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!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
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!
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.
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.
Monday, January 28, 2013
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.
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.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
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.
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.
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