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!'