1/29/06 Kansas City MO

Christchurch to Sydney to LAX to Chicago to Kansas City

From Christchurch, I flew to Sydney, Australia, where I changed planes. Seems flights to America get double the security, even though none of us were able to leave the airport. Even our flight was delayed because they wanted to do a second security check of the plane before we boarded.

One last look at the Souther Alps of New Zealand

I think I arrived home in Kansas City almost 24 hours after I left Christchurch. It was good to be back home.

1/28/06 Christchurch NZ

Mike and I just hung out today. We took a tram ride around town and watched some of the buskers here for the 'World Buskers Festival'. Just kind of killing time until we leave tomorrow.

Lots to see at the Worlds Busker Festival

Just havin' fun

All aboard!

All that was left to do was take the bikes apart and get them ready to pack up for the flight home.

1/27/06 Christchurch NZ

George flew home to Sacramento today, so Mike and I just wandered around a bit. I stopped at the theater to see 'River Queen' about the early days of New Zealand and the conflicts between settlers and the Maori. Good film.

Wonderful old architecture in Christchurch

What a great name for a bar

A round restaurant on the Avon River

Lots of folks enjoying the weather on their lunch-hour

The Provincial Council Buildings

1/26/06 Christchurch NZ

We rented a car and loaded up the bikes and gear for the drive back to Christchurch. On the way, we took a side trip to Mount Cook. I'm glad we were driving instead of biking but it just wasn't the same. Definitely different landscape from the coast.

Vineyards everywhere

A hot and dry landscape

Mount Cook 12,316-ft

Brothers George and Mike

The Church of the Good Shepherd 1935

Reminds me of Kansas

No more mountains but still plenty of sheep

1/25/06 Queenstown NZ

Today George and I decided to take an excursion to Milford Sound, one of the tourist highlights of all of New Zealand. Mike had already been there twice on other trips, so he stayed back in Queenstown. But it was a long bus ride, so we loaded onto the bus at 6:55AM.

We stopped for lunch at Te Anu, on the border of Fiordland National Park. From there, it was still along drive through the mountains to reach the sea. At Milford Sound, not really a sound but a fiord, we loaded onto boats to take a tour of the Sound.

Spectacular views of the Southern Alps

Sailing our way toward the sea

The famous Milford Sound

Keep heading that way and you'll reach Australia

The cruise ships look small but
can easily carry over a hundred passengers

Seals basking in the afternoon sun

But still not far from snow covered peaks

Bowen Falls 530-ft

After that it was a very long bus ride back to Queenstown, arriving sometime after 8PM

1/24/06 Queenstown NZ

Another hot day here. I'm just not used to it. It's only 25ºC but feels like 35ºC to me.

Decided to take an excursion across Lake Wakatipu

I spent the afternoon on an excursion on the TSS Earnslaw, a 1912 steamship that took us across the lake to the Walter Peak High Country Farm. There we were told about different ranching areas that New Zealanders operate, among them sheep and deer.

The Remarkable Mountain Range above

Better fleece if horns are left on

After a tea break with some great scones, we got to watch how a sheepdog works and how the farmer controls the dog. Then we got to watch him shear a sheep. He said it was about nine months of wool. A sheep shearer gets about $1.98 per sheep and on a good day, can shear almost 300 sheep. Even shearing one sheep looked like a lot of physical labor.

To shear a sheep, first turn her over

And in a few minutes, you have all the fleece

One of the many buildings on the farm

And then the Earnslaw was back to pick us up

Really think I'm getting a little sun stroke. While the guys went to a Maori dinner, I ran errands and tried to feel better.

1/23/06 Queenstown NZ

80.7 km / 1196 km total

Last night on the evening news, I made my TV debut with our interview with Channel One near Franz Joseph. Mike and George just happened to be near a TV when the spot aired. Cool, I'm famous, at least for 60 seconds in New Zealand. [smile]

We knew today's climb out of Wanaka was going to be a hot one, so we tried to leave early. We hit the road about 7:45AM.

George's 'loaded' bike compared to Jim's

Right off the bat, we had a steep climb just to get out of the city limits. That got us warmed up real fast. But even though we were always climbing, it was gradual and we made good time and speed.

I've heard about it, but just didn't know what to expect when we rode by the 'Bra Fence'. All I can say is the newer additions were quite colorful.

The 'infamous' Bra Fence

The Cordrona Hotel

At Cordrona, we saw the Cordrona Hotel, established 1863. This area is supposed to be a very popular cross-country ski area in winter.

Cordrona also was where our climbing started to get harder. Soon, Mike surged ahead, with George followed soon there after. We had some serious climbing for fifteen miles through arid alpine landscape.

The last several kilometers were so steep and tiring. I ended up walking part of it. And to add to our fatigue, it was very hot, about 29ºC. So different than the West Coast.

But what a view. At 1000 meters, Hope Saddle is the highest paved road in New Zealand. We could see all the way to Queenstown some 30 km away. The ride down was a lot steeper on this side of the pass. Pretty scary.

A 'monumental' feat

Too steep for my brakes!!!

I had a death grip on my brakes almost the whole way down, hands cramping real bad. The middle ten kilometers was less steep but our final descent into the valley was by a series of quick switchbacks almost straight down. Mike and George were waiting for me at the bottom, as I had to use my foot on pavement to brake because I couldn't hold the brakes tight enough to stop.

We headed to historic Arrowtown for lunch before biking our last kilometers to Queenstown. We took a back road to miss the heave Hwy 6 traffic, but even here, we had pretty fast cars and trucks whizzing by.

We're almost there!

We had a final roller coaster ride against a headwind as we finally reached town. Maybe fate was telling us to keep riding and skip this town. Mike had been here 15 years ago and didn't recognize it. This is one large tourist mecca and it showed both on the streets and in the shop windows.

Our campground is ultra modern and new, with lots of cyclists. We met Dan from Switzerland and later Thomas and Rahel showed up again.

Tenting finally!

I think everything was working against my psyche - the heat, my fatigue, the frantic town and our getting lost looking for the campground – that I blew up at George. He didn't take offense but it wasn't how I wanted to end our last few moments of our ride.

1/22/06 Wanaka NZ

70.0 km / 1115 km total

Rained early this morning, but as we packed up to go, it was dry. Behind us towards the pass definitely looked like storm clouds. And up far down the valley, you could see some mountains washed in golden morning sunshine.

The surprise was a tailwind, our first real one since starting from Picton some two weeks ago. In that first hour, we must have averaged 30 kph.

Generally, we had rolling roads, short hard climb followed by fast descents, as we paralleled the river, then Lake Wanaka. We ran into Dan and Hamish at the crossover point towards Lake Hawea. Words are hard to come by that can describe the whole picture of blue waters and majestic mountains.

Up and down a winding road along the lake, with a tailwind!

Ran into the whole gang near the 'Neck'

It was on this stretch of road, from the Lake Hawea lookout, that we all clocked our fastest speed. I hit 86.9 kph (53.9 mph). Stopped for a snack at Lake Hawea township before doing our last 15 km to Wanaka. The geography changed so that now we were battling some pretty fierce headwinds up a few hills.

The sun is finally coming out at Lake Hawea

Final goodbye lunch with Dan & Hamish

Looks more like the American Southwest

On this side of the Southern Alps, you can definitely feel the changes in the landscape. It's dry here, so much so that the fire danger is at it's highest. Gone are the lush rainforests of the West Coast. We should have a hot clear day tomorrow as we bike over the Crown Range to Queenstown.

Wanaka is on the end of Lake Wanaka and it's a big summer playground. Kind of touristy but in a low-keyed way. Lots of families down along the waters edge with sailboats and skiers cutting through the blue waters, with snow covered peaks in the distance.

Sunday at the beach on Lake Wanaka

We're renting a cabin again tonight. I think we've only tented two or three nights this whole trip. Makes me wonder why I've carried this tent all the way from Picton.

1/21/06 Makarora NZ

80.1 km / 1045 km total

Thomas woke up early to see us off. He was especially amazed at seeing how George packs. [laugh] A bit cloudy and very cool as we set off.

Dressed for rain, just in case

Basically, we had 40 km of gradual climbing before we hit the really steep road to Haast Pass. The first part had us hugging the edge of the Haast River Valley. Because the valley walls are so steep, there were tons of waterfalls. But the vegetation was so thick, we heard more waterfalls than we could see.

Had our first real bad encounter with the 'infamous' sandflies. Near Pleasant Flat, we decided to stop for a lunch break so we would be ready for the climb up to the pass. But as soon as we stopped moving, the sandflies descended on us. We ended up walking, stomping our feet and waving our arms, all while we ate. What a sight that was, three grown men dancing around with sandwiches in our hands.

Soon though, we crossed the Gates of Haast bridge. You could hear the roar of the river as it cascaded down among car-sized boulders. Mike and George took off while I snapped a few pictures. But once across the bridge, i found it too steep to keep pedaling. There is no shame in pushing a bike.

Eventually the steep grade eased up a bit and I was able to get back onto the bike. Stopped at the Thunder Creek Falls and saw Dan and Hamish again at Fantail Falls.

Thunder Creek Falls

Green, green, green!

The final climb was anticlimactic compared to the initial steep ascent. Too bad all that climbing didn't give us much of a downhill on the other side. But I did get my top speed up to 72 kph (45 mph).

Mike, George, Jim, Dan, Hamish at Haast Pass

The last stretch of very different landscape
was straight as an arrow to Makarora

Still cloudy and cool as we rode into Makarora. George wanted a cabin, so we're in an A-frame cabin. Basically the town ins the motor camp. Had a pretty good AYCE dinner buffet before heading for bed.

The only problem is that it stays up so long, sitting around 10PM. Hard to get used to.

1/20/06 Haast NZ

125.3 km / 965 km total

Another beautiful morning but it was still very cold. I took a chance and didn't wear any socks with my bike sandals. In the sun, it was fine, but most of the morning we were in the shade so my toes were pretty numb.

Crossing a suspension bridge

Mountains hung over us all morning

Actually made great time, averaging 20 kph all morning. Lots of creeks and river crossings, several on one-lane suspension bridges. Only a few more glimpses of snow peaks but the mountains were still impressive.

We rode along the coast most of the day. Our guide on the glacier said that the mountains were only 20 km from the sea.

The forest barely gives way to the road

It wasn't guidebooks, but we stopped for lunch on the Salmon Farm Cafe. Good homemade food. And you could even feed the salmon. Along side the fishnet pens, you could also see huge wild Brown Trout.

Naturally, after filling our bellies, we had a series of climbs. At the top of one was Knight's Point Lookout. Spectacular view. But the last climb sure was a killer. After that it was only 25 km to town.

More riding up and down the coast

Tomorrow we start to go up through there

Since there wasn't anyplace to camp, we decided to stay at the backpackers. This is only our second try with these private hostels, but this one was another really good one, complete with an atrium lounge.

After dinner, we met Thomas and Rahel from Switzerland who have been cycling New Zealand for two months. They only have ten days left.

Cyclists Rahel & Thomas (Switzerland)

Just as we arrived in town, we saw Dan and Hamish as they were leaving. Hopefully we'll be camping with them in Makarora tomorrow night.

The big news today was I was laid off. Actually my whole department was. My boss sent me an email but I won't know the details of my severance until I go home. Or I could stay. Dan and Hamish said they'd love to have me along with them if I wanted to continue my ride after Mike and George head home. I'll think about it.