|
Part way we stopped in Pongaroa for a drink at the pub and to chat to some Canadian cyclists. From here there is a 60 km loop road into AA beach. All but 20 are paved and the rest is good gravel.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4649/...b01fd26a_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-01-21 at 22.28.06 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4712/...95b60851_b.jpgFILE2360 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4768/...92c60c79_b.jpgFILE2361 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4648/...dcbc67b6_b.jpgFILE2370 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4655/...ce2b99f9_b.jpgFILE2371 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Arriving to the beach we had a snack and while we were watching the waves a furry sea lion hopped out onto the beach.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4748/...1a11158a_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4604/...76969062_b.jpgIMG_1929 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4714/...24f77877_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-83 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4662/...9b3b99c8_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-80 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4708/...cc9a7693_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-81 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4713/...7a93c770_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-84 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
This is how you tow your boat in New Zealand!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4612/...d9ce2e88_b.jpgIMG_1920 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4602/...98a600f8_b.jpgIMG_1921 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4770/...62727ea8_b.jpgIMG_1936 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Riding back to the 52 from the north we had to retrace 15 km and then made for the Pa Valley and then the Mangaone Valley roads and arrived to Pahiatua at 630 to the home of HU Hubb members John and Sarah. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4668/...202b0064_b.jpgFILE2392 (1) by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4705/...6ec89887_b.jpgFILE2398 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4747/...9a8a39e7_b.jpg |
Sarah and John have traveled a lot of Europe by bike 2 up and want some advice on crossing Asia to bring their BMW back from the UK where they bought it. They served up a huge steak BBQ for us and their kids Ben and Rebeca and we talked into the night.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4660/...ddceb080_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-85 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4653/...1ea434a5_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-86 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4711/...8bf6fc91_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-87 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Today the plan was to go to Castle Point (voted the best beach in NZ) and the weather looks clear for star tonight.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4604/...de7ed1c3_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-01-21 at 22.32.28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We headed back to the 52 and south 64 KM to Masterton for groceries and supplies. We then took the Castle point road to Langdale road and wound our way to the beach. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4672/...404d0bb8_b.jpgFILE2409 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4759/...618c9820_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4704/...5373ab2d_b.jpg |
The problem is it is a holiday weekend Saturday and as we expected when we arrived there are no spots and no where to free camp. We had a picnic lunch and retreated to Masterton in the 30 degree blazing sun.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4761/...9a713863_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-88 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4769/...99506d43_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-89 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We found a great motocamp just at the city limit and it has a nice grass field, amazing showers, and the best stocked camp kitchen we have ever seen. It was a 10 minute walk into town to get some cold beer. Then we had to hide in the shade a the sun was like a laser. Small world as Sarah's dad used to manage this park and she has even lived here. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4626/...b5fcc40e_b.jpgIMG_1942 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4650/...cbb4076d_b.jpgIMG_1943 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
It was after 2 and we made for Greytown (voted prettiest town in NZ) for lunch. We cruised the quaint main road and parked where there were several restaurants. We went into a nice deli to order and not 5 minutes later Sarah and Rebeca who were here for some shopping and saw us ride by! SMALL world. Crazy to meet 2 of the few people we know in NZ. Now we rode over the famed (for the number of deadly motorcycle crashes) Rimutaka road. It is a nice windy mountain road that guys on donor cycles try to race across and crash all to often. We managed all right at normal people speed.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4670/...c4179eee_b.jpgIMG_1950 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4602/...9f1c0030_b.jpgFILE2575 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4669/...d5a5d0f9_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-92 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4763/...293cf219_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-91 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Arriving to Mike’s home he had one side of the garage open for us, cold beers ready, and he cooked us up a fantastic beer can chicken dinner. We went over the south island map with him as well and he added quite a few local aid bits! We also booked our ferry tickets today. We had to go with 3 days from now in order to not have to go at 9 am or 8 pm. We booked with Blue bridge as they allow 2 motorbikes to be booked on one reservation, they had a 130 pm opening for the 3.5 hour crossing as opposed to 9 am or 5 pm), and it was 50$ cheaper. They are north sea ferries and not as nice as the ones run by the competition Inter-island.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4718/...cfbf03a9_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-93 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4705/...8968a42b_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-94 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It is not very nice out today so for our tour in the city Mike took us in the car. We headed into Wellington city and visited the Te Papa national museum, lunched on the waterfront at Mac’s, then drove over to visit the NZ first world war memorial and museum. We headed back to Mike’s so Sara could cook us up dinner. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4756/...5231ed94_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-95 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Giant Squid! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4650/...c3952ed0_b.jpgIMG_1954 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
It is supposed to be a much nicer day today and we set out on the bikes just after 9.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4715/...029a5974_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4660/...0f5fa4ae_b.jpgFILE2598 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Leaving Porirua we did take the motorway until Johnsonville and then turned off onto the Ohairu Valley Road.. This is a very narrow and curvy road thru farm lands. We took a detour off to visit Makara beach. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4723/...f8c1e361_b.jpgFILE2607 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4763/...d9406143_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4711/...b848795c_b.jpgIMG_1964 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4657/...638010bd_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-96 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Next we crossed over the west of the suburbs to climb the steep road to the “wind turbine” lookout. This has a panoramic view over the city from the west.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4629/...8e4a23ab_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4696/...62e4d7a9_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4755/...f564b54e_b.jpgIMG_1967 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4724/...81fe34ac_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-97 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4667/...5cbf99b2_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-98 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From here we rode down to the sea on Happy Valley Road and to Owhiro bay. The road here skirts the seaside and ends at the airport. Here we had a great lunch on the deck of the Spruce Goose and watched the planes take off and land.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4615/...9ef51753_b.jpgFILE2657 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4650/...bc21b049_b.jpgFILE2669 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr When you continue on the coast road you actually ride under the runways and along the coast with views of the harbor. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4678/...cd214cdf_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-99 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
There is a steep and narrow switch back road to the lookout at Mount Victoria.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4701/...1b5c7c16_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-101 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4662/...db9fb4ff_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-100 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr When we came back from enjoying the view Lulu would not start! Now when we arrived back from Vietnam there was a starting issue, but since then the bike started but there was a delay of a second when the starter was pushed. For the last 2 days it did not seem to be running “normally” or at least seemed to lack power, but the voltage meter was 14. We tried to jump the bike-no, we swapped out the battery from the 800-no, we jumped it with the new battery and started. So either the regulators or the stator! We luckily were less than 5 km and mostly downhill to get to Mikes shop Boyle Kawasaki. Glad it did not die on the hill like it did in Quito when I broke my toe! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4622/...8615d61a_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-01-23 at 22.27.07 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4672/...66b1e8ba_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-01-23 at 22.27.41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr What nice guys. They immediately offered help, tested the battery (all good), offered to fix the bike, offered us a trailer….and beer. In the end Dan and Mike rode back home and picked up Mikes car and trailer and then came back for Lulu and Sara. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4661/...5e164f04_b.jpgIMG_1971 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Arriving home Dan got to work. First he swapped out the regulator and no luck.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4677/...977853c3_b.jpgIMG_1974 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4701/...a38b9448_b.jpgIMG_1975 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Next we open the engine and the stator is burnt totally and the wiring burned thru. Inside the case there was a 4 mm glob of what looked like solder freely floating (forgot to take a picture unfortunately). Poor job on the manufacture! It has only been in use since Kazakhstan (22,000 km ago!!). Not much we can do so we installed the new one and it is working well we think. The voltage reads 13.8 when riding, but 14.0 when in neutral. This is a new regulator and is Dan’s battery. The 650 was always 14.1! We shall have to see. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4622/...ba837d98_b.jpgIMG_1978 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4700/...5e9912c7_b.jpgIMG_1979 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4724/...2ae7a969_b.jpgIMG_1980 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4650/...cf34348c_b.jpgIMG_1981 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Thanks so much to Mike for saving us in a bad situation! This bourbon is well deserved . https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4695/...91ac21fd_b.jpgIMG_1983 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Today we are heading to the ferry across the Cook (as in Captain) Strait to the South island, but the sailing is not until 1330.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4745/...30d2f65a_b.jpg We headed out just after 7 and made for Mike’s favorite coffee and scone spot for breakfast. We then rode out to the Eastbourne Bays and then back and over the hills to the Wainuiomata Coast. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4673/...7493703548.jpgScreen Shot 2018-01-24 at 22.22.36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4670/...0f9bc9ba_b.jpgFILE2712 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
It was still pretty early, but we went to the dock to check in and hang out on this glorious sunny day.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4740/...6f05a777_b.jpgIMG_1991 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4760/...ff0df54d_b.jpgNorth Island NZ 1-102 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr They load the trucks first and then the bikes. There are some sketchy dirty ropes to tie the bikes with as we had been warned and we were glad we had some the the BMW tie downs from the shipping with us. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4654/...6c60bed8_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4612/...a0528ed5_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4747/...d7dd21fb_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4696/...42fba4a9_b.jpgFILE2738 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4724/...a93a7dde_b.jpg |
The crossing is 3.5 hours and the first 2 1/2 are a bit rocky in the strait.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4629/...10653c32_b.jpg The last hour you are behind the shelter of the coastal islands and travel down a narrow passage to the port at Picton. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4770/...20dc3189_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4774/...7e9d8b7e_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4631/...3c215485_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4774/...26daa4b8_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4780/...8e6715ed_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4777/...5d5a5cd6_b.jpg The unloading was pretty quick and we headed 28 km south west to Blenheim and the Top 10 Holiday Park that is right on the riverside. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4629/...fabaa8d3_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4669/...4a7c7143_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4695/...9649ef23_z.jpg |
We had a river front spot for the tent and duck viewing. The walk into town was about 20 min and we found a locals only watering hole for a drink and a steak sandwich. There were some very colorful characters here tonight. Once the sun went down it was very cool and we showered and hopped into the sleeping bags. Despite being near the highway and the bridge it was pretty quiet all night.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4663/...2dae31c4_b.jpgFILE2765 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4617/...cf770353_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4778/...ca5631fc_b.jpgNZ South Isand-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Today’s ride 208 km to Hanmer Springs via the Molesworth Station road. The Molesworth is said to be the largest station in the southern hemisphere.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4616/...624f6871_b.jpg First you ride 23 km south to just north of Seddon to the access road to the Awatere Valley. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4626/...6cc53322_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-01-26 at 20.53.22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4700/...29a428cc_b.jpgFILE3108 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The first 30 km of the Molesworth road are paved and then it is a good gravel road until 2 km from Hanmer Springs. The Awatere Valley road passes thru the Molesworth station itself. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4795/...10b3ff88_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4716/...afb616fd_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4718/...9610c48f_b.jpgFILE3190 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
There is very little traffic since the coast road SH1 has opened again this week after being closed in 2016 after the Kaikōura earthquake. We had 3-4 oncoming large trucks, which hurl towards you at 80 km/h in a massive dust cloud and can be a bit scary. We did not come up on any vehicles and thus did not have to eat anyone's dust. The road is in good condition and we can travel at speed except on the tight corners for fear of oncoming traffic and the poor performance of the Shinkos in loose gravel.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4716/...406ecf36_b.jpgFILE3192 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4751/...8de4c121_b.jpgFILE3199 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4772/...70e3ac81_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4743/...9f2b932e_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4704/...91f96ec1_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4649/...bd5cfb78_b.jpgFILE3268 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4759/...14c68869_b.jpgFILE3278 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4745/...b3f1e99d_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4652/...ffd5d097_b.jpgFILE3299 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4767/...0d854029_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4657/...e29d4f24_b.jpgFILE3313 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4610/...e5c2ed5a_b.jpgFILE3318 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4786/...6acf6c3c_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4772/...9a7da817_b.jpgNZ South Isand-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
It was a pretty hot day. We left about 1030 when it was 24, but by Moleswoth Station 100 km later it was 29. We stopped here for a snack in the shade at a picnic table.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4718/...79422c72_b.jpgFILE3329 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4772/...8aa61cbc_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4770/...878faf1b_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4763/...190b6a3a_b.jpgFILE3408 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4653/...dc4fb15b_b.jpgFILE3411 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4623/...dcff06a5_b.jpgFILE0010 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4777/...d4eb755f_b.jpgNZ South Isand-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Arriving near the town we chose the maintained Jack’s pass road and arrived to the camp spot at 3 when it was 31 degrees!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4743/...147194bd_b.jpgFILE0036 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We did a bit of a walk about this cute village and bought some supplies. We noted that the forecast has changed and now they call for rain starting at 5 am and so we packed up as much as possible and went to bad after a beautiful cloudless evening. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4654/...d7e55d04_b.jpgIMG_1999 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It was indeed raining briskly at 630, but there was a break just after 830 long enough to get the tent down and the gear stowed. We only have 125 km to Christchurch today and the rain stopped about 30 km from Hanmer, but we did have a few heavy showers on the way. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4613/...17930413_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-01-26 at 20.55.35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It was sunny arriving to the city and to Budget Motorcycles Spares where we had arranged for tires. Very nice guys here and professional work. They even charged us less than the quote and all said this was about 400$ cheaper than the tires in Wellington. Everything is expensive in NZ. A pint is 9$!!! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4795/...b45a2bb1_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4765/...7a1993a9_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4613/...3299e29b_b.jpgIMG_2013 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We had been invited to the home of Neil and Lorraine a UK couple living here. Neil met us in town and guided us to a spot for lunch and then set us up in their air B&B suite=sweet. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4608/...cbc4caf9_b.jpgIMG_2062 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4715/...0447c44c_b.jpgIMG_2063 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4788/...6f3055ba_b.jpgNZ South Isand-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The forecast is not that great, but we decided that if it was not raining we would all ride out together today to the Akaroa Peninsula.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4741/...355be5b2_b.jpg First we rode up the Evans Pass road, which no longer goes thru to Lyttelton since the earthquake 8 years ago, but they are still working on it. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4628/...08033dd7_b.jpgFILE0060 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr If you go left at the summit you can ride along the Summit road dodging cyclists for a view south over the Akaroa Peninsula where we are headed. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4628/...2c0211d7_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-01-27 at 23.48.15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4775/...4fb1ecb7_b.jpgNZ South Isand-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4704/...8239b7ee_b.jpgFILE0066 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4676/...79a8f9fb_b.jpgFILE0070 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4777/...a0aab9c0_b.jpgNZ South Isand-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Back down at the junction if you go straight instead of back down to Sumner or can take the Summit road left over the hill side to the valley thru residential streets and then connect to the tunnel to Lyttelton.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4760/...e6811216_b.jpgFILE0073 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4697/...ff336fee_b.jpgFILE0076 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Here you follow the Govenor’s Bay-Teddington coast road and then on the Christchurch-Akaroa Road out onto the peninsula. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4759/...d3a631d6_b.jpgFILE0078 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4704/...08c74a66_b.jpgFILE0086 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4677/...d95c5cac_b.jpgFILE0088 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We took the high summit road, which rides the crest of the mountain and then falls down into the bay at Akaroa town. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4677/...4a01e8b6_b.jpgFILE0107 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4749/...f5631915_b.jpgFILE0114 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4623/...ed939689_b.jpgFILE0121 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4611/...c68a7184_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4655/...604c2f32_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4785/...40080d48_b.jpgNZ South Isand-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4788/...76318266_b.jpgNZ South Isand-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4784/...90b0e677_b.jpgNZ South Isand-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
It had become hot and very sunny and we enjoyed some great fish and chips at Murphy’s. Riding back we retraced our steps and finally arrived home after 7. We opted to stay in for dinner and a few beers. It was great to hear Lorraine and Neil’s stories from their trips around the world, but they have a lot more book worthy adventures than we have had including having a serious accident in SA and having to come home.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4783/...34a09f99_b.jpgNZ South Isand-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4624/...9bab4224_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4795/...44acdcec_b.jpgNZ South Isand-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4788/...58c7e139_b.jpgNZ South Isand-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4778/...7d774a20_b.jpg |
The idea was to ride north west to Greymouth over Arthur's Pass and then the next day back to Hanmer. From here we can do the off road route on “the Rainbow” to St. Arnaud. (Google will not route over the Rainbow road past the campsite). This will then put us just south west of Nelson and we can go to the west coast from there. It is more often then not raining on the WEsT coast. Looking at the forecast is is supposed to be sunny on the coast for the next 2-3 days and then the weather everywhere is rain as a storm hit the island.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4774/...698ae6b0_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-03-21 at 10.28.36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Plans have to change sometimes. We will ride to the coast at Greymouth over Arthur’s pass and then head down the west coast. It is more likely to be nice at some time in the future for the rainbow and the north west road than it is on the west coast itself. (good thing we did this since after the predicted cyclone on the coast the road is now closed behind us). The next cyclone caused a massive landslide on the Rainbow, but that is another story. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4607/...f094e517_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-01-31 at 20.23.20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4677/...fc11506a_b.jpgIMG_2065 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Leaving Christchurch we made for the #73 and stopped in Sheffield for their “world famous” hot pies. 5 star pie for sure. Today we must have seem several hundred bikes coming towards us over the pass and we found out why late. There was a biker/music festival on this weekend and they are headed home this Sunday.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4741/...e510004f_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-01-26 at 20.56.26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4782/...42c7f51e_b.jpgNZ South Isand-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4629/...1ae99a47_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4748/...fc5a73a3_b.jpgFILE0226 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4770/...ff6763ca_b.jpgFILE0234 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4671/...f2e59642_b.jpgIMG_2021 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4674/...f30ea614_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4664/...33d0252b_b.jpgFILE0265 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We stopped at several view points along the alpine pass and hoped/feared to see the mischievous Kea. This is an alpine parrot that is only found here on the South island of NZ. They are very intelligent and very naughty. They have been known to pick the rubber out of car windshields, bend aerials, eat hand grips, and generally cause damage just for the fun of it.
We did see several flying and one briefly landed on the railing at the “death corner” look out, but when we stopped a few km farther down the road one was walking across the parking lot as we parked and hopped up into a tree. It is 32 degrees today and I think it is to hot for them to get up to any destruction. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4774/...31f5a863_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4631/...2f155d16_b.jpgIMG_2024 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4785/...004865fd_b.jpgNZ South Isand-34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4784/...05c4c14d_b.jpgNZ South Isand-35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Arriving to the city we stopped for supplies and then decided on the Top 10 park that is on the beach. The beaches here on the south island are mostly rocky and at least on the west coast teeming with sand flies. These and tiny black biting flies that leave large itchy welts that only get worse if you scratch them and turn into red sores. Luckily there are not too many here. What is more worrisome here is how much everything costs.
Generally the price is double what it s at home and this makes NZ the most expensive place we have been. A small bottle of coke in a store is 4$, gas is 225/l, and camping is 20-25$/person per night. We are very lucky to have been hosted so much. This camp ground is on the sea, but there is a very high hedge that acts as a wind break and this means the large grass area for the tents is nice and sheltered. We set up camp and you can see our time lapse below. The Top 10 is a little more than the private sites, but they have very nice showers, hot water, full kitchens, BBQs, and wifi. https://youtu.be/reZtcp1AN38 https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4615/...f139b7ce_b.jpgIMG_2056 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4779/...cc0e0f12_b.jpgNZ South Isand-36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr While we were cooking our dinner we ran into cyclists Rich and Karlene from New Hampshire. They ride their tandem bike somewhere in the world for 3 month every winter. That is not the most crazy thing. What is super crazy is that we met them before in Lake Arenal Costa Rica when we were both at the same B&B in 2013! Small world indeed. They are also headed down the east coast, but what we will do in 2 days will take them 12! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4782/...d5ebb323_b.jpgNZ South Isand-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4788/...0b35b550_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4784/...dbff598f_b.jpgNZ South Isand-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We set off south from Greymouth on the 6 and detoured in to Hokitiki the center of greenstone for NZ and Sara bought herself a small piece for a souvenir.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4648/...56f824ff_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-01-31 at 20.24.22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4651/...ae64b012_b.jpgFILE0279 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4622/...7581a805_b.jpgIMG_2070 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Next we continued with very little traffic along the coast and then the road goes inland towards the mountains. We stopped in Hari Hari for a snack. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4648/...2d2fd657_b.jpgFILE0314 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4767/...ed258050_b.jpgFILE0315 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4743/...a4953364_b.jpgIMG_2071 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4715/...ea640b56_b.jpgIMG_2072 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4657/...8460f734_b.jpgFILE0320 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We turned off to the Franz Josef Glacier road. You can park here and then walk up about 500 m to the viewing platform to see the rapidly receding glacier.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4706/...dd7f0327_b.jpgFILE0350 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4722/...a51c4bec_b.jpgFILE0357 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4764/...03f84205_b.jpgIMG_2073 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4772/...e944919d_b.jpgNZ South Isand-44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
It is only another 24 km to Fox Glacier township. This town does not seem to have a purpose except for tourism. There is a gas station, a general store, restaurants, accommodation, and helicopter tour companies. The camping spot here is next to one of these heliports and so you hear the constant take off and landing of the glacier tour flights.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4779/...59ba4def_b.jpgNZ South Isand-43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We just set up the tent and took off right away It is a 6 km drive to the parking for the Fox glacier and then a 1 hour round trip walk to where the face of the glacier 400 m away now from the viewing platform. It has a large ice cave at the base. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4651/...c2da4fd8_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-01-31 at 20.30.26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4788/...a68d5be0_b.jpgNZ South Isand-46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4794/...af765e56_b.jpgNZ South Isand-45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4788/...c3e80a37_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4786/...fa8aa4e1_b.jpgNZ South Isand-48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4794/...9e8510e0_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4714/...1f43c36f_b.jpg |
Arriving back to the bike we met Ronnie and Antoinet from Australia (born in Freeland), who have a fiends bike here to tour for 7 weeks. We finally left the glacier parking after 5 and raced back to cook a quick pasta dinner so we could be back to again before 7. We rode 6 km over to the Matheson Lake parking and then walked the 1 km over to the Jetty view point.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4706/...5b82ef4e_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-01-31 at 20.30.52 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr This is the location for the now iconic photo of the reflection of mounts Cook and Tasman in the near mirror like surface of the lake. When we arrived we were the first there with a tripod and got the best spot. The entire mountain range was enveloped in cloud and there was a brisk breeze ruffling the surface of the lake. We got lucky however and 20 minutes later the clouds cleared and we had a spectacular view of the snow capped peaks. Even better after another 20 minutes the lake was almost calm except for the bubbles from some amphibians causing a few ripples. The forecast had said the skies would clear at 2 am and that they would be clear all night and especially at 4 am when he milky way would be just over the peaks for the astral shot. That was however not to happen as when we got up at 3 it was totally cloudy and so we went back to bed. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4771/...a0df4893_b.jpgNZ South Isand-50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4786/...1f640e23_b.jpgNZ South Isand-52 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4772/...8b1f667d_b.jpg |
It was still cloudy in the morning, but got sunnier as the day went on and it was hot by afternoon.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4606/...382f9d0f_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-01-31 at 20.32.27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4773/...c0448a6c_b.jpgNZ South Isand-55 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We continues down the coast and did stop at a few view point and then at the beach. We ran in to Ronnie and Antoinette here as well, but it was 31 in the blazing sun and the sand flies were so bad we had to move on. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4773/...bc7af23a_b.jpgNZ South Isand-58 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4779/...d6b93cd5_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4661/...6c3f511e_b.jpgIMG_2094 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4748/...a2d6243e_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4668/...328343f6_b.jpgFILE0381 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We fueled up at Haast junction and then rode the 48 km to the end of the road at Jackson Bay. There is nothing here but a few houses and a fish and chip place for lunch.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4605/...1d71c4b6_b.jpgFILE0398 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4773/...7e566e17_b.jpgNZ South Isand-60 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4665/...2ca70dee_b.jpgFILE0414 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4604/...bee23be1_b.jpgIMG_2097 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4781/...4301a427_b.jpgNZ South Isand-59 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We booked it back to the main road and then headed for Haast pass.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4652/...021caf5f_b.jpgFILE0438 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr There are some nice views here along the river and of the distant peaks. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4700/...f2220c02_b.jpgFILE0494 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4676/...cd8c987b_b.jpgFILE0500 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4771/...29b36726_b.jpgNZ South Isand-61 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Just after 430 we began looking for camp spots and the first DOC on lake Wanaka was a bit shabby and right on the road. We continued 10 km further down and then turned off on the very dusty Hawae lake road.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4665/...0d2580f2_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-01-31 at 20.32.52 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4696/...01faac0d_b.jpgFILE0508 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Luckily it is only 7 km to the camp spot. It is right on the lake and pretty windy, but that means fewer sand flies to bite you. We set up on the cliff above the lake and then went in for a very refreshing swim/bath. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4703/...f6cdd2cd_b.jpgFILE0517 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4771/...3fb3cbff_b.jpgNZ South Isand-62 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had a very cozy quiet night and woke to sunny skies. The forecast is for high winds and some clouds today and the storm is supposed to hit late tonight and tomorrow. We rode back the 7 km with no vehicles ahead and so the dust was better, but Sara managed to ride thru a fresh cow pie that splattered allover her boot and lower pant leg DUH.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4764/...5982eb55_b.jpgFILE0532 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We rode down to the next village and there was just a corner store there. We have not seen a town with services beyond a gas pump or cafe since we left Greymouth. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4653/...2463e18c_b.jpgFILE0553 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We continued the 16 km to Wanaka and got some breakfast and fuel. It is only 54 km from here to our destination of Cromwell, but we will ride 120 km south to Garston and then ride off road the 80 km diagonally on the Nevis River road thru the stations to Bannockburn. This is just 7 km from Cromwell and it is paved from there.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4608/...33ac50ee_z.jpg The ride south from Wanaka we used the Cadrona Valley road to Queenstown and this passes over the Crown Range summit that at 1076 m is the highest sealed road in New Zealand. We got lucky with very little traffic on the curvy ride up. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4616/...971c20251d.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4742/...08c36daf_b.jpgFILE0557 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It is very windy at the summit and dusty in the view point. The ride down into Arrowtown there was a huge line of cars following a slow moving camper thru all the switchbacks. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4611/...71c23945_b.jpg From here we got on the 6 south to Garston to acess The "Nevis". https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4627/...57638fc5_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4661/...9b1ba548_z.jpg |
It is very very windy and when we stopped in the village for a cold drink the bikes were being buffeted by the wind in the parking lot.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4678/...af8e774d_b.jpgIMG_2102 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4648/...9a8cf6ce_b.jpgIMG_2103 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The Nevis road is about 2 km north of the village and is flat for the first 2 km thru some houses until the gate. Here the sign warns that the road is closed in winter, that it is not suitable for cars, that 4WD may be needed, and that there are numerous fords. Sounds a bit ADV! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4667/...f71894be_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4775/...90e29021_b.jpg |
The road is good gravel almost all of the way, and very firm on the 20 km at each end. The central 30+ km is where most of the water crossings are and we did about 16, with only 3-4 being deep or long.
The road initially rises over switch backs and it is blowing a gale and traversing the ridge line was a fight for sure. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4671/...1861c01f_b.jpgFILE0563 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4719/...e5ea0da2_b.jpgFILE0565 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4668/...89053e21_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4719/...ecd44677_b.jpgFILE0586 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road then drops into a wind shadow for most of the rest of the way until the last 25 km where it was Patagonia strong and blowing you around, but not off the road. It was too windy to stop for many photos here despite the incredible views.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4608/...7e1cd649_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4782/...36643d9a_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4616/...30c7afe6_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4740/...efdbd523_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4606/...c9b89993_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4654/...61935d95_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4779/...34f443ea_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4628/...1ae1552c_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4771/...c59ef28a_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4613/...0b88d8a4_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4698/...82ec165b_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4749/...1464aac1_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4701/...08176119_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4757/...32cd4afc_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4788/...4f06542f_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4773/...4f7fdac8_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4663/...cac4abe5_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4650/...a8e96710_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4723/...b78af2bc_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4771/...d61c0fa3_b.jpg |
There are a number of gates to open and close, except for the last 30 km, which is thru private land and they have cattle gates. The last 15 km to the tar seal was a challenge with the gusting wind and not so much the road surface or steep inclines
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4604/...bfe8ac32_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4773/...b56f5de2_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4678/...dd5f71fb_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4778/...b1b31fe4_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4782/...51308b24_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4782/...95c0561a_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4760/...a5cf62c8_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4702/...07fac2f8_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4766/...08378cde_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4745/...a4cf8a8d_z.jpg |
|
Well it was a very good decision to book into a motel and stock up with supplies today, since the weather turned horrific the next day. We took advantage tonight and went out for Mexican food!There was high winds and with torrential down pours. We did not even leave our room for 36 hours. The rain did finally stop and we did a walk to the historic old town.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4676/...e64e4c99_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4723/...9b2f4b55_b.jpgIMG_2111 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4612/...8bbed285_b.jpgIMG_2110 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The sun is out today, but it is 14 degrees! We rode 45 km west to Arrowtown thru the Kawarau Gorge and then up the Coronet Peak Road to the base of the ski lifts for a panoramic view.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4648/...77ee9a22_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-27 at 22.45.23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4674/...71dea8f7_b.jpgFILE0676 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4662/...371e9fe0_b.jpgFILE0685 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4772/...52da1d73_b.jpgNZ South Isand-77 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4766/...ecce3772_b.jpgFILE0689 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
You ride almost all the way back to the main road and there is a cut off for the Skippers Canyon road where the sign says “ Caution back country road, conditions vary, and vehicle damage possible.”
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4753/...4b719365_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-27 at 22.45.41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4768/...7270730e_b.jpgFILE0696 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4695/...858b096c_b.jpgFILE0697 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4744/...431dc36b_b.jpgw4WD-Skippers-Canyon-road-Start by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr This is the New Zealand road where rental car insurance is not honored, Skippers Road’s 16.5 km is mostly one-way, narrow and steep with sheer drops of several hundred metres. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4771/...c8f4ffe8_b.jpgNZ South Isand-90 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4777/...f3c71784_b.jpgNZ South Isand-91 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The surface is good gravel for most of the way the last 5 km is dirt and would be challenging after wet weather. The first 5 km the road is steep and narrow and we were happy to only run into 1 vehicle. We were lucky the rest of the way as we did encounter 2 others, but never is a one lane section.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4662/...cd2d8076_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4782/...9fa4819c_b.jpgNZ South Isand-78 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4606/...18b6237e_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4663/...fbce5c99_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4674/...f77b0ce8_b.jpgFILE0736 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4613/...f2d04dd9_b.jpgFILE0766 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4771/...255b116f_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4610/...46863e92_b.jpgFILE0777 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4708/...dd596633_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4617/...d5c438e8_b.jpgFILE0796 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4660/...041a06f2_b.jpgFILE0809 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4624/...4f9a66ef_b.jpgFILE0816 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road ends at the cemetery about 2 km past the bridge.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4786/...3e58a630_b.jpgNZ South Isand-86 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4740/...bf546987_b.jpgFILE0814 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4786/...f2f0acde_b.jpgNZ South Isand-82 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4776/...5056cf80_b.jpgNZ South Isand-84 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4775/...af0bc62a_b.jpgNZ South Isand-85 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4780/...bc9fee84_b.jpgNZ South Isand-83 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr On the way out we did have to wait as we saw a truck coming down a long winding 1 lane section. The mid section of the road runs along the river. 2 km from the end is the Skipper’s bridge. The road ends at a car park where you can access back country hikes and there is a historic cemetery. All in all we had 3 days to catch up on email and blog, photos, and uploading, as well as read and relax. We also did a bit of maintenance and cleaned and polished the boots and seats, washed the suits, and repainted some of the rusty metal on the light protectors and mounts for the accessory lights. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4779/...b109c756_b.jpgNZ South Isand-89 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4776/...e9354eca_b.jpgNZ South Isand-88 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4780/...b0c3b976_b.jpgNZ South Isand-81 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Skippers Canyon Video!!! https://youtu.be/cqc-1zApZl0 |
From Cromwell we have only a 54 km ride back to Wanaka home of the Twomotokiwi, but we will make it into 165 km with a ride unto the Lindis Pass summit. This is another very windy day. Despite having the last 3 weeks with temperatures over 30 it has been in the low teens this week and it is 10 this morning.We started by riding up the other side of the lake.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4756/...2e797202_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-06 at 23.14.11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4653/...c0dcc05a_b.jpgFrame-09-02-2018-17-00-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The ride up the pass is pretty boring and there is not much of a view from the “summit”. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4747/...91922226_b.jpgFrame-09-02-2018-17-05-53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4706/...3309a028_b.jpgFrame-09-02-2018-17-06-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4669/...a759edd9_b.jpgFrame-09-02-2018-17-06-59 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4611/...6c473dac_b.jpg |
We rode back to Wanaka and parked on the sidewalk and walked over to Vodaphone to get more data. We have used our 8 G because the wifi is so bad here we have used the phone to tether and uploading photos has burned thru it. Then we went over to Relish recommended by our friend foodie Mark from Hong Kong. After I set up the phone I got a message from Ellen of Twomotokiwi “I see you are in town where are you?” Apparently she had seen us ride by and was running down the road after us. She found the bikes parked, but could not find us. Great reunion.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4605/...745622bb_b.jpgIMG_2115 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We had been communicating with them on line since 2010. They left NZ and started in Alaska. We passed each other on a rainy cold day near the end of the first week of the trip at the end of June 2012. They leaving and us going to Dawson City. Both of us decided not to turn and chase the others down as we would certainly see each other again soon. Flash forward to October 2013. They are in Colombia and need parts for the KTM. We have been home working since May and happen to have a KTM parts dealer nearby. We are shipping our bikes from Panama where we left them in April to Bogota. This is where we finally met. We also traveled together after the Moto GP in Rio Hondo Argentina in April 2014. We arrived chez Dellis and had a great evening talking about our trips, what reentry is like, and future plans. Much wine and great food was enjoyed. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4660/...6ddb9098_b.jpgIMG_2113 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4774/...67fd68af_b.jpgNZ South Isand-92 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We see from the forecast that it will actually be sunny in the next few days in the Milford sound area and so we will book it over there. Today we are headed back over the Crowne Range road (5 degrees at the summit) and back thru Queenstown and down the 6 past Garston 171 km to the village of Mossburn. It was 8-10 degrees and windy most of the day and we had to stop on the lake to add layers before we could eat our picnic lunch.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/800/3...d79ee5fd_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-03-15 at 15.58.31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4648/...99c9f03d_b.jpgIMG_2117 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4785/...727a5e3c_b.jpgNZ South Isand-93 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We arrived to the literally one horse town with a unmanned self pay gas pump, 2 coffee shops, a take away, and a hotel. We booked in here even thought it is 170 km from Milford, because it is only 10 dollars more a night than camping is in Te Anau the closest town to the sound and 53 km from here.
This way we can unload the gear and not worry about it as well. The Railway hotel is old school with single beds and shared bathrooms, but it is clean warm and comfy. We had dinner in the hotel bar and ran into a couple from Oregon that we had talked to on the Skippers road last week. They like almost everyone , but us is headed to the Burt Monroe Rally in Invercargill this weekend. They had also just today gone up the Mavora Lakes road that we plan to do the day after tomorrow and they said it was great! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4777/...f8b77537_b.jpgNZ South Isand-94 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
This morning we are up and out at 8 as we have a long way to go and lots of stops to make in the National Park before our 1310 Milford boat cruise. It rains 8 meters a year in Milford and over 200 days a year. That is why we came here now and will have to back track since the forecast is for sun the next 3 days.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4626/...b96d7237_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-06 at 14.49.19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It was 4 yes 4 degrees when we started and rode the 53 km to the Anau. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4754/...8bf3740a_b.jpgFrame-10-02-2018-17-29-53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Here we got gas and supplies for lunch. It did warm up to 8, but it was not in double digits until well after 10. It is an almost cloudless sky. The first part of the ride is over rolling hill and farmland. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4698/...f59452e9_b.jpgFrame-10-02-2018-17-31-36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4750/...7199ef0f_b.jpgFrame-10-02-2018-17-33-43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4705/...48a95595_b.jpgFrame-10-02-2018-17-34-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4673/...5c8589e0_b.jpgFrame-10-02-2018-17-35-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
When you are about 60 km from Milford the park gets more fjord like with tall snow capped mountains and impressive vistas.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4706/...c5dfacc4_b.jpgFrame-10-02-2018-17-35-49 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4694/...cf000664_b.jpgFrame-10-02-2018-17-36-42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr About 30 km from the end of the road we did a 34 km in/out dirt road to the lower Hollyford and walked 10 min in to see the falls. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4612/...a363f167_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4663/...55e6f6af_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4608/...d5a0e190_b.jpgFrame-10-02-2018-17-43-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4782/...e9a7cb28_b.jpgNZ South Isand-109 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4780/...0a4377f9_b.jpgNZ South Isand-110 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4667/...29f863ff_b.jpgIMG_2125 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4794/...3016cc63_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4770/...1b81c7c6_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4615/...4a5c3864_b.jpgFrame-10-02-2018-17-46-05 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4779/...2dc8e606_b.jpgNZ South Isand-95 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
About 5 km later you are stopped at a light for the one way alternating tunnel. This is a bit creepy and it is one lane, dark, and dripping from the ceiling in this bored out passage.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4711/...3cdb8195_b.jpgFrame-10-02-2018-17-46-28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4747/...44d6fd9d_b.jpgFrame-10-02-2018-17-46-52 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It lets you out at the top of some switch backs about 15 km from the dock. We had to do some fancy passing to get to the parking, get our gear and walk 500 m to the dock with 5 min to spare before the catamaran sailed. It was a 2 hour cruise up and down the ford and just out into the Tasmin sea. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4776/...a25c8093_b.jpgNZ South Isand-97 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4612/...d9b0b74d_b.jpgIMG_2131 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4611/...76df6d5b_b.jpgIMG_2133 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4795/...3fb74597_b.jpgNZ South Isand-106 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4776/...a38cb315_b.jpgNZ South Isand-105 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4794/...a1b2a3e0_b.jpgNZ South Isand-104 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4780/...59ee6d17_b.jpgNZ South Isand-102 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4785/...5848f001_b.jpgNZ South Isand-103 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4773/...04f88bb4_b.jpgNZ South Isand-101 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4779/...d08426ac_b.jpgNZ South Isand-100 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4776/...f9f47085_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4780/...6ba1dc33_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4786/...fe21f977_b.jpgNZ South Isand-108 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4774/...506444a6_b.jpgNZ South Isand-107 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We made it back to the bikes by 330 and then headed south. We stopped and did the short hike up to the chasms, that is a narrow gorge which a raging river has carved out. There was much less traffic on the ride back and it had warmed up to 22.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4705/...120a181f_b.jpgFrame-10-02-2018-17-48-48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4768/...2e4010d3_b.jpg We stayed in Te Anau to get some dinner and then had what seems a very long 53 km ride back to Mossburn. Bagged we hit the hay before 10. |
The weather is holding out and the plan today is to ride up to the Mavora lakes and then continue on the Mt Nicholas road, which ends at the Mt Nicholas Station.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4661/...e324970d_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-09 at 23.51.40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr There is a ferry dock here for the Catamaran and we had booked passage for the bikes and us back across the lake to Queenstown on the last sailing at 4. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4716/...5fded4e2_b.jpgFILE0894 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The road is a very good gravel road 41 km to the lake turn off. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4754/...9d29ffa8_b.jpgFILE0911 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4721/...6a0d1d38_b.jpgFILE0914 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4741/...149a2479_b.jpgFILE0919 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Here the road continues at time thru dense forest and along the lakes. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4665/...a29981a1_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4603/...7ecf7fb7_b.jpgFILE0938 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4610/...542b6cd6_b.jpgFILE0957 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4773/...5c2569e4_b.jpgNZ South Isand-111 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4614/...b8ee6717_b.jpgFILE0966 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4751/...9ef1cb90_b.jpgFILE0980 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4665/...ee9c588f_b.jpgIMG_2147 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4721/...0cb13e4b_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4774/...c2bdc65e_b.jpgNZ South Isand-112 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4785/...4f2df4d1_b.jpgNZ South Isand-113 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We started down the Mavora hiking trail , but it got very wet muddy and 4WD.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4761/...5b858cd6_b.jpgIMG_2145 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4742/...764c5ebf_b.jpg After turning back we back tracked to the Mt Nicholas road and had 50 km to go at after 130. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4779/...2f176eb8_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4743/...38306ba4_b.jpgFILE1027 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4752/...fed8c768_b.jpgFILE1035 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4673/...12dfe3a7_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4774/...5b08fe8c_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4705/...3d4b65d3_b.jpgFILE1074 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4765/...5c99105b_b.jpgFILE1101 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4746/...bd38cc11_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4673/...03ea7625_b.jpg |
We made it in plenty of time and even rode to the steamship dock another 12 km farther on in Walter Peak. We could not get a guarantee from them earlier this week for a booking as using the ramp to load the boat is dependent on the lake level and it has been too low. Despite that they did say it would have been high enough today, but the entry is much more challenging and the boat much more crowded than the catamaran.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4625/...79aefa0e_b.jpgFILE1146 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4621/...44aebb63_b.jpgFILE1162 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4788/...8cc8df3d_b.jpgNZ South Isand-118 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4724/...bbe875cb_b.jpgFILE1172 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4609/...212d9f5d_b.jpgFILE1176 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4754/...dcd94215_b.jpgFILE1184 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4678/...82edfaf6_b.jpgFILE1200 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4705/...076a71df_b.jpgIMG_2153 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had our picnic lunch and then road back to Mt Nicholas by 315 to wait for the boat.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4620/...341783f5_b.jpgFILE1213 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4675/...6eafded9_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4780/...ec0fdfc6_b.jpgNZ South Isand-121 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4760/...98b814bf_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4669/...8008f70f_b.jpgIMG_2161 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr You have to take the panniers off to navigate the loading ramp, but the staff were super helpful and carried them aboard. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4606/...b188fa15_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-09 at 23.53.00 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4775/...6b8f0255_b.jpgNZ South Isand-122 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4777/...c90d44b9_b.jpgNZ South Isand-124 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4777/...9e3fd85b_b.jpgNZ South Isand-125 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4774/...3ec9e039_b.jpgNZ South Isand-126 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4782/...2551cb57_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4795/...494cf37e_b.jpgNZ South Isand-128 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4775/...8c052299_b.jpgNZ South Isand-129 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4781/...1526c729_b.jpgNZ South Isand-130 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4774/...8d29614c_b.jpgNZ South Isand-131 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4786/...84b31be5_b.jpgNZ South Isand-132 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4794/...2b8980ed_b.jpgNZ South Isand-133 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The sailing is 45 minutes and smooth as silk. The disembarkation in more straightforward as it a straight shot onto the dock.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4783/...d79537c6_b.jpgNZ South Isand-134 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4786/...f1c9fbf2_b.jpgNZ South Isand-135 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4788/...fe1c1e91_b.jpgNZ South Isand-136 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://youtu.be/DXjdRRNms0s https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4783/...212eb8ec_b.jpgNZ South Isand-137 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We then had just a 10 minute drive ups the hill to the home of Diana and Dick who are friends of Janet and Charlies and who have kindly offered to host us here in Queenstown. We had a very nice dinner prepared by Diana and we all got to swap stories. They had traveled extensively 2 up in the Americas, Europe, and Africa. We also had the spectacular view from their house. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4795/...24dfee3a_b.jpgNZ South Isand-138 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4775/...eb4d1dd7_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4781/...d7d40e80_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4776/...2aa3b2f5_b.jpgNZ South Isand-142 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4778/...202f35c0_b.jpgNZ South Isand-143 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Today we will ride out from Queenstown for the day and try to find some dirt roads.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4758/...d3cb5dc9_b.jpgFILE1293 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4617/...a6833338_b.jpgFILE1300 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The first part is to ride up along the lake to the town of Glenorchy with panoramic views. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4753/...417f55ec_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-09 at 23.55.46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4652/...324b1dfc_b.jpgFILE1301 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4666/...f331c057_b.jpgFILE1306 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4745/...38ed245a_b.jpgFILE1309 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4777/...42602221_b.jpg |
We took the first turn off past the town and this is the Reece Valley road. It is paved for a few km and then after about 10 km there is a small power station and some signs saying the road is closed. We went past these and continued on and we even did meet one car coming out. After several gates that we opened and closed a final gate had a lot more road closed signage and we decided to turn back. Probably a good thing as there are no signs for the Bungee outfit that was located up here either and the road may have been closed for some time.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4621/...4f1cd8ea_b.jpgFILE1345 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4743/...73b938bd_b.jpgFILE1349 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4784/...8993f33c_b.jpgNZ South Isand-144 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4626/...b98e8322_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4699/...57cdda34_b.jpgFILE1382 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4621/...9c6d29c9_b.jpgFILE1383 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We made it back to the Glenorchy-Paradise road and continued west.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4710/...0b38cced_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-09 at 23.57.53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4605/...8a591120_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-09 at 23.58.52 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr This turns to gravel with a fair bit of wash board after 3 km. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4769/...51ebc1f9_b.jpgFILE1400 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4758/...ac4e5350_b.jpgFILE1404 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4754/...cb6f45d7_b.jpgFILE1408 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr There is also a lot of traffic even after the settlement of Paradise in 10 km where the sign says “back country road vehicle damage possible, not suitable for campers”. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4771/...f1db1959_b.jpgNZ South Isand-146 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4721/...587958e6_b.jpgFILE1412 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4675/...f5ae8de4_b.jpgFILE1419 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
About 2 km further along there was a number of cars parked and the occupants were out scouting a ford in the river. Dan rolled up and rode right thru and as I followed I heard one woman say “ well if they can go so can we”. There are 5-6 more fords, but only one was wide and none were as deep as the first. The end of the road is another 10 km past Paradise and is at the river where a number of day and multi-day hikes start.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4657/...4aa8b763_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4612/...ceaab756_b.jpgFILE1476 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4707/...27700292_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4777/...917ef4d9_b.jpgNZ South Isand-147 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4656/...0a989312_b.jpgFILE1450 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4604/...be571c50_b.jpgFILE1455 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4625/...98d79ef7_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4720/...3aa0a4e6_b.jpgFILE1496 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We back tracked to Glenorchy for a snack and coffee and then back to base.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4648/...3baf6843_b.jpgFILE1523 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4706/...e66b49d1_b.jpgFILE1528 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Diana was kind enough to let us use the front loading machine to wash the riding suits and they were dry after hanging in the breeze for just a few hours. We took the 800 into town for a night out with dinner and a walk about the bustling tourist town. There were lots of people, a number of bands, and several street performers. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4776/...a8f0ceb3_b.jpgNZ South Isand-148 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://youtu.be/kBzZzPuqlbY |
Today we will re-ride the same 150 km to the Aneu and then 20 new to Manapouri to camp on the lake. But first we just went 7 km away to Shotover Jet board for a thrilling jet boat ride on the Shotover River.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4759/...5e5f034d_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-12 at 15.18.24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4794/...69e1c70a_b.jpgNZ South Isand-149 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4748/...0c17412a_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-12 at 15.18.54 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4783/...7fcc053c_b.jpgNZ South Isand-151 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4785/...e3d1ec27_b.jpgNZ South Isand-152 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4794/...40e4392c_b.jpgNZ South Isand-153 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
|
|
It was pretty boring to do the top of this road for the third time.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4759/...5e5f034d_b.jpg We booked it as we wanted to make it to Miles better Pies in Te Anau before it closed at 3. There was a group of Ducati riders there too and they said they had seen us and all our stickers yesterday in Glenorchy! Then we continued south another 20 km to Manapouri. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4752/...90f45638_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-12 at 15.19.47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4618/...948e322a_b.jpgFrame-09-02-2018-23-14-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4761/...38df0d59_b.jpgFrame-09-02-2018-23-14-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The camp ground is described as quirky and that it is. We set up camp in the forest area, walked to the “beach” 200 m down the path across the road, and then watched 2 episodes of Fargo we had been saving.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4788/...be231a28_b.jpgNZ South Isand-156 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4772/...28e08186_b.jpgNZ South Isand-157 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4774/...8a4e760f_b.jpgNZ South Isand-158 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Weather forecasting here is a nightmare as we have had to check it 3 times today and it was for no rain in the am, but at last check at 9 pm it says it will rain from 8-12 tomorrow and it did. Waking to rain in a tent is such a drag. We sat tight and had some more Fargo time until the rain did stop at 1230. We packed up made some brunch and set of under mostly blue skies. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4703/...d819dc6f_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-12 at 15.22.41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We headed south again towards Clifden as about 1 km from here there is a limestone cave system in which you can see glow worms. We parked and walked/crouched into the cave until it got to where you would need to crawl. We turned off the headlamps to see the glowing dots. This cave is very long and you can explore for several hours, but not in riding gear and not on an earthquake prone island for us!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4703/...87f0af61_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4794/...cbc6cddf_b.jpgNZ South Isand-159 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4772/...a5672805_b.jpgNZ South Isand-161 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4778/...5a3a1b4d_b.jpgNZ South Isand-160 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From here we rode into Tuatapere for a late lunch/dinner at the cafe after 3 and to fuel up. We then rode into the end of the Lillburn road to the trail head for the Lake Hauroko (deepest lake in NZ) bush walk. Only the last 20 km are unsealed. We then rode back 10 km to the Lilliburn Campground, which is a free grass site with a long drop and a non portable water supply.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4743/...e8331c61_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4746/...70eb58cb_b.jpgFILE1549 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4619/...35178816_b.jpgFILE1560 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4624/...b531bbdc_b.jpgIMG_2180 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4669/...247cc358_b.jpg |
The sun was still beating down when we arrived about 5 and we set up the tent to dry it out from the wet pack up. On the other side of the field Charlie from the UK was set up with his BMW 650 Single. We were pretty tired and hit the hay about 9! what a peaceful quiet night we had and we woke to another beautiful sunny day.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4773/...90e9acc1_b.jpgNZ South Isand-162 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4786/...fb133056_b.jpgNZ South Isand-163 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We packed up and rode back into Tuatapere to access the internet as we had some business to deal with in Kamloops and we needed to check in and then we rode south towards Invercargill. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4759/...f99768f7_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-12 at 15.29.03 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4706/...86319bbe_b.jpgFILE1568 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4620/...a07e157d_b.jpgFILE1578 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The Burt Monroe rally ended yesterday and so for the last 2 days there have been streams of bikers riding towards us. We did a side trip to Cosy Nook Bay! and then a few more dirt cross roads to finally get back to the main road and hit the 6 for the city.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4621/...0c03e1ae_b.jpgFILE1598 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4612/...36d3c102_b.jpgFILE1603 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4613/...d8ac91e9_b.jpgFILE1605 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4625/...22997013_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4786/...dea2abf0_b.jpgNZ South Isand-164 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4773/...bd9f5054_b.jpgNZ South Isand-165 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4760/...cc4fd47e_b.jpgFILE1614 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4612/...3ee4b6e6_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4703/...aa14e1f3_b.jpgFILE1634 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4772/...0269382c_b.jpgNZ South Isand-166 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We decided on a cabin for tonight so we can have access to power and charge up all the gear. This is not much more than camping (which is very expensive) and so is actually a “good” deal. The Amble On park has cabins with linens and even a TV. The bath is shared with the campers as is the kitchen. Time to power up all the devices and get some work done. The weather is so changeable here if you don’t like it wait 30 minutes. The cloud cover moves at an astonishing rate. It did sprinkle for 5 minutes just after 4, but was other wise nice. We had a cozy night in the little cabin and cooked up our breakfast in the well stocked kitchen. |
Today we do not really had a final destination as we are not sure how long all our wanderings will take today.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4654/...8e68a7a1_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-13 at 21.57.06 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It is cloudy, but not forecast for rain and we can see better weather in the direction we are headed. The first destination is to head 25 KM south to the “end of the road” at Bluff. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4619/...2d6b64c3cb.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-12 at 15.29.28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4620/...0f85e682_b.jpgFILE1650 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4606/...a3e9ca12_b.jpgFILE1652 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr This is not actually the southern most point, but like John O’Groats better marketed. It is pretty windy, but at least for the most part today we will be riding with it at our backs. We arrived to bluff and rode up to the Bluff hill look out for a 365 degree view of the harbor and even Stewart Island. From here we continues to said end of the road at Stirling Point. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/804/4...219213ea_b.jpgNZ South Isand by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4777/...1eaac72b_b.jpgNZ South Isand-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We back tracked to the first cross road and then rode to Fortrose for some lunch and fuel. From here we made for the real southern tip of the island at Slope Point. There is a bit of construction going on and annoying when they dump chunks of rock on the road.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4663/...c25d62b9_b.jpgFILE1658 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4758/...4d924132_b.jpgFILE1670 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4722/...67fca581_b.jpgFILE1676 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4755/...4a38ca13_b.jpgFILE1677 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4740/...24d6fef4_b.jpgFILE1691 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4779/...f9846c14_b.jpgNZ South Isand-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
At Curio bay the pavement starts again and we did a detour up to the view point. There are no Yellow Penguins out at 3 in the afternoon. They are out fishing and will not be back until dusk.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/795/2...787c4e69_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4780/...4c0fd00b_b.jpgNZ South Isand-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4754/...cc68e386_b.jpgFILE1702 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The riding from here is very scenic and thru the Catlins region. By 3 we had only made it as far as Owaka and got on line to see what is up. We did a side trip to see what the camping was like on the sea side=bad and headed back to town. We found a lodge nearby with shared baths and a very well stocked kitchen. So we walked into town to the 4 Square and got the fixings for some butter chicken.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4602/...005280a7_b.jpgFILE1752 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4713/...78c0459a_b.jpgFILE1755 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4769/...7df5ca69_b.jpgFILE1766 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4698/...5c54124b_b.jpgFILE1770 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4671/...608fd5fc_b.jpgIMG_2184 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The weather today is still cloud and some sun, but still cold at 14 degrees.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4780/...dcea7068_b.jpgNZ South Isand-167 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We set out from Owaka and continued on the southern scenic route to the Nugget Point road. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4770/...474a4860_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4671/...c33675d4_b.jpgFILE1788 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4650/...36fcc772_b.jpgFILE1812 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4770/...39496cf9_b.jpg |
This is a narrow, winding, and sometimes one lane route that hangs on the cliff. The challenge is the 2 way traffic especially the tourists in rental cars. We parked and waled the 900 m to the Light house view point where you can see the “nuggets” as well as a number of fur seals on the rocks below.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4783/...a169b102_b.jpgNZ South Isand-171 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4699/...ea8ac4c2_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4776/...8615af0e_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4779/...849d9096_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4786/...5de1a0bc_b.jpgNZ South Isand-169 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4721/...71109717_b.jpg |
We then made for Balclutha for fuel and a stock up at New World Market. We had finally heard from the Swede and he was in Dunedin and is now 20 km away in Milton on the Hwy 1. He came to us and we found a park to share our picnic and to compare our past and future routes. He will continue south to Invercargill and we will go north. The plan today is from here to get on the gravel roads along the coast until Dunedin and then take the #1 to Oamaru.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4660/...4ea3f367_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4756/...b7acc91f_b.jpgIMG_2195 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Treats from Sweden!! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4761/...d2f88949_b.jpgIMG_2194 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4709/...4e76392f_b.jpg |
The first half of the route was on good gravel with a well used track and with nice views along the coast road, but turning onto Coastal Road they had recently top dressed the road with very chunky sharp rocks. Thought this was not deep it was slippery and annoying to ride over. We finally caught up to the trucks about 2 km before the pavement.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4618/...0bdafd6f_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4622/...8021d9ac_b.jpgFILE1879 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4674/...50c60837_b.jpgFILE1895 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4741/...45f59a1e_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4652/...18b3df52_b.jpgFILE1922 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4753/...5158b383_b.jpgFILE1926 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4770/...b5c0fa4b_b.jpgFILE1939 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Then we continued on the seal until we met up with the main road. About 95 km later we stopped and did the 1 km walk down the beach at Moeraki to see the boulders. These are super cool and look like dinosaur eggs. We then did a brief stop at the Yellow Penguin colony, but no birds in sights.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4719/...3a353c99ba.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-06 at 22.33.36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4781/...e60b0204_b.jpgNZ South Isand-173 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4794/...d3a9d0e9_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4795/...9de1794c_b.jpgNZ South Isand-175 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4773/...99eca33d_b.jpgNZ South Isand-172 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4785/...fe4f5fe9_b.jpgNZ South Isand-177 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4773/...2be9d103_b.jpgNZ South Isand-178 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4773/...7fc2f71c_b.jpgNZ South Isand-179 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had booked into a home stay with Rose and she welcomed us warmly. We had super hot showers and then headed downtown to Fat Sally’s for a quick Valentines dinner. Quick because it is now nearing dusk at 830 and we want to be down at the harbor to see the Little Blue Penguins cross the road. This is a job that needs patience as they swim in then must climb between the rocks and then peak over the grass to see whats up. They can spend 20 min standing there before they get up the guts to dash the 10 m to the nesting area, which is either under the local buildings or they must go 10 m farther cross the main road and to the base of the cliff. We did see a dozen or so as we were too late for the rush hour crossings.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4773/...f12bd3cb_b.jpgNZ South Isand-181 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4776/...c6b7f383_b.jpgNZ South Isand-180 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4784/...ede64c72_b.jpgNZ South Isand-182 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4785/...d15c2bf6_b.jpgNZ South Isand-183 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had a late start at 11 as we had hung out the wash at 730 and were waiting for it to dry. The sky today is cloud and sun, but when the sun is out it is hot. We are going back down to the Otago peninsula, but over the Middlemarch road.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4677/...cfe1f4ff_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-19 at 19.18.50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We also had to back track down the #1 50 km to Palmerston, but did a side route on the Horse Range road for a change of pace. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4652/...18d11337_b.jpgFILE1952 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4605/...675a8044_b.jpgFILE1962 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Here we turned west on Highway 85 to Kyebrurn and then south on the Highway 87. It is very windy today and was mostly 14 degrees. When we passed Middlemarch it was even colder and we had to put on more layers.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4672/...1dffcd65_b.jpgFILE1976 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4724/...778932fc_b.jpgFILE1981 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4706/...c96cba7e_b.jpgFILE1987 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4614/...ddfb2439_b.jpgFILE1998 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We managed to avoid the rain we had been following all day as it was blown south of us and we arrived to the Otago Peninsula about 4.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4657/...91d6357c_b.jpgFILE2002 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4699/...5d4468b8_b.jpgFILE2012 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4756/...706e184b_b.jpgFILE2013 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4651/...bc4f6a7e_b.jpgFILE2016 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4709/...d4ec9635_b.jpgFILE2018 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4745/...72bd62c3_b.jpgFILE2023 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We set up camp and then did some riding about to several of the beaches to see the fur seals lounging on the sand.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4669/...b890c119_b.jpgFILE2027 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4775/...3fcb6af0_b.jpgNZ South Isand-184 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4782/...206c8bab_b.jpgNZ South Isand-185 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4786/...eeda3b93_b.jpgNZ South Isand-186 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4795/...2722470e_b.jpgNZ South Isand-187 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4780/...9e526fa6_b.jpgNZ South Isand-188 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4752/...44d0ac0b_b.jpgFILE2035 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Just before we left this guy was cooking up a huge steak on the Bbq and so our pasta Alfredo was not now as appetizing. I suggested we stop in the shop to see what they have. Dan said “well it’s not as if they are going to have a Porterhouse in there”. The small shop here in Portobello has an amazing about of nice things…. including an organic Porterhouse, which we did not buy as it was too big for us and it was 16$. We settled on a smaller steak, onion, and salad fixings. Our day has turned out pretty well. |
The night was very quiet and we were some of the first up and that was after 8. It is still mostly cloudy, but there are some blue sky patches. The plan today is to ride the old Dunstan road to Naseby.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4745/...a8b811f3_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-19 at 19.20.20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We did ride up to the end of the road to Harrington Point where there are massive sea cliffs. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4752/...595b09d8_b.jpgFILE2038 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4780/...99def4b8_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4778/...25b690f3_b.jpgNZ South Isand-191 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From here we backtracked on the coast road to Dunedin with a stop at Pack n save for supplies and then downtown to Vodaphone for more data. Parked here we drew quite a crowd. Now we are finally on our way at noon and we backtracked further and on the Hwy 87 to the Old Dunstan Road cut off at Clark's Junction.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4698/...09232a01_b.jpg Coming back over the hill was a much more pleasant 17 degrees today and though still windy it was much less so. We stopped at the Clark’s Junction “hotel” for a coffee and a chat with the locals. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4716/...5c521bd5_b.jpg |
The “Old” road is paved until the first settlement of farm houses after 3 km.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4656/...d41610d7_b.jpgFILE2062 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4753/...25d6fa8b_b.jpgFILE2066 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The sign here warns caution that this is a un-maintained road. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4719/...627a39eb_b.jpgFILE2074 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
It is in fact a very good gravel road with good tracks and very little loose gravel. The first part slowly rises and is wind swept and so we found a rock out crop with a wind shadow to hide behind to enjoy our picnic lunch.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4765/...1ca457a8_b.jpgFILE2076 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4657/...a06c6b7f_b.jpgFILE2080 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4602/...b7146cf4_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4772/...a47e31e9_b.jpgNZ South Isand-192 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4795/...2c06f354_b.jpgNZ South Isand-193 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4778/...f7d722ed_b.jpgNZ South Isand-194 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4794/...9e4c9580_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4785/...ee6a2db8_b.jpgNZ South Isand-198 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4714/...a4e62482_b.jpgFILE2108 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4631/...a3d6e107_b.jpgFILE2111 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4782/...9cd1e790_b.jpgNZ South Isand-199 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
There is only one short steep and narrow switch back section. It is mostly over open range and the fords are mostly “bridged”. We saw only 2 other station trucks all afternoon.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4721/...7eb38242_b.jpgFILE2123 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4752/...bae00d85_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4671/...fa34107f_b.jpgFILE2142 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4622/...162d64e0_b.jpgFILE2153 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4708/...8bfb3a81_b.jpgFILE2156 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4673/...8a894fb7_b.jpgFILE2163 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4659/...11419814_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4772/...facea42e_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4748/...c668bda2_b.jpgFILE2210 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4764/...1cd0d017_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4676/...d0bb616c_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4778/...2e8c3673_b.jpgNZ South Isand-201 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road descends from the mesa over a few switch backs to join the Styx-Paerau road. It returns to pavement 19 km before you hit the Hwy 85 again at Ranfurly and then turn onto the Naseby road.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4702/...e8a7a42074.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-19 at 19.22.24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4720/...2fc9f9cb_b.jpgFILE2265 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4783/...a041b6b7_b.jpgNZ South Isand-202 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4781/...28b0a052_b.jpgNZ South Isand-203 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Naseby is an historic village that has a nice small campground that was full of kiwi’s for the weekend, but no other tourists.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4776/...96927858_b.jpgNZ South Isand-204 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4794/...cd3a5f8a_b.jpgNZ South Isand-205 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We walked into the village to the Ancient Britton for a pint and some pretty good ribs. We also managed to catch a bit of Olympic coverage. The weather is so hard to predict here it has now changed to say showers in the am and then “will turn fine”. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4780/...d4707361_b.jpgNZ South Isand-206 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4782/...cf983315_b.jpgNZ South Isand-207 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4779/...af516cbc_b.jpgNZ South Isand-208 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We woke to a sprinkle and packed up ASAP in a lull. We set out at 930 with a very cloudy sky and a number of very black clouds. The plan today is to ride both the Dansey's and Hakataramea pass roads and end up in Twizle after 317 km.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4619/...4d39279c_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-19 at 19.24.52 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4751/...d01a5790_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-23 at 23.40.53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We rode out of town and onto the Dansey’s pass road. This is a good gravel road and we managed to beat the black death. We did have a few showers just after we left town and we did have the rain gear on briefly. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4703/...749ee6e5_z.jpgScreen Shot 2018-02-19 at 19.22.55 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4658/...542d8767_b.jpgFILE2296 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4708/...7cf95c88_b.jpgFILE2305 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4657/...f61e2ef6_b.jpgFILE2308 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4762/...a80b51a9_b.jpgFILE2313 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
This road is very narrow in spots and we luckily only met one vehicle and it was when we had pulled onto the verge already to take some photos. There are a number of sections where I would not want to meet a car.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4699/...de129edc_b.jpgFILE2337 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4776/...aaa3da22_b.jpgNZ South Isand-209 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4668/...03422b2a_b.jpgFILE2341 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4697/...6e825b2b_b.jpgFILE2343 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4746/...2f6fdaf2_b.jpgFILE2391 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4661/...cb839265_b.jpgFILE2413 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
And… suddenly near Duntroon you meet tar seal for the next 23 km on the Hwy 83 to the Hakataramea Valley Road.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4657/...e488f60b_b.jpgFILE2420 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Here at Duntroon we turned west and stopped for a coffee at the kiosk at the junction. We then rode the 23 Km father to Kurow where they had fuel, a 4 Square, and the sun was shining. From here we are headed off road again on the Hakataramea Valley road. It should be 90 km to Twizle. The big black rain clouds are now descending on us and it has started to rain a bit. The first 35 km of the road is paved to cattle Creek and we tried to really book it to stay ahead of the storm. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4622/...577bb276_b.jpgFILE2425 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 00:01. |