We're On Our Way!

We both slept fitfully and were awake before our alarms went off.
Thank heaven we were so well prepared though. The shuttle arrived 15 minutes early but we were unfazed and ready to go.
Our dismantled bikes and trailers went from here - our main foyer
To Auckland then Wellington Airport
To here - reassembled and stored for the night in an old shed at the back of Dwellington Hostel!

This hostel is a backpacker's dream - a full kitchen, dining room, lounge, tv/cinema etc, coffee/tea/milk available all day long and friendly staff. 
No special storage for bikes though and no lift, so all luggage has to be carried up 2 flights of stairs!
We're about 20 minutes walk from the Bluebridge ferry (all downhill) and as the last check-in is at 7.00am, we'll be up with the birds again tomorrow. We'll walk our bikes rather than compete with busy commuter traffic!

We bought a belated lunch (3.30pm) and a salad for dinner at a New World supermarket close by. Everyone seems so friendly and helpful.

It'll take us ages to navigate our bikes and trailers through the numerous corridors, sharp turns and steps of this stately, old building. There seems to be only one main entry/exit!

By the way, Wellington's famous wind was blowing a minor gale today!   
Talk about a hair raising experience!!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rain! Picton to Blenheim - 28kms

Image
Heavy rain during the night. Woke at 5.15am and spent some time extracting the bikes and trailers from the shed, in the dark and rain, then manoeuvering them up and around all the obstacles in our way to the front door. Breakfast was a banana and cold water.  We sprinted off, walking our gear down to the Bluebridge Ferry in the rain, only to find that sailing was delayed a whole hour! The ship's passengers are interesting!  A large gang of patched Mongrel Mob officianados are heading off for a big convention down south. Lots of back slaps and secret hand shakes! The hold is packed with their motor bikes! And- the captain's just announced we can expect a lumpy ride and 5metre swells! Yay!! One big wave sent rubbish bins flying and kitchen gear crashing to the floor. Passengers leaving the cafe staggered from left to right to left as they made their way. Our bikes had been lashed to the side of the hold so were undamaged and, as we were near the exit, we managed to g...
Read more

What a Cycle Path! Kaiapoi to Christchurch - 30kms

Image
The Riverland Holiday Park, where we spent last night, is adjacent to the Riverland Golf Club and seems to cater for groups of visiting golfers. Great facilities - motel units, cabins and camping areas. Yesterday we encountered a new, tarsealed cycle way into Kaiapoi. Today we found the continuation of it, just a kilometre from the holiday park.                                                A group of well endowed bulls watched us as we left and we passed one of the large irrigation systems that keep this area so green. The many arches span the entire length of the field. We quickly found the cycle track.  Wow! It is tar sealed, wide and runs beside the motorway, protected from it by a sturdy, iron fence. Apparently it takes the rider all the way to the city centre! We were enjoying it so much that we missed the turn off to Ho...
Read more

A Weighty Decision! Milton to Balclutha - 26kms

Image
To date progress has been pretty slow - too much walking due to the hilly terrain and our weighty trailers.  We needed to do something to make the journey easier. We couldn't change the hills - but we could reduce our load - again!  We resolved to courier/freight the heaviest item, the tent, and any other item not used regularly, as soon as we arrived in Balclutha. With 26 kms to cover, we left Milton a little later than usual, at 8.00am. The road undulated through lush farmland - obviously serious sheep country. The undulations were enough though to get us off our bikes. We must have dismounted and walked around 15 times! That settled it! The tent and accessories had to go! Tall rectangular hedges, typical of the area, are often found stretching across hectares of farmland as windbreaks. We checked out the Old Sod Cottage on the way. I think that the old sod must have lived a pretty miserable life in this dark and dingy little home. ...
Read more