Taking colds to Newcastle 11-15/05/06 We say our goodbyes to the hostel staff and head back into Central Sydney, we're going to cheat and take the train to Hornsby thereby avoiding the worst of Sydney's traffic. The Pacific Highway is a secondary road here as a freeway has been built next to it, so we get a quiet ride almost all the way to Gosford, although the bikes are rattling well under the strain of all the pot-holes. We meet two hills which we have been warned about, however we manage to ride up them both with a couple of recovery stops; they're not as steep as Kiwi hills. As we near Gosford, the road becomes busier and we seek refuge from the traffic on the combined footpath/cycleway. After a short distance having to regularly cross ... read more

Making all the right decisions 16-18/04/06 We have a choice when we leave Invercargill; we can take SH1 direct to Balclutha, a fairly flat and boring route on a quick road, or we can take the Southern Scenic Route through the Catlins, a much more interesting (and hilly) route. SH1 is the sensible choice as it will get us to Christchurch more quickly and we have a flight deadline. The first problem with the Southern Scenic Route is finding it! We cycle past the turning before looking back and seeing the route sign which has been thoughtfully placed on the southern approach, but not the northern one. Once on it we quickly leave Invercargill behind and ride through farmland on easy roads as far as Fortrose. At this point we can choose the inland route to ... read more

Mind the gap 19-23/03/06 We're off down the West Coast on State Highway 6, the road rolls gently for the first few miles, then we crawl up Costello Hill, before finding out what 40mph rain feels like freewheeling down the other side. We struggle over three more vicious hills and reach the sea, the views are amazing, beautiful little bays with waves rolling in; we want to live in every house we see. We reach Punakaiki in the late afternoon, our progress having been slowed by photo stops at every bay. The backpackers is full so we pitch the tent in their garden and say hello to the German guy from St Arnaud, again! The next morning we head for Greymouth, we're undecided if we will stop there or get as far as Hokitika, it all ... read more

Sorting the knee 05-09/03/06 The road to Wellington from National Park looks like a great riding route when the local plant life isn't horizontal and the weather isn't blowing "againsterlies" (we'd like to thank Wafflycat for that description). As it is we're sitting on the train admiring the views. On the morning of the 6th we head into Welly to shop for Sealskinz for Vern, they're waterproof socks which he can wear with his cycling sandals (yes, we know Socks And Sandals - the horror!). While we're in Pennyfarthing Cycles we start discussing my knee and are overheard by Shane who, with typical Kiwi recitence, takes over the conversation and convinces me to have a Cycle Surgery session this afternoon. Which is how, later on, I'm sat on my bike on a turbo trainer pedalling whilst ... read more

Frankly this is beginning to get a bit repetitive!! New Plymouth 08-15/02/06 We decide to take the Intercity bus to New Plymouth and then travel down to Wellington for a few days before heading back to Hamilton so that the next medic can give us his opinion about my knee. We are booked into the Sunflower Backpackers which is in the centre of New Plymouth, the place is okay, but by midnight we've had enough of the boy racers revving their engines outside the window and the high pitched shrieks of assorted, inebriated females; it has been a long bus ride today and we both want to sleep. In the morning we head to the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery which has a collection of Len Lye sculptures, they are great fun. We particularly like the circle of ... read more