NZ Cycling Part 1: Turning Kiwi While Turning Our Wheels

We dropped off Kristina's cuzzie Cynthia at the airport and picked up our hired bikes to start our New Zealand (NZ) South Island cycling tour. (Kiwi lingo is shown in italics throughout this blog.)



Day 1 - Queenstown to Kingston, 49 km with 602 meters of elevation gain
We got our gear sorted and we headed off.



It was overcast but warm as we left Queenstown. The route was a beaut, along Lake Wakatipu all the way to Kingston.



We were a bit knackered when we arrived, but showers and some tucker, including sweet potato soup, salad and a Scottish filet dinner perked us up.

After dinner we walked around Kingston and noticed it offered a lot of vacation amenities, including the Heritage Trail, golf, a cycle trail, boating and camping.



We don't usually see pink lupine in the US.



This was the Kingston "beach" on Lake Wakatipu, and we had it all to ourselves.



This little Jack Russell terrier was very friendly.



Day 2 - Kingston to Mossburn, with 70 km and 602 meters

After a good night's sleep we were eager to ride.



On our way out of Kingston we stopped to see the Kingston Flyer, a historic train behind Kristina.



Most recently the Kingston Flyer was a tourist attraction, but these days the train no longer runs.



On the Around the Mountains route, we rode a real tiki tour. (Translation: to take the scenic route.)

We enjoyed the Around the Mountain Trail in part because the 50 km of gravel trail was in very good shape.



The sign for the train was still posted, but it was leaning over a bit.



The trail was well marked.



There were kilometer markers.

It felt dry as we rode, and there wasn't much water in the river.



Kristina wanted a cuppa so we stopped at the Coffee Bomb in Garston.



We saw this gallery with butterfly decorations as we cycled.



The route crossed many farms, including some that looked like they were abandoned.



We saw heaps of sheep, but we were surprised that several of these sheep seemed to be outside of their fields.



In this photo Kristina is on the road to the left in the distance.



Our route took us through lots of dairy farms. It felt like we were in the Wop-Wops or The Boonies and we frequently had to open and close gates to get through.

This was our charming hotel that was in the old Mossburn railway station



It seemed fitting that the artwork over our bed featured a bicycle.



Day 3 - Mossburn to Tuatepere, with 89 km and 510 meters

The Dome Cafe was open early for breakfast.



Pete ordered the Big Breakfast, with 3 eggs, toast, bacon, sausage and hash browns.



After eating most of this, Pete was feeling chocka block and ready to ride. Kristina had a big piece of bacon and egg frittata and some muesli bar, so she was well-fueled too.



It was quite cool in the morning.

The sun came out and Pete got this fun shot of his shadow.



Kristina needed her sunnies for this photo, but Pete was able to keep his eyes open without his.



It was a beautiful day to be riding.



Then we rode into a head wind for the last 20 km, which was bloody hard. It got a bit easier as we passed wind blocks like this cypress hedge.



There are heaps of cows in NZ. These cows started running beside us, like they wanted to play.



We stopped to take a selfie next to the Tuatepere welcome sign.



Then we rode to our hotel.



Tour Day 4 - Tuatepere to Invercargill, 91 km with 601 meters
The next morning Pete noticed this beaut of a sunrise. Kristina's kiwi response could have been, "Oh yeah, hard out!" (Translation: I totally agree.)



He also remembered, "Red sky in morning, sailor take warning." Sure enough, we got a bit of rain along with some glorious clouds.

We stopped to check out the views at McCracken's Rest.



Our route was on the motorway, which was part of the Southland Scenic Route.



Then the route turned dodgy, but we gave it a squizz and sussed it out before deciding we could ride it.



Kristina wasn't wearing togs for a proper swim, but still she pretended to 'hang 10' on the surfboard sculpture.



The Māori have a proverb to describe a great orator or singer, "Me he korokoro tūī – he has the throat of a tūī".  On several days we heard tui birds singing as we rode. Tui have two voice boxes and they can make lots of different sounds, including bell and flute-like notes, clicks, barks, cackles and wheezes. We found them endlessly entertaining, but we didn't get any photos of tui except of this painting on a gallery.

As we rolled into Invercargill we were hungry. When we saw this sign for kiwi pies we knew we had to try them.

The first flavors we tried were seafood and butter chicken.



Kristina's favorite was butter chicken pie (that is based on Indian butter chicken), which she thought was sweet as. (Translation: awesome.)



Across the street was this brick church, Presbyterian Support Southland.



Our mate Andy, who we had met in 2013 while cycling in Burma, had encouraged us to visit him in NZ. We were thrilled to see him!



He took us on a wee tour of Invercargill, including the Invercargill Water Tower, which these days is only the back-up water source for the city. It was built in 1888 of more than 300,000 bricks and we found it surprisingly ornate.



Andy showed us the tuatara in the museum/breeding center.



Then we went out for Indian food. It was great to catch up with him after more than four years.



Day 5 - Invercargill to Chaslands, with 101 km and 1,021 meters
The next morning Andy arrived at our hotel and we set off riding together.

It had rained most of the night, but luckily was just cloudy.



It was great to have lots of time to ride together. Both Andy and Kristina have big smiles.



Andy took this photo of us in Southland.



And the three of us posed for a selfie.



We didn't get rained on, but we did see a few rainbows and it appeared to be raining over the ocean.



We rode only a few kilometers on gravel roads.



After a stop for a cuppa and a snack near where the mouth of the Mataura River enters the sea at Toetoes Bay, we took a brief detour out to the cliffs for a view.



It was extremely windy on the cliffs. Too bad we didn't have our squirrel suits.



With the wind at our backs we were riding flat out and having a great time.



Andy said our ride was one of his top three all time faves. Our response, "Hard Bro, hard!" (Translation: we agree!)

The last 10 km had all the day's climbing. We finished at the Whistling Frog Resort & Cafe. Our day was Tu Meke, awesome!



Check out this lunch: kiwi steak pie, vegetables and hot chips.

Andy looks ready for his lunch. Chur Bro. (Translations: thanks, cheers, that's cool my friend). 

Andy's girlfriend Debbie came to meet us, and we had a lovely time getting to know her. They are in training for a half marathon in April, and we wish them well!

Tour Day 6 - Chaslands to Balclutha, with 77 km and 1,002 meters
After riding a few kilometers, we stopped at the Florence Hill Overlook to enjoy the view of Tautuku Bay.





Our next stop was in Papatowai where we saw The Lost Gypsy art gallery (now with coffee!)



This is the "mail whale" looking back towards the gypsy bus.



There are heaps of sheep in NZ, something like 20 million. We loved seeing them with their wooly coats.



We stopped to walk out to the Purakaunui Falls.



We rode along the coast to Kaka Point. The wind started to pick up, so we had either a head wind or a cross wind for the rest of the day.



It was beautiful along the coast.



Day 7 - Balclutha to Brighton Beach, with 88 km and 1,062 meters
We needed our jumpers as we started riding in light showers.



We took a break in Milton and by the time we left it had stopped raining.



Lots of rolling climbs and we took breaks to enjoy the scenery.



We rode on gravel for about 20 km, with lots of ups and downs.



And our bikes got really dirty.



The exclamation point sign echoed our thoughts, as we were happy to have finished the dozen short climbs.



We had lovely views of the ocean as we rode the last 20 km into Brighton.



Pete got this cool shot of the black-backed gull taking off as Kristina rode by.



This area is known for the yellow-eyed penguins, but we didn't see any.



They are featured on the NZ $5 bill.



We were out of energy so we stopped for a bacon and egg sandwich on brown bread and that gave us enough energy to finish.



Day 8 - Brighton Beach to Outram, with 22 km and 345 meters
It was raining pretty hard the next morning. But we had our rain jumpers and helmet covers so we figured, "No worries, we've ridden in rain before" and "She'll be right" and we set off. (Translations: It's not a problem; It will be OK.)

But in truth it was bloody cold rain, as a cyclone in the southern Pacific had made its way over land on the South Island. After two hours of riding we stopped at the Wobbly Goat Cafe to warm up with a cuppa and some tucker. 

We explored all their goat decorations, including this fun clock, "I just want to drink coffee and play with my goats".

We read about an Ethiopian legend of goats who ate coffee beans and got wobbly legs, and this led to humans drinking coffee.



Out front were these adorable goat sculptures.





We were supposed to ride another 55 km, but we were so bloody cold and it was bloody pouring. Then we met our hero Peter, who gave us a lift in his van.  Good on ya, mate!

We were happy to stay in the Annadale B&B. Built in 1910, it was beautifully restored. It even had a bath tub.



When we finally felt warm, we relaxed inside and watched the rain fall for two days.



Next we'll continue our cycling trip, with hopefully warmer and drier conditions, eh?