While on a twelve-hour layover in Sydney, I took a long, leisurely stroll through the city's botanical gardens. It was wonderfully relaxing. I didn't see one "yellowhead" all day. I also took photos of the Sydney Opera House from different viewpoints.
I mentioned in my last update that I went to the Sydney Zoo. Before Odyssey2000, I was always enthralled by zoos. But I couldn't get excited about seeing the elephants, lions or giraffes when I had seen them all in the wild in Kruger National Park in South Africa. Many of the other animals were hohum zoo experiences also. Part of it also may be due to sensory overload. I've seen so many incredible places this year that I'm somewhat desensitized to another scenic sight. Fortunately, New Zealand is gorgeous ... albeit wet!
Because I was on an earlier flight, I was able to spend a day in quaint Christchurch. The South Island's largest city (330,000) is dominated by the cathedral square in its center. Strolling among the shops, I was delighted by how friendly the Kiwis really are. Once, when I stopped to double-check an address I wrote on a map, a motorist immediately asked if I was lost. The willingness of shopkeepers to send customers to other shops reminded me of the Macy's Santa Claus in "Miracle on 34th Street" sending people to Gimble's.
After a 300-mile jovial bus ride, without whiners, our next stop was the adventure capital of New Zealand, Queenstown. It was our first camping in seven weeks. Less than 20 tents were set up tho' as many opted to pay for rooms. A lot of people took advantage of the various adventures available to spend money. There was jet boating, tandem paragliding, roller luging, helicopter rides, lake cruises, and internet surfing. I opted to walk the town then met our only female EFMer (Every Frickin' Mile) Ruth (whose boyfriend back in Indiana doesn't ride much), for a non-serious movie, "Space Cowboys." It was a relaxing couple of hours with only one other person in the audience. Before dinner, I took the gondola up for the view above the town, the lake and the surrounding mountains dusted on their jagged peaks with new snow. From the observation deck, I watched the tandem paragliders take off and sail above the town.
The ride out of Queenstown was the ride of dreams. A few sheep, great weather, a quiet road (no honking drivers or yelling kids), and alpine vistas in all directions made for a fantastic day. The fact that there were ONLY 70 miles helped. The next day over Haast Pass was mixed. The first half was a repeat performance of the day before, then the headwind took over. It was brutal riding into the wind for hours. I forgot to look at the scenery. I did notice the whitecaps on the lake blowing in my direction. My legs were rubber by the end of the day.
The next day was worse. The headwinds were worse, plus it rained ... hard, and, oh yea, it was hilly. I made it 30km before realizing my lack of decent brakes was a good excuse for sagging. Half the riders sagged into Franz Joseph Glacier.
I was the ONLY person to camp in the rain that night as EVERYONE else got rooms and/or roommates. With the wind blowing the rainfly into the tent, the rain was pushed through my overused tent. A puddle of water formed in a lower corner. The puddle contained a quart of water. Suddenly the wind picked up that corner and the water splashed over the floor. The inside of my tent has never been wetter. I climbed out into the rain and staked down the tent to prevent further splashes. I then bailed out the tent as best as I could. Just before going to sleep, I bailed out another quart of water. Fortunately, the pounding rain stopped by midnight and most everything was able to dry the next day (though some stuff had to be thrown in with my wash to get cleaned then dried).
After laundry (only four more times before I'm home), I joined a few others to go up to Franz Joseph Glacier, not the town but the actual glacier. Like another glacier, Fox, a little farther south, it drops very steeply from the snow field on Mount Cook. Both come incredibly close to sea level for temperate climate glaciers.
The hike out to the glacier included walking through a rain forest then tramping over a rocky river bed right to the bottom of the blue ice glacier. Ropes kept people from hiking to the melting cave. This was a good thing as a very large boulder was hanging precariously waiting for a little more ice to melt beneath it so it could come crashing down.
The next couple of riding days were along the coast. The ocean is fed by ice blue/green glacial melt rivers. The ocean keeps the color. It is a color the Oregon Coast should envy. At one point there were "pancake rocks" which are rocks with many flat layers in them. Geologists don't know how they were formed. An asphalt walkway leads tourists out to and over the most scenic formations. Most of the rest of the scenery those two days was of rain forests with occasional distant mountains.
In New Zealand they have a habit of building one-lane bridges to save money. A couple of them included train tracks down the center. The roads are usually chipseal. Take hot asphalt, spread out some stones, then press them into the asphalt. That's chipseal and it's rough. It makes for a bit noisier ride for motorists but a much noisier, jarring and energy draining ride for cyclists.
The last two days on the South Island were spent riding up one day and down the next. The climbing was mostly gradual, but continuous. The scenery was mostly green pastures and clear blue/green streams under a deep blue sky. Thanks to one of the largest ozone holes in years, a lot of us are getting tanned skin and chapped lips. Maybe we'll go to a whitening salon before returning home.
The last South Island day was the longest fastest day for many. We had a gradual 2000ft downhill and a 15mph tailwind that went on for 87km. Over that period, without much effort, I averaged 31kph (19.3mph). Like many, that stretch was the longest I had ridden that fast. 76 year old Anita was so surprised by how fast she was going that while her handlebars were "oscillating," she looked at her speedometer, hit a hole and fell. She needed minor surgery on her knee and could be sagging the rest of the trip. She's tough but the knee will be quite stiff for awhile. She missed the part of the ride with no downhill and a strong headwind. She also missed the winner of the world's best cheese's store. The day finished with a three-hour ferry ride to Wellington, New Zealand's capitol.
With the smaller group, it was much easier for everyone to do laundry and still get out to walk around the city. Nobody rushes to be first at dinner as any line disappears within five minutes. The group attitude is much better, and ... attitude is everything. Take it from someone who is having the best year of his life.
Keeping the rubber down and the spirits high,
Bruce