Westward Bound

We arrived in Motueka from Abel Tasman National Park for our rest day on Sunday. We thought the ride from Abel Tasman was going to be an easy 10k but the route we took turned out to be 25k with a truly monstrous hill right in the middle. We stopped & rested at the top of the hill before descending because my head felt like it was going to explode!

On Monday morning we decided to stay in Motueka for a ‘real’ rest day – I thought the day before (with the 25k & giant hill) didn’t count at all. The full day and a half of rest was glorious – we had fish and chips, local white wine, bowl lattes, and Mr Whippy ice cream (As documented by Jamie’s earlier photo. Those kids were so slow – they were easy to beat to the ice cream truck!) We even got to have cereal with cold milk on the day of our departure towards the west coast. That’s an exciting treat because we usually can’t have milk in the morning due to our inability to keep it cold.

Fish and Chips:

Jamie posing in Motueka:

First day out we cycled along the quiet Motueka Valley Road which meandered, slowly uphill, southwest along a river. It was perfect weather & a perfect road for cycling. We passed lots of orchards and vineyards, as well as farms growing hops. Some farmers got double duty by letting their sheep hang around under the hop vines:

The day gradually got hotter and hotter – around 3pm we stopped for a rest in the shade at a roadside fruit stand where we got a bag of freshly picked plums for $1. After 4 1/2 hours in the saddle and 75k we found our first free camping spot along a small river. We cooked dinner and hung out until the sandflies got so bad we had to set up the tent. We spent the rest of the evening in the tent listening to our radio & the millions of bugs hurling themselves with all their might against the sides of our tent. To Jamie’s huge delight this was our cheapest day ever – only $8. More money for me to spend on ice cream in the next town!

While Jamie was washing dishes in the river he encountered the most friendly bird on earth. It was a cute little gray bird with long skinny legs – he was interested in everything Jamie was doing. He even perched on the sponge while Jamie rinsed the dishes! Later on that evening he came over to our tent and hopped under the vestibule to peek in the screen door. He must get fed a lot & was looking for a handout?

We woke up the next morning to someone’s crowing rooster that had made its new home in the field we were camping. We took down our tent and had coffee & toast with peanut butter for breakfast. Here’s our highly ingenious way of making toast with no toaster.

The day started off slow – lots of small hills, leading up to the biggest saddle we’ve crossed so far. After one hour of cycling (average speed of 9km/hr -ugh!) we made it to the top of Hope Saddle at 634 meters. We took in the scenic viewpoint then zoomed down the other side of the saddle.

Surveying the scenery:

Yet another congratulatory picture. 2085 feet!

We’re having afternoon tea in Murchison right now and plan to ride another 20k before finding another free camp spot tonight for a total of 80k today. Tomorrow we’ll ride another 80k and arrive in Westport – our first stop on New Zealand’s famously beautiful west coast!

3 Responses to “Westward Bound”

  1. Rob Thomson Says:

    That photo of the fish and chips almost made me give up my entire journey and fly home for a feed. Be a bit more sensitive next time, OK? 😉

  2. Rob Thomson Says:

    Oh man, I just looked at the big version of the fish and chips pic. Torture, I tell you, torture. I want chips!

  3. sam Says:

    Yeah, beer + fish & chips + monday morning being the same as saturday morning = jesus must be your dad.

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