He was the first of what would be many new and interesting birds, many quite peculiar, that we encountered. Had I been on my own, I would have merely marvelled at them shortly and then moved on. But traveling with Aaron, a bit of a birder (or enough of one to pack a small set of binoculars!), I learned the fun of getting a closer look; identifying and learning about the birds, and checking off the ones we’d see.

The day we saw the shag, we picked up a guide book, “Which New Zealand Bird?”, a great book for the cycling tourist: focusing on the birds that you’re likely to see during a New Zealand trip, categorizing them by location type (i.e. by the ocean, farmland, forest, etc.), small, and durable.

Here are the birds spotted and identified on our trip:

Grey Warbler, Fantail, Tomtit, Silvereye, Bellbird, Blackbird, Tui, Morepork, NZ Falcon, NZ Pigeon, Weka, Kea, Goldfinch, Welcome Swallow, Yellowhammer, House Sparrow, Song Thrush, Starling, Chaffinch, Australian Magpie, Spur-Winged Plover, Australasian Harrier, Pheasant, Black-Billed Gull, Australian Coot, Australasian Shoveler, NZ Scaup, Pukeko, Mallard, Paradise Shelduck, White-Faced Heron, Black Swan, Black Shag, Pied Shag, Little Shag, White-Fronted Tern, Pied Stilt, Red-Billed Gull, Variable Oystercatcher, Black-Billed Gull, and the Royal Spoonbill.

I’m sure that list is helpful. How about the highlights instead:

The fantail was another bird seen on our first day and many times thereafter, mostly in forests near the coast. It would fan and un-fan its tail feathers and do so during its very loopy and flittering flight. They are not shy, no, they would make themselves known by flying back and forth in front of us, showing off cicada-catching skills, with short rests to watch us from close and low branches. Maybe they were defending their nests or looking for food, but I liked to think of their behaviour as playful and welcoming. (Silly human misinterpretations…)

We saw many silvereyes on the road, unfortunately not as animated as the fantail. “Why so much silvereye roadkill?”, we asked. Then one day we saw one fly hastily across the road and our path, swooping very low to the ground, and we understood.

Is that a kiwi?! one tourist asked. No, not a kiwi, just a weka. But not “just”, these are really cool birds! Alright, slightly chicken like, but prehistoric-looking and amusing to watch where their oblivious curiosity will take them.

Aaron taught me that sewage treatment ponds are great places to see a variety of birds, primarily waterfowl. Sewage – seems kind of horrible. But the human waste makes terrific breeding grounds for many insects, meaning a smörgåsbord for the birds. So they like it, but a good reason to think twice about what you pour down the drain. In the pond pictured, we saw the graceful black swans, australasian shovelers, and the paradise shelduck with their beautiful plumage, always in pairs like bride and groom of the pond.

I read about one of New Zealand’s few owls, the morepork, before the trip. I didn’t understand how it could be named for its call until we camped at the Lyell DoC and in the middle of the night I woke up to “more pork! …… more pork!” echoing across the Buller Gorge. It really does say that! From then on, we’d hear them every few nights but never guessed we’d have the chance to actually see one. That is, until Okarito worked its magic. On our walk through the forest, as we turned around a corner I saw something brown and fairly large fly up into a tree. It was close enough to see, without binoculars, that it was indeed the morepork! So exciting! We still had a look through the binoculars and when I brought them to my eyes and saw wide owl eyes staring right back at me, it was stunning and spooky at the same time.

We saw our first Kea in a valley somewhere North of Okarito and there were a bunch who’d taken residence in Fox Glacier town. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture so the one above is from our guidebook. Note the artist’s rendition of the Kea’s habitat. Yeah… Our host in Fox Glacier suggested that we store our bikes in the garage. “Why?” we asked. “You know…the keas”, she responded, nodding slightly at a tall tree behind the property. Sure enough, 2 or 3 keas were roosted, eyes scanning the town for potential mischief.

I was grateful for the garage when, in the middle of the night, both Aaron and I woke up to a racket punctuated with witchy caws. Aaron went outside to investigate and reported back that the kea was having a go at a box of crackers (the lack of bears and raccoons in NZ makes for pretty lax food handling in campsites) and when he tried to shoo it away, the bird gave him a look that showed it was not threatened in the least (similar to a raccoon’s I imagined). They continued with their racket and once, thankfully only once, I heard one fly into or against our tent. I was actually a bit spooked, as one can get in the middle of the night, but Aaron calmed me by explaining that given the size and weight of a kea, if it really attacked me, I would have the advantage.

Good enough. I put in earplugs and they were not a problem again. But something to consider if I ever return and do any backpacking. Those keas are something fierce!

The morning of our last touring day, by which time the fantails and wekas had become a norm and we’d mostly forgotten about seeing any new birds, we were riding along a tidal flat area south of Waikouaiti and spotted a royal spoonbill. Its name describes it well, quite the exotic creature to see. I’d click the link (to Wikipedia) for photos closer up.

Before humans introduced mammals like cats and possums, birds ruled New Zealand and had a relatively predator-free life. This leant to the existence of many flightless species, like the kiwi, and fearless and/or too-curious species like the weka. Now many are being threatened by habitat loss (aka. deforestation, agriculture, mining, etc.) and predators against which they don’t know how to defend themselves. Sanctuaries and efforts to bring predator populations down exist but still, can the variety of species be maintained under human conditioning? I fear not…something to think about when we’re given the ability to speak up against the destruction of Canadian habitats.

In the meantime, a road we rode on the West Coast, north of Punakaiki:

So it was good to find out pre-tour that ice cream would be the best food deal we’d find.

And what a deal it was! After ordering my first cone and watching the cashier pile it on, I had to ask, “that’s the single-scoop right?”. “Um, yes, a single scoop.” Dear me, then what does the double scoop look like??

A serving larger than my fist and delicious to boot. They know how to use their dairy in New Zealand.

Any guide will tell you about the national flavour, “hokey pokey” – vanilla ice cream with chunks of honeycomb toffee (think of the inside of a Crunchie bar):

Yummy, but pretty sweet. Didn’t find myself craving it again on the trip.

My recommendation: anything berry was pulled-off quite well, staying true to the berry flavoured and not tasting of pink sugar.

A few days prior, we ran into Hendrik on the West Coast highway. We had left Punakaiki that morning and he was heading there from the South. We knew he was on the coast somewhere but still, quite the chance encounter and exciting to have a surprise roadside visit with a friend. Hendrik told us about some of the places we had ahead of us and gave special mention to Okarito. Fortunately so, or we may not have visited it otherwise. (Thanks Hendrik!)

Okarito is about 10km off the main highway – not much of a detour in a car, but riding a bike, easy to skip. Like so many towns we passed through, it was pretty bumping in the gold mining days but has since dwindled to a population of about 30 people and no services save for a campsite, a few beach houses for rent, a hostel that also sells coffee and locally-made energy bars, and tours of the Okarito Lagoon, breeding grounds for the rare white heron, and of the surrounding rain forest, the Okarito Kiwi habitat.

Despite these attractions, Okarito was extremely quiet and seemed cut-off from the rest of the world. Did the lack of shops and restaurants keep a large portion of the tourists away? Or maybe it was the proximity to Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers, the primary attractions in this area of the West Coast.

It was rainy the evening we arrived but come morning, we woke up under a giant blue sky. I think we both sensed that the place would offer something we had been looking for on our tour but hadn’t quite found yet. So we decided on a short day on the bike, preceded by a morning hike.

Across the street from our campsite was the trailhead for two walks to the Three Mile Lagoon: one through a forest and over Kohuamarua Bluff and another around the Bluff, along the coast, but only traversable within 2 hours either side of low tide.

The high tide forced us through the forest, abundant with birds including fantails, tomtits, and two bird sightings exciting enough that I’ll have to write about them in a separate post, the tui and the morepork. There was an occasional glimpse of the blue blue ocean down below, but most of the view was reserved for the end, on the other side of the bluff where the trail headed down to its destination – the Three Mile Lagoon.

The lagoon water, with its red hue, was ruby clear and surrounded by sand dunes and smooth-rock beaches. The snowy Southern Alps stood in the background and Tasman Sea waves provided our soundtrack.

We had lunch by the ocean, watching pairs of oyster catchers march by. Besides one other party heading back, the place was deserted. There was definitely something special about it, a paradise indeed. So…enjoy it for another 20 minutes, then head back to continue our tour?

Luckily, Aaron is pretty good at recognizing opportunities and proposed staying in Okarito another night so we could enjoy the paradise a while longer.

I love cycle touring and I love the ability my bike gives me to travel from place to place. But I do need reminders to occasionally forget about making distance, to stay and give a place time to make its impression on you.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the dunes, swimming in the lagoon, and meandering back along the coast, the tide having become low.

Back at camp, we ate our “spare food” – emergency spaghetti and a can of tuna. (A tip: aside from the energy bars, there is no food to be bought in Okarito. Make sure you stock up beforehand.)

In the evening, we played guitar on the beach and watched the sun dip into hiding for the night.

There’s a lot of beauty to behold in New Zealand, but if you want an especially concentrated package of that beauty, Okarito is the place to be.

(Sign – that’s laughing at you, not with you.)

There are a few different types of campgrounds with varying levels of facilities: DoC (Department of Conservation) sites, domain camps, motor camps, and holiday parks. When touring New Zealand, you’re likely to experience them all.

DoC sites offer the most basic facilities: toilet(s), most likely pit but in one case flushing, and at some sites, but not all, a watertap. They are usually in “scenic reserves” (aka. beautiful conserved areas) and are a steal at $6 per person per night.

Domain camps are sites run by local city or town council. They are also pretty basic but may have coin showers and feel less “in the wild” than the DoC sites. I’m hesitant to say “less scenic” because there was the case of the Owen River camp, operated out of the Owen River tavern (which was, from what we could tell, the only thing in Owen River). We were bemused by the tavern/campground combo but once a short ways down a hill from the tavern, we were able to pitch our tent by a beautiful river.

Motor camps leap forward in facilities offered. From what I can remember, all the ones we visited had hot showers (only a few coin-operated), kitchens with stoves, sinks, hot water, sometimes even dishes, and coin laundry. The kitchen at the Wanaka motor camp:

After staying in a few, we realized how feasible it would be to leave the camp kitchen at home and travel much lighter. But that’s no fun, is it?

There was a point when the motor camps started feeling a bit too cushy: computers, Internet, TV rooms, cabins, RV washing stations, pop and chocolate bars sold at the office… These places were sometimes called “Holiday Parks” and catered strongly to the RV tourists. In many, tent sites felt like an afterthought and in the worst of them, anything scenic was fenced off and starry nights were diluted with the orange glow of sodium lamps. Our least scenic camp:

It was in Queenstown, when we arrived at our only camping option, the Queenstown Lakeview Holiday Park, where a motor camp finally bruised my soul. We registered at the office, paid 40 NZD and were told to pitch at site #37. Then we entered the park and saw “the grid”:

Seven rows for RVs, and a row at the back for tent sites, each site as narrow as can be to cram in the many visitors that flock to Queenstown every year. City life, I guess…

Looking back on the trip, we stayed in more motor camps than I would have liked to. Particularly during our last stretch, from Wanaka to Queenstown, then inland to the East coast, where DoC camps were far and few in between. In fact, my first attempt at this blog post turned into quite the rant about car campers and trailer parks. But I really don’t want to rant on anything about what was on the whole an awesome adventure. (At least, not yet.)

So to stick with the positive for now, and to disregard my first statement, the motor camps were a refuge from the sand flies (somehow, *shifty eyes*, all populated areas were sand fly free) and the few nights we stayed in cabins were luxurious.

Cycling along the Buller Gorge, we came around a turn and saw this:

“Really?! Is that safe?!”

Maybe. Looks alright in this photo:

But what if you run into one of these guys?!

/**SQUASH!**/

We couldn’t see cars coming round the bend on the far side, but we could see them across the gorge, about a kilometre away. A few cars and a semi-truck were coming, followed by a break in traffic. We waited by the side of the road for those vehicles to drive through before making a run for it.

The last vehicle, the semi, came out from under the overhang and we started biking, but as the semi approached, it slowed down and I saw the driver roll down his window. I stopped to hear what he had to say.

“When you get into that tunnel, you’d better pedal like all hell because they CAN’T SEE YOU from the other side.”

*gulp*

There was a break in traffic right? But for how long? We hammered through, my heart raced and…

…everything was fine. I quietly thanked the semi-driver for injection us with a little fear, making it all the more exhilarating.

If you’re curious about the details, check out the Google Maps version. Otherwise, roughly – we started in Nelson, at the top of the south island, headed east to visit Hendrik, Eric and Janelle in Picton, then back west to the other coast, down the West coast to Haast and then inland to Wanaka and Queenstown, then back to the East coast, partly via the Otago Rail Trail, where we headed north to Oamaru and then turned around and cycled to our final destination, Dunedin.

In 27 days of riding, we cycled a bit more than 1600km. Our longest day was 104km and shortest, 24, but most were between 55 and 70.

Some other stats:

• Rest days: 6
• Nights in tent: 23
• Highest climb: 291m to 1078m
• Days biking in rain: 4
• Maximum speed: 55.1km (My speed; Aaron’s is something crazier. I could only try being crazy.)
• Minimum speed: 0km
• Meat pies consumed between the two of us: 19 (Only? I could swear I was eating more.)
• Sand fly bites: 157
• Injuries: one wasp sting, one blistered, irritated sand fly welt, a few minor tendonitis flare-ups
• Flats: 1
• Mechanical failures: rear-rack (Just a loose screw and nothing catastrophic.)
• Photos: 695

In between unpacking, reassembling bikes, yelling at Google Maps and easing back into real life, I’ve spent the last few days going through photos and hope to have them up soon. Once I do, I can share more tales…

The peninsula has a high road and a low road. The latter wraps around the coast and for much of it, is flat, smoothly paved and has a good shoulder. In parts, there are even marked bike lanes. We rode it on the way out and it had me looking forward to day rides from Vancouver on the road bike (AKA “Princess Speedy”).

On the way back, we climbed up to the high road and into a thick fog. It was fun to test new hill climbing skills, to push myself, knowing that the end of the day would bring me back to a warm bed and the next few days would be spent resting and sitting.

By the end of the ride, I was happy to conclude this tour and get back to real life. It was a wonderful time and we were lucky with the ease of the adventure on so many counts: the weather, the roads and sights, our bodies and gear, etc.

Now it’s Easter Sunday morning. We celebrated with coffee and chocolate in bed and are now waiting for our shuttle to the airport. It will be a long journey home but we’ll be back with a second evening of this day to spare. Crossing my fingers that this weather follows us to Vancouver.

I look forward to posting the hundreds of photos and writing various tales of our tour. To seeing friends, going surfing, cooking in my kitchen, a blossoming spring, gardening, wearing pants again, and even working (a little :p).

As expected, knowing New Zealand’s reputation as a beautiful country, it’s been a gorgeous ride. Almost all the roads we’ve been on follow rivers with crystal clear water and most of our morning coffee has been enjoyed sitting by these rivers we follow.

The first day, the traffic was pretty intense. Large trucks, logging trucks, crazy kiwi drivers and tourists new to campervan driving. We quickly learned that there’s no sharing the lane for cyclists. You’re best to stay on your shoulder as most drivers are pretty comfortable racing past you at a frightening proximity. But since that first stretch of road, and as we entered more remote areas, the traffic has lessened and we’ve become used to the driving behavior. Aaron wrote about the traffic in a little more depth.

The island is small but very diverse. Just when you tire of the mountains, forests, valleys, seaside, wine country, more valleys, or jungly hills, the scenery changes. Though one thing I could never have enough of is the sheep. Luckily, they say there are 12 sheep to every person in New Zealand. I’d believe that.

Terrain-wise, the roads are in good condition though some are chip-sealed and the extra vibration can be a bit tiresome. Elevation-wise, aside from a few longer saddle climbs the first day, the riding has been pretty easy – just enough climb to wet the appetite.

And we’re eating well, of course : ) Supermarkets are few and far in between but we’ve found the roadside stores stock enough for a good meal, including a small produce section (limited selection but good quality), basics like sugar, spreads, cheese and meats and heavily pasteurized cream (good for transporting on bikes), as well as many treats, baked goods and of course, meat pies.

We read about the pies before our trip and Aaron was quite excited, as they had been a major food source for him on a previous bike tour in Scotland. Our first New Zealand pies were eaten in St Arnaud, a small mountain town we reached cold and wet on our only rainy day thus far. It was more delicious than I could have imagined: flaky, hot and buttery. This will not be my last meat pie.

We’re now staying at a lovely hostel in Westport, camping in the backyard and enjoying the luxuries of laundry, Internet, and fridges. It’s nice to rest, to have waken up this morning and not have to pack, though still, I’m eager for our ride next to the ocean. Though at least it’s been a break from the sand fleas and other stingy pests (follow the link for a funny story).