a 4 day outing starting Tuesday.  We checked in to our fairly basic accommodation in a holiday park at 2.00pm, then walked back into the village for coffee and cakes in the Twizel Bakery Cafe. With a window seat we had a good view of the world going by and made the drinks last longer than was strictly necessary.  Then off for an hour's walk round the town (a village in UK terms but a veritable town here). It is actually quite a depressing place - once you are away from the centre you just pass row after row of virtually identical pre-fabricated bungalows with no distinguishing features. I assume many of them are holiday homes.

Anyway, by our standards, a quiet day so some observations after 2 weeks here:

There are a lot of different biting insects in NZ - I have been bitten by most of them already!

Food portions are enormous but there is relatively little obesity.

Rugby is the national obsession - every primary school, park or piece of scrubland has at least one goalpost for kicking practice. Most young lads carry a rugby ball around whereas in the UK it would be a football.

Drivers are almost universally law-abiding with regard to the speed limits (max 100kph on open roads) and the roads are littered with safety messages.

Very few dogs around - probably because they are not allowed in so many outdoor areas, National Parks etc

No matter how cold / wet it is the Kiwis know that this is summer, so wear shorts and T shirts at all times

And finally, from the Twizel update: we sadly missed the Frisbee Golf tournament this afternoon, but might try the 'Supine Pigeon' (allegedly a yoga position but anything is possible). There is also a fascinating advert for 'Spider Proofing' and one for the sale of 'Salmon Balls' - assuming you can afford these delights after paying for some continuous kerb laying........

No pictures tonight as we have limited WiFi access - will remedy tomorrow

Return to the 1960s

After a late night last night due to the tardiness of those blue penguins, we had a slightly sluggish start today. The sun was shining when we got up, although it was pretty chilly, but that was as good as it got. It is now raining again!  We decided to take the bikes out for a spin, with the objective of trying to find the derelict playground we stumbled across 10 years ago. Then it was really spooky, a rusted up 'Sputnik', 2 creaking ancient swings, a rusty slide and a long neglected tennis court - all surrounded by long grass and undergrowth. I don't know why, but it stayed as one of the clearest memories of an extremely memorable holiday. The one thing missing in the combined Hume memory bank was its exact location - although I knew the road and approximate position. In reality we came across it easily at Awamoko as I recognised the community hall adjacent. The equipment is all still there but the grass has been cut and motor homes are now allowed to park overnight. Since the items are still intact I assume they have had some attention, although this wasn't immediately obvious. It was fun to see them again, but the clearance work meant they weren't quite so atmospheric. Still don't think the next Andy Murray will be found practising on those courts! (See below).

Having sailed up the virtually flat valley road we then turned off on to the NZ equivalent of country lanes - into a strong head wind and uphill!  The road signs were incomprehensible as was the signposting on the Alps to Ocean (A2O) cycle route which told you to turn right at three consecutive road junctions - perhaps you are meant to treat it as an orienteering course!  We had lunch at the internationally renowned resort of Ngawera, sitting on the door step of the Community Hall. We were approached by a rotund local who asked why we weren't sitting in the picnic area. We looked a bit blank (and frankly confused) until he pointed out a hole in the fence opposite where there was a round plastic table and a rickety wooden bench that would never have held the weight of two of us.  He mumbled that he really must put a sign up - but quite how many tourists they were inspecting in this less than one sheep hamlet is a bit of a mystery.

We made it back to discover that Chris' bike saddle appears to be collapsing. We took it off and high-tailed down to the bike shop, only to discover that it closes at lunchtime on a Saturday. Not sure what he is going to do - probably put it back on and forget about it!  We managed to get all the washing done and dried and have done some more rearrangement on the overnight stops - I have now made so many changes that I am struggling to keep up (and C has given up).  The local paper has a great front page spread:  'Shear Delight'. Four young friends feel the warmth of a rare sunny day after being shorn at a shed inland from Oamaru.  More photos on pages 8&9.  (The friends in question were obviously sheep, for the avoidance of doubt).  There was also a full page article on 'A Celebration of flour power', a review of a fish burger (with fried egg on top!) and an advert for 'The Gadgetorium' - curios and collectables of Merchant Time Travelers, contact Merchant Lucretia. Nice to know they are not all locked up yet!  

Blue skies and blue penguins

Woke to a chilly morning with bright blue sky, sun and fresh snow at a much lower level than when we went to bed last night. We had decided to tackle the Bealey Spur Track today to at least get some views of the mountains after the last two washouts (literally). Unfortunately Chris didn't feel very well when he got up, so I left him in the car with his book while I set off on the 9 mile return trip. It was a magnificent walk, once above the bush line there were views that kept opening out to show more and more snow covered tops. It was a steady climb up the spur of the mountain for a good part of the way and then just steadily uphill to the destination - Bealey High Hut (or corrugated iron hut as some might call it). Inside there are 6 sleeping platforms and an open fireplace and that's it, so you need to come prepared. There was still ice on the ground when I got there, but the day was perfect for walking and I didn't see anybody on the way up, although going down quite a few people were on the ridge, going as far as the first viewpoint.

Then followed a non-remarkable and somewhat long drive down from Arthur's Pass (virtually no traffic since the road is still closed) and on to join the main road south, eventually ending up in Oamaru. We nipped out quickly to get something to eat and then set off on a 5 mile round trip walk to see the Little Blue Penguins coming ashore at dusk.  There seem to be a disproportionate number of Chinese tourists here and the entire commentary before the Penguins appeared was translated into Mandarin - trying to stop them all using their cameras, smart phones or tablets was a full time job for about 3 staff members. The Penguins came ashore much more spread out in time than usual and virtually everyone had left before the last and largest 'raft' came ashore - well worth the wait, especially as they had to negotiate their way round several seals who were snoozing on their path from the water's edge to their nesting sites.  It was nearly midnight before we got back.

Over a cup of tea we are contemplating what to do tomorrow. There is a list of things you can do for free, helpfully included in the room folder. Chris is inclining towards the 'Electricity Heritage Trail', while I can hardly resist the lure of the 'Social Security Museum' but perhaps we'll just head to the Soap Museum instead.......Tune in tomorrow to find out.  Photos are of the scenery today