And so to our last cycling day and oh no it's raining! Fortunately it was only a light drizzle for about 10 minutes and then dry for the rest of our ride. Our Kiwi friends reckon to get from Auckland to Invercargill over 3 or more weeks without getting wet is a record.
Our gears still playing up but somehow we kept them going. Cycled back 10 miles to the main road; we had considered going on an unsealed road but were warned not to by our motel hosts. Sunday morning and absolutely no traffic for first 3 hours. Now in the Southland Region and the vegetation is less bush and back to pasture.
Stopped for coffee at Fortrose with its very sheltered inlet with a submerged wreck in the entrance at low tide! Watched shags sitting on a washed-up tree looking more like vultures.
Met a tourer - a kiwi going through a mid-life crisis! He was wearing flipflops and no helmet. His mountain bike was held together by bits of wire and string but he seemed cheerful enough.
Final leg virtually flat landscape for last 30 miles to Invercargill where we stopped at the town sign and took photos of each other!
Our motel is the best of the whole trip and for Linda joy of joys it has a bath with a whirlpool - can't get her out of it! Our rooms even have 2 television sets - one in our bedroom although the programmes here are so terrible that 1 is more than enough.
Reflecting on our trip of 1,366 miles and 23 days we have not been disappointed or disillusioned. We have met some great people, the Kiwis are very friendly. The scenery is beautiful and in places spectacular and litter-free and so unspoilt. The cycling has been harder than our Lands End to John O'Groats trip because the hills are longer and more frequent! However we do intend to return and visit those parts of NZ we have missed on this trip. Accomodation has been first class. Now thinking about our next trip although before that we must find a way of getting back to Auckland. We are looking forward to the final stage of our trip which is to spend a few days with Nigel and Kath Prickett which will include a stay at their 'bach', north of Auckland.
Thank you for following our blog. Onwards and upwards.
Linda and Jeff
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Feb 2nd
Left at 8am and immediately cycled up a long hill out of Papatowai and this was basically the pattern for the next 4 hours - up and down hills in stunning countryside with dense forest for most of the way. Very quiet and isolated and certainly the most rural region we have cycled through.Stopped for coffee at the Squeaky Frog Cafe at Macleans Falls and then on past Niagara Falls [it's a joke as they are about 10ft high!], along Waikawa Harbour to Porpoise Bay. The views from our motel room are outstanding, the beach is 25 yards away and really the most beautiful views across the bay and on to Stewart Island which is about 20 miles away.
Hector Dolphins come here to rear their young and one is able to swim and stand right next to them. They were clearly visible and are the smallest dolphins being about 3- 4 ft long. They are very rare and are heavily protected by the NZ authorities. There were a number of people swimming with the dolphins but most of them were wearing wet suits as the sea, even in the middle of summer, is perishing cold as the waters come straight from the Antarctic which is the nearest landmass south of where we are. There is an air of being at the world's end shamelessly exploited by the locals eg an art exhibition about to start called The Edge of the World Art Exhibition.
At the adjoining Curio Bay we explored a petrifed forest 170 million years old which is a left-over from the Jurassic Period and reckoned to be one of the world's oldest and the best! Intriguing to see the petrified tree stumps and the wood grain clearly showing.
As no restaurant here[ and for second day running no alcohol for sale!] we had spaghetti and tomato sauce. Early evening we returned to the petrified forest area and watched with a few other spectators for an hour or so yellow-eyed penguins[hoihoi]. They are extremely rare and shy and carefully protected. We looked at them thinking 'strange creatures';they appeared to be standing looking at us and thinking the same thing! Wonderful to see them in their natural environment.
We had hoped to see Sea Lions which appear here regularly but sadly not today.
Hector Dolphins come here to rear their young and one is able to swim and stand right next to them. They were clearly visible and are the smallest dolphins being about 3- 4 ft long. They are very rare and are heavily protected by the NZ authorities. There were a number of people swimming with the dolphins but most of them were wearing wet suits as the sea, even in the middle of summer, is perishing cold as the waters come straight from the Antarctic which is the nearest landmass south of where we are. There is an air of being at the world's end shamelessly exploited by the locals eg an art exhibition about to start called The Edge of the World Art Exhibition.
At the adjoining Curio Bay we explored a petrifed forest 170 million years old which is a left-over from the Jurassic Period and reckoned to be one of the world's oldest and the best! Intriguing to see the petrified tree stumps and the wood grain clearly showing.
As no restaurant here[ and for second day running no alcohol for sale!] we had spaghetti and tomato sauce. Early evening we returned to the petrified forest area and watched with a few other spectators for an hour or so yellow-eyed penguins[hoihoi]. They are extremely rare and shy and carefully protected. We looked at them thinking 'strange creatures';they appeared to be standing looking at us and thinking the same thing! Wonderful to see them in their natural environment.
We had hoped to see Sea Lions which appear here regularly but sadly not today.
Friday, February 1, 2013
1st Feb
What a difference a day makes! We awoke refreshed and had a great day's cycling. The route was quite hilly - at one point cycling along mile after mile in a beautiful valley sorrounded by hills but you know as a cyclist that this cannot last, that there is only one way through these hills and that is over them! As we puffed our way up one monster a young German on a scooter wheezed past, giving us the thumbs-up sign; he waited for us at the top[ that is why we knew he was German!], taking a photo as we approached. He had been in NZ for 6 months doing seasonal work and was now touring on his scooter.
The area we are cycling through is called the Catlins. It was first settled by European whalers in the mid-19th century. The hillsides are covered in podocarp forests and these fringe the beaches at Tahakopa Bay where we are staying and have tall Kahihatea, Totara, Rimn and Miro trees and right on the beach low trees like Rata, Kamahi, and Five-finger.
We stopped for coffee at Owaka[ in Maori meaning 'the place of the canoes] where there was a sign saying ' please remove sandy boots, dirty boots and smelly socks'. Like most settlements Owaka the principal town in the Catlins with a population of 395 has a museum .We enjoy wandering around these places which usually celebrate the early pioneer days from the mid 19th century. By and large the standards are good and we enjoy our pottering although we drew a line in Milton yesterday which has a Butchery Museum' celebrating 50 years of the butchery trade in the area'.. Then over a one track bridge over the Tahakopa River and onto Papatowai [Maori ' where the forest meets the sea'].We had a short walk from our motel onto the beach beside the river and then on to the Tahakopa Bay. Glorious weather and very hot weather. We ferreted amongst the rock pools and found a Paua shell plus several pieces of near-fossilised wood; how on earth we will fit them in the bike and get them home is another matter!
We rely a lot on info given out by the NZ Tourist Boards and their local counterparts but in their enthusiasm they sometimes go a bit too far; for example the leaflet promoting Clutha Country 'Did you know? There are only 2 sets of traffic lights in Clutha Country' Please!
The area we are cycling through is called the Catlins. It was first settled by European whalers in the mid-19th century. The hillsides are covered in podocarp forests and these fringe the beaches at Tahakopa Bay where we are staying and have tall Kahihatea, Totara, Rimn and Miro trees and right on the beach low trees like Rata, Kamahi, and Five-finger.
We stopped for coffee at Owaka[ in Maori meaning 'the place of the canoes] where there was a sign saying ' please remove sandy boots, dirty boots and smelly socks'. Like most settlements Owaka the principal town in the Catlins with a population of 395 has a museum .We enjoy wandering around these places which usually celebrate the early pioneer days from the mid 19th century. By and large the standards are good and we enjoy our pottering although we drew a line in Milton yesterday which has a Butchery Museum' celebrating 50 years of the butchery trade in the area'.. Then over a one track bridge over the Tahakopa River and onto Papatowai [Maori ' where the forest meets the sea'].We had a short walk from our motel onto the beach beside the river and then on to the Tahakopa Bay. Glorious weather and very hot weather. We ferreted amongst the rock pools and found a Paua shell plus several pieces of near-fossilised wood; how on earth we will fit them in the bike and get them home is another matter!
We rely a lot on info given out by the NZ Tourist Boards and their local counterparts but in their enthusiasm they sometimes go a bit too far; for example the leaflet promoting Clutha Country 'Did you know? There are only 2 sets of traffic lights in Clutha Country' Please!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)