So I recently returned from holiday in New Zealand and have not done a trip report yet. Things have been a bit crazy as I had recently relocated from Cape Town to Barberton. I have day 1 - 3 here and will try and update 2 days per day as I go along.
*you can click on the pics to enlarge
I packed my GPS to record the trip, but navigated by map as I didn't have the NZ garmaps.
Here we go,
Day 1 22/03/2010
I pack the bike and everything seems to fit fine. It's a good day for riding, not to hot not to cold.
The target for today is to get down to Lake Taupo via Rotorua.
nice dog...in Rotorua there are many activities, here you can climb in a ball and roll down a hill.
The roads are fantastic twisting through forests. Testing the self timer...
There is a bit of a rotten egg smell in Rotorua due to the volcanic activity there is alot of SO2(I think) gas.
Close to lake Taupo is Huka falls, not extreme, but alot of water flowing through there
I find a nice spot next to the Waikato river to camp and open a red wine I had bought in town. NZ known for it's quality white wines, I thought I'd give the budget red a go
Kayakers are like the cyclists of the river, they just needed to spoil my view for some reason.
Good rest through the night and not to cold at all. Tomorrow it's off to Wellington.
Day 2, Taupo to Wellington
Today I head off to Wellington. The day starts of nice for riding, but I soon find myself freezing cold to the point that I almost feel like turning back to Auckland. This cold patch was on a road called The Dessert rd. It certainly is no dessert in the sense that I know. They frequently get snow up there, so it does get cold. Crossing this road I got so soaked that my camera did not survive it. Luckily I had packed 2 camera's, but this does mean that I have only a few pics of day 2.
Nice day to start.
I find a nice camp outside Wellington and I am the only person there. This camp also has BBQ facilities so I grill a some meat for supper. Not to tasty, but nutritious.
It got a bit chilly later that evening, so I wrapped myself up in all my warm clothing...
During the day in Wellington I had also purchased my ferry ticket on Bluebridge. Tickets are $100 for bike and passenger. Ferry leaves tomorrow at 14:00.
Day 3 24/03/2010
Today is water crossing day from Wellington to Picton. I rather like Wellington Town centre as it reminds me a lot of Cape Town.
It seems I was not the only one crazy enough to brave the cold for a bike tour..
Unfortunately I did not meet those guys. The got there as I was boarding the ferry.
Bike strapped in the ferry
Yours truly Leaving Wellington
The water at open sea was really rough and it was absolutely freezing outside.
Shelter from the open sea was clear when we reached South Island
Picton is a really beautiful natural port town.
The ferry ride is about 3 hours and there are 2 companies that operate ferries. Blue Bridge and Interislander. On the ferry there is a bar, koisk and a big screen playing a movie.
What a great day on South Island. Much warmer than it was at Wellington and thank heavens the wind was gone.
I dont do much mileage today, as the ferry trip took quite a bit of time. I find a camp site for the night and parkdown.
Tonight I'm spoilt as this camp also has hot shower. The camp owner it seems feel sorry for me and gives me the left over scones from the kiosk.
South Island is so awesome. Glad I made the trip.
Tomorrow I head down the west coast to Goldsburough.
Topic: Touring around New Zealand (Read 3269 times)
