Day 21: Invercargill to Tuatapere

Journal for 2014-11-09 | Published on 2014-11-09 22:57:31

Started off the morning getting out of camp at around 8ish. High level clouds in the sky but no wind, plus it was Sunday so the roads were quiet. We continued following the Southern Scenic Route today and quickly put 34km between us and Invercargill.

We paused in Riverton to check out the “Museum of the South.” They were just opening and we had the place to ourselves. It was a very nice, if a bit small, museum dedicated to the history of the southern portion of the South Island. We enjoyed the exhibits, especially the Maori legends about the Faveaux Straight and Stewart and Solander Islands.

Legend is the first Maori liked to go Moa hunting, but there were too many trees and bushes and he wanted a path for his canoe, so he called up the big whale who ate a path through the land. Bits of land fell from his mouth and he chipped a tooth, and that’s what Stewart Island and the Solander Islands are. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the luxury of lingering around too long. The lady in the museum was very helpful, and a cyclist herself, she offered us water for our bottles and advice on where we were headed.

When we went outside it was a bit cold so we decided to eat in a local bakery and have some warm food. A few paninis and a pot of tea later we headed out of Riverton. The wind was starting to gently press against us and the shoulders were non-existent for some time, but the sun came out and blue skies were abounding with a few clouds drifting around.

Climbing the first big hill of the day rewarded us with views of Calco Beach, which had beautiful teal water. It was very pretty, but there was no way to capture it in a picture. We kept pushing on and eventually had to turn head first in to the wind.

I think we saw more sheep today than any before, thousands and thousands of sheep. In the museum we learned that they weren’t Merino sheep because that breed doesn’t do well in the Southern weather.

Continuing on it became slightly hilly and unremarkable until we started getting glimpses of Te Wae Wae Bay and Fiordland on the other side. Fiordland is known for its large mountains rising directly out of the water of the ocean. From our view it looked like a range of mountains erupting from the ocean. The bay itself was very striking as well with teal water and big surf. We also got some great views of Stewart Island and Solander Island in the distance.

We paused in a little town for a snack/bathroom break. Unfortunately during this time the wind really picked up and we had to battle the next 12km in to a gusting head wind. Along the way we ran in to Matt, a cycle tourist from Germany, who was happily heading the other direction enjoying the major tailwind. He’s been cycling for a month and has one month to go, just finished college, and is riding around New Zealand for his first tour.

Finally we made our way inland, and got a crosswind, which was welcome relief. Then we rode to Tuatapere, which is self-proclaimed as the sausage capital of New Zealand. Unfortunately there were no restaurants touting sausages, and one closed shop, so we skipped the sausage and had some ice cream instead. We pedaled all the way through town to the Last Light Lodge and pitched our tent. Dinner, dessert, and now typing away before bed. In the kitchen while we were making dinner, we chatted with a couple from France, who have been in NZ for a while, they’re spending a year away from France. They spent a few months working at a vineyard up north, and a few months on New Caledonia, a French island not too far from here. They were very interested in our tour and how our trip has gone so far.

We tried to connect to the wi-fi at the onsite café but were met with little success. For some reason, our devices wouldn’t recognize the place. While we were “searching” for a signal, the resident dog kept us company. He was super friendly, and when we headed back to our tent, he looked like he wanted to join us for the night. It was tempting, to help keep us warm, but a dog inside a tent is more trouble than it’s worth…

Not a terribly eventful day, but there was definite beauty. Tomorrow is another 80km day for us, then we are going to be slowing down for a couple days, participating in off bicycle activities to see sights that we couldn’t get to easily.

Distance: 83.76km

Time: 5:50

Avg: 14.34kmh, this was up at 18+ in the morning

Max: 43.57

Climb: 598m, I suspect this value because of heavy winds possibly affecting the altimeter