Keep Cycling! South Island New Zealand 2021

We left the motel at 7.15am and instantly were hit by a kilometre long, steep hill! So steep that we had to stop every few metres to catch our breath. From the top, the road was like a roller coaster for most of the 57kms to Palmerston. Traffic, which included logging trucks and trailers, kept us constantly on our toes. We had no opportunity to relax. Walking was tiring and cycling against a headwind was exhausting. Recovery breaks became more and more frequent. Progress was slow. By 11.30am we were only in Hampden. Spotted a cafe there and decided that a stop and early lunch was in order. Followed the coast, passing Moeraki  then turned inland at Shags' Point.  The hills  and wind continued. (That's my best tired look!)  Eventually we plodded into Palmerston.  At 3.15pm we heaved a sigh of relief when the Pioneer Motel came into sight.  We grabbed something for dinner from the 4 Square across the ...

Last night we watched as several hundred little blue penguins arrived back on shore after a day's feeding at sea, and scrambled up the rocks to their nesting grounds. No photography allowed. At 8.30pm we walked along the shore to the penguin observatory, about 15 minutes from our motel. On the way we saw an amazing sight - several thousand cormorants were resting on a wooden jetty. As dusk fell, they took off in groups to their nesting grounds. Today we enjoyed Oamaru - a wonderful farmers' market (where's Delly?) a fun and challenging children's playground,  and met a couple of cyclists who had just completed the "alps2ocean cycle trail" - 312kms which finishes in Oamaru (could be a future Henley challenge!), and visited the Victorian Precinct where all the old buildings have been lovingly preserved. Del couldn't resist sitting on a Penny Farthing! An o...

We should have slept like babies last night after our long ride. We didn't! Probably over tired.  Del was determined to get to Oamaru today, so another early get away was called for.                                                             Timaru's Sacred Heart Basilica Traffic was light and a slight tail wind was building. Progress was slow as it took 15kms of walking/cycling up hills and humps to get back to nice, flat cyclable highway. We've left Canterbury Province now and are in North Otago. Endless hectares of golden cereal crops edged with tall, treed hedges neatly shaped into perfect rectangles. Butlers Berry Farm appeared out of nowhere just when we needed it. Had a compulsory coffee and muffin and we were on our way again. Came across several crops of sunflowers. What a dazz...

Up early again and got away at 8.00am. Light wind and weather fine, though a little chilly to start. Our aim was to get to Ashburton as we didn't make it there yesterday. Arrived in Ashburton early, around 10.00am. After coffee and a yummy muffin in a Robert Harris cafe, we decided to continue on to Temuka.  We passed endless, flat fields edged with rows of tall wind breaks. Large herds of cows munched placidly. The traffic was fast and very noisy. We passed a lavender farm, too. I was beginning to feel a bit saddle sore so we looked out for a handy motel in Temuka. "No Vacancy" at every one! The 'i' centre advised that the Crusaders rugby team were playing a pre season game that night and all accommodation had been taken.  That settled it! We'd have to battle on to Timaru. We stopped for a late lunch on the wayside. We were both getting weary by now. Del patiently stopped regularly to give me a break...

We left our cosy unit in Hornby at 7.30am. Fine weather and a slight westerly to start.  We were looking forward to coasting along the flat Canterbury Plains, when, a few kms out of Hornby, the road became an expressway! No Cycling! After many stops and checks on Google Maps, we found our way to Rolleston township and back on to the highway. By now the West wind had become quite strong and at times made cycling a straight line difficult. Windage from big trucks and trailers passing in both directions added to the difficulty. We worked hard controlling the bikes all the way to Rakaia. No coasting for us today! To get to Rakaia we had to cross the famous Rakaia Bridge - all 1.75kms  of it! Del and I pedalled like fury! Cars and trucks patiently crawled behind us until it was safe to pass! Had planned to cycle to Ashburton today, but decided that the wind was too much of a risk. Luckily the Rakaia Holiday Park was just the other side of the bri...

Enjoying the comfort of our lovely super king bed. Slept until 8.00am. After breakfast caught a yellow bus outside the Hornby Hub shopping centre. It stopped at the new Central Bus Station  then continued on to New Brighton. New Brighton is a small coastal suburb, famous for its 300m pier which was rebuilt, by popular demand, in 1997. Surfers patiently bobbed up and down in the sea waiting for the big wave and a few hopeful fishermen tried their luck from the safety of the pier. The suburb was obviously devastated by the earthquake 10 years ago, and has never recovered.  Apart from an impressive, new library it's virtually a ghost town - graffitied, vacant lots acting as car parks, closed, empty shops and a serious lack of people.  We found a small cafe and ate a tasty salad for lunch before heading back to the motel. Time now to prepare for our take off to Rakaia tomorrow.

We had renewed energy after a wonderful night's sleep. We caught the bus outside Hornby Hub and 30 minutes later arrived in the modern Central Bus Station right in the centre of Christchurch. Around every corner were signs of the earthquake devastation 10 years ago. Large vacant areas, where once were multistoried buildings, had become city carparks with professionally painted murals, or, more often, with graffiti. .                                                   The once impressive cathedral in the centre of the city, is slowly being restored Major buildings that had to be demolished have, over the last few years, arisen from the rubble and are wonderful examples of modern architecture. The City Library opened in 2019 and it is very impressive. Balconies on the 4th floor allow a bird's eye view of the developments below...