All is well on the South Island. Our ferry ride across the Cook Strait was smooth, so we were happy about that. We heard from one Kiwi that the seas in the strait can reach 30 feet (another tall tale?) so we were happy neither of us got seasick. We arrived in Picton on the afternoon of the 14th and rode a short way on Queen Charlotte Drive along the Marlborough Sound to a DoC campsite on Aussie Bay. As we were cycling on the shore, we were amazed at how much this region of New Zealand looks like Puget Sound in the United States. Forested hills along the coast with blue-green water and mussels everywhere. Queen Charlotte Drive was a great road for cycling. Narrow, winding, and hilly with beautiful views. We really prefer these types of roads for cycling because the cars on the road are much more cautious and pass us with much more room.

After Sarah tested the water (warm!), we were just setting up our tent when we were greeted by one of the friendliest 14 year olds we have ever met, Sam from Auckland. We instantly struck up a conversation about the differences between New Zealand and the United States and Sam laughed every time he heard us mangle one of the Maori names of the towns and cities around here. After talking for a while, Sam’s dad came over and asked us if we would like some of the fresh blue cod they caught on a fishing expedition the day before in the sound. We of course said yes and when they brought the fish over we were amazed at how good it was. Just boiled and served with a little salt, butter, and pepper and it melted in your mouth. Sarah was craving the fish and talking about it days later, saying it was the best fish she ever had! After dinner, we were invited over to the family’s campervan for tea. Our first tea in New Zealand! Yum. We have been so amazed by the friendliness of the Kiwis all over New Zealand. Meeting and talking to them has really been one of the highlights of our trip so far.

We have since been making our way along SH6 moving along the coast from East to West along the top of the South Island. Now that we are in New Zealand, Sarah has been re-reading Isa and Terry’s journal entries and she is always jealous of the coffee and cakes they ate so often, so she finally convinced me that we should do the same.

We also crossed our first two official saddles of the trip. Rai Saddle at 247m and Whangamoa Saddle at 347m. Rai Saddle went well, but Whangamoa was undergoing some construction and was covered with fresh tar and rocks. (Most of the roads in New Zealand are chip seal.) We lined up with the cars and attempted to navigate the gravel, but were instantly slowed when the sticky rocks became lodged between our tires and fenders and made it impossible to turn our wheels. Sarah got off her bike and started pushing it up in the grassy shoulder. I tried to continue on a little further and eventually got a rock wedged so tight in my front fender that it broke the fender off the support! I was then forced to carry my heavy bike several hundred meters up the road!

After a short break to catch our breath and to temporarily re-attach my fender with some electrical tape we made it to the top safe and sound and descended into the town of Nelson. After a visit to the town’s impressive iSite, we decided to visit one of the local breweries, Bays Brewery. After a quick tour, we bought a six-pack of various bottles and enjoyed them back at our camp site. One thing we have been surprised about in New Zealand is how weak the beer is. Alcohol content of 3-4% is normal here and the IPA we had from the brewery did not taste hoppy to us at all. We think we should start frequenting pubs to make money in drinking contests with the locals!

Tomorrow Sarah and I are going to do an overnight tramping trip on the Coast Track of Abel Tasman National Park. The park is supposed to be one of the most beautiful coastal areas of New Zealand with turquoise waters and golden beaches so we are very excited. After that, we will start to make our way down the rugged West coast.

Keep the comments and emails coming! We love to hear from all of you and spend a lot of time laughing and talking about your comments!

Stats from the 2nd Week:
Taumarunui to Aussie Bay
4 days cycling

188.96km (47.24km / cycling day)
NZ$458.05 (NZ$65.43 / day)
11 hours. 36 minutes, 1 second in the saddle
Longest day: 72.28km

Fun Facts:

The only indigenous land mammals in New Zealand are bats.

Almost half the world’s whale, porpoise, and dolphin population lives in New Zealand’s waters.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 17th, 2007 at 11:57 pm and is filed under New Zealand. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.