Author: stu

Keeps the MacKenzie in business

Rain, headwinds, broken spokes, zero road space, endless uphills, 100 km an hour traffic, huge articulated stock trucks.

Started this day with a 45 minute climb out of the Gorge. Some sections were probably the steepest yet.

Coats on for a breezy fast downhill hitting 57 Ks an hour.

Tea rooms at Palmerston for a pie and coffee and cake and a mint from the local police woman then Highway 1 with lots of 100k traffic until Waikouaiti for large custard squares and our own coffee. Another climb out of a town and then fast downhill until the turn off to Karatane.

A local told us about his recent family cycle trip in Portugal and Morocco and then another funny conversation with a woman who had canoes sticking out of her car window exhorting us to have a swim in the estuary. We had to turn her down because we’d had too many stops already and went straight into another steep hill overlooking an amazing bay. At the lookout we met Tarik from Australia who was very keen to know about cycle touring and keen to try it and we spoke for half an hour as it gradually got colder. Then we had a fast downhill hitting 60 Ks an hour and some rolling country roads until Warrington.

First Wi-Fi in 3 days – posted from a cafe in Kurow, just before we discovered the broken spokes.

The day started with an uphill out from the campsite and across the Aviemore Dam meandering through fields and over many cattle stops.

We stopped for lunch at the fancy Kurow cafe then headed out for more meandering.

checking out rinse wobbly wheel we discovered four broken spokes which meant a much slower cycling to avoid the rocks and holes in the track and breaking even more. Kind of stressful ride and again with headwinds that pushed us hard and finally ended up at the Duntroon domain.

First evidence of Rens broken spokes

A cold but clear and quiet morning right on the point of this peninsula occasionally interrupted by a jet ski.

Decided to enjoy it here with a late start and then a slow ride, sometimes skirting the edge of the lake, sometimes climbing up for a fast gravel descent. Three main hills with the last one surprisingly hard which ended in a barren rocky point which overlooked Benmore dam and Otematata in a fantastic view. Lunch then a fast descent to Benmore dam with howling wind, sometimes almost dangerous.

Lots of chatting with other interesting cyclists meant we were behind time so a slow late afternoon ride alongside Lake Aviemore until Fisherman’s Bend campsite.

Leaving the Round Bush campsite early to try and beat the rain, we had to dress in warm clothes and coats and wooly hats as we climbed, over 12 kilometers, the 700m up to Tarnbrae High Point.

Halfway up my main metal strap holding my carrier snapped under the fatigue of so much bouncy gravel. What seemed pretty serious but we managed to bind it back together with my red webbing straps and some cable ties.

once at the top we met Brandon Connor and Edwina from Australia Tamworth and shared stories while we had a snack, and then a sometimes fast downhill for several KS. Maximum speed maybe 45ks an hour.

A slow ride with headwinds looking for a lunch spot but we ended up in Omarama where we found local pies in the Four Square.

Only a few k’s but more solid headwinds aiming for Sailors Cutting but we stopped a couple of k’s before at a peninsula called pumpkin Point.

We back tracked along the canal so that we could do the stunning track through the forest and the Pukaki planes track to Twizel.

Twizel was almost as heavingly touristic as Tekapo. We stopped at a cafe to charge and try and catch up with the blog.

Then back to the canal for a long flat ride and a brief but rough four-wheel drive track to Lake Ohau. We started to see heaps of people camping by the lake along with their power boats and jet skis. This is the lake for water toys.

The track at the head of the lake was quite rough and one stream crossing that meant for more wet feet.

Burkes Pass made even slower when I accidentally selected slow-mo.

A short day with grey skies, that turned into persistent rain as we cycled along the gravel road in between Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki.

We stayed about an hour inside the historic Irishman’s Creek roadside hut. It was a welcome reprieve from rain and wind, and had a nice stack of kindling and firewood which we made use of to dry out.

Finally, arriving at Lake Pukaki, Braemar Station, here is Stu cycling up the hill to our cottage

Couldn’t get up to the observatory, which was right opposite Lake Alexandrina, because the observatory only allows cars not even walkers. There are queues of cars going up there paying $8 each.

So we decided to cycle into town and do the ride from there but first do our device charging and blog chores and treat ourselves to a fancy lunch.

After a couple of hours there, we set out on the round the lake bike track the rhyme, but the rain started almost immediately. We got to the pine forest And I went a bit further along a stony rough slippery path that had been described as a bike path. Got completely soaked with squelchy shoes and we talked our way into drying out a little at the fancy hotels couches.