Travelled: 376 kms (Total 3,243 kms)

Our first destination on leaving Christchurch, was only a short ride to Ohoka to spend a couple of nights with Nick and Sharon who we had met during our first couple of weeks in the Motueka Valley.

Not bothering to check any cycle trial routes, we headed out following Google and asking a few passerbys for their input too.

Of course this translated into travelling further than we needed to go and not in the right direction for some of it.

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And on arrival in Ohoka, we found there was a new cycleway for most of the way. More route planning required!

Nick and Sharon live in a house truck, which they have been working hard to convert an old horse truck. And what a beautiful job they have done.

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I loved the thought that has gone into their conversion and the beautiful result, complete with a full kitchen and bathroom and the most luxurious wood fire.

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When we met Nick and Sharon they were using hammocks to sleep in – strung between two convenient trees. Never ones to pass up a new experience, we were all set to try them out.

Minor detail was they were using them in the summer and now it was autumnal Canterbury. How bad could it be?

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Ah, pretty damn bad. It was nearly freezing overnight and with our hammocks hung in on open air hay barn, it was so so so cold!!

Greg had the vision to put his sleeping mat inside the hammock which gave him a bit more insulation from the cold but not much. But not me, I wanted to have the real hammock experience.

The hammock itself was cosy but the rising cold from the ground was unbelievable, as I lay on my quashed sleeping bag with no protection from below. I did manage to last until about 7am before heading inside the house truck to warm up. It only took a few hours to thaw out!

Warmed up, we were off to visit Lyttelton, had a great mix of cafes and shops. Thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon out.

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Not to be beaten, we decided to give the hammocks another go, this time with the “winter time” extras – blankets hanging under and over the hammock, both having inflated our sleeping mats, more clothing on including woolly hats and even my rain jacket for me. Better but still damn cold!

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Thanks Nick and Sharon, we had a fabulous time and thoroughly enjoyed your company and friendship.

Leaving Ohoka, we rode through some glorious rural properties with magnificent house to match. Seems to be no shortage of money in this part of the country.

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We rode on through Rangiora, which has had a lot of growth since the Christchurch earthquakes and then taking the inland route via Sefton, Balcairn and Amberley, before joining SH1 again and onto Waipara, passing some lovely wineries on the way.

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It was a cold day for riding the next day as we rode on through Weka Pass and into Culverden.

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A pretty campsite at the Culverden Domain with a gorgeous “fairy doors” walk through the bordering woods.

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It was getting colder as the evening wore on and not surprising to find a real frost had visited us overnight, leaving us with ice in a small pocket at the front of the tent.

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The new day was stunningly bright and clear as we set out.

Passing through Rotherham, we stopped at the Watters Cottage. The cob cottage was built around 1878 in an eastern Irish style, with walls 50cm thick. John Watters and his wife bought up their seven children here, with their son living in the cottage until 1961.

Just short of Waiau, the epicentre of the Kaikoura earthquake, we clocked up another milestone – 3,000 km done! It’s hard to believe we have actually riden every inch of that.

Across the Waiau River and taking Highway 70, the inland road was much quieter although still with climbing to be done.

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And then out of nowhere there was a race track! It is one of the two tracks that belongs to Rodin Cars. The other one hidden away down the hill.

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Rodin’s founder David Dicker has a vision to create a hand crafted high performance open wheeled track car, namely the Rodin FZero.

I was finding the day hard work, more mentally than the riding. So by the time we arrived at Mt Lyford, I was well and truly over the day.

Our camping site at the Mt Lyford Lodge was closed, but Greg went in to see if we could still stay there. To my relief he came back with a bunk room for the night. It couldn’t have been better but it was.

Karen, the owner of the lodge, come out to meet me and seeing me nearly blue with the cold, upgraded us to a room in the lodge at no extra cost. Tears flowed, I was very grateful.

All settled in, having had a wonderful hot shower and dinner that Greg cooked, we wandered downstairs to sit by the roaring open fire. It was luxury to be so cosy and enjoy the company of our hosts Karen and Christie.

They had a book about the earthquake, personal stories, Hurunui Seismic Stories, which I would like to get from the library once I’m home. Very real and moving first-hand stories from the quick glance I had.

We woke to a thick white dusting of frost. So lucky to have spent the night indoors!

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A really big day ahead. A 60km ride into Kaikoura but the scenery was stunning.

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With over 600 metres of climbing today and 1,000 metres of descent, we rolled into sunny Kaikoura.

The snow capped mountains provided a fabulous backdrop to our campsite. Complete with SH1 traffic on one side and the train tracks on the other. Peace and tranquillity by any other name!

A glowing fire welcomed us at the Strawberry Tree bar for our well deserved beer and chips, having wedges tonight as the chips were not gluten free.

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Rounded off with gourmet burgers and more chips for dinner a little further up the road and real fruit ice creams from the dairy for dessert. A good sampling of Kaikoura’s food offerings but as usual takeaway food is really all a bit much for our finely tuned tummies!

A couple of rest days ahead with generous library time for work and blog updating.

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Washing done, a look in at a local art exhibition and a walk around the waterfront to Fyffe Quay. We have had a very relaxing couple of days.

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The beautiful waterfront is lined with grand Norfolk Pines with the bay is littered with rocks jutting out at low tide rounded off with the dolphins at play just a little further out.

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Kaikoura seems remarkably together after the earthquake. There must have been an enormous amount of works for this to be so.

A crisp clear morning with little wind was the perfect start to our SH1 riding.

I was a bit nervous about riding on SH1 but the Sunday traffic proved to be light and especially with only 15 big trucks passing us in our 3 hours on the road. Maybe the weekday traffic might be busier tomorrow?

The coastline has been stunning. The beautiful gleaming blue of the sky reflected in the rolling seas gave us a gorgeous backdrop to our ride. The sun was so warm while the shadows dropped the temperature remarkably.

The road works done to repair and improve this section of the highway are fantastic. Ample shoulders, wide roads with great layby areas dotted oceanside.

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The viewing area at the Ohau Point Seal Colony was well setup. With sturdy fencing to protect the seals and ample carparking and wide footpaths, it gave everyone plenty of room to get a good view.

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The Store campsite at Kekerengu, was a lovely surprise. A cafe with a tropical setting, was a lovely end to our 60km ride and with its campsite next door. We debated the option of having breakfast at the cafe the next morning but decided our own breakfast was hard to beat, and cheaper!

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The sunrise, the first we had seen on our adventure, was glorious way to start our day.

SH1 continued to provide stunning views.

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Passing the stately but earthquake affected St Oswald’s Memorial Church on the way. Built 1927 by the parents of Hector Murray as a memorial to him, and then gifted to the Nelson Anglican Diocese.

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We had a comfortable ride to Ward. A quick stop for a cuppa and treat, and posting our Mother’s Day cards, and onward to end our day in Seddon, riding past Lake Grassmere, where our salt is produced and then our first of many vineyards to come.

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There were signs of earthquake damage on the way, including the lack of town hotel/pubs, which we found out had been so badly affected by the quake, that they had been demolished and not rebuilt.

The truck count was up about 50% on yesterday’s Sunday count, continuing to pass with such care.

Seddon was a quiet township, with a lovely campground and permanent residents. This is a feature of our travels. There are quite a few people and families living in campground, some through choice but seemingly quite a few due to circumstance. It has been lovely to share time with the camp residents we have met.

Having also lost its hotel/pub, we walked into town to find their makeshift bar at the back of the takeaway bar.

Before leaving Seddon the next day, I had a job interview on zoom. It was a very enjoyable experience and loved meeting and chatting with the interviewers for this potential role.

Feeling very buoyed by my interview, and despite having had a few warnings about the SH1 to Blenheim, we set off. The road was way better than I was expecting, with the only tight patch was going over the Weld Pass, where I managed to get the most out of the time coming down the hill.

Stopping at a cob cottage and passing the Ranui vineyard on our way into Blenheim, before taking advantage of our early arrival to have a scrumptious lunch in town at the Little Cafe.

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Installed in a lovely campsite by the riverside, with the lovely nearby SH1 and railway, we felt all was right with the world.

We walked back into town for some groceries, stopping to arrange job referees on the way. And then having our beer and chips at the Dodson Street Beer Garden, where Greg had 21 beers to choose from. Chips were fantastic!

It was a gentle ride into Picton, starting with a cycleway out of Blenheim, and then onto our last southern stretch of SH1, passing vineyards and wetlands on the way

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It felt amazing to be back in Picton after 4 months, having ridden all the way around. We had done it – a complete circuit of the South Island.

A celebratory high five and lunch on the foreshore, before heading off to find Richard and Heather’s place, up the steepest street in Picton, with a debate about whether it is steeper than Dunedin’s Baldwin Street. (Apparently, it is!)

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Richard and Heather were a contact of our Earthsong neighbour Di. And they were amazing hosts. Both being adventurers and cyclists, with Heather having won the Argus Cycle race in CapeTown, in her younger days taking 20 minutes off the record at the time, and Richard recently having completed the Tour Aotearoa and Kopiko Aotearoa.

They stored our gear as we rented a car and tootled back to Nelson for a few days, to catch up with family for a few days. It was really interesting to take the Queen Charlotte Drive and follow the road into Nelson that we had ridden over in those early days. No wonder we felt done at the end of each day. Even trying to find the Whangamoas “tears” spot.

En-route, I had a job offer come through. I am super excited to have work to return to – Accounts Manager for Wynn Hamlyn. We called into the Centre for Fine Woodworking for Greg to have a look around. And then getting back on the road, Greg then had a call from DHL offering him a short term contract. Big day!

We stayed with Greg’s brother Sam and his wife Sara, and sons Jamie & Tom, thoroughly enjoying their generosity and hospitality, such a lovely time.

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We were also able to have dinner with Laurence (he’s working on the new Richmond Countdown for a few months) before he headed back to Auckland the next day for the weekend.

Thanks so much to Richard and Heather for having us back while we waited for our ferry crossing in a couple of days time. And finally time to get some mending done.

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Our Thoughts on the South Island

Jeanette – It has been more than I could have imagined at the start. The scenery in every direction has been superb, and the variety has been continually surprising. The generosity of the people we have meet along the way has been heartwarming, and friendships we have made (and stayed with) are incredibly special.

Testing my limits has been an on-going work. Hills that continually tried my resilience (and brought the tears) at the start looked no more that just another hill at the end. Gone is the incline mantra “you can do it, you can do it”. I now know I can do it – head down and pedal, and I will get there!

My adventure box has been well and truly ticked!

Sharing my every day with best friend has also been amazing. From finding our way into our routines, exclaiming of the wonderful views, the analysis of the chips portion to the continual discussion on the merits of moving the tent to dry it in the mornings – I have had the best support beside me. Thank you Greg for being my rock, providing space and encouraging me.

I feel more confident that I have ever done. I can do it. I can talk to anyone. I really am ok!

Greg – Such a good question now that thoughts are turning homeward and to the next year or two. I started out wanting to live low to the ground – to get a better understanding of what I really need in a material sense and to decide how, in broad terms, to spend this final span of active years I may have available to me – to live intentionally, to sleep-walk not quite so much to the end of my life. All this without having too much expectation of what riding my bike may bring!

I am lucky, I have more than enough. I’m so grateful for my family, for friends for everything & everyone that has been part of my life to-date. I’m so surprised this part of our adventure is over already – I really have no sense of the time passing, living very happily day-to-day with Jeanette & riding our bicycles – it has been such fun, I have been so well loved & supported.

The icing on this particular cake is that I do have a clear path for the next 18 months, a strong desire to keep up the adventure, and am reminded again I have the best possible support – lucky indeed.

A bicycle and a rough plan, thoroughly recommended.

Goodbye to the South, you have changed our lives. Northward we go…

What we are reading Greg – The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris and Jeanette – Castle Ugly by Mary Ellin Barrett