Monday 27th June 2011 Mossburn to Te Anau 62 km

This was one of our hardest rides.  The road heads due west and we had a strong head wind for most of the way, as well as a mountain pass to tackle.  We also managed to set off a stampede of a herd of cows on the side of the road. Shortly after that we cycled into a rain cloud and had to quickly put on our rain gear.  The rain only lasted at the most 20 minutes and then the sun came out again and we continued on our way to Te Anau.  We always somehow manage to find a perfect place to stop for lunch and today was no exception.  We found a spot not far off the road very well sheltered from the wind and could have our lunch in the beautiful warm sunshine.  New Zealand does not have many picnic spots along the way but something always seems to appear just when we are about to collapse with thirst and hunger.

Sunday 26th June 2011 Garston to Mossburn 60 km

Weather still good.  It rained overnight but partly cloudy during the day and a very pleasant tail wind, which meant we got to our destination early in the afternoon.  There was one big hill but always a lovely downhill afterwards.  Our host at Mossburn Railway Hotel turned to be an ex Captonian and very happy to talk Africa with us.  Another ancient hotel but the food was very good.

Saturday 25th June 2011 Queenstown to Garston 65km

We had a nice evening in Queenstown listening to local bands playing kiwi songs.  We had kiwi PM John Key on the stage to declare the opening of festivities.  He seems like a good bloke with a sense of humour.
Fireworks and the mulled wine were good.
Cycled south to Garston  and stayed at the ancient and charming Garston Hotel.  It was a beautiful ride following Lake Wakatipu and with some breathtaking views.  Found a perfect spot for lunch in the sun on the edge of the lake.

Thursday 23rd June 2011 Queenstown

We managed to arrive in Queenstown which is like Wanaka on steriods, just in time for the annual winter festival.  Free concerts, street entertainment and fireworks.  The town is full of young travellers from overseas.  Queenstown is the ultimate holiday town.  The bus spat us out into the busy town centre and our first impressions were not good.  However, once we had made our way down to the beautiful lake and had lunch in the sun looking on to the magnificent view, our mood improved.  We are staying at the Colonial Village Motel, an ancient motel but must have one of the best views in Queenstown, and our unit has a bath!!


Friday 24th Jun 2011
We followed a delightful 30 km cycle track that followed the lakeside from the town towards the north and then around to a peninsular called Kelvin Heights.  It's now 2 days after the winter solstice and we have had a gloriously sunny day.  We have now cycled 1783 km since Wellington.  We are going into the town centre tonight for the opening of the winter festival events.  Les is going to wear her scarf and Ash is going to turn his track pants out in order to blend in with the party crowd.

Tuesday 21st June 2011 Cromwell to Wanaka 65km

Ash managed to get the buckle out of the wheel and we had a pleasant ride to Wanaka, following Lake Dunstan most of the way.  The weather was cloudy and cool - ideal for cycling.  We always feel excited to set off on the road again to a new destination.

Wanaka is the most delightful town that we have visited so far.  Really good vibe with the beautiful Lake Wanaka surrounded by mountains.  Everybody anxiously awaiting the snow, so that the ski season can start.  There are lots of young travellers in town from all over the world.  The average age here seems to be about 25.
We have fixed Ash's bike and had 2 delightful days exploring Wanaka.  Did a 25 km ride along the lake's edge. We have been strongly advised not to try and ride over the Crown Range to Queenstown.  It is the highest road in NZ and it could snow any day, which would be risky, so we are catching the coach to Queenstown on Thursday.

20th June 20011 Cromwell rest day

We raced in to the bike shop in Cromwell only to be told that their mechanic is on 3 weeks leave in Brisbane.  The owner of the store replaced the broken spoke but could not get the wheel true.  We will have ride the 65 km to Wanaka tomorrow with a buckled wheel and hope for the best.  Took an afternoon walk in the beautiful winter sun along Lake Dunstan, which is huge.  We learnt that the experience extremes of temperatures here from 50 degrees in summer to -17 degrees in winter.  We were very surprised to hear that because we always assumed the south island was a cold place.

19th June 2011 Alexandra to Cromwell 38 km

We cycled from Alexandra from Clyde along the Clutha river trail instead of the Rail Trail.  After we arrived at Clyde we discovered another broken spoke.  The bike shop at Alex had warned us that we would need to replace all the spokes.
We limped all the way to Cromwell (great scenery and fairly flat) and decided to get all the spokes replaced when the bike shop opened on Monday.

18th June 2011 Lauder to Alexandra 36 km

Nice easy down hill ride to Alexandra.  After we checked into our motel we set off on the bikes to explore the town and do some shopping only to discover that Ash's bikes had 6 broken spokes on the back wheel again.  We raced to the bike shop who said that he did not have a mechanic available.  We bought the spokes from him and Ash did the job in the hotel room, which was quite a feat.
Alexandra is quite different to the other towns.  Two rivers join to form a lake on the town's edge.  There is a giant clock built on the cliff on the mountain overlooking the town.  It had a really cowboy feel about it and one almost expected a cowboy to come swaggering out of the local hotel.  Stayed in a really nice place, very homely and fresh chocolate muffins provided by our lovely host.

17th June 2011 Oturehua to Lauder 30km

Very easy ride mostly down hill.  Highlight was the ancient high bridge and two tunnels.  Very cold that day, all the puddles on the path were completely frozen over and all the little lakes getting that way with thin layers of ice on the surface.  We had to stop every now and then just to get some warmth back into our hands.  Lost feeling of both hands and feet for a while, which felt really strange.  Our coffee stops were very welcome and the gas stove really came into its own.
Slept at the Pedal Inn.  Excellent accommodation with the most magnificent breakfast thrown in, and also home made muffins.  Still no rain and still no sign of snow.

16 June 2011 Ranfurly to Oturehua 33 km

It was a beautiful calm sunny day.  Steady climb to the highest point and then crossed the 45 degree south line of latitude which is exactly the half way point between the equator and the south pole.
We are really enjoying this ride and recommend it thoroughly.  You don't have to be super fit to do it.  You can get your luggage delivered to your daily destination if you are feeling lazy.  Slept at Oturehua Lodge which was top notch.  Temperature dropped to -6 degrees overnight and our water bottles were frozen on our bicycles the next day

15th June 2011 Hyde to Ranfurly

The girl who picked up at Hyde to take us to the Stanley Hotel at Macraes Flat asked us if we would like to see the gold mine which is the local mainstay.  It was strange to see this great big whole in the middle of all the beautiful mountains, and it turned out to be Oceania Gold Mine.  This mine was strongly recommended to Ash as an investment a few months ago.  The Stanley Hotel is a historic building of about 160years old and sleeping there was like stepping into a period movie.  We had steak, egg and chips for dinner ($18) which was excellent.   The meat in NZ is really good quality.  The ride to Ranfurly (33 km) was delightful because we were riding in an nw direction and a strong sw wind accompanied us the whole way.  It wasn't quite a tail wind but it didn't do us any harm.  We are now back in the high country and tomorrow we will reach 618 m above sea level which is high when you consider that the altitude of Mt Cook village is 760 m above sea level

14th June 2011 Middlemarch to Hyde and Macraes Flats 30km

Easy first days ride on the rail trail.  Scenery amazing.  The first 3 km where challenging because the trail was being relaid with soft gravel.  We asked the owner of Blind Billys Motel and camp site about the snow and he said it was well overdue and this time last year the trail was 4ft deep in snow.  We have been very lucky.  We have had sunny weather from day 1, except for the odd cloudy day and one 20minute downpour on Queen Charlotte Trail and the predawn rain at Omarama.New Zealand South Island reminds us of Rhodesia in the late 50s and early 60s.  The people are so friendly and seem to be very relaxed.  The architecture is very reminiscent of old Rhodesia.

13th June Dunedin to Middlemarch

Caught the Taieri Gorge train to Pukurangi.  Reputed to be one of the great train journies of the world and it is.  The scenery and the engineering of the tunnels and viaducts were actually amazing.  Google it if you get a chance.
We only rode 25 km from Pukurangi to Middlemarch and we heard from the train driver that Christchurch had a magnitude 6.3 earthquake again today, which kind of put a dampner on the day.
We start the  Otago rail trail tomorrow.

8th June 2011 Oamaru to Dunedin by coach

Very glad we decided to go by bus.  The road is hilly and busy and has quite a lot of blind rises and blind corners.
Stayed at the Cumberland Hotel which is near the university and the Botanic gardens.  Our host Wayne was very helpful and cheerful.  We put 4 new bullet proof tyres on the bikes.  We have done 1200 km since Wellington.
Dunedin is a delightful city.  We cycled out to the end of the  Otago peninsular and then up to Larnach Castle high up on the ridge on the way back.  It was a 70km ride and Les had another puncture on about 40km.  This triggered our decision to replace our tyres.
Wayne, the owner of Cumberland Motel has been approached by the studio making the movie "Mr Pip" starring Hugh Laurie (House).  They want to use the main house of the hotel as the scene of Mr Pip's wifes home in Edinburgh.  They are filming in Dunedin because it hs such beautiful old buildings.
We did the tour of Speights Brewery.  Excellent!  Speights Gold Medal now Ash's favourite  beer.  The young lads who were also on the tour with us made good use of the free tastings at the end!

5th June 2011 Omarama to Oamaru 122 km

We decided to try and do this big ride because we wanted to get further south before the snow season started.  When we set off it was still dark and it was raining.  The rain cleared up as the sun came up but then disaster struck.  Ash broke 2 spokes on his back wheel just on 16 km into the ride.  In order to replace spokes on back wheel you have to remove the actual cogs and the disk brake plate.  Ash managed to do it somehow with the tools he had and by borrowing a shifting spanner from a passing farmer.  That cost us an hour so we had to ride for our life for the next 100 km.
We arrived in Oamaru after dark and pretty tired, but felt quite chuffed that we had handled a very challenging day.
Oamaru is delightful with a beautiful park just behind where we were staying.  We spent 3 nights in Oamaru while the bikes were being serviced and checked over.
Oamuru is like a cross between old Salisbury and old Bulawayo.  The covered pavements on the town streets are very wide and the streets are wide enough to turn an ox wagon around.  Buildings are very victorian and edwardian.

4th June 2011 Lake Tekapo to Omarama 90 km

We have still been so lucky with the weather.  Ash still riding in shorts and two shirts (and a gore tex jacket).  Its cool when we set off in the morning but we are quite warm within about 3 or 4 km.
The ride to Omarama was easy and beautiful.  We followed the canel that leads from Lake Tekapo to Lake Pukaki which is below Mt Cook.  Snow capped mountains always in view.
Stayed at the Omarama Top10 Holiday Park.  We are amazed at the pure sweet quality of the tap water in NZ.