Jan 31st

Last night we stayed at the admiral B and B Hulmes Court which had a mission statement 'to be the best Bed and Breakfast place in Dunedin'.
We set off at 6.30am but then encountered a problem - how do we continue South avoiding the motorway? We are going to invite the Council member for transport in Dunedin together with his or her officer to get on their bikes and see if they can get out of Dunedin! We must have asked 7 or 8 people at different stages in our adventure. However most such conversations were not brief. Woman driver 'where are you from?' Jeff 'Cambridge'; driver 'oh my son went to Cambridge but he married a Liverpudlian and lives in Liverpool now. I go at least once a year to visit. Do you know Liverpool. It's a fine city' and that was one of the shorter conversations. Another driver 'how did you avoid the motorway when you came into Dunedin; don't tell me you cycled up the old road over Mt Cargill?' Eventually 10 miles, numerous hills and 90 minutes later we escaped Dunedin!
Did we say the 'bonk' had gone? Unfortunately it returned to us both with a vengeance today; we were well and truly knackered. Every hill a trial - however we were fortified on our way by each town's sayings or mission statements. 'Clutha country where everyone says hello',, or at Milton ' a town of opportunities, and finally Balclutha, our destination today with its ringing phrase Balclutha 'the big river town'. However the notice just before entering Waihola defies being pigeon-holed   NO DOCTOR
                                                                                                                                    NO HOSPITAL
                                                                                                                                    ONE CEMETERY
By the time we crossed the truly magnificent Clutha river and over the wonderful Forth Road-like bridge into Balclutha we were on our knees. We did, in fact spot another touring cyclist today but we were both crossing a river bridge where there was no cycle path or hard-shoulder and lorry drivers particularly those with a trailer don't take prisoners so we were unable to  stop for a chat.
Correction from yesterday's blog - the bike mechanic said 'she is a tired old girl' and he certaily got the tired bit right today!

Jan 30th

 Palmerston is very much a one-horse town; we have noticed the apparent exodus of people from the smaller rural towns to the cities on our travels. Strangely it had 2 second-hand bookshops, one of which only sold NZ books and exhibited the caption ' NZ has more history books than history'.
As we left this morning the motel owner came to see us off and asked as to our next destination. We told her and asked if it was hilly to which she replied 'it's very picturesque', and boy was she right - hill after hill with a 6k ascent followed by a 3k descent so steep that we had to use the drag brake for the first time this trip. We found a great coffee house near the sea at Waitati, then we climbed for another 10k, meeting on the way up 2 female cyclists on their way down - the first touring cyclists we had seen since the second day of our trip; there is a definite dearth of touring cyclists despite what the guide books and NZ tourism say. We have hardly seen any cyclists outside of the cities. When we reached the top of our 10k climb we were rewarded with magnificent views of Otago Harbour and the sea entrance to Dunedin. We then descended for many kilometres again having to use our drag brake and finally we were at Dunedin [ which is gaelic for Edinburgh]. Ascending the hills was complicated because our gears were playing up again, and so our first stop was to a bike shop where the mechanic said ' she's a poor old girl'. For a moment we wondered if he was referring to Linda but more prosaicly he was commenting on our small chain bracket! Hopefully he has sorted it out but more refurbishment work will be required on our return home.
A very Scottish-like feel about Dunedin and its sorrounding countryside and so for example overlooking the centre of the town is a statue of Robbie Burns. We wandered around and particularly  liked the writers walk where NZ writers are remembered.
As we entered Dunedin we stopped at the start of Baldwin Street which is listed in the Guiness Book of Records as the steepist street in the world and one can get a certificate if one is able to walk up it. Linda wondered, briefly, if we could get in the record books by being the first people to cycle up the street on a tandem. However we decided that this would be one hill too many.

Jan 29th

Medical update - Jeff has had no further cramp and the 'bonk' is behind him however his memory is still defective as he thought yesterday was Sunday - he has been put right. Linda's bottom is now recovered and thank you for your empathy in not asking.
Morning was overcast and hazy but dry and warm. Cycled out of Oamaru up a very steep hill which certainly got the blood coursing through the veins! For the first 25 miles we travelled along the South Pacific coast road virtually by ourselves. Watched Dusky Dolphins bobbing up and down in the sea and then sat on the edge of a lake and watched flocks of black swans, pied stilts, ducks and a Royal Spoonbill, which has a flat spoon-shaped bill, its body brilliantly white with black legs. Our photographer, after much coughing finally encouraged it to fly which it did rather reluctantly with its neck outstretched.
Stopped for a wander along the beach through the Te Kaihinaki [ancient boulders] at Moeraki. These spherical creations were formed millions of years ago around lime crystals within the sorrounding mudstone. The spheres are about 6 - 8 feet in circumference sunk in the sand and as though marching out to sea; there were scores of these strange shapes which can only be seen at low tide, for which we had cunningly timed our arrival.
Later we spotted a Paua sign next to the beach. The shellfish is a delicacy and the abalone shell or Paua in NZ is used in jewellery and for ornaments [it looks like mother of pearl]; the shells measure 4-5 inches long and 3-4 inches wide. Harvesting them is restricted and this particular sign said the limit was 10 per person. Fred and Myrtle Flukey were Bluff residents[ the most southerly settlement on South Island]  and Fred liked to collect Paua shells - he persuaded Myrtle to let him hang them on their sitting room walls and eventually the whole house was decorated in them - coach tours would visit daily and the couple became eccentric icons to such an extent that when they died parts of their house were replicated and made part of a special exhibition at Christchurch Museum which we found equally kitsch and hilarious but somehow fascinating!
We are now back in hilly, mountainous terrain staying at the Pioneer Motel at Palmerston [named after the British Prime Minister in 1862] which is beautifully equipped and  because the restaurant choices here are limited to say the least we will be dining in our room tonight with perhaps a few Tuis and some red.

Jan 28th

Enjoyed our stay at the Grosvenor Hotel which had strange, funky art work adorning its walls including very distinctive loo signs which were rather surprising! Hotels are good but motels are better for us and NZ as they give more freedom and independence. However we had a great continental breakfast and set off at 7.50am - scandalously late! After about 5 miles of hills the rest of the journey was flat and the weather beautiful. After a couple of hours and at  last we found a coffee shop that was open [it is Sunday here] based in a fruit farm and so as for customers to be in no doubt there was a old fashioned cart containing enormous strawberries ie about 2ft in circumference.Whapping images are used a lot here - a day or so ago we passed a salmon factory with a 15ft salmon adorning the gateway. Linda did whatapp Ben to ask if he had caught one as big as the one she photographed but no reply!
The lowlight of our journey since leaving Auckland was a stretch of road, about 3/4 mile in length with its top surface removed leaving a surface of small sharp stones so we had to get off and walk and push the tandem. Cars and lorries rumbled by coating us with a thin film of dust - we must have looked like creatures emerging from Dante's inferno.
After 4 hours and some 60 miles we arrived in Oamaru, North Otago and to the Bella Vista Motel, Thames St. For those interested in architecture and literature read on - to the rest of you Goodnight.
Oamaru has some enormous buildings because early on in the town's development a local limestone called whitestone was discovered which was easily carved and moulded. The main street has buildings from the early 19th Century in fashionable classic forms from Gothic revival to neoclassical Italianate and Venetian palazzo.The main street is very wide in order for cattle trains who once frequented these parts to be able to pass each other! One of these buildings houses the Forrester Gallery with its collection of regional art and the North Otago Museum which we also enjoyed. There we saw mementoes of Janet Frame's life - if you are us you would have said 'Janet who?' She was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962   for such novels as Owls do cry just prior to her death the following year. She spent much of her childhood in Oamaru and references in her books to Waimaru are in fact a pseudonym for Oamaru.

Jan 27th

Left at 6.50am and had the road to ourselves for the first couple of hours as its a sunday. Conditions very benign with the wind behind us, cool first thing and gradually becoming warmer. Open country - mainly sheep.  After a couple of hours we stopped and had a coffee and a delicious pecan pie. The lady who served us said ' I had an offer of marriage yesterday - this customer ate my rhubarb pie and said who ever cooked this pie I want to marry!' We had the usual compliment of driving idiots today; the most tricky is when we cycle over a river bridge and the cycle path/ hard-shoulder disappears so there are only 2 lanes and some cars and lorries are reluctant to slow down and wait until it is safe before overtaking. Linda's job is to stick out her right arm and encourage them to slow down - not always successfully! However road flat and we zoomed along and got to Timaru by midday, slightly put out that it is full of hills.
Booked into the Grosvenor Hotel which has a large notice in reception announcing ' where the Prince of Wales was conceived' - in Linda's opinion that in itself would be reason enough to stay somwhere else! The Queen has stayed here twice, obviously on the first occasion some time ago. So from Coronation Park yesterday to our hotel today NZ is still keen on the monarchy, unlike her Ozzie neighbours.
Wandered around Timaru and visited the South Canterbury Museum which is very well laid out and contains the original 'aeroplane' of a local farmer Richard Pearce whose invention preceded that of the Wright brothers but he ran out of money and his contraption could do no more than lift off the ground. We then got lost. We asked directions from a couple of men who turned out to be farmers who very kindly took us back to our hotel in their beaten up and very smelly 4x4. As we got out one of them said 'remember to wipe your shoes as they're probably covered in sheep shit!'

Jan 26th

Last breakfast with Rosemary who has been a wonderful hostess. We have had 3 great days with her. She made us feel so welcome, producing vino, G and Ts and lots of lovely food. She has a delightful house which she partly designed herself and all in all a most enjoyable few days.
Set off at 8.30am but had to circumnavigate Christchurch as difficult to cycle through it as so many of the bridges and roads are closed for repair and often the locals get lost. So spent 90 minutes and 24 miles to get onto Highway 1. However made excellent progress as completely flat terrain with a NE wind behind us. Arrived 72 miles later in Ashburton - to Coronation Park and our motel with full catering facilities which we will take full advantage of as cycling makes one very hungry and thirsty!

Jan 25th

Rosemary took us past Lyttleton Harbour, the port for Christchurch and then onto the Banks Peninsular to Akaroa. The Banks Peninsular and its hills were formed by 2 volcanic eruptions. Small harbours radiate from the Peninsular's centre, giving it a cogwheel effect. Absolutely stunning scenery of hills, mountains and Akaroa harbour. Initially Banks Peninsular was claimed by the French and French settlers settled in the area but in fact too late to colonise on behalf of France as Britain signed a treaty with a Maori leader and the rest is history! Nevertheless the town has a distinct French air about it and descendants of the original French settlers still reside there. Most of the streets are in French and the police station is also called the Gendamerie! We had a pleasant day travelling to Akaroa and  wandering around its streets which many still have the original settlers' houses on them. We returned via central Christchurch to look at the 'cardboard cathedral' being built as a temporary measure until the cathedral is rebuilt.The building is in fact being constructed of wood and steel and is likely to be put to other uses once the cathedral is built or rebuilt - there is much public discussion and arguement as to how the original building is to be replaced! It lies opposite the site of the NZ broadcasting building, now demolished, where many of the 189 people died. Dinner with Rosemary's brother, a retired pilot who is now a volunteer with air sea rescue.

Jan 24th

Spent the day visiting Christchurch which has had 11,000 after-shocks since the last earthquake in 2011, the last one being yesterday. Saw houses half-collapsed hanging from the hillsides, the 10 storey police station empty and awaiting demolition. The council has 1600 buildings to check, repair or demolish including the Art Gallery, an Arts Centre , the hot houses in Hagley Park that we visited together with thousands of houses [50,000 people from a population of 350,000 have left the city and it is not known if these people are awaitng the repair of their houses or whether they have left permaently]. The centre of Christchurch has become a re-start project with shops and restaurants operating out of converted metal shipping containers which may sound grim but is actually rather funky. As well as Hagley Park we visited the museum and saw some buskers as there is an annual buskers festival here - we noted there was an Ozzie who we last saw at the Edinburgh fringe 2 years ago. Last night we took Rosemary out to a well-known restaurant that has relocated to a new site as its previous site was damaged in the earthquake. It is difficult to imagine the devastation of a large earthquake until one actually see the effects of it for oneself.

Jan 23rd

The last 30 odd miles from Amberley to Christchurch went without mishap although there was a noticerable build-up of traffic as we neared Christchurch. Another hot sunny day - arrived on the edge of the city where our friend Rosemary lives. We met her in Cyprus but she is actually from Christchurch but has spent her entire working life in London but has now retired to NZ where she spends most of the time, just returning to the UK for Spring and Summer.Her house here is opposite a forest and about 5 minutes walk from Pegassus Bay and the Pacific Ocean. After lunch we walked along the beach for some while and then Jeff and Rosemary swam in the sea; there were big waves with a massive undertow but warm once you were in. Pegasus Bay , wide and sweeping and with very few people on the beach where we were. Linda did some beach-combing - how on earth we will be able to carry everything back she collected is another matter!Rosemary's home was damaged in the earthquake but minor compared with much of Christchurch. The earthquake damaged the church in Amberley where we stayed last night. It is reckoned that the city will take decades to re-build with sewage, water, and electricity services all damaged. Immediately after the earthquake Rosemary tried to leave her house for fears of a tsunami but could not get very far because of liquidification ie ground water bubbling up from beneath the earth's surface and flooding the sorrounding roads; fortunately no such tsunami flooding occured.

Jan 22nd

Last night ate dinner with the family which was fish caught locally. Afterwards Barry invited Jeff to join him on his evening shoot! Drove his jeep up into the hills and there Barry stalked and shot a turkey[gobbler], plucked it, cut it open and gutted it- not for the faint -hearted. Returned after a couple of hours and turkey put in their 'chiller' [ 'chilling more like] which is a walk-in fridge in the farmyard - contents - 1 duck, 1 hare, 1 wild boar[ shot by Barry the other day - it is 2m in length, weighing about 250lb and covered in long greyish-white hair; it has to be skinned unlike a domestic pig!], various chunks of lamb and beef and finally the turkey - again not for the faint-hearted!
Had breakfast with our hosts who obviously got up earlier than usual to see us off. Set off at 7am and it was quite hilly for first 25 miles. Linda 'I've counted 8 hills so far not that I'm counting - I thought you said it wasn't hilly!'
Another beautiful day with no head wind so made good progress. Arrived at our motel in Amberley after 55 miles. Our accomodation is a self-contained unit with sittingroom/ kitchen, bedroom and bathroom together with our own sitting area outside - quite the poshist place we have stayed at since leaving Auckland. Just finished eating our own prepared meal and will shortly be watching a DVD provided by our hosts.

Jan 21st

Left at 6.30am and cycled past such lodges as Lazy Shag and Bad Belly backpackers up a hill and out of Kaikoura, the most touristy town so far - people come here to whale spot by boat or plane or swim with the dolphins. The first 20 miles we cycled by the sea;this coastline is so unspoilt and very under-populated and so there are no cafes, coffee stalls, burger bars. Again a beautiful sunny day and again the seashore was full of fur seals. After Aoro the road went inland to cross the Hunderlees, three steep and winding hills for 10 miles, crossed the Conway River and then a long slow ascent to Hawkswood Pass and then down to the Waiau River which was in flood spate because of rain earlier in the week. Peculiar weather conditions as we are now approaching Christchurch where there are a number of forest fires raging and signs everywhere saying the fire hazard conditions are extreme.We are now at Denbar Farm where we are booked to have dinner with our hosts Barry and Denise; there is nowhere else to eat as the farm is quite isolated. Denbar Farm is used to fatten dairy cattle; they also have geese, ducks and sheep. We arrived in time for lunch and afterwards Linda had a 2 hour lesson in felting which is an ancient art, possibly the oldest textile art known. The process using ones hands, wool and water transforms wool fibres into felted objects like scarves, which Linda made or hats. Denise has her own Marino sheep which her husband shears when she needs more wool, and in answer to any such thoughts we will not be getting a sheep any time soon.

Jan 20th

Left at 6.30am and spent the next 60 miles cycling alongside the Pacific Ocean and to our right huge mountain ranges - Inland Kaikoura Range [up to 2885m] and the Seaward Kaikoura Range [up to2551m]. To the north and east of NZ are the islands of Tahiti, Tonga. Samoa and Fiji where most of the NZ Pacific Islanders originated but to the east there is virtually nothing for 6,000 miles until South America. A glorious sunny day , with little wind and after the first 20 miles few hills. So close to the sea we could smell the seaweed. After 25 miles or so we cycled past literally hundreds of NZ fur seals - mostly basking in the sun on the rocks. We could hear for mile after mile their baby-like cries and in one large pool we saw a dozen or more baby seals larking about whilst adult seals looked lazily on. Stood next to a tree full of Little Shags! who seemed oblivious or uncaring about our close presence; later saw Pied Shags, Royal Spoonbills and white-faced herons. Out at sea there were crayfish boats.
Booked into Dusky Lodge in Kaikoura; from our room we can see snow-covered mountains and the glinting-blue Pacific Ocean - life can be hard sometimes!

Jan 19th

Note Cook Strait is only 14 miles at its narrowist.
Last night wandered around Blenheim before having a delicious Chinese meal. The NZ know how to eat and we have been impressed with the choice of places to eat, even in quite small towns. They do tend to close fairly early eg at 9pm but that is certainly late enough  for us. In the middle of Blenheim is Seymour Square gifted to the town 150 years ago.The main feature is a War Memorial clock tower commemorating the dead of World Wars 1 and 2, Korea, Malaysia, Borneo. Burma, South Vietnam and as an apparent after-thought Japan 1946 - 1948; we can only assume that NZ took part in a peacekeeping operation in Japan after the war and soldiers died there of accidents or natural causes. The influence of the mother country still apparent with a bench dedicated to Princesss Diana 'our English rose'!
Had a leisurely start as only 28 miles[in fact it was 35!], so went to a greasy-spoon cafe and Jeff had 3 obscene- looking sausages and eggs and Linda had a more modest bacon sandwich. Quite delicious but not very wise as spent the next 3 hours burping merrily. Wind today either easterly or westerly but not against us. Parts very hilly - we crossed the Welds Pass which was long and steep. Cycled between fields of vines - Mount Riley, Riverland and many other brands. Stopped beside the Awatere River and watched 3 Black Swans - smaller than the British Mute Swan.
In the distance for the whole of today's ride we could see the Blue Mountain[2051m], the top snow-covered and as the light changed so the mountain changed, sometimes blue and sometimes black; it was like a sinister presence always with us in the background. Finally arrived at Ward, population 200 with 2 eateries thankfully one where we stayed at the East Coast Inn. Sat outside our room and enjoyed the sunshine [about 30c]. We had a great meal and enjoyed watching the locals enjoy their Tui beer - not for them poncy bottles they had it out of the tap in jugs!

Jan 18th

Whizzed down the hills from our B and B and arrived at the Interislander Ferry Terminal within 10 minutes. Sunny but cool breeze. We were the first on the Arahura [ Pathway to Dawn] which carries 100 cars, over 1000 passengers and up to 60 railway waggons.  We hitched our bike up next to another bike of a Brit and had a great 3 hour ferry journey. The sea was calm unlike an incident some years ago when the journey took 40 hours during a violent gale. We crossed the Cook Strait reckoned to be on a bad day one of the roughest stretches of water in the world but hard to imagine on such a benign day as today. We could see South Island clearly from Wellington and much of the journey was in the protected waters of Wellington bays or the Queen Charlotte Sound on South Island. As we approached Picton our destination in South Island we sailed along the narrow sound which is heavily wooded with tiny villages clinging to the shore. Picton at the head of the sound looked like a scene from the Mediterranean.
We were first off the ferry and after the first 3/4 miles of hills we had a gradual descent to Blenheim, although battling all the time against a strong southerly wind. The pass we cycled down was also heavily wooded until nearer Blenheim when we cycled beside a swamp with thousands of seemingly dead trees - were they Mangrove trees and if so why no leaves on them in the middle of summer- answers on a postcard please! The effect of these trees was surreal and slightly sinister.
As we approached Blenheim we are now in Marlborough County we cycled past fields of vines in rows as one sees at Chilford Hall, Linton and in northern France but not in Cyprus. Found our motel easily enough in Blenheim and now looking forward to a glass of the local red!

Jan 17th

Staying in a lovely B and B with Jennifer who has played the piano for 4 hours a day for 20 years at Kirkaldie and Stain [NZ equivalent of Harrods]. She must be in her late 70s but is a mere youngster compared to another lady member of staff[ perfume counter] who is 86! Jennifer's house is literally round the corner from Sue's where we had a delicious meal last night including a wonderful Pavlova [ apparantly OZ and NZ each claim to have invented it and continue to argue to this day]. One of the benefits of cycling is of course that you can eat what you like and as much as you like. After breakfast Sue collected us and took us to see the sights of Welly. However we started at the Te Papa Museum - a celebration of NZ heritage, European, Maori and Pacific Islanders; a true treaure trove full  of interesting exhibits and oral histories. The visit will help us understand some of the Maori signs and cultures we see and experience. As with so many museums today it was interactive even for adults and there were a lot of children about clearly enjoying themselves. Then from the sublime to the ridiculous we went to Weta - the production home of such films as Avatar, Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. Linda rushed around like a headless chicken snapping away as some of you will see when she forwards them on to you! Peter Jackson the film director  was born just outside Welly and is something of a cult -figure here. We then drove around Welly harbour, a cruise ship was docked, and we saw the ferry from South Island which we will be catching tomorrow. Drove to a very high spot and enjoyed some spectacular views over the city with the mix of colonial and more modern buildings. Had lunch outside the city at a restaurant frequented by the actors of the film just mentioned. We parked next to a sign' Beware blue penguins' but alas did not see any.Drove up to a wind turbine and experienced an incredible sky-line, full of menacing cloud producingan extraordinary still light; just able to take in the scene before the heavens opened and it rained like hell. Dropped down into the city and saw the parliament building called the Beehive designed by Sir Basil Spence - apparently a controversial design but we liked it; the Supreme Court which looked like a prison which we did not like and the University. Finally a brief visit to Zealandia Park which has a 500 year plan for conservation! Sue had really thought out our itinery and we thoroughly enjoyed our day and found Wellington surprising and not at all what we had expected.

Jan 16th

Poured with rain all night but apart for a few drops we escaped the rain again. Cycled into Levin at 7am to discover that the only train into Wellington today  had left an hour earlier! Had a bacon sarny and coffee and set off - the road was flat but the traffic intense and so we concluded that the only safe way into Wellington [Welly] was by train when we could find one. Finally we got to Waikanae after about 25 miles and was told that the train would be along in 20 minutes; Jeff went off to get some food not realising his watch was 10 minutes slow, arriving back at the station to find a frantic Linda and a train waiting to go! Train took us along the Tasman Sea coast and our journey whizzed by as various passengers engaged us in conversation. A number of silly incidents - Linda 'why are you wearing your cycling gloves with the pads on the back of your hands, surely they should be on the palms?' Jeff had only been wearing the gloves on back to front for 2 years! We came across 2 bridges today which were too narrow to cycle across so we were directed on the first one to the 'cycle path' which was so narrow that it was impossible to cycle across; the second bridge we were directed under the bridge and we cycled happily along until uggh - a farmer had driven his slurry cart directly across the cycle path which was 4 inches thick with s--t. We came to an abrupt halt.Jeff 'any suggetions?', Linda 'well we are not walking through that', so we cycled through it and will have the tide mark on our tyres for some days. As Linda will tell anyone interested and without prompting it is difficult to find somewhere to go to the loo if you are a woman cycling in the open countryside. A well-known English cyclist and writer, Josie Dew, solves the problem by squatting under her cape. However Linda decided to plunge behind a bush only to impale a long twig in her left ear; she emerged without hearing in her left ear and subsequently consulted a doctor in Welly who confirmed she has perforated her ear drum - ouch!
We cycled from Ngaio station in Welly to Sue Wilton's house and it was great to see her again. The last time we saw her she stayed with us in Clare in 2004. Sue was an old friend of Christina's in London in the 1960s when she worked as a nurse. Sue's house in Ngaio[ pronounced Naio] is close to the district of Wilton named after her great uncle who owned that area of Welly many moons ago. Sue is a 6th generation New Zealander. Her house like most houses in Welly is on a steep slope and the views are fantastic with a wide panorama over the city of Wellington which is full of trees and vegetation. She has her own semi-tropical garden which one could overlook from the sitting room. Wellington is built on a series of tree-covered hills and is very beautiful.

Jan 15th

Set-off at 6.30am as long day ahead. First 20 miles were hilly and then it was more or less flat for the next 54 miles, by far the most miles we have ever cycled together in a day and arrived in Levin at a time not dissimilar to a day of only 50 miles.
Stopped after 20 miles for our first coffee of the day at the Long Black  Coffee Cart - see Facebook for weekly coffee tips.He had given up being responsible for Auckland University computers for an alternative way of life and he made great coffee. We tried to educate him about Costa Coffee! Another customer told us of the seamier side of life in Wanganaui as there are gangs in the suburbs who fight with Pit Bull terriers, which may account for signs we have seen in a number of towns banning dogs in the town centres.
Stopped for another coffee some miles later in Bulls ['no udder town like it' where anything is Poss a Bulls' - you couldn't make this up  -we read these messages on road signs as we entered the town!] The owner of the cafe was married to a farmer with 6,000 acres and they deliver twice a year 3,000 live cattle to China! There we ate the most delicious sausage rolls which are about 2 inches thick and 4 inches long with a thin pastry covering - quite splendid with tomato relish; we have seen them everywhere but had not tried them until today; they make the UK sausage roll seem a very poor country cousin.
Now booked in to the Mountain View Motel. Just had dinner nearby where the waitress attempting conversation said her mother's family were from Scotland - when asked where in Scotland she replied 'up the top somewhere cold and wet!'

Jan 14th

Poured with rain all night so all day we wore our wet weather gear but it only started to rain as we cycled into Wanganui. Given a great send off by our hosts with Ron insisting on taking our photos. Then embarked on our most difficult cycling day ever anywhere. It was incredibly hilly, long and steep hills. a long run down into the next valley and then up up a long hill to top of valley and so it repeated itself for hour after hour. There were no settlements, no cafes. nothing for 55 miles. We had to call at a farm to get water to replenish our water bottles. We followed rivers virtually the whole way; there was very little traffic and the scenery was spectacular. Eventually cycled into Wanganui, a pretty town on the side of the Wanganui river and the Tasman Sea. Victoria Street in the centre was by far the prettiest street we have encountered in NZ with some impressive late 19th and early 20th Century buildings. Our accomodation went from the sublime of last night to a backpackers lodge.  We survived but was not quite what we have got used to in that all facilities apart from our shower and loo were shared. Took the bike to a cycle shop as the gears had been playing up and the  back tyre was so bald that Jeff was having diffisculty holding the bike straight which made for some hairy moments descending on wet roads! All sorted very satisfactorilly. Outside our 'lodge'  was prevailed upon by a very large man to let him have a go on the tandem. When we refused he asked if we were worried he might fall off. No we replied we are more worried about the tandem!

Jan 13th

Very difficult morning as we climbed up to 850m [same height as Pachna] to Tongariro National Park with one particularly steep and long hill, by far the hardest hill we have ever climbed. Drizzly weather but the rain held off. Beautiful scenery, Bush country with lots of deer, towering volcanic hills still covered in snow even though it is the height of summer. Stopped for lunch in National Park Village where we met the manager, Lynda from Ireland who gave us all our food and drink as a donation to the Baraka Home which was very welcome as we were exhausted. However the next 20 miles was virtually downhill all the way. Finally arrived at Ranfurly Cottage in Raetihi where we met our wonderful hosts Ron and Allison, who welcomed us with a beer; Allison was originally from Chesham, Bucks and her parents emigrated to OZ when she was 8 under the Assisted Passage scheme; she subsequently met Ron on a trip to Nz and the rest is history! Raetihi very much a one horse town as like so many rural communities is suffering from people migrating to the cities for work. This accomodation by far the best with our own suite.

Jan 12th

After 48 miles yesterday we slept well and left at 7am. The style of accomodation is different from the UK in that normally breakfast is not provided but each room has cooking facilities which suits the average tourist here and we find most convenient. We were actually woken at 5.40am by what sounded like a world war 2 siren which went on for at least a minute. Linda suggested that perhaps it was to rouse all those sheep shearers. Any other observations by our NZ readers would be of interest. We continued up the stinker of a hill which was the first of many today but none were quite so horrific. Harold Macmillan was asked what were the most difficult problems he faced in his premiership. To which he replied 'events dear boy events'. We were 30 minutes into our 51 mile excursion when the gears started playing up which they continued to do for some time and so after much faffing, and a 2 hour delay we got going again, only for the gears to mess us about again and again. However we eventually got them sorted out which was just as well as we spent the day on what someone described as the 'forgotten highway' namely Highway 4 which goes throught the most beautiful countryside we have encountered thus far; very remiscent of lowland Scotland. The road travels for some 45 miles through the Taumaruni National Park , with virtually no settlements. We saw Australian Harriers circling overhead and the fields were either full of maize or cattle and sheep. On one occasion we had stopped to have some water and opposite was a herd of cattle who thundered down the hillside and stared at us- all standing in a row. The weather was glorious today - clear sunny skies and a light cool breeze, at least this morning but the effect of the thin ozone layer in these parts is obvious. Having lived in Cyprus with a much hotter climate for years we are both peeling!

Jan 11th

A day of rolling countryside ie it was hilly.Left at 7.30am ,stopped at 10am for a bacon sanny where we met an organiser of mountain bike trips who did not think we were overloaded which was music to Linda's ears and supported her case that a hairdryer is not a luxury! Shortly after on the road we met Henrick, a young Dane, who was half-way into a 4 year around the world cycle trip; rather put our modest effort into perspective. He was heading for Auckland and from there off to Patagonia and the start of his 18month ride to Alaska.He also did not think we were overloaded. He had met a couple in East Timor riding a tandem who were so overloaded that their back wheel had collapsed 6 times. Cycled through Otorohanga[called Oto by the locals] which they described as the kiwi capital of New Zealand.At each entrance to the town is a very large Kiwi, large enough for Linda to stand underneath one of them! There was also a brick-framed caravan encapsulating the artists time in a caravan when prospecting for minerals in the 1960s. An Arts committee had decided in their wisdom that this was a fine piece of modern art to grace the entry to Oto - quite what the locals thought is another matter! Oto is very much a Maori town with some impressive hand-carved figures on 2 'totem-like poles'. This is cow country and we spotted a line of at least a hundred cows crossing the side of a hill to be milked - walking with military precision. The possum count was high today - not something to distress the average NZ as the possum is a pest brought in from Australia and has been destroying trees ever since. Finally arrived in Te Kuiti - the shearing capital of the world; it has a giant stone statue[ probably 10 times life size of a shearer shearing a sheep!]. Our hotel aptly called the Panorama was half-way up the most horrendous hill we had encountered so far in NZ. I left Linda in a heap outside reception while I booked us in; the very young receptionist expressed astonishment at what we were up to and said' I am so proud of you!'Accomodation as usual was excellent and even had a spa bath - height of luxury. On our End to End trip in UK we had mixed fortunes when it came to our bed and breakfasts - in one as I recall my knees were hard against the loo door; it was difficult to turn round in there as well.However the quality on NZ television is seriously bad. We read in a national paper today a report from a OZ TV critic who was complaining about the quality and as he said he should know as most of the content comes from OZ!

Jan 10th

Awoke to another glorious day of about 75F. Left by 9am and cycled through Huntly- a coal mining town, over the Waikato river and then beside the river for much of the way to Hamilton - the largest inland city in NZ. The countryside was very beautiful and the road almost traffic-free; the lush pastoral landscapes with grazing cattle and sheep gave one a glimpse of a bygone age and so not surprisingly not far from where we were was filmed the rural paradise of Hobbiton village in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Finally cycled into Hamilton - a ride of about 35 miles as opposed to nearer 50 yesterday. Saddle sore but not suffering in the way we had yesterday.

Jan 9th

Took a ferry across Auckland harbour, cycled to the train station at Newmarket and then a train into the outer suburbs of Auckland at Papakura. Had great difficulty in manhandling the bike up and down the station steps but station staff happy to help and in fact our abiding memory of the first day is the friendliness of everyone - perhaps the best advertisement of NZ is the people themselves. Eventually got cycling and soon discovered that what I had thought was Highway 1 was in fact a motorway and cycles are banned! We ended up doing a massive detour of at least 20 miles. During this first day 3 men stopped their cars and waved us down - the first to show us the alternative way to go now we had left the motorway and the other 2 men just to find out who we were and where we were going. The tandem is like being accompanied by a dog or small child as people seem to feel happy to speak - it opens many doors.
Having left the sprawling suburbs of Auckland we were able to observe the countryside and the impression is of a rural landscape but with plants and trees one would associate with the tropics such as giant ferns, and palm trees.
My failure in  not allowing us  sufficient time to recover from the long-flight soon became all too apparent - firstly Linda was ready to give up, but then she says this at the beginning of every long trip. I had been asking her for months whether she was getting fit, but in the end it was my body that failed quite dramatically as I kept getting cramp in my lower thighs, on one occasion in both legs at the same time.The problem made the more difficult in that I had to get off the bike in order to stretch to stop the cramp but the pain was so bad that I could not get off the bike in order to do so! When I did manage to get off the bike and this happened on numerous occasions over the last 2 hours of our ride I had Linda giving me instructions as to how to alleviate my discomfort and on one occasion when I was not responding in the way she thought appropriate said quite quietly but loud enough for me to hear ' be a man'. This from the person who when I came home from work some years ago complaining I was suffering from the flu said ' don't bother me I only deal with very sick people'!
Thus we were both suffering from the 'bonk' - a technical term used by cyclists to signify total exhaustion - a term not to be confused with bonking, which at the time was too hard to comtemplate let along undertake. Finally we got to our first night's accomodation at Jonio's Olive Farm and had a great welcome and were given a basket of food to cook as the local restaurants were all closed as we had arrived after 8pm. The farmer couldn't remember if we had paid so had to ask if we knew! We enjoyed a beautiful room set in the olive groves and Linda cooked some spaghetti - we had a definite need for carbohydrate loading before tomorrow's ride.

Jan 9th

19 hour flight to Brisbane and although only a short transer to our Auckland flight we had to go through immigration. Only one person singled out for a 'patting down' - I heard Linda say 'but why have I been picked out?' The officer said ' because you fit the profile of an IRA bomber'; he had a sense of humour. As avid watchers of the TV programme Border Control we expected a thorough examination of our bike bags when we got to Auckland, but apart from a cursory look at our cycling shoes they took our word that we had cleaned our bike and that no foreign elements would arrive in NZ because of us.
Spendid welcome from Nigel and Kath Prickett. The relationship is tenous to say the least. Nigel is the cousin of Christina's ex-husband! I had not seen them for 24 years and Linda not at all.
As we were flying I realised that I had not allowed sufficient time for us to recover from our flight before we set off so as soon as we arrived at the Pricketts, after a cup of tea we had to put our tandem together and pack ready for the off - we had to keep to our timetable as we have booked all our accomodation throughout our trip. We joined Nigel and Kath for dinner and after quickly into a deep sleep.

Jan 8th 2013

Helen took us to Larnaca airport and no problem in getting our bike bags accepted; uneventful flight to Dubai but then took 2 hours to get through immigration in order to get to our hotel for our 10 hour stop-over so in the end only got about 3 hours sleep.

We are ready for the off but we cannot use the Just Giving site because the main charity that supports the Baraka Childrens' Home is Dutch and is not registered with the site. If you would like to sponsor us please pay the money into our Lloyds bank account number 10201168, in the names of LA and JC Stevens sort code 30-93-99. Please email us when you have made the payment so that we can acknowledge receipt. When we have finished our trip, and after a further fund raising event in March we will account to everyone for how much money has been raised and how it is to be spent.