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Published: March 12th 2006
Keep this quiet, but I think the Germans are planning to take over NZ!! They have an expeditionary force over here right now posing as tourists but I don't buy it. They are everywhere! Got to warn you this might get a little long cause we were out of the loop for a while. After kissing the sheep good-bye we left our paddock heading south for Papakure were we intended to quickly catch a bus for Taupo so we could watch the Ironman the next day. I won't bore you with the details but it was one of those days when not one thing goes your way. We arrived in Taupo at 1:30 am found a campsite and crashed. Got up the next day to 65Km winds from the south ( south = Cold ) and found out that the Ironman was almost canceled due to weather. As it was they dropped the swim and cut the bike and run portions in half. There were people there from 40+ countries, you haven't seen so many disappointed people. Our second day there we biked to Huka falls and hiked to the Hot Spring stream. It's a natural hot spring that flows into
the Waikato river north of Taupo and was it perfect! We came back that night because we had time to kill before we caught our 1:05 am bus to Wellington. After 10:00 pm the rain quit, the stars came out and most of the other tourists left us to enjoy the pools in peace. A must do if ever in the area. We arrived at the ferry in the morning and we're off for the South island. The ferry ride is supposed to be one of the best in the world but it was hard for me to tell when my weak stomach kicked in. Vicki came to my rescue with some seasickness pills in the nick of time. After spending a couple days at our arrival point in Picton we were both anxious to actually begin our cycling. We kept the amount of distance covered per day low in order to ease into things but a monster (Sask standards) climb out of Blenheim on our second day was a humbling experience. On our third night out of Picton we stopped at a beautiful cyclist hostel ( it's no Best Western, Swift Current though!) on a farm along the coast
called Peddalers Rest. Vicki enjoyed the afternoon visiting and reading while I went on a side trip up the valley to Sawcut Gorge ( thanks for that Jim!). Beautiful tramp but brother those roads were not ment for a road bike! I had to pull out the Freddy Flinstone brake a couple times. When I arrived at Blue Mountain farm, (from which you begin the trek), walking my bike down the too steep gravel road, the lady of the house actually started laughing at me and said," Aren't you keen!". I was surprised ( or not? ) to find out that her husband was just visiting his brother in Pense, SK! The next day ( today) was our first long day @ 80 km along a "flat" stretch of coastal highway and it was a beaut. Tailwind, sun sand, mountains and seals. Besides the truck traffic it was perfect. We're now in Kaikoura for a couple days to go whale watching and maybe go swimming with the dolphins or in a shark cage and rest the bum. Take care all. Here's Vicki.
Hey guys! Just a quick personal note from me. Who knew a man of few words and who
types with two fingers could say so much. ha ha ha! Glad to see you are enjoying the blog and thanks to you who have left comments. Its great to hear from you all. Thanks to brett setting this up we will be able to stay in great touch quite easily.
Take care miss you all,
vicki and brett
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Mark & Laura
non-member comment
Looking good guys
Hey guys, looks like your having a great trip so far. Beautiful scenery in your pictures. Glad to see your enjoying yourselves. Thanks for keeping us up on your travels, we'll be watching . Take care, and have fun!!