Day 7 Harahari to Fox Glacier

Distance 97 km

Time 5 hours 30 minutes

Travel Modalities: cycling, walking as mandated by law.

My windows are frosty when I depart. I am reminded of living in Napier.

I make the foolish mistake of wearing my regular socks. I am afraid I have frostbite, so I stop to change. It is even colder during the 10 seconds I am barefoot. I wish I had non-waterproof warm socks.

Still cold, I decide to push a little harder than in previous days. Minimal gravel, it's not a steep day. With effort, the bike goes 24 kmh. The wide tires, the baggage, and my exhaustion level are conspiring to make this a long day.

I stop at the first cafe/convenience store/souvenir shop (30k away) because nothing was open in Harihari when I left. I regret it as soon as I'm back on the bike and swear off flat whites and pies until Queenstown.

I pass a couple of lakes and stop at one so that nobody will reprimand me for skipping an important lake. I hope I picked the correct lake. The sandflies attack and I flee.

I cannot stop taking pictures of snow.

My info says Franz Josef Glacier is no longer worth seeing and I should go to Fox Glacier. I check into the (government) info center and the ranger does her best to not admit this. She tells me the smoke/ash from the Aussie fires discolored both glaciers and caused them to reflect less light. Which I guess is bad for glacier health. She warns me about the climbs I have ahead, which her cycling friends call the triple bypass.

I force myself to eat before said climbs. I realize I ate this exact same dish in the same restaurant the last time I was in Franz Josef. Nico probably ordered it.

I stop at the bottom of the first hill to remove clothes and to take a picture of my favourite road sign ever.

I stop at the top of the third hill to put clothes back on. I am beyond cold on the way down.

I check into the hotel and lighten up the bike as the (Fox) glacier is past town. 500 m from the closest viewing point I'm supposed to lock up my bike. But the lock i've been carrying for 400 miles is in the hotel. I walk the bike and hope I won't be arrested.

Last time I was here, you could touch the glacier. People were complaining that 10 years prior, the trail followed the glacier for 2 km. It is still stunning.

I'm terrified of bridges but force myself to photograph it on the way back.

The receptionist at the hotel recommends one restaurant over the other three in town. This is unusual behavior for a Kiwi and I wonder if she has a stake in the restaurant. I order a lot of food. The potato leek soup is excellent. The lamb ragout grows on me.

The GPS split today's ride in half.

Video one.

Video two.

Day 6 Greymouth to Harihari

Distance 122 km

Time: 7 hours 30 minutes

Travel modalities: bicycling

The first weather forecast on television this morning is in Maori. I don't understand any of it, but the pictures and numbers look bad. I haven't sailed in so long, I can't remember if SW winds means out of the south west or into the south west. I decide not to check, but assume it will be bad for me. Hail accumulates on the hotel balcony as I get ready.

i eat a full breakfast and wait for the rain to subside. I plan on leaving at 8, as yesterday that was when the rain was supposed to stop. Today, it's supposed to rain until noon. (Did that make sense? The storm is lingering and the ride is too long to wait for the rain to stop).

I stop a couple of times to put on or take off gear. The rotary club had built shelters along the course, I try to time my stops to them. It is partly sunny for the first few km, I think I've dodged the worst of it. But it starts sprnkling and looks terrible up ahead. Did I mention it's also freezing? Locals are complaining about the cold. I gown up. This is the moment I purchased just about every piece of gear for: 4 waterproof bags, waterproof socks, waterproof pants, waterproof jacket (with hood that is supposed to fit over my helmet, but only fits under, waterproof gloves). It rains for about 10 km--stronger than a light rain, buy never the deluge I've been watching from my hotel room for the last two days. 

I elect to do a combination of the Tour of Aotearoa, the course most bicycle tour companies use, and some google maps recomendations. Today's distance is too long for at least one the Tour of Aotearoa side tracks. This gets me to Hokitika quickly, but requires some highway riding.

I rejoin the Tour of Aotearoa route and am rewarded with this rainforesty looking gravel track. I stop to shoot a photo, but then decide a video would be better. The track feels safe enough for this. (I don't know how to embed a video on the app, so you have to click the link.) I'm not sure if this track is more beautiful than other places I've been, but it's very different than the barren coastline I've been riding along for hours. The track becomes more dangerous with turns too sharp for a cyclist with my skill level to make without dismounting. I see an impossible angle coming and put a foot down, but fall anyway. I land on my shoulder, so the bike is okay. It is not the first time I've fallen on this trip, but definitely the most painful.

I take very few pictures. I stop for some sheep for Nico because I have my full finger gloves on and can't work the phone without takkng them off. There's fresh snow up ahead. I get much closer, but this is the last photo I try to take of it. The wind is unrelenting. I remember the meterologist this morning warning "Keep in mind, these are steady wind speeds, not gusts." I wonder if they measure in kmh or knots for the weather report. Either is bad. I am crawling along at 11 kmh in my easiest gear on flat ground. I wonder how much longer I can do this for. 30 km, I tell myself.

I roll into Harihari and make sure the pub isn't about to close before crossing the street to the world's best shower.

I've been making these ride videos. I'll start linking here. 

Rest Day

Had I remembered to set my Garmin watch, I would have called this day 6 and maybe clocked 5 km of walking. But since I didn't, let's call it a rest day.

The weather did not disappoint this morning. I struggled with choosing between hotel coffee and venturing outside. 

This gem of a cafe takes advantage of their leaking roof to water the indoor lemon tree.

I run into a couple of cyclists at the bike shop where I purchase a replacement for my lost mirror. They're from Quebec and riding from the top to the bottom and back. We're currently heading in the same direction, so I'll probably see them tomorrow. 

The hotel is storing my bicycle in a shipping container. It is unclear if they have a shipping container for other purposes or it is there just for bicycles. I need to fix an assembly error which has been rendering my top two gears unusable. This has not been an issue on the gravel, but with sealed roads making up the next several days, I might need the missing gears. They allow me to make some repairs in the container as the rain has not relented. I am afraid the wind will blow the door shut and I don't know if shipping containers can be opened from the inside.

All my clothes save my waterproof pants and jacket fit inside this bag. 

Actually, the jacket bungees to the top of the bag, but I'd look pretty strange in the laundromat wearing only rain pants and no jacket.

Kiwis do not use PayPal or Venmo. Their banks have been providing a similar service for decades.When my American credit card is rejected, people tell me to transfer them money, but I am unable. Except I have a Westpac account that I opened prior to moving to New Zealand. I have no way to access it as I had mostly forgotten about it. I walk into the Greymouth branch, get online banking reactivated, and leave with a new EFTPOS card. Look that up.

The rain has subsided, so I decide to walk to the beach. I wander through this park and a see a sign for a bush walk. The rain is picking up by now and I'm not wearing my water proof pants, so I pass. I discover that my REI comvertible cargo pants are actually pretty water resistant.

I happen on what looks like a brand new hospital. I consider seeking out the pharmacy to talk shop, but decide that even in my disheveled and soggy state I am likely to be offered a job. Greymouth is less than liveable for me.

I reach the beach. I am hit with a blast of sideways rain and my REI convertible cargo pants decide they have repelled enough water today. I am questioning my life decisions that brought me to this place. I am 3 km from the hotel.

Back in town, the cold and/or rain has caused my camera to fog up. The front facing camera is still working so I shoot a selfie with a greenstone sculpture.

I shoot a selfie with the clock tower.

I shoot a selfie with the shipping container and Greymouth's finest hotel.

I am hopeful the rear facing camera will dry out by tomorrow or you will be seeing even more photos of me.

Day 5 Reefton to Greymouth

Distance: 77 km

Time: 3 hours 48 minutes

Travel modalities: bicycling

The forecast called for severe rain and thunderstorms today and tomorrow, with a possible window of not raining from late morning to early afternoon.

I sat in a cafe for an hour waiting for the cold drizzle to stop. Locals recommended I stay in Reefton another day or two.

Most of my photos are taken while I'm stopped to either put on waterproof gear or take it off.  Here's a rare moment where I take a shot while riding. 

If you can read the chalkboard, you'll know this has been the story of my trip so far. There's supposed to be another cafe at the Former Blackpool Hilton, but the GPS does not route me to turn into Blackpool (which looks uphill, so I'm not entirely upset). Still, I'm curious if the Former Blackpool Hilton was once actually a Hilton or it's just quirky Kiwi marketing.

My first glimpse of Greymouth. I stopped to take all the rain gear off in the hopes that I'd be slightly less sweaty when I returned to civilization. The freezing cold headwind made me regret this decision for the last two kilometers.

I've been to Greymouth at least twice before, but I don't think I've ever seen the sun. Forecast looks equally bad tomorrow and the old body thinks it's overdue for a break.

Relive video.

Day 4 Murchison to Reefton

Distance travelled: 122 km

Time: 7 hours, 4 minutes

Travel modalities: Mostly bicycling, with a few steps of walking

Left Murchison at the crack of dawn as AccuWeather warned of a severe weather alert starting at 1 pm.

More cows than I remember.

Here's my bike before a bridge. Theres a climb coming up so this seemed like a good place for a break.

Climbing up a steep, gravel hill isn't all bad. It started drizzling a little here. Would have been pleasant if it wasn't so cold. After crossing some more fords, I realize I could die out here if it actually started pouring.

While the ride was mostly gravel, I notice it's the first day with sealed roads that aren't highways. I enjoy this though just long enough for the road to turn to gravel.

Neither of the two cafes along the way are open. Fortunatel, there's a petrol station amd they serve pies. It's the best thing I've ever eaten.

It starts raining a little garder on the final 8 km climb. A 35 km downhill follows so I stop at the top and put most of my winter gear on. It makes me even slower.

Relive video.

Day 3 Nelson to Murchison

Distance traveled: 163 km, mostly gravel

Time: 9 hours, 50 minutes

Travel modalities: Mostly bicycling, maybe a little walking

A crack of dawn start meant nothing was open in Nelson. Nothing was open in Richmond except McDonald's, so I pressed on. Everything in Wakefield was closed, save the bakery. So I had pie for breakfast. (That's a vegetable pie with a potato top.)

One of the highligh's of this ride is a really long railway tunnel. Headlight required. I can't think of too many things creepier than riding alone in the dark for a mile.

There are too many impossibly beautiful photos to sort through right now. This one has my first glimpse of snow.

Here's my bike resting in front of Lake Rotoroa. The black flies were all over me in seconds, so the break was short.

Some impossible greenness. My phone died somewhere around here, so I was unable to look up the word "ford", which kept appearing on signs with exclamation points.Don't worry, I figured out after the third or forth stream crossing. 

Relive video 

Day 2: Havelock to Nelson the hard way

Distance Travelled: 53 km

Time: 4 hours, 40 minutes

Travel modalities included bicycling and more walking than I'm willing to admit.

The day began with the realization that I'd lost my sunglasses. Fortunately, it wasn't very sunny so I didn't need them.

 

My first time riding any appreciable distance on gravel. I thought it would all be like this: smooth, well maintained, flat. I guess I wasn't expecting flat.

I don't want to say I decided to start walking here, because it was the road that decided for me.The photo does not adequately demonstrate how steep it is. 

Some incredible beauty along the way.

Riding along what I think is the Pelorus river was stunning, but it doesn't look as pretty in the photo.

Relive video.