25th July 2011 Perth

We are in Perth for a few weeks until we fly to Amsterdam on 24th August.  Our bikes have been serviced by our good friends at Malaga Cycles, and now ready for our big trip to Europe.  We are enjoying catching up with our family and all our friends.

Wednesday 20th July 2011 Picton to Wellington

We caught the Interislander ferry to Wellington and checked into the Harbour City Motel in Webb Street near the university.  We have had our bikes cleaned and arranged for them to be boxed by "Pack and Send" in Victoria Street, ready for our flight to Perth on Tuesday 26th July.
We have a done a total of 2514 km, and have had a most wonderful experience.
We are now planning our trip through Europe and the UK.  We fly into Amsterdam on 24th August, and have spent the last few days trawling the internet for cycle routes.

Tuesday 19th July 2011 Havelock to Picton 36km

One long climb at the beginning and then a beautiful ride along the edge of the Marlborough Sound.  Our last picnic lunch was at a remarkable viewpoint looking down on the sound.  Another beautiful sunny day and a fitting end to our cycle touring of the South Island.

Monday 18th July 2011 Nelson to Havelock 75km

Our second last ride on the South Island and a very tough but rewarding one.  We had a 7 km climb up the Whangania Saddle which was very steep and twisting, and we kept having to dodge big logging trucks.  Just before we reached to top we pulled over into a shaded siding to take a rest and the surface was coated with black ice.  It was like an ice rink and just as well we had slowed down to stop, or we would have done some spectacular stunt riding.  One the way down the other side Ash cracked 60kph.
After that we had another big climb over the Rai Saddle which was almost as tough.  The final 34 km however to Havelock were downhill and most enjoyable, as we followed the Pelorus River.

Thursday 14th July 2011 Nelson 5 days

Nelson is a very charming town with lots of dedicated cycle tracks.  Its very quiet and peaceful, with mountains surrounding the south, east and west, with the calm sea to the north.  The kiwis are polite and friendly.
We went for a walk up to the "Eye of of New Zealand" which is supposed to be geographically the central point of NZ.  It was quite a climb but the view was worth it.
Another good walk was up the Maitai Valley followiing the Maitai River (about 15km return).  The golf course we passed looked like it had just been vacumed.  There was not one leaf or speck of anything on the fairways.
We discovered that Nelson is also on a faultline and long overdue a major earthquake.

Wednesday 13th July 2011 Takaka to Nelson

We didn't fancy riding across the Takaka Hill again, so we caught the bus to Nelson.On the way the driver collected a lady with a guide dog. She was completely sightless  and yet she was on her own at the side of the road waiting for the bus, and when she was dropped off at Richmond she just walked off down the busy street with the dog guiding her.  She was truly inspirational in her courage.
Poor Les hates going on buses and spent half the day of her birthday on a bus.  She would rather have cycled over the Takaka Hill again!

Tuesday 12 July 2011 Collingwood to Takaka 26 km

Rode back to Takaka in the rain and with a strong tailwind.  At one stage Ash was doing 37 kph along the flat road with about 60kgs in the panniers!  Catching the bus to Nelson tomorrow, to avoid the having to cycle over the dreaded Takaka Hill again.

Monday 11 July 2001 Collingwood to Farewell Spit and return 50km

Easy flat road to Farewell Spit.  It rained on the way there and on the way back, but the rain was gentle for the most part.  Our rain gear has served us well in the last few days.  Farewell Spit had big crashing waves on the west side and calm sheltered water on the east side.
Ash is looking forward to loafing in Nelson for 6 days from the 13th.  We have found a very nice motel in the inner city.  Nelson one of our favourite places.

Sunday 10th July 2011 Takaka to Collingwood 28km

We knew it was going to continue raining but we decided to carry on to Collingwood.  Short ride into rain and strong head winds.  Not so pleasant but not too bad.  Still managed to have a nice lunch on the way,  overlooking a beautiful bay.
Collingwood is a tiny town which must be a nice holiday destination in summer.

Saturday 9th July 2011 Motueka to Takaka 60km

Our extraordinary run of good luck with the weather finally ran out.  We had to ride over the Takaka Hill which took us from sea level to 791 metres above sea level in 15km.  As we started the climb it began raining and very strong westerly head wind added to our woes.  It was the hardest climb we have had to do.  Just before we hit the top a local dog came out of the bush and took umbrage with our presence.  We couldn't just ignore it because it was running in the road so we found a little cottage off the road and it turned out to be the stupid creature's home.  Once we got over the peak however the day improved.  The Takaka Valley is absolutely beautiful.

Friday 8th July 2011 Motueka (Abel Tasman trip)

We went on a boat trip along the Golden Bay coast and the Abel Tasman National Park.  We were dropped off in the middle of the park and walked along the amazing track for about 7km, where we were picked up again.  Highly recommended.  Still having brilliant weather.

Thursday 7th July 2011 Nelson to Motueka 50km

Cycled to Moteuka on our way to the Abel Tasman National Park and Golden Bay.  Very pleasant ride, a few hills but nothing too hard.  A beautiful lunch stop by the beach.  This whole Nelson and surrounding bay area is very sheltered because it is north facing and protected by the mountains behind it.  The sea is quite calm and there are huge trees growing right next to the beaches.
The Top10 motel at Motueka is the best we have experienced.  We cycled up and down the beach front was peaceful and pleasant.  There are people living here who have heaps and heaps of money, judging by the houses and massive gardens we cycled past.

Wednesday 6th July 2011 Nelson 45km

We cycled to Richmond into Nelson along a dedicated cycle track via Tahunanui Beach.  Our first impressions were not good.  Richmond is a rural/industrial area and Tahunanui Beach is nondescript.  But then we arrived into Nelson proper and were delighted to find a most charming town.  It has a very nice feel about it.  There are no overhead powerlines/phone lines and the houses and architecture is very pleasant.  It's funny how some places have a good feel and others don't.  We cycled back to Richmond along another dedicated cycle route called the Old Rail Trail and that was truly delightful.
Nelson is said to be the most cycle friendly town in NZ, and has the best climate in NZ.

Tuesday 5th July 2011 Westport to Richmond (Nelson)

We spent most of the day cycling around Westport and then caught the coach in the late afternoon to Richmond which is an outer suburb of Nelson.  The road was not suitable for cycling - very narrow in places, some hard climbs, and no accommodation.

Monday 4th July 2011 Franz Joseph to Westport

Took coach to Westport.It is warmer and more subtropical as we move up the west coast.The road is not really great for cycling(the distances between stops are too much for our liking),although there are some spectacular spots along the way.We stopped at Punakaiki and had a look at the pancake rocks and blowholes.It was pretty impressive.

Sunday 3rd July 2011 Fox Glacier to Franz Joseph Glacier 37 km

We cycled up to Fox Glacier car park and walked the last stretch up to the front of it.
Both glaciers have been advancing steadily since 1985. Glaciers never stop moving.They have always been either advancing or retreating for thousands of years. We read about the two Indian boys from Australia who were killed there after they had climbed over the barriers and were crushed by an ice avalanche.The report said that one of the boys was engulfed by over 100 tonnes of ice,and there was doubt that his body was ever going to be retrieved.
After checking out the Fox Glacier we set off on our bikes to Franz Joseph.The road is only 23 kms so we thought that it would be a doddle.Unfortunately there were three mountain passes to cross! Les just cruised through, but Ash took serious strain.

Saturday 2nd July 2011 Queenstown to Fox Glacier

Caught the coach to Fox Glacier via Wanaka.  Wanaka has a better vibe than Queenstown.
We were both sorry we did not cycle from Wanaka to Haast over the Haast Pass.  We could have done it easily and the road is truely stunning.
We will try to come back one day and do it then.  In the meantime we are heading north to explore the west coast and the Nelson area before we run out of time.  We have cycled over 2000km to date.

Friday 1st July 2011 Te Anau to Queenstown

Caught the coach back to Queenstown.  Still having the most delightful weather.  The locals say that this is a one in a hundred years event, weatherwise.  We are now heading north to the West Coast. 

Wednesday 29 June 2011 Milford Sound

We took a tour to Milford Sound.  It really is more amazing than we had imagined.  Delightful cruise on a 3 masted boat.  The skipper of the boat said that it was the best day that they had enjoyed in weeks - sunny and calm.
The tunnel above the sound was quite an experience - 1.2 km long.  We were glad that we didn't have to cycle through it.