I spent the next day of my NZ cycling tour in Greymouth visiting bike shops to sort my gears out. I ended up getting a much wider range of gears by replacing the two largest sprockets on the rear cassette. This made the ride up to my next stop in Reefton much more comfortable.
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Everyone in Reefton was little bit weird, but really friendly. In the local store, when I found they had sold out of mugs, I was given one from their canteen – has that every happened to you in Sainsbury’s?
The next slog was up to a thermal spa resort at Maruia Springs. Strange place that let me camp there and I had full use of the natural spas, something I would never have gone their to do, but when it’s offered… Anyway, very relaxing after a long day on the road!
The following morning I woke early and on leaving the tent was total enveloped by thousands of sand flies. They can turn a completely sane person, absolutely mental in about three minutes. And they bite…a lot. The only thing you can do is wrap up and keep walking around so they can’t all gather – you try packing a tent up while doing that! Anyway, I was soon on my way and tackling the Lewis Pass.
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I was full of energy and made light work of the 6km climb. From then on, I can say without hesitation that it was the best cycling day ever. There was a massive tailwind, some thrilling descents, and stunning views all day – and no one there! I was making such good progress I got to my destination, Hanmer Springs by noon, and considered going on. But really, I didn’t set out on this trip to get form A to B as quickly as possible, I did it to see the country, and so went to see what was about in town.
The last day down to the East Coast was the longest yet at 130km. I set off at sunrise to avoid the heat of the day as much as possible, and was soon onto a minor inland road that was even more quiet than the major roads over the Alps. Another hot and tiring but great day riding, and I get to Kaikoura, the home of whale watching.
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After a couple of days, I took one of the few trains that run in NZ back to Christchurch to avoid cycling on the long, boring, and nerve-racking State Highway One. Full circle, back to where I started, to plan my next route around this amazing county.
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7 days cycling, 9 days in all. 34 hours behind the handlebars. 629km, 390miles. 25 Cookietime Cookies – best cookies in the world.
- David
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