West Coast
21 november 2017 - Hokitika, Nieuw-Zeeland
The first week on the South Island. Short: sunny, stunning, different landscape every 10km and lots, lots if sandflies.
The ferry from Wellington to Picton gave a wonderful view over the marlborough sounds, although the waves were quite big and I slept through a big part of the trip to avoid getting seesick. I stayed in a lovely little backpackers hostel in Picton, with free chocolate mousse and ice cream. Yummie! Off to Nelson I followed the Queen Charlotte drive, with a rewarding view after every hill, which were many.. Camped out near the beach and did a short run just to end the 110km day. Nothing beats a good beach! As the nz most famous cycling route, the great taste trail, starts at Nelson, I followed it all the way to Motueka the next morning. Too bad a big part of the trail had been destroyed by a big storm the other week, but Kees managed every stone on the way. And then I got to meet Anita! Yes, another Stokman family member. She showed me around in little Kaiterteri with the golden beaches and highest ocean tide change: 5 metres between low and high! We explored the Abel Tasman national park on a nice sunny day, with many birds and native bush, very interesting. Great to catch up with Anita, too.
Seakayaking is a big thing in the area, and so I joined a guided tour through the marine reserve. Besides pedalling through paradise all day (and not on a bike for a change) we saw so many native birds, seals and even dolphins at the end! What an experience.. Great. Lovely "kiwi" meals at Anita and Mark's gave me a lot of energy and so it was time to hop on Kees again. We got dropped off at Woodstock and I pedalled on to Kawatiri junction. Because the traffic is quite bad there due to the earthquake and the detour trucks have to take around Kaikoura, friends of family were so kind to pick me up there. And so Kees and I got spoiled again, drove along in the back of a ute, ate lots, slept like a baby, saw rugby (all blacks - Scotland) and were off the other day again from the other (safe) side of Murchison. Thanks so much Joce and Bruce!!
Through the gorge towards the ocean was just beautiful and peacefull, with so many birds singing around. And there it was, windy, hilly and long: the west coast! Camped out in Charleston and moved on to Punakaki the next morning to check out the pancake rocks and blowholes. A very special place. And as I treated myself with some coffee and eggs, I met 2 other cyclist practically go the same way. Awesome! My day wasn't over yet and I continued to Greymouth, where I'd wait for them the next day. Taylor, a Canadian cyclist joined me from there, whereas the Swiss girl, Anne, decided to cycle the Arthur's pass to Christchurch. Must be beautiful too.
And now here we are, down in Hokitika after the first day of cycling with someone else since this journey started. Nice to chat a little along the road and even better: not having to take your own pictures all the time! The campsite we stay at is the garden of an old psychiatric hospital, with some creepy rooms. But at least there's a warm shower, a kitchen and wi-fi, to keep you all updated.
The next days we'll be cycling towards Wanaka, with some big climbs along the way. Looking forward to it and the weather seems to stay sunny too!
Cheers, enjoy winter there in Europe while I'll get my tanlines straightened out ;).
The ferry from Wellington to Picton gave a wonderful view over the marlborough sounds, although the waves were quite big and I slept through a big part of the trip to avoid getting seesick. I stayed in a lovely little backpackers hostel in Picton, with free chocolate mousse and ice cream. Yummie! Off to Nelson I followed the Queen Charlotte drive, with a rewarding view after every hill, which were many.. Camped out near the beach and did a short run just to end the 110km day. Nothing beats a good beach! As the nz most famous cycling route, the great taste trail, starts at Nelson, I followed it all the way to Motueka the next morning. Too bad a big part of the trail had been destroyed by a big storm the other week, but Kees managed every stone on the way. And then I got to meet Anita! Yes, another Stokman family member. She showed me around in little Kaiterteri with the golden beaches and highest ocean tide change: 5 metres between low and high! We explored the Abel Tasman national park on a nice sunny day, with many birds and native bush, very interesting. Great to catch up with Anita, too.
Seakayaking is a big thing in the area, and so I joined a guided tour through the marine reserve. Besides pedalling through paradise all day (and not on a bike for a change) we saw so many native birds, seals and even dolphins at the end! What an experience.. Great. Lovely "kiwi" meals at Anita and Mark's gave me a lot of energy and so it was time to hop on Kees again. We got dropped off at Woodstock and I pedalled on to Kawatiri junction. Because the traffic is quite bad there due to the earthquake and the detour trucks have to take around Kaikoura, friends of family were so kind to pick me up there. And so Kees and I got spoiled again, drove along in the back of a ute, ate lots, slept like a baby, saw rugby (all blacks - Scotland) and were off the other day again from the other (safe) side of Murchison. Thanks so much Joce and Bruce!!
Through the gorge towards the ocean was just beautiful and peacefull, with so many birds singing around. And there it was, windy, hilly and long: the west coast! Camped out in Charleston and moved on to Punakaki the next morning to check out the pancake rocks and blowholes. A very special place. And as I treated myself with some coffee and eggs, I met 2 other cyclist practically go the same way. Awesome! My day wasn't over yet and I continued to Greymouth, where I'd wait for them the next day. Taylor, a Canadian cyclist joined me from there, whereas the Swiss girl, Anne, decided to cycle the Arthur's pass to Christchurch. Must be beautiful too.
And now here we are, down in Hokitika after the first day of cycling with someone else since this journey started. Nice to chat a little along the road and even better: not having to take your own pictures all the time! The campsite we stay at is the garden of an old psychiatric hospital, with some creepy rooms. But at least there's a warm shower, a kitchen and wi-fi, to keep you all updated.
The next days we'll be cycling towards Wanaka, with some big climbs along the way. Looking forward to it and the weather seems to stay sunny too!
Cheers, enjoy winter there in Europe while I'll get my tanlines straightened out ;).
Wat geweldig knap dat je na ruim 100km fietsen op een dag zelfs nog voor een run gaat. Als ik het zo lees is je conditie geweldig. Hoe houden je schenen het?