www.PeteAndKymDrinkBeerAroundNewZealand.blogspot.com

...cycling, cycling, cycling, that's all this blog seems to be about. Well, time to redress the balance. As some of you know i'm a dead keen home brewer so i've been taking the opportunity to sample some fine micro-brews on the way around NZ (and basically forcing Kym to do the same, it's a hard life eh, although just for the record it was Kym who insisted on stopping for a beer at 10am ;-) Anyway, if you have no interest at all in beer, time to skip over this post and get back to the important business of cycling. Otherwise, read on for my fairly random but hopefully slightly interesting thoughts on South Island BEER. I actually found micro-brewery touring and cycling a pretty good combination. Apart from the obvious (and illegal) hazards of drinking too much and falling off your bike it's a great way to see obscure places you might not visit and also a good reason to get off the bike for a rest. Just to get started, here's a beer bigger than Kym's head :-

I'm not a big fan of the larger breweries beers here in NZ, Monteith's, Speights, Macs, Tui's are all nice enough in the same way that a lot of mainsteam Aussie ales / lagers are but they don't have a lot of flavour and particularly body for my tastes (should probably mention right now that i'm an English Real Ale fan). Luckily, craft brewing seems to be alive and well in NZ and we've found some cracking brews made by the small guys. Most of the places we've visited have been in the Nelson area which happens to be the hop-growing capital of NZ, and also has a long heritage of German / English immigrants which I guess means a lot of keen beer drinkers / brewers. Around Upper Moutere / Motueka, there are heaps of hop fields and it really reminds me of Kent where I grew up.

I've really been struck by the diversity of approaches between even the small number of breweries we've visited. From small shop front operations using converted dairy equipment, to state of the art futuristic fit-outs, to 6th generation traditional brewers with organic accrediation. All of them make cracking beer but just take a different approach and philosophy. As well as a quick run-down on the places we visited, we've also awarded some prizes so here goes...

Best Pub

Easy one this. When we cycled over the hill into Upper Moutere and saw a pub sign with the words "Real Ale" written on it I was instantly transported 12,000 miles back to the green country lanes of Blighty. I really couldn't believe it when we walked into the pub and saw traditional beer engines, no Co2 in sight, and real ales brewed by the local Townshend brewery serving warm beer. One pint of ESB and a Ploughmans lunch later, the best pub goes to the Moutere Inn (Upper Moutere), NZ's oldest pub established in 1850 apparently.

Best Session

Believe it or not, the one and only time we really got drunk this holiday was at the Mussel Inn in Onekaka. Worth a special mention as it's based on a 1900's roadhouse, the single room is fitted out all in wood with a big open fireplace and long trestle tables. It's a top place with great beer and good food and i'm sure even better when live music is on. After 8 pints or so, we had to negotiate a rapidly rising ford, in the dark, by the light of an iPhone but I think we've already covered that in another post.

Best Beer (Pete)

Easy, the Townshed ESB (Extra Special Bitter) I had at the Moutere Inn, i've no idea how long it had been on (real ale only lasts around a week or so without Co2 and the taste changes with it's contact with air) but it had a great malty flavour profile, very full bodied, lovely creamy white head which laced all the way to the bottom of the glass, and was lovely and warm. Warm beer..mmmm.

Best Beer (Kym)
Captain Cook Manuka Beer (Mussel Inn). This beer was brewed using the tips of the Manuka tree for flavour which is quite unusual. Kym says "...this is the beer I had the most fun with and i'd certainly go back to it". He also had a lot of it on our session night ;-)

Special Mention (Pete)

Founders Fair Maiden Pale Ale. Brewed in Nelson by the Founders brewery who are sixth generation organic brewers. The pale ale had a lovely hoppy flavour / aroma and went down a treat. They'd actually run out of this when we visited the brewery.

Special Mention (Kym)

Founders Redhead. A Vienna style copper coloured lager. We both appreciated a pint of this today over lunch. Very easy to drink, a lovely rich copper colour, and a good balance of hops and malt.

...and a few notes on the breweries in no particular order...

Founders Organic Brewery, Nelson

These guys are located in a rather odd "living museum" in Nelson, but they certainly know their stuff having brewing in the family for 6 generations, having been the first certified organic brewery in Australasia, and having won numerous awards for various beers. The range was 3 lagers and 2 ales when we visited and really they were all great. The Redhead Vienna lager, Fair Maiden Pale ale, and Tall Blonde golden lager were all stand-outs for me and I don't even like lagers that much. A pint (500ml) bottle of the pale ale seems to retail for around $11 which i'd say is a little rich, but still it's a fine beer.

Monkey Wizard Brewery, Riwaka

...a fairly new operation by the look of it. Matt (the brewer) who is from Yorkshire gave us a free tasting of his lager, English ale and stout all of which were on tap. He was in the process of fitting out the shop front and fitting a beer engine which is great. I have to say good luck to him, he's already brewing some nice beer, was very friendly and will definitely be one to check out if you're in the Golden Bay area.

Mussel Inn Brewpub, Onekaka

...the Mussel Inn is a well established brewpub in Onekaka. The pub itself is great, does good food and a good variety of beers when we visited including the Manuka flavoured Captain Cook, Golden Goose lager, Dark Horse stout, and Bitter Ass (my personal favourite). It looks as though the brewer experiments a lot with new styles and i'd definitely recommend a stop here if you're heading over Takaka Hill.

Bays Brewery, Nelson

A reasonably large operation running out of an industrial park in Nelson. These guys gave us a free tasting of their entire extensive range which was great. The star for me was a Doppelbock called eXterminator, although it was 7.5% it was incredibly drinkable.

Tasman Brewery, Nelson

Although listed as a micro-brewery I would have to say these guys are at the limit as they seem to be a big operation with a number of franchised pubs called the "Sprig and Fern" in the Nelson area. They have a wide range of beers and serve traditional pint glasses which is great. I'd have to say they were all over-gassed for my tasted though (which was actually a pretty common theme with a lot of pubs we visited). Having said that, the pubs are always packed so i'd say they are a hit with the locals and they also sell 2 litre PET bottle take-outs called riggers.

Townshend Brewery, Upper Moutere

Although we didn't visit the brewery, the pub co-owned by the (English) brewer is the Moutere Inn and they had 2 real ales on pump when we visited as well as a heap other local craft beers on tap. I was genuinely amazed to see hand pumps in NZ and I have to say the beer (an ESB & a Stout called "Number 9") was every bit as good as a real ale in England. They were in the process of renovations, and it looks as though they are planning to turn this place into a traditional English "Free-House" with great food and atmosphere to boot. I'll definitely be back!

Golden Bear Brewing Company, Mapua Wharf

An American owned and run brewery / bar on Mapua Wharf just outside of Nelson. This is a purpose built micro-brewery with all the latest equipment, producing some very nice beers. Jim, one of the brewers, was kind enough to give us a full tour of the brewery which was fascinating and very impressive (for me at least). The IPA and pale ale were highlights, these guys really appreciate their hops and were sourcing them all locally (including the American Cascade strains etc).

Dux de Lux Brewpub, Queenstown

Dux de Lux brewpubs are in a few places in NZ now. We checked out the one in Queenstown which i'm ashamed to say I didn't find until we'd been there for a few days. They have a wide range of beers all on tap and brewed on the premises. The stand-outs for me were the Wakatipu Wheat beer (an unusual Goldings hopped hoppy wheat beer) and the Nor'wester pale ale which has won Grand Champion at the AIBA awards apparently. They also had some funky local band playing when we visited.

So, that's it really. One final note is that apparently there will be a new "free-house"pub opening in Nelson soon which will be stocking a range of local micro-brews and I think it will be worth checking out. There were also a heap of places we didn't get to go, particularly the Twisted Hop in Christchurch which also serves cask ale, but I guess I can save that for next time. Anyway, thanks to all the brewers and brew-pubs we've visited for lubricating our journey. Cheers!

Day 21 - End of Days (cycling days that is)

This is our last day of cycling for this trip (but I'll give a complete wrap up of the trip in a post once I get home).

The ride today was back to Nelson. Instead of going the big highway we decided to go through the old highway, which not as many people travel. It's called the Upper Moutere Highway and it actually makes a very beautiful ride. Lots of farmland, rolling hills, hop plantations and most importantly the oldest pub in NZ; The Upper Moutere Inn.

I'm sure Pete will write about it, he got all emotional when he saw hand pumps. Actually I thought I was going to win the Man-Tear challenge right there. Speaking of the Man-Tear poll, you've only got a day or so to vote, so get your votes in. If you know anything about justice and been following the blog then you know who to vote for ;-).

Anyway, back to the ride. We stopped off at Moutere Inn and had a couple of pints and a ploughmans lunch before continuing the cycle (which incidentally lead us to another brewer). I think Pete may have turned me into some kind of beer monster. I swear I've had more beer on this trip than in the previous year. :-)

But seriously, if you are thinking of cycling up this way consider the Upper Moutere Highway as a way of getting to/fro Nelson, it's really nice.

So we are back in Nelson now. We have packed our bikes and are ready for our flights tomorrow. It's sad the cycling has come to the end... but it's been fantastic. One last thing, it was great on our last day that Pete's knee was back in action (well lubricated with beer) and we were able to punch out a semi-respectable 92km.

Stats:

• Distance: 92.26km
• Duration: 4hrs 40 mins
• Breweries Visited: 3

Day 20 - Coffee, Burgers, Music and Acrobats

Today we left the "hippy capital - Takaka" and rode 31.2km ride towards the Abel Tasman (stopping at the Pirate Espresso Ship [see below]). It was actually a really beautiful ride, nothing too strenuous, but just nice to be off the main drag and feel like we were doing some exploring along dirt tracks.

We arrived Totaranui (the starting point for the Abel Tasman Walk) where we had arranged to put our bikes on an Aqua Taxi and head over to Marahau. We figured it would be nice not to have to backtrack across Takaka hill, but try a different form of transport (bikes on boats) and get a look at some of the Abel Tasman National Park. And nice it was too.

The accommodation options are pretty limited at Marahau so we ended up staying in pre-erected tents at a camp ground. Entertainment options in Marahau are also pretty limited, but not without their charms. In fact, there is only one bar, but fortunately for us it was Open Music Night. We were entertained by the charms of "Melody" a hairy middle aged man who enjoyed gyrating his hips and banging out poor renditions of songs like "I come from a land down under" and the even more unbelievable "Pinball Wizard". Boy did he misjudge the crowd. :-) It was great for a laugh. During one of the later hippy performances a couple of girls called "The Twisted Sisters" got up and did some amazing acrobatics. Pretty fun night all up.

In Marahau there is an awesome collective of artists (mainly wood workers and sculptors) who run a small art gallery. Some really beautiful pieces. Here is a picture of one of the sculptures done in the side of a huge tree. We saw the most beautiful hand made rocking chair there. Done by a guy called David Hollidge. If you are in the market for a fine rocking chair, then check out "David Hollidge - Handmade Rocking Chairs - Marahau Valley, Rd2, Motueka, 03 527 8334".

Oh almost forgot to mention, we had dinner at a little hamburger caravan called "The Fat Tui". It was recommended to us by the captain of our Aqua Taxi. As Pete put it, "Just putting it out there - this is probably the best burger I've ever had.". Which started a conversation between us about how many things Pete had commented on as being the best or biggest or smallest or longest or widest or whatever since the beginning of our trip. In this case though, I'd have to concede even the vegie burger was probably the best vegie burger I'd ever had.

So we learnt a few things today:

1. Jacques Causteaus old ship, now does coffee
2. If you are going to do an open mic performance, know your audience
3. If you want (arguably) one of the best burgers you've ever had, go to "The Fat Tui" in Marahau
4. Always listen to advice and recommendations of locals

Stats:

• Distance - 31.2 (cycled) - unknown water distance
• Musical Generations Traversed - 30 years.

What a place for a morning coffee

Pete having a coffee on the Pirate Expersso Ship.

That's right kids, it's actually a floating coffee boat. More
specifically it's Jacques Causteaus old ship. Cool, huh?

According to the owner it hasn't got an engine anymore but it does run
"gas powered TrippleRipple La Pavoni espresso machines"

Yarr!!

Yarr!!! Walk the plank you cycling land lubbers!!

Special Post : The Flood

...here's a video we took the other day at the ford.

Day 19 - Chocolate, Beer and Pu Pu

Before leaving Collingwood we visited Rosy Glow's chocolate emporium and sampled some choc goodness. Mmmm....chocolate.



After 10km's or so we passed the Mussel Inn again and Kym insisted on stopping for a beer, so we did. Mmmm...beer. The riding was beautiful today, the weather has definitely improved ! Here's a nice view of Golden Bay.



On our way into Takaka (hippie capital of Golden Bay), we visited Te Waikoropupu springs which is apparently the largest freshwater spring in Australasia. It throws up 14000 litres of water a second, incredibly clear and beautiful although unfortunately you can't touch / drink it due to the risk of infecting the river with Didymo. Here's a crazy photo I took looking into the water.

Stats :

• Distance : 34km
• Height : not much
• Time : 2hrs
• Beers consumed : 2 each, total 4
• Chocolate consumed : 1 large log each (saving the fudge cake for later)

You can take my iPhone from my cold dead hands

In the backwaters of NZ the Ludites still nail phones to trees. With
your donations we can help stop this horrible practice.

Sent via my iPhone :-)

Back on the bikes

We are back on the bikes and stopping for beer at the Mussel Inn. You
gotta love a pre lunch beer.

Pete says that 11am is too early for beer!!! I disagree.

Day 18 - Farewell Spit, Quicksand and Bird Attack

Today we decided to hire a 4WD from Chris at Somerset House and drive up to Farewell Spit (the longest sand spit in The World at 34km). It was still quite a windy day after the storms and to assist Pete's healing process we decided not to ride it.

We took a nice long walk along the spit saw some seals, Pete got attacked by a bird with red eyes and a big nasty looking beak. Even though the bird was only 5 inches high you should have seen Pete run. You wouldn't have even know he had a knee injury. It's only after that, walking back towards the car we saw a sign we didn't notice on the way in:

Day 17 : Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

We woke up to a rainy morning in our little hippie camp of Shambala. Somehow I managed to wake without a hangover - Pete was not so lucky. Everything we owned was soaking wet, so we decided to abandon the harsh lifestyle of Shambala and move to more comfortable lodgings at Collingwood.

We packed our bikes, put on our wet bike stuff and headed off down the driveway of Shambala back to the main road. It is then that we met our favourite river/bridge/ford again, but by this time it was a swollen raging torrent (not unlike pete's headache). The next door neighbors had made a special trip down just to take a photo of it. We were desperate to escape, so Pete started wading across but after 2m it became clear there was no way were getting across the bridge in one piece.

So it was back to Shambala to talk to John about our options - the best option it would seem is to suffer our fate and stay another night at Shambala. Not a bad option if it were not for all our clothes being soaked and not having any food, but we wanted to go somewhere with more facilities (like food) and luxuries like mains power. But for the present time it seems we were stuck. John was happy to sell us the only food he had available - some uncooked spaghetti and a tin of tomato paste. We cooked it up and were just finishing it when John came in and told us there was an option for crossing the river by 4 wheel drive. So we pack the bikes on the back of John's 4WD which had a completely screwed head and could only travel 3km at most (which was perfect for us).

We got to the river and find it still raging and a large tree submerged in the middle. This was not going to stop John who in his relaxed manner just steamed into the middle of the Ford, over the tree, where the car got stuck and slowly but surely started to move sideways. Pete would like to add that he was quite concerned at this point (he was not alone). But all credit to John, he wrestled the vehicle through the river and the safety of the other side. We unpacked our bikes and watched John head back across the river in a cloud of smoke.

We then started our ride to Collingwood. It was only 10km but probably the worst conditions either of us have ever ridden in. It was horribly, filthy, wet and there was a pretty strong wind blowing. But we made it to Collingwood to a lovely hostel with warm showers, mains power, and heating. After a quick shower, we cruised down to an awesome little cafe for some breakfast and coffee. (meanwhile it was still raining heavily). We went back to our hostel to discover our lovely mains power was no more. Electricity to Collingwood had been taken down by the storm. There was only one answer -- back to the pub.

In between pints over candle-light, and bouts of singing from the blitz-spirit, grey hairs, we heard snippets of information from locals. The road to Takaka was closed and it was being reported on TV in Christchurch as the worst flood since 1983. One of the locals kept looking out the window to watch for cows floating past - he wasn't joking - apparently "they are good swimmers, but not that good".

Still no power. The irony of course is that everything was situation-normal back at Shambala where they are off the grid to begin with.

After many hours the power was restored eventually to Collingwood, but with more storms tonight, who knows what tomorrow may bring.

Day 16 : Mussels, Salami & Takaka Hill

From Motueka we set out on a wet morning to head over Takaka Hill to Golden Bay. We passed through a bunch of hop fields which was pretty exciting (for beer nerds anyway). The hill arrived pretty soon...it's 800m up over 10km which isn't too bad. Kym made short work of it although I had to walk a couple of km's due to my war wound (knees). Coming down was awesome although we were pretty wet by this time but our spirits were raised when we found a Organic Salami Vending Machine by the side of the road. Golden Bay is well known for it's quality produce and munching on hot chilli salami made the next 10kms very enjoyable. Kym wasn't too impressed as they seemed to be out of Tofu ;-)


After a brief stop in the hippie town of Takaka, we decided to press on to Onekaka, mainly because it has a pub-brewery called the Mussell Inn. It's amazing how your knees are capable of another 15km with the right motivation.

Anyways, we arrived at our accomodation called Shambala 3km down a dirt road and over a small low bridge (will become relevant later). It's a great joint, very eco-friendly and beautifully set over a beach. It has solar lights, showers, composting toilets etc. The owner John is very chilled and runs meditation / yoga sessions etc. Anyway, no time for meditation we had important business at the pub which was a 3km walk back up the track and over the low bridge (again the relevance will become clear). We briefly discussed whether we should take a torch and decided not (these random facts will come together soon I promise). I'll talk more about the Mussell Inn in my upcoming beer blog (still collating info !), but suffice to say they have a bunch of nice beers all brewed on the premises and a great atmosphere. Kym tried the Manuka beer which is flavoured with the tips of the Manuka tree, and I had a Monkey Puzzle which was 10%. Anyway, both of us got through a large quantity of fine ale, and we were basically oblivious to the rain lashing the windows. So, time to leave. It's now chucking it down and due to the cloud cover it's pitch black we can't see a thing. Hmmm...Kym comes up with the awesome idea of using his iPhone as a torch. I think this is at least the second time Kym's iPhone has saved our bacon.

So, two drunk dudes staggering down a dirt track in the pouring rain, using an iPhone as a torch. We arrive at the low bridge (remember that) ? It's not really a bridge anymore, More like a ford really. Anyway, with a skinful of beer we both bravely waded in and actually crossed without any incidents except we were both soaked. On getting back, Kym had some choice words to offer regarding John and his failure to warn us about the "bridge / ford". I have this on video if anyone's interested.

Interestingly, the "bridge / ford" features heavily in the next post. see that suspense building there ?

For now it's off to bed oblivious to tomorrow's events...zzzzz

Stats :

* Distance : 74.2km
* Time : 5hrs 40mins
* Height gain : 800m

Day 15 : Eels, Bogans and a Faint

Well, it's been an odd sort of a day, fun and interesting but also quite strange. First the good news is i'm back on the bike. The knees are still painful but manageable with some strong Ibruprofen, we had a light training ride yesterday of around 40km cycling to Richmond and back. On the way, we visited the Hoglund Glass Factory and the Bays Brewing Company where we were treated to a free tasting of some of their fine beers. The 7.5% Doppel Bock "Exterminator" was particularly good.

Today we loaded up again (although slightly lighter weight - we left the camping gear behind in Nelson) and rode 53km from Nelson to Motueka. This is a beautiful part of the country, and also the Hop capital of NZ which reminds me of my home county Kent. On the way, Kym insisted on checking out this place ;-)


We stopped for a break at a place called the "Jester House", a really cool and odd cafe / accomodation place (http://www.jesterhouse.co.nz/jester.html). I sampled a beer here from the Mussell Inn in Onekaka called "Eel ale". We're visiting this brew pub in a few days when we head up the coast and i'm really looking forward to it as todays beer was great. Anyway, the Jesters house has a stream and a bunch of tame eels living in it which you can feed. The oddest thing is that when someone rocks up with some food, they start climbing out of the water and slithering up the steps by the stream, reaching up to take the food. If you don't like eels, it would be a very scary experience as some of them were big! This also sparked a heated debate between Kym & I on the subject "is fish a type of meat or not ?". It's funny how subjects like this can be so contentious and create so much discussion when you're on the road.

There's a lot of cool art galleries in this area too and a bit further up the road we came across the gallery of a local sculptor, a real friendly guy who makes some amazing stuff. Here's a couple of pics Kym snapped...



We're now in Motueka which is a nice enough place, and the take off point for adventures in the Abel Tasman National Park. Usually arriving at your stopover for the night is fairly uneventful and just involves looking for accomodation, but not today! I was taking a shower after cycling and I possibly had the shower a little too hot, and maybe stayed in a little too long (it was a very good shower). Anyway, I was about to get out and started feeling a bit light-headed. The next thing I know i'm waking up in a pile in the bottom of the shower. I've never fainted in my life so it was a kind of odd experience, the whole "who am I, where am I, what am I doing here ?" thing on waking up was really strange. Anyway, we decided to head out to check out the town and the next thing a bunch of local bogan kids in a lowered Holden Commodore came cruising alongside and decided to spray us both with water. They lapped the block three times after this hanging out the window laughing. Kym was very keen to start a fight, but I managed to convince him that as I was wearing flip-flops and had recently fainted it probably wasn't a good idea.

Oddly enough, neither of these events, or the fact that it is now raining hard has put a downer on the day. I'm just stoked to get back on the bike...happy days!

Ps. Kym has just mentioned I should really say i'm OK, in case anyone is worried.

Pancake Rocks, Kayaking and The Black Hole of Westport

Pete and I drove the car up the West Coast past some of the more boring scenery around the glaciers and up to the norther part of the South Island.

On our journey we saw the very interesting Pancake Rocks and stayed at the not at all interesting, and somewhat scary, Westport. The funniest thing about Westport was when the hostel owner showed us our room and had to explain that we needed to move one of the beds in order to be able to close the door. Anyway, as the sign leading into Westport says "If you want to see Switzerland go to Queenstown, if you want to see NZ go to Westport". Yup, that pretty much sums it up. Westport was a scary town.

Pancake Rocks

On the way from Westport to Nelson we went Kayaking on a beautiful river in a limestone gorge. The best thing about this is that there were no form to sign, no insurance disclaimer. They just chuck a couple of kayaks at you and point you upstream. I'm no canoeing expert but i'm pretty sure some sections of the river were grade II white water. At one point Kym couldn't achieve the required velocity to negotiate some rapids upstream but got out of his kayak anyway in 6ft deep water and the last I saw was him drifting downstream desperately clinging on to his boat. Very funny, and that wasn't even the hard part, just upstream we had to negotiate a fallen tree and multiple white water sections. Anyway, really good fun on the way back down.

Action Man (moments before "the event")

Anyway, we're now in sunny Nelson and tomorrow we're heading up to Farewell Spit on the bikes (that's right Pete is back). The knees are still very painful when cycling but a combination of Voltaren 25's and high alcohol Belgian style beer saw me through 40kms today so I figure there's no more excuses. Interestingly, the only time my knees didn't hurt was straight after the micro-brewery i'm seriously wondering what I should put into that second water bottle ;-)

Day 11 - Pleasant Flats - Jacob's River

Got up, ate our breakfast of champions (can of creamed rice) and got out of camp before getting eaten by sandflies.

It was a real mix of environments, leaving the hills and forest of Haast and cycling along the coast up a few small hills and into a sleapy little town called Jacob's River.

View from Knight's Point

The cycle today was 135km, which is by furthest distance so far. Whilst my legs are feeling strong other parts of my body are not feeling so robust. I'm a little worried that my knees are going the way of the "Pete", so tomorrow is officially a rest day. The other parts of my body that aren't feeling so good cannot be commented on in a "G" rated blog. If you know what I mean.

Stats:

• Distance: 135km
• Time: 6:52:29
  

Cycling Day 10 - Wanaka to Pleasant Flat

Had a great day cycling from Wanaka up over the Haast Pass and down into a little campground called Pleasant Flat. So much to feast the eyes on, swift flowing rivers, snow capped mountains, alpine meadows, beautiful lakes and beech forests. Had a bit of a head wind but generally the riding was wonderful.












That night Pete and I met up and campled camped at a nice little camp ground called Pleasant Flat which is just after the descent from Haast Pass.

After feasting my eyes on the scenery it was time for the Sand Flies to feast themselves on us... ahh, the beautiful cycle of life!


Here is a picture of Pete and I trying to avoid Sandflies. We figured if we stood still and looked unnatractive then they might not try and eat us.

... just for the record: We were wrong.

Stats

• Distance : 98km

Lake Hawae

Coffee at Lake Hawae

I'm just sitting having a mid morning coffee at Lake Hawae. The
weather today is better than yesterday, there isn't any rain but there
is a fairly strong head wind.

Got my spoke fixed today at a bike shop in Wanaka - $15 for the spoke
replacement and whilst they were at it they adjusted my brakes and
cleaned my bike. Nice.

Oh well, better get on my bike, I've 85k to ride before I meet up with
Pete at the Haast Pass.

Day 9 - A beer at the Cardrona Hotel

After my epic journey over the Crown Summit, I met up with Pete at the Cardrona Pub. A sweet little pub and a welcome break from the head wind that suddenly appeared once I reached the summit. Dang, I hate the wind. There is just no justice what so ever in having peddled all the way up the Crown Saddle and then having to peddle on the way down too because the wind is so strong that if I didn't peddle I'd stop. Add to this a bit of rain and you've got a recipe for beer. A nice cold beer at the Cardrona Pub.

After our beer, we walked outside where it was starting to seriously rain. Pete hops in his nice little car, gives me a toot-toot on the horn and then drives off towards Wanaka, leaving me to ride an hour to Wanaka in the rain and wind. Actually, to be fair, Pete did offer to give me a lift but apparently I said no.

It's funny how things like cycling in the rain are much more fun when you can share the pain with someone else. Just to reasure all you people who voted for me in "The Poll" I did not cry - It was just raining on my face... and shoes... and pants. But no man tears.

But to be fair, Pete had sorted us out with an awesome place to stay in Wanaka so when I arrived we didn't have to ride around cold and wet trying to find a place to sleep. Pete had arranged it all... all I had to do was squeeze out my socks and have a nice hot shower.



Hopefully the rain will clear a little to allow me to continue cycling tomorrow.


Stats:

• Start - Queenstown


• Finish - Wanaka


• Distance - 77km


• Time - 5:10:03


• Max Height - 1080m

On top of the World

Yay. I reached the top of the Crown Range Summit. And I've got phone
coverage!!! It sure is beautiful and rugged up here.

Unfortunately, I broke a spoke on the way up the pass. And as luck
would have it, it's on the cassette side which means a visit to a bike
shop in Wanaka because I consciously decided to not bring a cassette
removal tool. What are the chances I'd need it, huh?!? :-) Exactly
the same thing happened when Tamara and I toured Asia. You would have
thought I'd learn really! :-)

Oh well it's all downhill to the pub to meet Pete for a beer. But
first a vegemite and cheese sandwich for lunch. Or as it's better
known - lunch of champions.

Ziggy ziggy ahhh

Just got to the top of zig-zag road leading out of Queenstown. It's
steep, but it ain't no thang!

Now onto crossing the highest sealed road in New Zealand, and then
meet Pete for a beer at the Cordrona pub!

Knees up!

Well, i've been in Queenstown resting up for a few days now in the hope that my knee injury would recover. I went to the physio yesterday, i've picked up some tendon damage to the Patellar Tendon in both knees which is apparently a classic over-use injury for cycling & basketball. Anyway, the upshot is that walking around is fine (although steps are a little painful) but turning my legs on the cranks of a bike even with no load sends sharp pains through my knees. Adding weight and hills would surely induce man tears ;-) The physio tells me there's no permanent damage and advises ice, rest and strong drugs (double dose of Voltaren 25's twice a day) but can't really give me a timeline on full recovery. Anyway, I went for a short flat ride this morning after a few days rest and it was agony. So, what to do ?

Neither Kym or I are keen to hang out in Queenstown any more, it's nice but chocked full of tourists. While it's bitterly disappointing for both of us i've decided to throw in the cycling and hire a car. Kym is keen to keep riding some of the way but i'll be acting as support crew and spending some time investigating other cool things (and South Island micro-breweries ;-) while he's on the road. I am hoping to get back in the saddle maybe in a weeks time for some cruising around the top of South Island so watch this space.

For anyone else contemplating a big cycle tour, the lesson i've learnt from this is to ensure you do plenty of training fully loaded as well as unloaded (including food & water as well as kit - I was carrying 6 litres of water on the day the knees gave in). Also, make sure to do multi-day training trips as pulling out a big day one day and then resting is quite different to 4 in a row. Anyway, easy to be wise after the event I guess !

One more thing, I have to give a mention to Kym who has been a top drawer travelling companion and very understanding of my predicament. Sorry mate for stuffing the trip up! Also, thanks to everyone who has emailed me with support.

PS : Kym says I haven't stuffed up the trip if I carry half his weight in the car.

PPS : Just for the record, there have been no man tears to date (although I came close when trying to find a hire car out of Queenstown, 20 phone calls and 2 hours :-( For those of you still to place a bet bear in mind I will now be driving and Kym will be attempting the hills of Crown Pass & Haast Pass.

Random Picture - Sand Fly Genocide

Here is a random photo from the archives.


As many people would know Sandflies are a huge problem around the Fjordland region, but what many people do not know there is a Legend in Sandfly communities about a giant beast called Pete The Destroyer. :-)

In Petes defence, he was making our room Sandfly free for the night. Seeing as I was unwilling to kill Sandflies - of course I didn't step in to protect them either... anyway another story.

More Glenorchy

Lunch at Glenorchy

What a place to have lunch, huh!?! This little town is awesome. And
the cafe even had vegie meals. What more could a weary cyclist ask for?

Incidentally, I was speaking to a nice guy named Kevin in Glenorchy
who was telling me they have a bicycle race there every year at the
end of march. Sounds Choice Bro! :-)

But seriously sounds like lots of fun and not at all serious. For
example they have a place called "cream bun corner" where you are
given a bun to eat on the way through. The other cool thing about the
race is that it's through some of the most beautiful scenery in NZ. If
you want the details get in contact with Kevin Jennings for additional
information. His email is kevinj@qldc.govt.nz

So stats for the day are:
Start: Queenstown
Finish: Queenstown
Distance: 96 km
Time: 5:08:06

More on the road to Glenorchy

Magnificent scenery on the way to Glenorchy. It's a shame that Pete
couldn't make it. Hopefully he gets some good news on the knees so we
can ride through more scenery like this!

On the road to Glenorchy

Nice scenery

Day 6 - The Fast Bus to Queenstown

We decided to take the bus from Milford Sound to Queenstown today. It seems unlikely that Pete's knee would make the journey (and secretly Kym is pretty happy about not having to do that mountain again!)

Organising a bus was much easier than expected - there are a bunch of guys called TrackNet who shuttle tourists around the South Island. They have no problems taking on bikes because they carry with them bike racks. So you just throw your bike on the front and off you go. Nice one, props to TrackNet!

Here are our bikes on the front of one of the afore mentioned buses.

Day 5 - Rest Day In Milford

We were pleased to have a rest day in Milford Sound after the hard days cycling yesterday. We decided to take a cruise through the beautiful sounds. Highly Recommended, some of the most beautiful scenery you will see anywhere.

Apart from that the day mainly consisted of beer and rest.

Stats:

• Start: Milford
• Finish: Milford Pub
• Distance: 200m
• Time: 6hrs (in the pub)
  

Stop the Press (and the cycling !)

Just a quick update, we are currently in Milford Sound which is amazing, weather has been great and the cycling stunning. Unfortunately, i've picked up a tendon injury in both knees which is making cycling very painful. No plan yet on what we're going to do but I think it will involve a few days rest and a visit to a physio in Queenstown for me at least. Anyway, we'll try to update with the latest adventures shortly including our very exciting trip through the Homer Tunnel.

Day 4: The Tunnel

Day 4, a light day on the surface, a mere 37.12km, but including the infamous Homer Pass (elevation 900m). Also the day that broke Pete's knees :-(

Anyway, back to that later. After a short but arduous climb we were rewarded with stunning views of glacial valleys and eventually the dark hole in the mountain that is the Homer tunnel - a 1.2km long, one way, traffic-light controlled, 1:10 gradient downhill, wet, cold slippery, scary (and a bit exciting) voyage into the unknown. We'd been told that the traffic light sequence was 15 minutes giving us slow biked plenty of time to get through. Hmmm...check out the video and you'll see our surprise when they changed after 2 minutes. Oh, and watch out for the blaspheming after about 30 seconds (sorry but I did have a good reason).

Anyway, we made it in one piece and a brilliant 20km / 900m descent followed to Milford Sound.


Breakfast of Champions (take 2) :


Beautiful Fjordland :

Cheeky Kea's :
Stats :

Start : Lake Gunn
Finish : Milford Sound
Distance : 37.12km
Time : 2:25:21
Elevation : 900m