Day 40 - Nelson

 I’m back in Nelson tonight.   It’s such a pretty town, right on the coast of the Tasmania sea.  The bus ride here had such amazing views…..unfortunately I didn’t take any photos through the glass.  Twisty roads with great views….will be amazing on the motorcycles. 

I’m in a hostel tonight, as the bus will pick me up right here in the morning to take me into Abel Tasman National Park.  Once I’m on the bus in the morning I will not have service until I get out on Friday.  There’s only one day of rain forecasted, and fingers crossed it’s only the one day.  Stay tuned for sine great photos in a few days.  😊😊😊

Day 37&38 - Christchurch

 I had one rest day where I was planning where to go hiking, or tramping as they say in NZ.  I figured out that I would go to Abel Tasman national park and go for a walk on the coast….similar to West Coast Trail, except shorter, less concerns about the tides….and no ladders!!!!  I had to book a bus from Christchurch to Nelson, that’s a 10 hour ride.  Then the next morning a bus to get to the park.  I have a hut booked for the first night which is good as it will be raining that day.  The next two nights I’ll be tenting….so hopefully it won’t be raining.  Then I’ll take the water taxi back to the start….a bus back to Nelson in the afternoon.  The following morning a bus back to Christchurch.  Sounds like a lot of logistics….but it’s not so bad.  

Yesterday it was threatening to rain all day, but it held off.  We went for a little hike in the hills behind their house.  Many people were out….it was a nice cool day.  Beautiful views…and I had the opportunity to finally try out a cheese roll!!!  Great two days.  

Day 36 - short hike

 Today we had a leisurely morning planning what we were going to do today.  There are hills close by where my friends live and many activities can be done here.  Hills behind walking, coastal walking, swimming, paragliding, off road motorcycles and mountain biking.  Imagination is your only limitation here!

Over breakfast Sheralee and I decided to do a coastal walk with pup Caz, David planned a mountain bike route with a swim and Jean had planned on paragliding, but when the winds weren’t favourable he pulled out his KTM motorcycle and went for a ride!  

As we were on our coastal walk, so many gorgeous sights!  I kept stopping to take photos.  There are several small buildings right by the water that are owned and occupied during the summers.  Many are small wooden structures, but at the end of our walk there were two stone houses, built in the early 1900’s that are maintained and occupied.  

Such a fun day when we finally got back together in the evening to share our experiences over a lovely Thai dinner.  

Day 35 - travel day

 Early start this morning…needed to pack up the bike, have breakfast then head over to the airport to rent a vehicle to travel to Christchurch to meet up with some friends.  The initial plan was to take the bus, but with it being Easter weekend, all the buses were booked.  So plan B….rent a car and drive on the left side of the road 😱😳🫣

My lucky day…David decided to accompany me!!!  Awesome….nice to have not only his company but also some coaching from someone who is used to driving on the left side of the road.  😀😀😀

While we were packing up our bikes…I took a picture of David’s bike and my own bike.  He didn’t carry a stove, but brought everything else he needed for the trip!!

A quick 3km bike ride to the airport….loaded up the bikes into the SUV, and off we went.  I was having trouble getting up to the speed limit as I’ve been on a bicycle for the past 5 weeks, not used to the speed of a car.  I only got honked at a few times….someone trying to make me go faster I think!  Instead I just pulled over whenever I could to let the traffic go by!  

We stayed along the East coast, and had a few incredible views!  Always love to see the water.  We did stop once to take photos, a very nice drive.  We went out for pizza dinner to celebrate David’s birthday today.  Tomorrow I’ll return the rental and likely head out for a little hike.  Looking forward to it.  

Day 34 - Rest day in Invercargill

 Invercargill is a small city of 50,000 people.  I’m in a dorm room in a hostel right downtown.  Lots of coffee shops, restaurants and shopping.  Some of the buildings are new, and some have the older architecture that has been restored.  Just a nice mix.  In the dorm I met two young women who walked the Te Aroa, in sections.  Yesterday they walked from Invercargill to Bluff…..such a long day of walking.  I can’t imagine walking the distance that we cycled, with a 40lb pack….now that is crazy!!!  Many do it in sections, but some do it in one six month trek!  

I spent the morning in a coffee shop, where I had eggs Benedict with four huge pieces of bacon.  Then I spent a few hours in the library….walked around a bit, then lunch.  I was also working out a bit of a plan for when Ted arrives.  I think I have a rough itinerary set out, but of course it depends on the weather.  It will be warmer in the north island, but there’s more to see on the South Island, and I have a friend that I’d love to see in Gisborne most of the way up on the north island.  We will see.  I don’t want to rush from place to place, but rather take our time and explore.  

Dinner out tonight with two fellow TA riders, Annabel and David.  Annabel is headed to Queenstown tomorrow morning, and it was really hard to say goodbye.  We’ve spent so much time together that very the past two weeks. David is going to accompany me to Christchurch.  I’m so happy for the company as I’m a bit concerned about driving on the left side of the road, but my friend Karen told me when you get to an intersection just think….curb left, wide right!  I’ve been practicing this entire time on the bike, so hopefully it will be ok.  David lives in the UK so should be able to remind me to stay left!!!  

We are going to go north via the East side of the island.  A change of scenery.  The drive is about 560km, and I’m not sure how long that will take.  The map software says 7 1/2 hrs, but I’m not sure how fast I can drive.  Usually I drive faster than the speed limit, but after all the time on a bike, I find that a vehicle feels really fast.  We should be on smaller roads tomorrow….and hopefully the Easter holiday traffic doesn’t start early!!!  

Day 33 - Bluff!!! All done

 And just like that….its over.  I’ve completed the tour Aotearoa cycling from Cape Reinga on the North Island To Bluff on the southern tip of the South Island.  It wasn’t at all what I expected- reality far surpassed anything I could have imagined.  The views, the hills, the weather but the biggest surprise was the people that I encountered.  The locals were all kind and generous with their encouragement, and fellow TA participants were nonjudgmental….everyone was doing this for their own reasons…and allowed to do it in whatever way worked.    It was hard…the hills were brutal, but the feeling of satisfaction at the top of the climbs made all the hard pedalling worth it.  

Thanks for following along, sending texts and messages of encouragement.  Today was fantastic….a cool blustery day with some rain, and a fairly strong headwind, but nothing could deter me from the goal of Bluff today.  

This area is one of the few spots on the cycling TA that the track is shared with the walking Te Aroa - and I saw about 15 completing their walk today.  Some have walked the entire length that I cycled…taking them up to 6 months, while others do a section every year.  

I’m going to take the day tomorrow to clean up my bike and organize my few belongings that I have with me.  I will continue to blog as I’m am here until May 1, and there are still more adventures to be had-so follow along 😀

Day 32 - Winton

 Only 63 km to Bluff and the end of the cycling!!!!  

All of the sudden it’s almost over, and I haven’t had much time to wrap my head around it!  Today was fantastic.  An early start from Ian’s home, where he drove about an hour skirting the edge of Queenstown, to drop us off at the start of the trail at Garston.  We knew we had about 100km to ride and that the wind would be increasing throughout the day….but all this escaped my mind.  We had a nice coffee/tea before departing as well as second breakfast.  

I must have stopped every few minutes to take photos today, including setting up for selfies.  I just took my time and really enjoyed the day.  The track to Lumsden was gravel, but well maintained.  It went through a working farm, so every km or so I had to get off the bike…open the gate after figuring it out….roll my bike through, put out the kickstand, then shut the gate.  All this took a fair bit of time.  So when I stopped in Lumsden for lunch at 2pm, I decided to stay on the highway.  Not the best decision….it was busy with narrow shoulders, and had three fairly good hills, while the path that I was supposed to take was sealed, no gates and no hills!  Oh well.  The wind picked up just as I headed out of Lumsden….started as a cross wind which was blowing me around a fair bit, then ended up as a head wind.  So strong and gusty and increased as the afternoon went on.  The gusts were up to 65km/hr by the time I arrived!  But we made it!  The views were magnificent today….especially at the beginning of the day when we were surrounded by the hills.  

I’m so excited for tomorrow!!!!