The next couple of days were a mixture of chilling out and putting the bikes back together after they had been boxed up for the flight from NZ. The trusty Surly bikes (which have now done getting on for 2500km since we started), seemed to have survived the flight okay but taking them apart seems to mess up the gear and brake cabling so we took the assembled bikes down to the bike shop in Folsom for a professional check up and retune. The shop was brilliant and the bikes are currently riding better than ever - really smooth and trustworthy gear changes; makes such a difference.
With the bikes sorted we turned to our next experience - skiing in the Mountains by Lake Tahoe. Mike and Pete are very good skiers and Loeki is pretty good too, so we all headed off to the slopes on a Wednesday (or was it Tuesday...?). The Sierra resort is a one and a half hour drive from Folsom on the Interstate 80. Snow-falls across the US have been really heavy (except in most of CA and Florida) and the conditions were night on perfect - cool, sunny, quiet. Pete is a very good skier and has taken a range of advanced courses and was able to give us some simple but really useful tips to improve our skiing. A couple of changes to the way we do things has enabled us to take a step forward which was great. All the facilities were really good - Caroline was particularly chuffed with the gentleness and relative calm of the chair lifts. We returned back to Watson Towers tired but happy with no major ski incidents to report.
The next couple of days involved more chilling out and catching up. We did about 20km of cycling around the Folsom Lake and American River. The traffic free track is a dream to cycle and we agreed to do more after we had returned from further skiing adventures.
For the forthcoming weekend the Mike and Stacey had rented a big Cabin on the shores of Lake Tahoe and a short distance from the North Star resort that we were going to use. Terry and Erin arrived from Washington and Zach a friend of Vince's and Max joined us to complete the party. The only fly in the ointment was that Mike had been struck down with severe back pain and was unable to do any skiing! This was a real shame as the weekend had been planned for a while and we know he was really looking forward to it and we missed him on the slopes. But even though North Star was really busy the skiing was great and we managed 4 full days of constant skiing and with further help from Pete we continued to improve. Caroline did not fall once...Mark at least twice a day, mainly from standing still!
On one evening we lit the big log fire and all sat down to watch the Full Monty, and it was great to re-connect with a slice of England albeit a hyper real slice. It did not inspire any male stripping in our party, though. For another night we all went to a great restaurant called Spindleshanks. The views and environment around Lake Tahoe are really fine and we had a front row view of it all so we will be forever appreciative of Mike and Stacey's kindness in setting up the weekend. All of the party had to leave on the Sunday and so we got a night in the Cabin to ourselves; while we missed everyone else it was good to have the place to ourselves. We were intrigued to read about the arrangements for the trash when we were preparing to leave; they are subject to all sorts of security because we were advised that there were "bears in the area".
The drive back to Folsom was a bit nerve wracking as the snow started to fall heavily. We just escaped the worst of it which would have required us to put chains on the car wheels.....also we had sandwiches in the car and were a bit concerned about the bears! The route also took us through Donner Pass which in the old wild west days was the scene of a cannibal survival story involving the Donner family wagon train which got stuck in the snow in the pass...ho hum.
We spent another couple of lovely days chilling and chatting in Watson towers, taking it in turns to cook meals and going to watch Max and Vince play indoor soccer games.
Saturday, 5 March 2011
Friday, 4 March 2011
California Dreaming..in Watson Towers
Los Angeles
Since we did our 'Goats' blog over a month ago this is the 3rd new segment to be added - check out the previous two if the last one you read was entitled Goats.
Our flight to the US passed off without incident. The plane was not full so we had a bit of space to stretch out a bit. We sniffed and examnined the new 777 plane as advised by our hispanic greeter (see previous posting)...we thought the older planes that we had flown on before were more comfortable with a tiny bit more space...still no complaints Air NZ a really good carrier.
US customs were fine. It was a bit odd to be fingerprinted but on the up side our bikes and luggage passed through without a hitch. We found a cheap shuttle to take us to the Hyatt in Orange County (near Anaheim/Disneyland). The hotel was pretty good; we got upgraded so we had a room that was bigger than our old flat in Newquay. We were not particularly jet lagged so we used the time to contact Mike (Wink) Watson an old school friend of Mark's who has built a great life for himself and his family in Sacramento. We hunted around for info on cycling in California but there is no one comprehensive publication that can function like our Lonely Planet Guide to NZ. Internet access in the US without a lap top or smart phone is often extortionate eg 8 dollars for first 10 minutes then 50 cents for every minute after that. So using the internet was not really an easy option to do our research.
We also used the time to score a car rental. We are currently driving a Chevy Cobalt which we got a good deal on. We had forgotten that most cars in US are automatics. Mark caused deep concern at the Enterprise garage when he was spotted kangarooing around the car park (in the car, not on his own!) - so the oppo's advised him to use only his right foot to work both the brake and accelerator and refused to brief him about all options on the gear box advising him to stick to just park, drive, reverse and neutral. He kangaroo'd off down the boulevard much to the consternation of the worried looking rental staff who all came out of the office to watch him 'drive' away.
As urban myth suggests hardly anyone walks in LA/OC. We walked 5 miles to the nearest big mall/bookshop and stopped for directions occasionally and at one point managed to command the attention and concern of a full Starbucks.
After having got our bearings and our wheels we headed north toward Sacramento. Its a big drive so we stopped in the Paso Robles area - heart of wine country in between LA and San Francisco. This allowed us to get off Highway 5 which is such a boring road. A lot of CA roads are not in good condition either. We had a look at nearby San Luis Obispo and Avilla Beach. Its the end of winter here so everything a bit quiet and bare but you can still see how lovely these areas will be the rest of the year. We then finished the journey to Sacramento. The width, volume and speed of traffic of the roads in urban areas takes some getting used to. Still the weather was pretty good and we arrived at Watson Towers in El Dorado county just outside Folsom as dusk fell. Mike/Wink has done really well in CA, his success in building IT service businesses has allowed him and Stacey to build a dream home which sits hacienda like atop a quiet community overlooking Lake Folsom. Very impressive. Its over 6 years since we last saw one another and longer since we saw Stacey and the kids - Max and Vince - so it was great to see everyone. Caroline's ears pricked up when she heard some woofing - and was delighted to find that the Watsons have two fabulous hounds called Winston and Bentley. All was well. The Watsons also had some other guests - Peter and Loeki Maddra and their son Gregory - and it was lovely to meet them and spend time with them. The short term plan was to set up for the Super Bowl Party the next day, drink some wine, plan some skiing by the mountains in near Lake Tahoe, drink some wine and then drink some more wine...
The House is large enough to have a space that is modeled on a lounge in an english pub. As this was fitted out with a beer keg and massive TV screen along with the kitchen it became the focii of the super bowl party the next day. Lots of the Watson;s family friends appeared who were incredibly friendly. An added bonus was that several of them knew of good cycling routes in the area. Instructions were scribbled on coasters only to be indecipherable the next day. In the super bowl game the Green Bay Packers won a tight game against the Steelers who made a strong come back in the second half. We met quite a lot of people at the party and cannot remember everyone's names, but thanks all the same to them for their friendliness. The night ended with several games of 'name that tune and artist' using streamed music over the house wide-system - Mark won the final game by recognising a song by the Pointers sisters. A bit of good natured joshing and competitiveness was involved (Caroline remarking that all that useless music trivia had at last come in useful!).
Since we did our 'Goats' blog over a month ago this is the 3rd new segment to be added - check out the previous two if the last one you read was entitled Goats.
Our flight to the US passed off without incident. The plane was not full so we had a bit of space to stretch out a bit. We sniffed and examnined the new 777 plane as advised by our hispanic greeter (see previous posting)...we thought the older planes that we had flown on before were more comfortable with a tiny bit more space...still no complaints Air NZ a really good carrier.
US customs were fine. It was a bit odd to be fingerprinted but on the up side our bikes and luggage passed through without a hitch. We found a cheap shuttle to take us to the Hyatt in Orange County (near Anaheim/Disneyland). The hotel was pretty good; we got upgraded so we had a room that was bigger than our old flat in Newquay. We were not particularly jet lagged so we used the time to contact Mike (Wink) Watson an old school friend of Mark's who has built a great life for himself and his family in Sacramento. We hunted around for info on cycling in California but there is no one comprehensive publication that can function like our Lonely Planet Guide to NZ. Internet access in the US without a lap top or smart phone is often extortionate eg 8 dollars for first 10 minutes then 50 cents for every minute after that. So using the internet was not really an easy option to do our research.
We also used the time to score a car rental. We are currently driving a Chevy Cobalt which we got a good deal on. We had forgotten that most cars in US are automatics. Mark caused deep concern at the Enterprise garage when he was spotted kangarooing around the car park (in the car, not on his own!) - so the oppo's advised him to use only his right foot to work both the brake and accelerator and refused to brief him about all options on the gear box advising him to stick to just park, drive, reverse and neutral. He kangaroo'd off down the boulevard much to the consternation of the worried looking rental staff who all came out of the office to watch him 'drive' away.
As urban myth suggests hardly anyone walks in LA/OC. We walked 5 miles to the nearest big mall/bookshop and stopped for directions occasionally and at one point managed to command the attention and concern of a full Starbucks.
After having got our bearings and our wheels we headed north toward Sacramento. Its a big drive so we stopped in the Paso Robles area - heart of wine country in between LA and San Francisco. This allowed us to get off Highway 5 which is such a boring road. A lot of CA roads are not in good condition either. We had a look at nearby San Luis Obispo and Avilla Beach. Its the end of winter here so everything a bit quiet and bare but you can still see how lovely these areas will be the rest of the year. We then finished the journey to Sacramento. The width, volume and speed of traffic of the roads in urban areas takes some getting used to. Still the weather was pretty good and we arrived at Watson Towers in El Dorado county just outside Folsom as dusk fell. Mike/Wink has done really well in CA, his success in building IT service businesses has allowed him and Stacey to build a dream home which sits hacienda like atop a quiet community overlooking Lake Folsom. Very impressive. Its over 6 years since we last saw one another and longer since we saw Stacey and the kids - Max and Vince - so it was great to see everyone. Caroline's ears pricked up when she heard some woofing - and was delighted to find that the Watsons have two fabulous hounds called Winston and Bentley. All was well. The Watsons also had some other guests - Peter and Loeki Maddra and their son Gregory - and it was lovely to meet them and spend time with them. The short term plan was to set up for the Super Bowl Party the next day, drink some wine, plan some skiing by the mountains in near Lake Tahoe, drink some wine and then drink some more wine...
The House is large enough to have a space that is modeled on a lounge in an english pub. As this was fitted out with a beer keg and massive TV screen along with the kitchen it became the focii of the super bowl party the next day. Lots of the Watson;s family friends appeared who were incredibly friendly. An added bonus was that several of them knew of good cycling routes in the area. Instructions were scribbled on coasters only to be indecipherable the next day. In the super bowl game the Green Bay Packers won a tight game against the Steelers who made a strong come back in the second half. We met quite a lot of people at the party and cannot remember everyone's names, but thanks all the same to them for their friendliness. The night ended with several games of 'name that tune and artist' using streamed music over the house wide-system - Mark won the final game by recognising a song by the Pointers sisters. A bit of good natured joshing and competitiveness was involved (Caroline remarking that all that useless music trivia had at last come in useful!).
Thursday, 3 March 2011
So Long Summit
Two months in NZ...must be Queenstown
Queenstown is the adventure capital of NZ - if you raise your eyes to roof level or up to the skyline you can usually see a kiwi at altitude - often secured to a bungy chord, parachute or sometimes with no attachment whatsoever. Mostly they are preparing to chuck themselves off, but sometimes they just seem to like the height!
We liked Queenstown a lot, despite its trendiness - the setting is stunning; its a combination of Keswick and Fort William with a bit of South Kensington stirred in. We say its definitely one of the places we would head back to if we return to NZ at any point (along with Kerikeri, Devonport, Coromandel, Wellington coast line, Kaikoura and Akoroa) and wished we had had more than 4 nights there. We were able to find a really fine noodle bar and a first rate chippy (ah the simple pleasures).
Our plan was to finish our stay in the very South of New Zealand with at least one really big climb on the bike. We had our eye on two possible climbs ie into Milford Sound and/or over Crown Range. As we only had 3 full days in Queenstown we chose the biggest climb over the highest sealed road in NZ - Crown Range. We climbed to over 1000 metres it was a long hot day in the saddle but we managed it after a few stops for oxygen and CPR. There are of course much bigger climbs in the Alps and Pyrenees (not to mention the Andes, Rockies and Himalaya's) but we could not have gone higher in NZ on a sealed road. We were well chuffed. We were the only cyclists on the moutain that day. On our out and back ride stopped briefly at a little place called Arrowtown (in gold rush country). This is a really charming little place and again we said we would have liked to spend more time there.
While in Queenstown we stayed at another Top Ten site; on our second day there we spotted the German couple that we had met on a hill top in Wanganui. They looked terrifically fit. Apart from Mark calling out
"4-1, Geof Hurst and long live sterling" from behind bushes, we avoided any contact with them. Seriously if they had cycled the length of the South Island they had done really, really well - very impressive.
We used our last full day in Queenstown to go and have a look at Milford Sound, a fabled vista and area in Fjiordland on the South West Corner of NZ. We think the area was heavily featured in Lord of the Rings movies. We decided to fly their and take a day cruise as to drive would have been over 10 hours in the car. We booked a place on a small charter plane, only to be advised later on in the day that because of weather coming in we would not have time to do the cruise. This put most other people off and the we were the only two people who turned up. Hank the boss man paired us up with Rupert the pilot - who looked about 16 - and we strapped ourselves in to a well worn Cesna prop plane.Rupert was great. Everything was going well until after about 20 minutes into the flight the horizon darkened notably and turbulence hit us big time and Hank came on the radio saying that we had to come back . The weather had deteriortated markedly and it was impossible to proceed. Sad. Still we got a full refund which was great and we got to fly over the Queenstown area and had a good luck for orks and hobbits.
From Queenstown we drove the long west coast route back to Blenhiem; it was a massive drive in terrible weather. We took that route because we wanted to see the glaciers on the West coast. We stopped briefly at Fox's glacier. We had a quick lick to see if it was minty and scouted for urbane Polar Bears but it was too cold and wet to stay long - it was an impressive apocalyptic site; very, very cold in surrounds of relentless mist and grey and white slabs of ice and rock.
We stayed in Blenheim and apart from one incident of spectacularly ugly bit of manouvering by a fellow driver off the ferry we had an uneventful crossing to Wellington the next day. We headed for New Plymouth to look at Mt Taranaki and possibly ride a route around it. The moutain is impressive, similar in profile to Mt Fuji or Kilimanjaro but not as high. The wind during our stay there was ferocious and at the visitor centre there were warnings for hurricane like blasts toward the summit. We mooched up to the viewing platform on foot but that was as far as we could go.
The site where we stayed was choc full of people with push bikes and we found out from our neighbour that the ride we had planned to do was the basis for a very big and organised public cycling event. We were tempted to enter but the roads were not closed to traffic and the wind was horrendous. We opted not to join in - our neighbour thought we made a good choice as he said that the riders - even the pro;s - said they had never cycled in anything like it.
We drove from New Plymouth to Devonport. On the way we took a detour to Raglan, the Newquay of NZ. We only stayed briefly as it was heaving but it seemed like a pretty chilled place.
We stayed a couple of nights with Gwenda and Pete at Ducks Crossing Cottage and met a range of fellow travellers - really good people. We took the bikes to bits (needed some help from the local bike shop to loosen the pedals) and packed them up. We dropped all our stuff off at the airport, took the hire car back (no damage or probs - hurrah!). Air New Zealand people were A1 giving us advice on how to adjust our packing and luggage to avoid extra costs. Whilst waiting to board the flight to LA we were addressed by a very excited hispanic NZ oppo who reminded us on several occassions that we were about to board a new 777 and how fab this was; on one occassion he invited us to "sniff" the plane !
Goodbye and thankyou NZ - you were good to us and your people were friendly and kind. Your country is beautiful and your weather was fab.(although we reckon that the UK can still give NZ a run for its money!). You health service was fab too. However we will not miss all your adverts on TV - Dick Smith, Noel Leeming, and co. - and your sandflies, and the price of your wine. Meer quibbles.
Queenstown is the adventure capital of NZ - if you raise your eyes to roof level or up to the skyline you can usually see a kiwi at altitude - often secured to a bungy chord, parachute or sometimes with no attachment whatsoever. Mostly they are preparing to chuck themselves off, but sometimes they just seem to like the height!
We liked Queenstown a lot, despite its trendiness - the setting is stunning; its a combination of Keswick and Fort William with a bit of South Kensington stirred in. We say its definitely one of the places we would head back to if we return to NZ at any point (along with Kerikeri, Devonport, Coromandel, Wellington coast line, Kaikoura and Akoroa) and wished we had had more than 4 nights there. We were able to find a really fine noodle bar and a first rate chippy (ah the simple pleasures).
Our plan was to finish our stay in the very South of New Zealand with at least one really big climb on the bike. We had our eye on two possible climbs ie into Milford Sound and/or over Crown Range. As we only had 3 full days in Queenstown we chose the biggest climb over the highest sealed road in NZ - Crown Range. We climbed to over 1000 metres it was a long hot day in the saddle but we managed it after a few stops for oxygen and CPR. There are of course much bigger climbs in the Alps and Pyrenees (not to mention the Andes, Rockies and Himalaya's) but we could not have gone higher in NZ on a sealed road. We were well chuffed. We were the only cyclists on the moutain that day. On our out and back ride stopped briefly at a little place called Arrowtown (in gold rush country). This is a really charming little place and again we said we would have liked to spend more time there.
While in Queenstown we stayed at another Top Ten site; on our second day there we spotted the German couple that we had met on a hill top in Wanganui. They looked terrifically fit. Apart from Mark calling out
"4-1, Geof Hurst and long live sterling" from behind bushes, we avoided any contact with them. Seriously if they had cycled the length of the South Island they had done really, really well - very impressive.
We used our last full day in Queenstown to go and have a look at Milford Sound, a fabled vista and area in Fjiordland on the South West Corner of NZ. We think the area was heavily featured in Lord of the Rings movies. We decided to fly their and take a day cruise as to drive would have been over 10 hours in the car. We booked a place on a small charter plane, only to be advised later on in the day that because of weather coming in we would not have time to do the cruise. This put most other people off and the we were the only two people who turned up. Hank the boss man paired us up with Rupert the pilot - who looked about 16 - and we strapped ourselves in to a well worn Cesna prop plane.Rupert was great. Everything was going well until after about 20 minutes into the flight the horizon darkened notably and turbulence hit us big time and Hank came on the radio saying that we had to come back . The weather had deteriortated markedly and it was impossible to proceed. Sad. Still we got a full refund which was great and we got to fly over the Queenstown area and had a good luck for orks and hobbits.
From Queenstown we drove the long west coast route back to Blenhiem; it was a massive drive in terrible weather. We took that route because we wanted to see the glaciers on the West coast. We stopped briefly at Fox's glacier. We had a quick lick to see if it was minty and scouted for urbane Polar Bears but it was too cold and wet to stay long - it was an impressive apocalyptic site; very, very cold in surrounds of relentless mist and grey and white slabs of ice and rock.
We stayed in Blenheim and apart from one incident of spectacularly ugly bit of manouvering by a fellow driver off the ferry we had an uneventful crossing to Wellington the next day. We headed for New Plymouth to look at Mt Taranaki and possibly ride a route around it. The moutain is impressive, similar in profile to Mt Fuji or Kilimanjaro but not as high. The wind during our stay there was ferocious and at the visitor centre there were warnings for hurricane like blasts toward the summit. We mooched up to the viewing platform on foot but that was as far as we could go.
The site where we stayed was choc full of people with push bikes and we found out from our neighbour that the ride we had planned to do was the basis for a very big and organised public cycling event. We were tempted to enter but the roads were not closed to traffic and the wind was horrendous. We opted not to join in - our neighbour thought we made a good choice as he said that the riders - even the pro;s - said they had never cycled in anything like it.
We drove from New Plymouth to Devonport. On the way we took a detour to Raglan, the Newquay of NZ. We only stayed briefly as it was heaving but it seemed like a pretty chilled place.
We stayed a couple of nights with Gwenda and Pete at Ducks Crossing Cottage and met a range of fellow travellers - really good people. We took the bikes to bits (needed some help from the local bike shop to loosen the pedals) and packed them up. We dropped all our stuff off at the airport, took the hire car back (no damage or probs - hurrah!). Air New Zealand people were A1 giving us advice on how to adjust our packing and luggage to avoid extra costs. Whilst waiting to board the flight to LA we were addressed by a very excited hispanic NZ oppo who reminded us on several occassions that we were about to board a new 777 and how fab this was; on one occassion he invited us to "sniff" the plane !
Goodbye and thankyou NZ - you were good to us and your people were friendly and kind. Your country is beautiful and your weather was fab.(although we reckon that the UK can still give NZ a run for its money!). You health service was fab too. However we will not miss all your adverts on TV - Dick Smith, Noel Leeming, and co. - and your sandflies, and the price of your wine. Meer quibbles.
Ocean Turkeys and Sore Bums
An apology to our reader...sorry for the delay in organising this post, it has been several weeks since our last blog and these are our modest adventures....
Since we last blogged we have spent a few days in Dunedin in NZ and then moved on to our final destinations in NZ which included Queenstown. From there we drove over 700 miles back to Blenheim/Picton to get the ferry back to Wellington on the North Island. From their we went to New Plymouth, where we stayed a couple of nights and from there we drove to Devonport on the outskirts of Aukland to await our flight to Los Angeles.USA. We are composing this blog in San Diego but more about the USA leg of our trip later.
Dunedin
Had a few days of bad weather here but on the couple of goodish days we tackled two demanding rides. Dunedin has a bit of a Celtic flavour (eg lots of references to Robbie Burns) and we are reminded of Scottish cities particulary as the weather was a bit overcast and grey. It is an extremely hilly little coastal city - boasting the steepest street in the world and just riding around the city we found quite demanding. Some of the drivers in Dunedin felt like the most hostile and inconsiderate in NZ.
In the introduction to Our Lonely Planet guide to cycling in NZ the author highlights the Otaga/Dunedin penninsular ride as his pick of all the rides covered in the book. So we did that one. We were not dissapointed. The road was a total of 70km of excursion - out and back - along the coast mainly by the sea. It took us to two bird sanctuaries, one for rare blue eyed penguins and the second for Royal Southern Albatrosses. We came to the conclusion that NZers have kidnapped all rare penguins on their coasts and are holding them ransom and that the penquins have developed Hearst syndrome. We found it impossible to see penguins in the wild and each sanctuary costs $40 dollars or more to get a squint of a penguin - $40 buys a lot of sardines so we would expect the penguins to be thriving...probably explains why they are reluctant to organise a break out. Caroline particular dischuffed about 'bogus' penguins, coming to the conclusion that they might not really exist as they are so difficult to find/see. The price and time constraints meant that we opted to see the Albatrosses. These are mightily impressive specimens and we were unprepared for their size. They have wing spans of up to 3.5m and weigh anything up to 2 stones - veritable ocean turkeys. We learned a lot about the birds but rather than put all the details here we can spiel them to anyone interested when we get home.
The return ride home was marred by a break to Marks chain, but we were better prepared following our Kaikoura incident and it only cost us 20 minutes.
The other ride that we tackled was a 11 hour monster which Caroline hated almost from its start.....lots of the NZers that we spoke to about our cycling ambitions urged us to try the Otago rail trail which runs an 160km from Clyde (west) to a place called Middlemarch (east), telling us that it was a dream to ride. On paper it is an attractive proposition because it takes riders on an auto free route through some stunning countryside which used to be for steam trains. We decided to drive 80km to Middlemarch from Dunedin with the bikes and then get a bus from Middlemarch to Clyde and cycle back from there to the car etc. Mark went to buy the tickets for the bus portion of the trip at the tourist office. In making polite conversation the tourist oppo asked about the purpose of our bus trip and then our plans for the trail. He asked how many days we would take to ride it and where were we staying along the way. He took a sip of his coffee at that point. When we explained that we were going to do it in a day he managed in one movement to look Mark up and down and choke on his coffee. Caroline now looked worried. The tourist oppo explained that most people took 3 days to do the trail and that once you are on it places to stop and refresh etc are sometimes 30 and 40km apart. Mark did the maths and reckoned that a speed of 15km for 11 hours of cycling would complete the trip - no problem as long as we set off early enough and had appropriate bike lighting, clothing and supplies and spares. Carolines doubts grew.
The next day saw us get up and drive to Middlemarch without a problem and we arrived to catch the chartered minibus to Clyde. There were not many people on the bus and only a couple of werewolves...seriously when we again explained our plans the bus went silent and Caroline went grey...the bus driver kindly managed the verbal equivalent of taking Mark aside to advise him that trying the full trail in one day was not a good idea. His key point being that its a long way! It was becoming apparant at this stage that no one we had talked to had actually cycled for any distance on the trail. We did however err on the side of divorce and caution and cut the distance by 40km and were dropped off before Clyde by the trail in the middle of nowhere, the minibus tore off on two wheels in a black haze of exhaust fumes and burning rubber with the driver giving himself the sign of the cross. The driver had found a really good map of the trail which included a proper altitude profile for us - which we had been unable to get and it showed that over the first 80km of the trailo it rose to about 700m which is a lot of steady uphill and explained why notices on the trail advised riders that the average speed of cyclists is 10-15km per hour. By shortening the first section of the ride we got rid of 40km of distance and climbing. The other point that commentators fail to mention is the very poor quality of the ride surface, its either like riding over cobbles or through sand. Dentists should sponsor this route.The under tyre conditions are what Caroline hated most - 40km of steady climbing over really unstable surfaces is not fun particularly if you are feeling some time pressure. Anyways to cut a long story short we completed the ride at about 9.30.pm after setting off at about 11am. It was a significant achievement for us but not much fun. There were no injuries but two very sore bums and lots of aching joints and muscles.
From Dunedin we drove to Queenstown - a spectacular drive.We really liked Queenstown.
Since we last blogged we have spent a few days in Dunedin in NZ and then moved on to our final destinations in NZ which included Queenstown. From there we drove over 700 miles back to Blenheim/Picton to get the ferry back to Wellington on the North Island. From their we went to New Plymouth, where we stayed a couple of nights and from there we drove to Devonport on the outskirts of Aukland to await our flight to Los Angeles.USA. We are composing this blog in San Diego but more about the USA leg of our trip later.
Dunedin
Had a few days of bad weather here but on the couple of goodish days we tackled two demanding rides. Dunedin has a bit of a Celtic flavour (eg lots of references to Robbie Burns) and we are reminded of Scottish cities particulary as the weather was a bit overcast and grey. It is an extremely hilly little coastal city - boasting the steepest street in the world and just riding around the city we found quite demanding. Some of the drivers in Dunedin felt like the most hostile and inconsiderate in NZ.
In the introduction to Our Lonely Planet guide to cycling in NZ the author highlights the Otaga/Dunedin penninsular ride as his pick of all the rides covered in the book. So we did that one. We were not dissapointed. The road was a total of 70km of excursion - out and back - along the coast mainly by the sea. It took us to two bird sanctuaries, one for rare blue eyed penguins and the second for Royal Southern Albatrosses. We came to the conclusion that NZers have kidnapped all rare penguins on their coasts and are holding them ransom and that the penquins have developed Hearst syndrome. We found it impossible to see penguins in the wild and each sanctuary costs $40 dollars or more to get a squint of a penguin - $40 buys a lot of sardines so we would expect the penguins to be thriving...probably explains why they are reluctant to organise a break out. Caroline particular dischuffed about 'bogus' penguins, coming to the conclusion that they might not really exist as they are so difficult to find/see. The price and time constraints meant that we opted to see the Albatrosses. These are mightily impressive specimens and we were unprepared for their size. They have wing spans of up to 3.5m and weigh anything up to 2 stones - veritable ocean turkeys. We learned a lot about the birds but rather than put all the details here we can spiel them to anyone interested when we get home.
The return ride home was marred by a break to Marks chain, but we were better prepared following our Kaikoura incident and it only cost us 20 minutes.
The other ride that we tackled was a 11 hour monster which Caroline hated almost from its start.....lots of the NZers that we spoke to about our cycling ambitions urged us to try the Otago rail trail which runs an 160km from Clyde (west) to a place called Middlemarch (east), telling us that it was a dream to ride. On paper it is an attractive proposition because it takes riders on an auto free route through some stunning countryside which used to be for steam trains. We decided to drive 80km to Middlemarch from Dunedin with the bikes and then get a bus from Middlemarch to Clyde and cycle back from there to the car etc. Mark went to buy the tickets for the bus portion of the trip at the tourist office. In making polite conversation the tourist oppo asked about the purpose of our bus trip and then our plans for the trail. He asked how many days we would take to ride it and where were we staying along the way. He took a sip of his coffee at that point. When we explained that we were going to do it in a day he managed in one movement to look Mark up and down and choke on his coffee. Caroline now looked worried. The tourist oppo explained that most people took 3 days to do the trail and that once you are on it places to stop and refresh etc are sometimes 30 and 40km apart. Mark did the maths and reckoned that a speed of 15km for 11 hours of cycling would complete the trip - no problem as long as we set off early enough and had appropriate bike lighting, clothing and supplies and spares. Carolines doubts grew.
The next day saw us get up and drive to Middlemarch without a problem and we arrived to catch the chartered minibus to Clyde. There were not many people on the bus and only a couple of werewolves...seriously when we again explained our plans the bus went silent and Caroline went grey...the bus driver kindly managed the verbal equivalent of taking Mark aside to advise him that trying the full trail in one day was not a good idea. His key point being that its a long way! It was becoming apparant at this stage that no one we had talked to had actually cycled for any distance on the trail. We did however err on the side of divorce and caution and cut the distance by 40km and were dropped off before Clyde by the trail in the middle of nowhere, the minibus tore off on two wheels in a black haze of exhaust fumes and burning rubber with the driver giving himself the sign of the cross. The driver had found a really good map of the trail which included a proper altitude profile for us - which we had been unable to get and it showed that over the first 80km of the trailo it rose to about 700m which is a lot of steady uphill and explained why notices on the trail advised riders that the average speed of cyclists is 10-15km per hour. By shortening the first section of the ride we got rid of 40km of distance and climbing. The other point that commentators fail to mention is the very poor quality of the ride surface, its either like riding over cobbles or through sand. Dentists should sponsor this route.The under tyre conditions are what Caroline hated most - 40km of steady climbing over really unstable surfaces is not fun particularly if you are feeling some time pressure. Anyways to cut a long story short we completed the ride at about 9.30.pm after setting off at about 11am. It was a significant achievement for us but not much fun. There were no injuries but two very sore bums and lots of aching joints and muscles.
From Dunedin we drove to Queenstown - a spectacular drive.We really liked Queenstown.
Monday, 17 January 2011
Goats...
We are updating the blog from Dunedin which is a long way south on the South Island of NZ. Since we last blogged we have stayed on several holiday camps and crossed on the ferry to the South Island. The other places we have visited are:
No major disasters have befallen us - although there was a minor earthquake tremor in Christchurch over Christmas, but we missed that thank goodness (no casualties either) - and we have continued to tackle ever more challenging bike rides. Generally the weather has been very kind and we cannot remember experiencing such an extended period of sunshine. Since we have been in NZ we have had perhaps one full day of rain, its been warm and sunny pretty much everyday. Our trip to see whales has probably been our most exciting and noteworthy event..more about this and our bike rides later.
Wanganui (or is it Whanganui?)
We spent a low key Christmas by the river bank in Wanganui in a Top 10 holiday park. We usually rent a self contained cabin on one of their sites which has all we need. The discounted rates - based on a cheap membership scheme- are reasonable and the sites are clean, quiet and well managed. Kiwis are pretty much to a man and woman, very friendly and Wanganui was no exception.
On Christmas day we went for a 30km bike ride along the river and out to the coast. We were looking for a nice bar and to raise wine glasses to absent family and friends, but the area was as quiet as the grave. So we returned to the cabin, prepared a traditional Christmas dinner there and toasted all and sundry with a glass of NZ fizz. We traded some modest presents and were enjoying a placid if slightly dislocated Christmas moment, pondering the contrast between our sunny quiet circs compared with the highly social and hectic time we usually have in UK, when we noticed that someone had set up their tent in the path of the sites tethered goat (which we had named Graham); the campers were however nowhere to be seen. Caroline had had mixed attempts to befriend Graham. On one occasion he had not hesitated to take shortbread of her, on another he had butted her when she offered biscotti and also broccoli stalks (which he did eventually eat). As we considered the advisability of pitching a tent in his path, Graham's tether was becoming entangled with the tent's guy ropes. Mark went to advise the staff of the situation, in the meantime Graham had taken to butting the tent and his horns had begun to rip the tent to shreds. When advised of the situation the receptionist giggled and quickly advised her managers of the situation - we had a sense that Graham is often at the centre of kerfuffles. A small group of staff with a 4WD and trailer arrived to tackle Graham and were slightly confused when we started talking about 'Graham'. In any event after several unsuccessful gentle efforts to tempt Graham on to the trailer he was firmly pushed and lifted on. As the track around the site is designed for safety it meant that Graham had to be driven the circumference of the place - it looked like he was doing a lap of honour - head in the air, standing tall. It left us wondering just how many similar incidents Graham had been involved with. We were sorry to see him go. The campers were given complementary cabins.
We subsequently learned that a goats most favoured food is custard creams!?
While at Wanganui we tackled a 40km ride which took in the start of the remote Wanganui River Road. We snaked up a hill of about 200m. At the top of the climb we were able to recover at a spectacular viewing point. We were joined by a German couple who were touring. They had tackled the hill fully loaded and so had done pretty well. These sorts of encounters are always a little awkward because unless you are a dick you don't want to share stories in a competitive manner so we did not mention the war and headed off back to Wanganui while they looked for a spot to wild camp (much to the grumpiness of Mrs German who clearly envied the comfort of our holiday camp).
Wellington
From Wanganui we headed for Wellington, the political capital of NZ. The road journey was bedevilled by high winds and torrential rain which nearly blew the bikes off the car rack. We stopped to restrap them, leaving the lights and the hazhards on for safety but in 10 minutes these flattened the battery so we had to call out the AA and they sorted us out.
We generally select cycling routes from Lonely Planet cycling guide to NZ. Once you get used to the density of information and take the plunge and use the guide carefully it becomes invaluable. We chose a couple of routes around Wellington that were very enjoyable - the scenic route which takes you all around the shoreline (about 40km) was pretty good. Wellington's harbour and shoreline area is pretty impressive - just the right blend of development, commerce, leisure and residential buildings. We were warned by numerous signs to be careful of penguins crossing the roads - this marked the beginning of our mission to spot some wild penguins ; so far this has been frustratingly unsuccessful but for Caroline is developing into a mild obsession.
While in Wellington we got the ferry across the harbour and booked a deferred New Years meal at a fab restaurant in a suburb called Eastbourne. Again a really lovely area. We also cycled along that bit of the coast along a very rough track right out towards the lighthouses at Barings head. The wind was so strong coming back that it blew us to a standstill - cycling in such strong headwinds is hard, sometimes comical and occassionally dangerous. We felt and probably looked like Wallace and Gromit in a wind tunnel. We learned that Wellington is renowned for its high winds.
Motueka (South Island)
From Wellington we got the ferry to Picton on the South Island. The crossing takes about 3 hours. We amused ourselves in the loading queue by watching a very confident NZ toddler driving up and down the car lines in his go kart
taking no prisoners; the very definition of an 'ankle biter'. We called him the Stig. We did not see him again on the boat so assumed he was driving it.
NZ drivers have generally been okay although we are learning that they have a disproportionate problem with road casualties and deaths.
We stayed one night in Blenheim and then headed on a rather picturesque drive throught the wineries of Marlborough - including the Nelson and Richmond areas - to Motueka in the North West of the South Island. Motueka and the surrounding area (particularly Kaiteriteri and the Golden Bay area) is classic seaside resort territory. The site was by far the busiest we have used - like Glastonbury. Caroline was a wee bit poorly for a couple of days here but we managed to get one reasonable ride in of about 50km around the Ruby Bay scenic route, again the ride was made more demanding because of strong headwinds on the return journey. Mark tackled a substantial climb - Takaka Hill - which involved nearly 800m of climbing and the whole ride took about 6 hours. A self taken photograph on a mobile phone at the top of the climb, above the clouds, is a non to flattering picture of a 50 year old man in crisis! Thank goodness the return trip was mostly downhill.
Kaikoura
From Motueka we had an uneventful but long drive to Kaikoura, enlivened by the chance to see colonies of fur seals by the road side. We were able to get out of the car and stand 10 yards from them and their pups. They are wild but they are also used to humans so we had a really good look at them. Delightful.
We stayed at a holiday park, not Top 10 but fine all the same. Our main reason for visiting Kaikoura was to go on a trip to see Whales. We booked on a trip that promised refunds if whales were not spotted. We arrived on time for our trip but got boosted on to an earlier trip that had been delayed (due to choppy seas). We took our sea sickness tablets and reckoned we would be okay. A catamarhan sped 40 of us off into the wide blue yonder. The commentary was very informative and explained why whales come to Kaikoura - basically the geology just off shore means that they have the depths to dive for food. We saw 3 sperm whales surface from about 5 metres away, dwell on the surface for 10 minutes catching their breath and then dive. They arch their huge backs, their tale comes out of the water and then slip down into the depths. It was very impressive and well worth the trip. Needless to say that the waters were very choppy and despite taking meds, Caroline turned a luminous puce colour and Mark used up his quota of sick bags - the bonus being that a playful seal appeared to see what all the fuss was about (big thanks to Taunton Fiskes for this whale trip).
Kaikoura is a really chilled out place, well worth a visit. We did a reasonable sized ride from Kaikoura towards Waiwa which involved a climb to about 400m. One of those rides that to start with looks like flat but if you stop pedalling you immediately stop because of the deceptive incline. The ride was about 60km but as Mark's chain broke after descending the steepest climbs we started to trudge back. We were really blessed however when a Dpt of Conservation oppo stopped for us with a truck and he gave us a lift back. He also informed us of a creek, pool and waterfall that seals use to hide their pups when their mums are out feeding at sea. We went to visit but sadly did not see any pups.
Rest of stay at Kaikoura involved Mark spending time learning how to fix a chain and re-tune gears.
Christchurch
Christchurch is a lovely city and apparantly the most English of the big NZ cities. We did a short bike tour of the parks and gardens which was more like a map reading challenge - it was only about 20km but took us about 3 hours to do. We had a good rest before thinking about our next challenges; resting included watching the film "men who stare at goats" we felt it explained a lot regarding Graham's behaviour.
We concentrated on doing some big rides from here. In nutshell we tackled a climb on Banks peninsula near Akaroa which topped out at over 700m This was a monster that in some places was so steep we nearly fell backwards on the bikes. It went up 800m in only 6km. Akoroa is a fab place with a big French influence. The only cyclists we saw were coming down and they looked suspiciously fresh to us!
The other ride involved tackling Porters Pass which rose to nearly 900m. We chose the hotest windiest day to do this. Not only that but the wind changed direction just as we turned around off the summit so we rode into it on the way to the peak and also on the ride home. Mark took this extremely personally at first raging into it Lear Like. Caroline was the first to the top on this ride and the people in the few cars that were on the same road all gave her the thumbs up!. We have decided to seek out big climbs here as a test of fitness and also in honour of Graham - they bring out the mountain goat in us. We have just arrived in Dunedin (gaelic for Edingburgh) and we can seek out some monsters from here eg Crown Range and Milford Sound. We will blog again before we leave NZ for USA on the 1st Feb.
Love to all and thanks for being interested in what we do. xxxxxxC&M
- Wanganui
- Wellington - then crossed to South Island
- Blenheim
- Motueka (taking in Nelson and Richmond)
- Kaikoura
- Christchurch
No major disasters have befallen us - although there was a minor earthquake tremor in Christchurch over Christmas, but we missed that thank goodness (no casualties either) - and we have continued to tackle ever more challenging bike rides. Generally the weather has been very kind and we cannot remember experiencing such an extended period of sunshine. Since we have been in NZ we have had perhaps one full day of rain, its been warm and sunny pretty much everyday. Our trip to see whales has probably been our most exciting and noteworthy event..more about this and our bike rides later.
Wanganui (or is it Whanganui?)
We spent a low key Christmas by the river bank in Wanganui in a Top 10 holiday park. We usually rent a self contained cabin on one of their sites which has all we need. The discounted rates - based on a cheap membership scheme- are reasonable and the sites are clean, quiet and well managed. Kiwis are pretty much to a man and woman, very friendly and Wanganui was no exception.
On Christmas day we went for a 30km bike ride along the river and out to the coast. We were looking for a nice bar and to raise wine glasses to absent family and friends, but the area was as quiet as the grave. So we returned to the cabin, prepared a traditional Christmas dinner there and toasted all and sundry with a glass of NZ fizz. We traded some modest presents and were enjoying a placid if slightly dislocated Christmas moment, pondering the contrast between our sunny quiet circs compared with the highly social and hectic time we usually have in UK, when we noticed that someone had set up their tent in the path of the sites tethered goat (which we had named Graham); the campers were however nowhere to be seen. Caroline had had mixed attempts to befriend Graham. On one occasion he had not hesitated to take shortbread of her, on another he had butted her when she offered biscotti and also broccoli stalks (which he did eventually eat). As we considered the advisability of pitching a tent in his path, Graham's tether was becoming entangled with the tent's guy ropes. Mark went to advise the staff of the situation, in the meantime Graham had taken to butting the tent and his horns had begun to rip the tent to shreds. When advised of the situation the receptionist giggled and quickly advised her managers of the situation - we had a sense that Graham is often at the centre of kerfuffles. A small group of staff with a 4WD and trailer arrived to tackle Graham and were slightly confused when we started talking about 'Graham'. In any event after several unsuccessful gentle efforts to tempt Graham on to the trailer he was firmly pushed and lifted on. As the track around the site is designed for safety it meant that Graham had to be driven the circumference of the place - it looked like he was doing a lap of honour - head in the air, standing tall. It left us wondering just how many similar incidents Graham had been involved with. We were sorry to see him go. The campers were given complementary cabins.
We subsequently learned that a goats most favoured food is custard creams!?
While at Wanganui we tackled a 40km ride which took in the start of the remote Wanganui River Road. We snaked up a hill of about 200m. At the top of the climb we were able to recover at a spectacular viewing point. We were joined by a German couple who were touring. They had tackled the hill fully loaded and so had done pretty well. These sorts of encounters are always a little awkward because unless you are a dick you don't want to share stories in a competitive manner so we did not mention the war and headed off back to Wanganui while they looked for a spot to wild camp (much to the grumpiness of Mrs German who clearly envied the comfort of our holiday camp).
Wellington
From Wanganui we headed for Wellington, the political capital of NZ. The road journey was bedevilled by high winds and torrential rain which nearly blew the bikes off the car rack. We stopped to restrap them, leaving the lights and the hazhards on for safety but in 10 minutes these flattened the battery so we had to call out the AA and they sorted us out.
We generally select cycling routes from Lonely Planet cycling guide to NZ. Once you get used to the density of information and take the plunge and use the guide carefully it becomes invaluable. We chose a couple of routes around Wellington that were very enjoyable - the scenic route which takes you all around the shoreline (about 40km) was pretty good. Wellington's harbour and shoreline area is pretty impressive - just the right blend of development, commerce, leisure and residential buildings. We were warned by numerous signs to be careful of penguins crossing the roads - this marked the beginning of our mission to spot some wild penguins ; so far this has been frustratingly unsuccessful but for Caroline is developing into a mild obsession.
While in Wellington we got the ferry across the harbour and booked a deferred New Years meal at a fab restaurant in a suburb called Eastbourne. Again a really lovely area. We also cycled along that bit of the coast along a very rough track right out towards the lighthouses at Barings head. The wind was so strong coming back that it blew us to a standstill - cycling in such strong headwinds is hard, sometimes comical and occassionally dangerous. We felt and probably looked like Wallace and Gromit in a wind tunnel. We learned that Wellington is renowned for its high winds.
Motueka (South Island)
From Wellington we got the ferry to Picton on the South Island. The crossing takes about 3 hours. We amused ourselves in the loading queue by watching a very confident NZ toddler driving up and down the car lines in his go kart
taking no prisoners; the very definition of an 'ankle biter'. We called him the Stig. We did not see him again on the boat so assumed he was driving it.
NZ drivers have generally been okay although we are learning that they have a disproportionate problem with road casualties and deaths.
We stayed one night in Blenheim and then headed on a rather picturesque drive throught the wineries of Marlborough - including the Nelson and Richmond areas - to Motueka in the North West of the South Island. Motueka and the surrounding area (particularly Kaiteriteri and the Golden Bay area) is classic seaside resort territory. The site was by far the busiest we have used - like Glastonbury. Caroline was a wee bit poorly for a couple of days here but we managed to get one reasonable ride in of about 50km around the Ruby Bay scenic route, again the ride was made more demanding because of strong headwinds on the return journey. Mark tackled a substantial climb - Takaka Hill - which involved nearly 800m of climbing and the whole ride took about 6 hours. A self taken photograph on a mobile phone at the top of the climb, above the clouds, is a non to flattering picture of a 50 year old man in crisis! Thank goodness the return trip was mostly downhill.
Kaikoura
From Motueka we had an uneventful but long drive to Kaikoura, enlivened by the chance to see colonies of fur seals by the road side. We were able to get out of the car and stand 10 yards from them and their pups. They are wild but they are also used to humans so we had a really good look at them. Delightful.
We stayed at a holiday park, not Top 10 but fine all the same. Our main reason for visiting Kaikoura was to go on a trip to see Whales. We booked on a trip that promised refunds if whales were not spotted. We arrived on time for our trip but got boosted on to an earlier trip that had been delayed (due to choppy seas). We took our sea sickness tablets and reckoned we would be okay. A catamarhan sped 40 of us off into the wide blue yonder. The commentary was very informative and explained why whales come to Kaikoura - basically the geology just off shore means that they have the depths to dive for food. We saw 3 sperm whales surface from about 5 metres away, dwell on the surface for 10 minutes catching their breath and then dive. They arch their huge backs, their tale comes out of the water and then slip down into the depths. It was very impressive and well worth the trip. Needless to say that the waters were very choppy and despite taking meds, Caroline turned a luminous puce colour and Mark used up his quota of sick bags - the bonus being that a playful seal appeared to see what all the fuss was about (big thanks to Taunton Fiskes for this whale trip).
Kaikoura is a really chilled out place, well worth a visit. We did a reasonable sized ride from Kaikoura towards Waiwa which involved a climb to about 400m. One of those rides that to start with looks like flat but if you stop pedalling you immediately stop because of the deceptive incline. The ride was about 60km but as Mark's chain broke after descending the steepest climbs we started to trudge back. We were really blessed however when a Dpt of Conservation oppo stopped for us with a truck and he gave us a lift back. He also informed us of a creek, pool and waterfall that seals use to hide their pups when their mums are out feeding at sea. We went to visit but sadly did not see any pups.
Rest of stay at Kaikoura involved Mark spending time learning how to fix a chain and re-tune gears.
Christchurch
Christchurch is a lovely city and apparantly the most English of the big NZ cities. We did a short bike tour of the parks and gardens which was more like a map reading challenge - it was only about 20km but took us about 3 hours to do. We had a good rest before thinking about our next challenges; resting included watching the film "men who stare at goats" we felt it explained a lot regarding Graham's behaviour.
We concentrated on doing some big rides from here. In nutshell we tackled a climb on Banks peninsula near Akaroa which topped out at over 700m This was a monster that in some places was so steep we nearly fell backwards on the bikes. It went up 800m in only 6km. Akoroa is a fab place with a big French influence. The only cyclists we saw were coming down and they looked suspiciously fresh to us!
The other ride involved tackling Porters Pass which rose to nearly 900m. We chose the hotest windiest day to do this. Not only that but the wind changed direction just as we turned around off the summit so we rode into it on the way to the peak and also on the ride home. Mark took this extremely personally at first raging into it Lear Like. Caroline was the first to the top on this ride and the people in the few cars that were on the same road all gave her the thumbs up!. We have decided to seek out big climbs here as a test of fitness and also in honour of Graham - they bring out the mountain goat in us. We have just arrived in Dunedin (gaelic for Edingburgh) and we can seek out some monsters from here eg Crown Range and Milford Sound. We will blog again before we leave NZ for USA on the 1st Feb.
Love to all and thanks for being interested in what we do. xxxxxxC&M
Sunday, 19 December 2010
Christmas Broadcast
HI everyone. As ever, all messages and texts have been hugely appreciated- thankyou. This is our pre-Christmas blog so in case we forget, Merry Christmas and a very happy new year to you all. We will miss you. Christmas seems a bit low key for us here - we know you will be hating the bad weather in UK but it does also complement the Festive season and leaves you in no doubt that Christmas is arriving!
Mark's cracked ribs are on the mend so he was back on the bike within 10 days of the accident (and on a trampoline and swimming after dolphins within 3 weeks).
Here are some glimpses into what we have been up to:
After Auckland we hired a car (10 pounds per day!) with a bike rack and set off to the Bay of Islands which is about 3 hrs drive north of Auckland. We stayed on a campsite at Kerikeri and visited other places from there including Pahia. We did a couple of rides in the area, including to Opito Bay and the Marsden Winery which had a fab bistro, a welcome carrot at the end of a tough ride. We also went on a marine safari. We saw lots of dolphins in the wild - close enough to touch. We were also promised a chance to swim with them provided they did not have babies with them. The second pod we came across were all big adults so we were scrambled into the water; we had snorkles snapped on to our faces and flippers slapped onto our feet and we were bundled unceremoniously into the deep cold pacific water miles from the coast with a crash course on how to differentiate a shark from a dolphin. We were then yelled at from the boat to tell us where the pod was - which even when idling moved like torpedoes. It was like a scene from a second world war movie where a warship is sunk and the survivors thrash around chaotically. Despite all the frenzy Mark had the pleasure of having a very large animal swim under neath him, eyeing him suspiciously as if to say "blimey, thats a chubby one!"
From here we drove to the Coromandel Peninsula (east of Aukland) and had 5 nights at a campground near Coromandel town. The drive along the coast was stunning- quite similar to a drive alongside the Scottish Lochs in Summer time. We saw loads of birds - we think the flocks included some Godwits but we could not tell if they were the bar tailed variety. These birds apparantly travel from Alaska on a none stop journey. We did a couple of demanding rides along the coast; one was to Colvile and backand one was to Coromandel town. We were tackling hills that are steeper and longer than anything else we have tackled and were pleased not to have bags on the bike. Our experience of wildlife was not all pleasurable; the beaches are idyllic in this area except they also a haven for sandflies which savaged us on one day and we ended up with over a 100 bites between us (the ennumeration process gives a glimpse into some of our fun packed evenings!).
We headed for the Rotorua region after this which is considered the heart of Maori culture. We stayed by Blue Lake. We cycled around a couple of the Lakes and visited the large Redwood Forest in Rotorua; we also drove to Lake Taupo and cycled from there to Acacia Bay - again mainly very lumpy! We managed to visit some of the thermal springs where the areas volcanic activity is expressed through steaming water and mud pools. Fascinating and a bit scary.
After this we had a big drive to Hawkes Bay - we are in Hastings now; wall to wall Wineries! We cycled along the coastal path yesterday and will return to it to complete the route to Napier. We keep an eye out for wildlife all the time and have seen wild parrots and turkey's and alpaca's. The variety of bird life is impressive. Although we have not seen a real Kiwi yet, we have seen a wide range of birds of prey. We fully intend to bother brother in Law Alan about what these might have been when we get back, although we saw a massive animal by the roadside which took about 30 seconds to become airborne it was so big.
Caroline continues to be engaged by the possibility of a possum siting although we have learned that the NZers hate possums! In a hardware store we saw an ad for a possum plucker - warm or cold! We were leafing though a guide for activities in the Hawkes Bay area and spotted a picture of a possum next to some bold type that announced OPOSSUM WORLD..hopes were raised and then dashed as Caroline read out the small print in a squeaky, shaking voice....."Opossum for rugs, cushions and fashion accessories...save a New Zealand tree and buy oppossum fur"
Much love to everyone, enjoy the festive season and ambience, stay safe in the snow and the cold. Love C&M.xxxx
Mark's cracked ribs are on the mend so he was back on the bike within 10 days of the accident (and on a trampoline and swimming after dolphins within 3 weeks).
Here are some glimpses into what we have been up to:
After Auckland we hired a car (10 pounds per day!) with a bike rack and set off to the Bay of Islands which is about 3 hrs drive north of Auckland. We stayed on a campsite at Kerikeri and visited other places from there including Pahia. We did a couple of rides in the area, including to Opito Bay and the Marsden Winery which had a fab bistro, a welcome carrot at the end of a tough ride. We also went on a marine safari. We saw lots of dolphins in the wild - close enough to touch. We were also promised a chance to swim with them provided they did not have babies with them. The second pod we came across were all big adults so we were scrambled into the water; we had snorkles snapped on to our faces and flippers slapped onto our feet and we were bundled unceremoniously into the deep cold pacific water miles from the coast with a crash course on how to differentiate a shark from a dolphin. We were then yelled at from the boat to tell us where the pod was - which even when idling moved like torpedoes. It was like a scene from a second world war movie where a warship is sunk and the survivors thrash around chaotically. Despite all the frenzy Mark had the pleasure of having a very large animal swim under neath him, eyeing him suspiciously as if to say "blimey, thats a chubby one!"
From here we drove to the Coromandel Peninsula (east of Aukland) and had 5 nights at a campground near Coromandel town. The drive along the coast was stunning- quite similar to a drive alongside the Scottish Lochs in Summer time. We saw loads of birds - we think the flocks included some Godwits but we could not tell if they were the bar tailed variety. These birds apparantly travel from Alaska on a none stop journey. We did a couple of demanding rides along the coast; one was to Colvile and backand one was to Coromandel town. We were tackling hills that are steeper and longer than anything else we have tackled and were pleased not to have bags on the bike. Our experience of wildlife was not all pleasurable; the beaches are idyllic in this area except they also a haven for sandflies which savaged us on one day and we ended up with over a 100 bites between us (the ennumeration process gives a glimpse into some of our fun packed evenings!).
We headed for the Rotorua region after this which is considered the heart of Maori culture. We stayed by Blue Lake. We cycled around a couple of the Lakes and visited the large Redwood Forest in Rotorua; we also drove to Lake Taupo and cycled from there to Acacia Bay - again mainly very lumpy! We managed to visit some of the thermal springs where the areas volcanic activity is expressed through steaming water and mud pools. Fascinating and a bit scary.
After this we had a big drive to Hawkes Bay - we are in Hastings now; wall to wall Wineries! We cycled along the coastal path yesterday and will return to it to complete the route to Napier. We keep an eye out for wildlife all the time and have seen wild parrots and turkey's and alpaca's. The variety of bird life is impressive. Although we have not seen a real Kiwi yet, we have seen a wide range of birds of prey. We fully intend to bother brother in Law Alan about what these might have been when we get back, although we saw a massive animal by the roadside which took about 30 seconds to become airborne it was so big.
Caroline continues to be engaged by the possibility of a possum siting although we have learned that the NZers hate possums! In a hardware store we saw an ad for a possum plucker - warm or cold! We were leafing though a guide for activities in the Hawkes Bay area and spotted a picture of a possum next to some bold type that announced OPOSSUM WORLD..hopes were raised and then dashed as Caroline read out the small print in a squeaky, shaking voice....."Opossum for rugs, cushions and fashion accessories...save a New Zealand tree and buy oppossum fur"
Much love to everyone, enjoy the festive season and ambience, stay safe in the snow and the cold. Love C&M.xxxx
Friday, 26 November 2010
On the road again - literarily
Hi All
Since we last blogged we cycled through the Cantabrian mountains to Santander for the ferry back to Portsmouth, where we got the train all the way back to North Yorks where we stayed with Mark's family (big thankyou to them for their hospitality). The Cantabrian Mountains were spectacular and we would go back there again, We managed to find a downhil section that allowed us to freewheel for 18 kilometres - bliss it was that day to be on a bicycle! Glad we did not have to do it the other way.
We also spent 6 days in London staying with cousin Nick in Southfield - big thankyou to him for his help and hospitality. We spent most of the time in London tooing and fro-ing to a bike frame builders Chas Roberts in Croydon. We needed to have the brake and gear cables split on the bikes so we could collapse them into bike boxes for the flights. Chas was able to do the work but in the meantime found that one of the welds on one of the bikes had loosened and was quite dangerous. We had an anxious few days waiting to see if they had the time to fix this and also they could not give a quarantee that the new weld would 'take'. Thankfully all turned out well,
We flew to Hong Kong with Air New Zealand who were great. We were pretty jet lagged but managed to see a bit of the city. The highlights were going to see Panda's, sea lions and dolphins. We have photo's and will put them up shortly. Hong Kong's urban environment, particularly by night, is of course spectacular. We never felt brave enough to sample the more esoteric cuisine on offer eg one place advertised 'bittern intestines' as a delicacy...the RSPB would be pleased! ....not!
We got the flight to New Zealand without a hitch. On the flight we were given arrival documentation to complete. The major concern of the NZ authorities seems to be - understandably - to keep foreign and unwelcome flora and fauna getting into the country. We then became irrationally concerned about our Liptons breakfast tea bags and also the dirt on our bikes. We declared both as well as the fungus on Mark's feet.....Caroline was delighted to find the customs area swarming with sniffer dogs - one of which unearthed a bunch of brocolli (not ours).
Our trip to NZ has been disrupted - Mark had a nasty fall onto his bike wheel and has cracked a couple of ribs so we have spent a day in Aand E. We are now lying low on a lovely camp site in fab weather. Need to rethink our plans as its looks like cycling will not be possible for Mark for at least two weeks. ho hum. Thanks for following us, photos and more detail to follow. Much love to all. C&M
Since we last blogged we cycled through the Cantabrian mountains to Santander for the ferry back to Portsmouth, where we got the train all the way back to North Yorks where we stayed with Mark's family (big thankyou to them for their hospitality). The Cantabrian Mountains were spectacular and we would go back there again, We managed to find a downhil section that allowed us to freewheel for 18 kilometres - bliss it was that day to be on a bicycle! Glad we did not have to do it the other way.
We also spent 6 days in London staying with cousin Nick in Southfield - big thankyou to him for his help and hospitality. We spent most of the time in London tooing and fro-ing to a bike frame builders Chas Roberts in Croydon. We needed to have the brake and gear cables split on the bikes so we could collapse them into bike boxes for the flights. Chas was able to do the work but in the meantime found that one of the welds on one of the bikes had loosened and was quite dangerous. We had an anxious few days waiting to see if they had the time to fix this and also they could not give a quarantee that the new weld would 'take'. Thankfully all turned out well,
We flew to Hong Kong with Air New Zealand who were great. We were pretty jet lagged but managed to see a bit of the city. The highlights were going to see Panda's, sea lions and dolphins. We have photo's and will put them up shortly. Hong Kong's urban environment, particularly by night, is of course spectacular. We never felt brave enough to sample the more esoteric cuisine on offer eg one place advertised 'bittern intestines' as a delicacy...the RSPB would be pleased! ....not!
We got the flight to New Zealand without a hitch. On the flight we were given arrival documentation to complete. The major concern of the NZ authorities seems to be - understandably - to keep foreign and unwelcome flora and fauna getting into the country. We then became irrationally concerned about our Liptons breakfast tea bags and also the dirt on our bikes. We declared both as well as the fungus on Mark's feet.....Caroline was delighted to find the customs area swarming with sniffer dogs - one of which unearthed a bunch of brocolli (not ours).
Our trip to NZ has been disrupted - Mark had a nasty fall onto his bike wheel and has cracked a couple of ribs so we have spent a day in Aand E. We are now lying low on a lovely camp site in fab weather. Need to rethink our plans as its looks like cycling will not be possible for Mark for at least two weeks. ho hum. Thanks for following us, photos and more detail to follow. Much love to all. C&M
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)