Day 7: Lyell to Westport
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.
After many struggles with various mapping tools, I bring to you our route!
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:
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…
A month later and the tour d’New Zealand is finished. Thursday we rolled into Dunedin proper and Friday was our last bike ride – out to the tip of the Otago Peninsula and back to Dunedin. We left our gear behind at the hostel and rode unloaded bikes for the first time in a month. We were wobbly and awkward but got used to it quickly and were soon enjoying the lightness and newly developed leg muscles.
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).