March 14, 2016 Rest day in Queenstown

After one day of riding we get a day off.  However this tour is about seeing the country as much as riding bikes and Queenstown is a place that you don’t want to rush past.  You want to do a couple of tours and see some of the cool stuff.

Agnes and I choose taking the historic coal steam ship Eanrslaw from Queenstown to Walter’s Point Station.  The T.S.S. (Twin Screw Steamship)  Earnslaw was built in Christchurch and taken apart and hauled overland to serve the flourishing sheep industry and gold rush.  It was launched in 1912.  The ship is beautifully maintained and an absolute treasure from the past.  You get to walk down into the engine room which has two monstrous double acting triple expansion steam engines and a guy shoveling a ton of coal every hour into to three monster boilers.  The gleaming brass fittings, huge old pressure gauges, and temperatures in the 30’s are everything you see in the films.

The cruise up to Walter’s Point is about 45 minutes cruise up lake.  Walter’s Point is one of a handful of remote stations left which are accessible only by boat.  It is a real gem of a place with the most beautiful view up the lake you could imagine and the mountains offsetting the lake views.  It was beautifully sunny and warm so Agnes and I sat out on the veranda and had morning tea with carrot cake and scones.   There was a sheep shearing demonstration which was totally hilarious. The sheep was grabbed and flipped over so it was on it’s backside at then the wool was peeled off before the sheep knew what was happening.  We were told that good shearsmen could do 300-400 sheep per day or 250 Merino sheep.   There was also a sheep dog demonstration which was very interesting.  There were about half a dozen verbal commands and the rest was done by pointing the walking stick.   We also were taken around to see the other animals on the station, English Red Deer, Lots of different kinds of sheep, Lamas, and West Highland cattle and two week old calf.  The station had 20,000 sheep. 

We jumped back on the boat and had a very pleasant cruise home.

The other must do in Queensland is the gondola up to the top of Bob’s Peak which overlooks Queenstown.  The views are absolutely stunning.   From up there you can see all the way all the way down the lake and looking the other way all the way up the Crown Peak (where we will ride tomorrow – tune in tomorrow to see all the switchbacks).  Totally stunning.

What a great day. 

Terry

March 13, 2016 Mossburn to Queenstown

I titled the blog based on wher we started the ride, not where we got up which was at Te Anau.  So we were up at 7:00 Am to leave at 8:00 AM and shuttle back to where we got off the bikes on March 11.  We arrived at Mossburn at 9:00 Am and unloaded the bikes and prepared to ride.

It was a heavy gray sky with low hanging fog banks along the sides of the valley.  There was a steady drizzle of rain falling.  Not a big down pour but a steady drizzle just enough to call for full rain kit.  Well not quite as I passed on the shower cap.  It was about 12 C so a shower cap would have been a bit too warm.  

We had a 20 km side road from Mossburn before we turned north on highway 6.  Most of it was a long steady uphill grade with a fresh wind coming in at the 10:30 position.  The Garmin found the route and even though there were no turns having a map in front of you rather than an odometer means you are not counting down the miles.   

At the  corner there was a little café and Agnes and Amy were having coffee so we stopped and had a 15 minute break.  The rain had abated so I gave up the heavy duty rain jacket which was really nice.  There is nothing worse than being wet on both sides. 

After we turned north we hit a long rolling climb which was around 35 kms long and probably averaged about 2-3 %.  Not much but after a while it let you know that it was there and the wind had stiffened considerably.  I had also shifted around so that it was coming directly into our faces.  The last few kms before lunch which was at the 67 kms mark were brutal. 

We stopped at Kingston for lunch which is just a crossroads but at one time was the center for a famous train called the Kingston Flyer. 

After lunch we followed along Lake Wakatipu into Queenstown.  Like all rides following lakes it was a real roller coaster of steep climbs and steep descents back to the lake.  About 15 kms out of lunch the wind died right off which was great. The sun kind of peaked through the clouds and riding in a long sleeved jersey and a set of knicker bibs was downright hot.   

Before we knew it we were in Queenstown and turned off the highway and followed a gravel bike and walking path along the lake shore into downtown. Queenstown is a total tourist trap of the first order.  Downtown is lined with pubs, pizza joints and tour sales offices.  You can do any kind of tour you can think of here.  They have it all.  Para sailing,  jet boats, zip line tours, antique  steam boat sailings,  bus tours of every description.  Tomorrow is a day off.  Maybe we will try something. 

Check the route and all the geek facts here;  https://goo.gl/maps/ARCmp2o1s5k  It was a total 112 kms and 695 m climbing.

Another great day of riding on the wrong side of the road.

Terry 

March 12 2016 Rest Day Te Anau

This morning we were up early as we were going to do a Milford Sound cruise.  It was only 110 kms to Milford Sound from where we are staying however it was a 2.5 hour drive.  The main reason being that the road is so narrow and winding.

We stopped at a view point and took a couple of pictures and had a laugh at a sign which said “Do Not Feed The Kea”.  A few kms further on we stopped at a view point and I hopped out to take a picture and this great big parrot flew down and harassed me.  I called out that a Kea was there and nobody believed me but they did get out and we had fun playing with the bird.  Amy chased it around and around but it never did fly away. 

It rains 200 days a year in Milford Sound and they get 9 meters of rain per year.  So we were dressed in our best rain gear and had sandwiches made for the trip.   I had my long finger gloves and winter clothes on.  The road lived up to its reputation and the road is very winding with a 1.3 kms tunnel at the 70 kms mark which is something like 10% grade inside the tunnel.

Once at Milford Sound we boarded our tour boat for the cruise.  It wasn’t raining and the sun was even trying to put in an appearance.  Milford Sound is a World Heritage site and for good reason. It is absolutely stunning.  The mountains rise straight up thousands of feet from the sea.  There are water falls cascading into the ocean from the cliffs hundreds of feet up.  

In this one place you can see where one of the thousands of faults which crisscross New Zealand runs right through one of the mountians.

It is hard to imagine the Maori climbing down the cliffs into the fiords to collect the jade which they used for jewelry, tools and weapons.  

Totally discharged the battery on my camera.  I took 137 pictures. 

On the way back Jos let Agnes drive.  I think she had fun wrestling the van around the corners.  We came up to where there was a big sheep herd being driven down the road.  There were hundreds of sheep and they were all being herded along by the dogs who were busy keeping the flock together.  Another New Zealand box checked.

What a great day!

Terry 

March 11, 2016 Bluff to Mossburn

We were up early for the first ride day of the tour.  Breakfast was included in with the hotel and we were kind of under the impression that this was something special however it turned out to be Special K and toast.  However it did get us out the door in good time. 

The ride to day was 133 kms and was longer than the longest ride that Jos and Tom have done for some time so there was a bunch of trepidation and certainly a bunch of expectation that I was going to do most of the pulling. 

It was about 3 kms down to Stirling Point which was the southernmost point of New Zealand which has roads to it.  So we wheeled down there and did the picture under the sign post thing as it was too steep a rock face for wheel dipping.  The weather was heavily overcast and it looked like rain was eminent.  So everyone was dressing full on rain gear plus safety vests.  The florescent yellow was enough to cause temporary blindness.

Jos had forgotten his cycling shoes so he had to ride from the start up 32 kms to a bike shop in Invercargill  to buy shoes.  Seriously who goes on a bike ride and forgets his shoes?  Well in fairness organizing a tour is no easy task and there are a million tasks and to forget one is not that hard.  Finding shoes wasn’t too hard and within 15 minutes we were on our way. 

My free down loaded Garmin maps from OpenStreetMaps loaded perfectly and the route I had put in from MapMyRide came up and I was very pleased with the overall result. The detail was unbelievable with the Garmin displaying every street well before I arrived at it and it displayed every turn.  Looking on a cue sheet was an annoyance I have never liked and this made todays 20 turns easy.  On two occasions the route took us down a gravel road.  However I was easily able to navigate around them. 

Lunch was in a small town called Winton at the 66 kms mark and we rolled in to this little café called the Adagio.  Agnes and Amy were waiting for us.   We had the fish and chips dinners and were blown away by the huge platter of fish and chips we got and they were absolutely delicious.   After lunch the clouds had broken and the sun was out it was perfect cycling weather down deserted country roads.  It just doesn’t get any better.

New Zealand is famous for their sheep.  They are everywhere. You cannot pass a field which isn’t filled with sheep.  It would all so appear that the sheep have been well trained to get a move on when the dogs start to bark.  So I had a bunch of fun barking at the sheep and watching them scatter.   I am sure that by now it has been posted on SheepBook the dogs are now riding bikes and every sheep in New Zealand knows to look out.

So we rolled in to Mossburn a little tired but happy to have a great ride under our belt.  We jumped into the van and made for Te Anau which was 40 kms off a side road.  We got into town and booked tickets for Milford sound boat trips tomorrow.   Then on Sunday we will ferry back to Mossburn and pick up the ride. 

Wow what a great day!

Terry

Ps:  For another opinion check Tom’s blog at:  www.tnaamazingadventurez.com

March 10 2016 Owaka to Bluff

We were awaken by the sound of driving rain against the window this morning.  It looked pretty bleak and foreboding as we loaded up the van.  The wind was howling and the forecast looked very menacing.  We had a big day of site seeing planned.  We were to do a big hike down to see some Cathedral Caves which back up against the ocean.   The rain had increased considerably and the wind was blowing very hard. 

When we got to the caverns we were told that the ocean had scoured out a section where you cross at low tide to get into the caverns and we would have to wade in.  The one section was up to 6 feet deep and the other section was knee deep.  Jos decided that wading through knee deep water in the dark was not a great idea so in the in the interest of safety we headed off to coffee.  When we got to coffee the wind had knocked out the power so no coffee.  However a generator was hooked up and coffee was brewed.

After coffee we headed down to Niagara Falls New Zealand which is billed as the smallest water fall in the world. It is about 3 inches high.   From there we went down to Curio Bay to see the Petrified Forest and penguins.  The penguins were out fishing but we did see the petrified trees which have been exposed on the shore line.  The rain has stopped and we now have a very blue sky. The wind has increased in intensity to probably close to 50 mph and gusting to 80 mph.  It is so strong rocks are rolling down the road. 

We then headed to the southernmost tip of New Zealand which is called Slope Point.  Jos had planned on cycling from here down to Bluff but as it turned out the road was not paved and cycling into the wind would have been impossible.  When we got to the point it was a one mile walk from the parking lot down to the cliff.  The wind would almost lift you off your feet it was so strong.  Jos said that the wind was easily over 130 km/hr (80 mph).  I have never been in such a storm.   

We had a late lunch in Invarcargill which is looking a little worse for the wear.  Closed down shops and a lot of pretty poor looking streets.  Unbelievably in this junky mall is Burt Munro’s Bonneville salt flat record breaking Indian motorcycle.  No write or anything else just a Plexiglas case with the motorcycle in it.  Wow what a piece of history.  I nearly walked past it. 

It was 30 kms down to Bluff were we are staying in what was at one time probably the nicest hotel in town. However that was 50 years ago and now it is a boutique place.  Actually it probably still is one of the nicest places.  Jos drove us up to the Bluff over look which is easily 500 feet above the town. It was the site of a WW2 radar installation.  The wind was still screaming but now the temperature has dropped to around 8 C so it was very cold.   We went down to the end of town where the road ends and took some pictures. 

Tomorrow is the first ride day and is slated for 132 kms with a 407 m climb.  Here is a link to the google route:  https://goo.gl/maps/frjX99NybHs

Terry