Having way to much fun!!!

Hey Everyone!

Dad got home safe and sound and Clay arrived without any problems. We have been having the best time.

We spent Clay's first day here enjoying Christchurch, getting his bike put back together, buying some Icebreaker Merino Wool (great sales over here) and planning our next two weeks of cycling.

We left bright and early the next morning (Friday) by bus to Cromwell, which is in the center of NZ in the high country. We started our biking adventure with an atomic tail wind and pouring rain, but we were so stoked to be together and on biked that we had a blast riding in nature's elements. We rode to the town of Clyde where we started the Otago Rail Trail. A 100 + mile rail to trail ride that took us through old mining towns and some beautiful scenery. Fall is peaking over here and the colors are spectaular. Our first night was spent at the Chatto Creek Tavern, where we enjoyed ourselves with the locals (including a pet pig) until late... (the tavern was our night's lodging as well)... Details to come on this gem of a place!

Saturday was an all day ride on the trail. We went through tunnels, across aqueducts, and enjoyed many a vista as we made our trek to the little town of Wainaka (sp?) where we bedded down at an adorable homestay that offered us their caravan for the night... Once again, more stories to come on this adventure! I fell in love with a goat, a dog, sheep, peony gardens and more...

Sunday we rode aggressively on some tough rocky terrain in order to meet our train (an old vintage stream train) that took us to the historic, college town of Dunedin. It was a thrilling ride and Clay and I had so much fun riding in tandem on the railtrail.

Monday afternoon we bused to Te Anau to enjoy the fjorlands of the south island.

Today we spent the day on a boat, cruising the fjords of Doubtful Sound. It blows our mind that glaciers created this amazing place!

Tomorrow we bike south....

Happy Trails!

4 Wheelin' in the Hyundai

We decided to take a day off from the rigors of adventure travel... biking, kayaking, trekking, what not and decided to rent a car for the day so we could explore the Northwest side of the Abel Tasman National Park (there is a mutha of a hill that separates the town where we are staying from this part of the park and Dad said riding that hill was a no go. Once I saw the climb, I understood...).

So, we walked down the road from our campground and rented a Hyundai (sp?) for the day. $30 U.S. for a day's rental. Not bad considering what we put that poor thing through. I mean who knew that a little compact 2 wheel drive hatchback could 4 wheel through the back roads that Dad took me through as we explored the Abel Tasman high country. It mightily crossed a couple of fairly deep stream crossings to boot! (water coming up over a hood is never a comforting sign, right?) I love my Dad!

We hiked along a sub-tropical tree fern trail that took us to a beautiful waterfall where we had to cross a swinging cable bridge. Other than a couple sandfly bites, we were in heaven.

After exploring the park, we were back on the road after heading up the coast to find some fresh water thermal springs. And then!

Me: "Dad, do you hear that noise?"

Dad:"Its the wind, roll up your window."

Me: I roll up my window, then "Dad, I still hear that noise, you hear it?"

Dad: "Roll your window up tighter."

Me: After checking that all windows were up and secure... "I still hear it and feel a vibration."

Hmmmmmnnnnnn....

We pull into a gas station where 'Big Guy' (this one is NO Hobbit!) takes a test drive with Dad to see what the noise is all about. They come back and decide a plastic piece under the front bumper is the culprit and after some snips, the plastic piece is removed. (we'll deal with the evidence later, we quickly agree) Must of been those darn river crossings, Dad says.

So, we are back on the road and its not 100 yards that I hear the noise again. (conversation from above is repeated. No joke.) :) We pull off the road and into a little parking lot for a hospital of all places. Dad crawls under the engine and sees that the other side of the car is doing the same thing.

Dad: "Adria, see if you can find anything that we can tie this piece of plastic out of the way with."

Me: Like a little fledgling baby blackbird with my first big assignment, I flitter off in search of baubles, string, or some shiny thing. I walk into the hospital... and find some of the plastic string that is used to bind packaging. SCORE!

Dad, in true McGyver fashion, attaches the plastic up and out of the way and we are back on the road! I love my dad!

Kayaking the Abel Tasman Coastline

Kayaking the Abel Tasman coastline was a feast for the senses. There was beauty everywhere we looked and at some points it just didn't even seem real to us.

We got to the kayak shop at 8:30 in the morning and had to switch from our bike panniers to the kayak's vestibules. It was a feat in to be seen for sure. We did have a couple of dry bags with us, but the good old black garbage bag really came in handy for us as we unloaded then re-loaded our gear into our kayak. Within a couple of days we had the packing of that kayak down to a science!

The kayak shop gave everyone a lesson before heading out. Most of the tourists were there for a day trip with the guide, Dad and I were the only ones who were heading out on our own for three days. The instructor, Steve, was a comedian and had all of us in stitches while we practiced our strokes, etc.

One we were out on the water, we left the group and paddled down the coast first to check out Split Apple Rock. It was a good paddle and gave us a chance to get our strokes synchronized and get a feel for everything. Then we turned around and headed up the coast for a few hours of kayaking. We hugged the coastline mostly and it was one beautiful cove with a white sand beach after another. The water was incredibly clear and a brilliant turquoise color. We saw some amazing rock formations as well and paddled into a couple of different caves. Wait until you see the pictures. Whenever we felt like stretching our legs, we would beach our kayak and then explore the beach or take a hike up into the sub-tropical forest. I love all of the tree ferns over here. The beaches are covered with shells, so beach combing was extra fun! At times, we felt the scenery almost seemed 'too perfect', like it could be the set of a Disney film or something. Maybe the movie Swiss Family Robinson? :)

Our first campsite was our favorite. There were maybe 5 tents there total. We set up camp, then went for a hike to get an aerial view from up on top of the hill. We enjoyed meeting some of the other hikers who were also staying in the campsite. (we ran into one of the German couples and had dinner with them the night that we came back from our kayak trip)

The second day was more glorious paddling. We really enjoyed checking out all of the different beaches, looking at the birds, fur seals, the plants hanging over the water, the rock formations, the color of the water. It was all magical. Our second campsite was nice as well. It did have a few more people than the last one, but we enjoyed meeting a group of Kiwis and ended up staying up quite late chatting with them. They had us convinced we should be living over here. :) We had an owl hooting during the night along with a possum outside of our tent that started screaming at about 2am. Now that was freaky. But it turned out to be a good thing cause it got me out of my tent to investigate and once out I was able to see the amazing, brilliant, deep orange moon coming up over the water on the horizon, next to a large rock formation. A sight I will always remember. The constellations down here are completely different. Fun to explore and learn new things...

The third day we packed (fast and easy on our last day... we had it down!) and headed back down the coast. We checked out an island that had some cute fur seals. They are so playful and fun to watch in the water.

We made it back to the town at around 2:30pm, went back to the shop, re-packed out gear for biking and then headed to a cafe to wait for our bus back to the town where we are staying. It wasn't until our lattes arrived that the rain started to fall. Couldn't have been better timing. The weather has really been cooperating with us on this trip. Sweet!

Hope to post some pics soon!

Blog suffers...

Hey Everyone,

The blog is suffering at the moment due to the fact that we are having WAY too much fun! Quick update to let everyone know that we had an awesome time kayaking the Abel Tasman coastline. It definitely made my top ten list. We got back into town yesterday evening and needed to take care of some maintenance... like removing the salty crustiness from our clothes, skin, etc.

Today we explored some other areas of the park that were also incredibly beautiful.

Tomorrow we ride through the town of Nelson as we work our way over to the Marlborough Sound (North of Picton).

Sorry no pics at the moment. Hope to work on that!

We are having a great time! :)

Sea Kayaking Abel Tasman Nat'l Park

Tomorrow we head out to sea kayak around the Abel Tasman National Park. Will be camping for the next three days. (campsites on the beach)

Stay tuned for the next blog entry... coming in a few days!

Pure Bliss

Today's riding was.... Pure bliss.

It was a crisp clear morning and we were on the road by 8am. We were grateful for the cool air for we had a good sized hill within a mile of leaving Hu-Ha Bikepacker's Hostel. We made it to the top of Hope Saddle (2,100' elevation), took some pictures and then descended (pretty much)for the next 55 miles to the coast. The ride was spectacular. We had a fun descent, hugging the curves that took us down into a beautiful, green river valley. Norman Rockwell country to be sure. Lots of sheep, cows, horses. Old barns. Snow capped mountains off in the distance. I don't know if it was the clear blue sky, the fresh clean air, the smells of pine, eucalyptus, farm animals, or just what, but I think Dad and I were high on life for about 8 hours today. Pure bliss.

Hu-Ha Bikepackers Hostel

The hobbit dropped us off along the road near the entrance to our lodging for the night, the Hu-Ha Bikepacker's Hostel. If its one thing I have learned from previous bike tours, there is always a hill before the campground and yesterday evening was no exception. After putting our gear back on our bikes, we headed up a steep gravel drive up to a turn of the century ranch house that will be our home for the night. I knew I was in 7th heaven as we pulled up to the house and I saw a lovely veggie and herb garden complete with a Wizard of Oz Tinman and Wilber, the house pig. The wisteria hanging over the side porch had to been over 100 years old. Ahhhh. Heaven.

Turns out the home is a 40 plus hectare sheep and goat farm as well as a hostel for bike tourists and other travelers. The family has been running it since the early 90s. Our hosts, Sam and Joanne, were most gracious, especially considering that they had their first baby, Max Robin, 11 days ago. We were impressed and gushed stories of Amber, Oscar and Amara...

We really enjoyed this place. So comfy and homey. We explored the property. Met the house dog, goat, pig, many sheep, etc. before sitting out on the deck and enjoying a cup of tea. Made a nice dinner that night, then sat down for a serious night of tea, biscuits, delicious organic chocolate and... Gin Rummy. Yes, we played rummy until bedtime. The place had an old phonograph and wooden chest full of old classic records. Eagles, Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel... We had it made. There was one other guest there, a young man named Ofir from Israel. It was his day of Sabbath, but he joined us happily in many rounds of Gin Rummy. ;)

A good night's sleep then up and adam for a 60 mile day out to the North Coast.

Lattes and Routes

We spend a lot of time looking at maps and planning our routes and sight-seeing. This all makes for some very hard work and thus we must prepare ourselves for the task with a warm, frothy beverage... the latte. New Zealand has amazing dairy. I think the cows are just happy over here. Just like the people. Good air, good scenery, good milk. We make sure we get a latte each day. Kinda like taking your daily vitamin. :)

With so many things to do and places to go, we decided to cut out about 150 miles (two days of riding or so) and take a shuttle inland. It was a tough choice, but we knew we have lots of ground to cover and only so much time. Out shuttle driver was straight from the cast of hobbits from the film, Lord of the Rings. He couldn't have been over 5 feet tall, had curly hair and even had hobbit teeth. I thought about asking to see his feet, but didn't dare. He was an impish champ, teasing us from the first moment he laid eyes on us. Gotta love the friendly folk around here.

We drove along the Buller river gorge and it was gorgeous. We saw some river kayakers and people fishing along the way. It is beautiful country up here.

Coal Town

Dad had a great time enjoying the Coal Town Museum in Westport... It was a mish-mash of collectibles, including antiques from lumber milling, beer making, medicine, geology, boats, planes and... we can't forget the piece de resistance... the coal mining industry. He told me, "You know you are getting old when you enjoy going in to museums like this because you recognize the artifacts as items that you used to have or remember from your childhood". We easily spent three hours in there. I fell asleep during the film(s). Sorry Dad... guess I'm not 'old' yet!

I did enjoy checking out the old chainsaws. Those bad boys were heavy! I tried to imagine venting a roof with one of those buggers. Back-breaking!

Agnes and Akmed

Adria and her passport saga:

So, yea... veteran traveler Adria misplaced her passport while moving from the international to the domestic terminal at the airport in Aukland. Big bummer. Frustrating. Embarrassing. I could go on.

But on to a better story...

So, one night in Christchurch when Dad decided to stay in, I headed out of the hotel to find a bite to eat for dinner. The moment I left the hotel, the heavens opened and it rained. Hard. While walking I met up with a woman from Switzerland that I had spoken to briefly at the hotel. In true travelers fashion, we fell into step with each other and went to the same cafe for dinner. Our dinner conversation was interesting to say the least. This woman was in her 60s and had lived a full life (including traveling around the world not once, but twice). Conversation led to health, politics and general philosophies on life. At one point she leaned in to me (she was hard of hearing) and told me about Akmed. She said he was some sort of shaman, or mystic or something... I was politely listening to keep the evening rolling along. So Akmed, according to Agnes, has the ability to find things that you have lost. She proceeded to tell me about some things that she had lost and that, sure enough, Akmed would find the item for you if you prayed and asked him to find it for you. Only catch? When he does find it, you have to sing him a song...

Nice story. We finished our dinner and had a brisk walk back to our hotel in the pouring rain, thanked each other for the company and wished each other good night.

The next day, while biking with Dad after our train ride through the Alps, it dawns on me. Agnes and Akmed. Was that a sign? I mean, why would this woman, who I've never met, tell me, out of the blue, about praying to some shaman to ask for help when you've lost something (she had no idea that I had lost my passport). I blurt out to Dad, "I have to pray to Akmed and ask him to help me find my passport!" I mean, what could I lose? We laughed about it and continued riding. As I pedaled behind Dad, watching his yellow panniers sway from side to side, I prayed. "Akmed, I lost my passport. Would you please, please help me find it?" We'll see about Akmed.

Well. Today was the cut-off day I had given myself for the missing passport. If I didn't hear from the police, I would be booking my flight back to Aukland to pay all of the crazy fees at the US Embassy to replace my stupid passport. At around 3pm, while riding along sheep-filled green pasture land I hear music. At first I thought it was an apporaching car blasting their radio. Then it dawned on me... The cell phone we rented is ringing. Must be Mom! I pull off the road and answered the phone. A woman is on the line. Mom, I thought, but not with that accent. Sure enough it was a woman from the Aukland Airport Police Dept. They had found my passport. Wow! After getting off the phone I hooped and hollered and celebrated with Dad and the sheep. We continued riding and after a few more outbursts of joy, I thanked Akmed with a song. Amazing Grace... Ani D. style. "I once was lost... but now I'm found... Was blind, but now I see..." Thank You Akmed!

Punakaiki to Westport

Biked about 35 beautiful, lush, hilly miles today. We left the campground around 9am and only made it a couple miles down the road before stopping at a trail head that took us through the rainforest to the coast in about 15 minutes. The coast was rugged with limestone caves and outcroppings that have been carved by the pounding waves. It was a beautiful way to start out our ride. We continued riding North up the Punakaiki Coast. The road was windy, hugging the coast for the first 1/3 of the day. Lots of hills made for a good workout. Fortunately, the weather couldn't have been better for our ride. Cool and slightly overcast. No real wind to speak of. Dad is back in the saddle and we had a good day's ride. About 1pm we came into a town that had a pub and we tucked ourselves into a delicious lunch. We had worked up a serious appetite with the hills.

We got into Westport at about 4pm. Found another campground with a small chalet that had our name on it. It is nice to be able to have the luxury of a bed and a roof over our head but still have the conveniences of a kitchen, etc. We cleaned up and checked in with home, then headed back to town to explore what the little town has to offer. (Dad said it reminded him of Crescent City if that gives you an idea...) We checked out the harbor. One boat was named President Kennedy. Go figure. We also saw a large vat of oil sitting open on a platform overhanging the water of the harbor... Hmmmn, is that why the water looks so shiny and swirlly??



Dinner was our best meal yet. Found a great pub in town. So all is good. Two tired kids are gonna sleep good tonight!

Pancakes, Blowholes and Rainforests

We decided to spend the day enjoying Punakaiki National Park.

We checked out some caves that were right next to the road as we were biking up to the Visitor's Centre.

Then there are the Pancake rocks.
Then the Blowholes that send sea spray some 50 feet in the air.
And then, the rainforest... where we hiked for a couple hours up along this lush, gorgeously green river gorge.

Weather cooperated and no rain has come down (yet). I am racing the clouds to finish this entry before the heavens open on me and my bike).

We had a beautiful day. Enjoyed a day here on the coast, exploring the sights and sounds of Punakaiki National Park.

Tomorrow we ride north, passing Cape Foulwind as we head up to the town of Westport. Hopefully the 'foulwind' will be behind us... Fingers crossed. The terrain is lush and hilly as the road winds and hugs the coast.

On the Road!

This entry will be short and sweet. Hope to elaborate later, but with a poor internet connection, no ability to load photos and the dark clouds building outside, I am going to make this a quickie.

Dad and I left Christchurch yesterday morning at 7:15am. We loaded up our panniers, strapped things tight and did a brief shake down ride behind our hotel. All felt and looked good and we were eager to get on our way. We rode through a huge park and across part of town to the rail station where we caught the TransApline Scenic train that took us up and over the Alps via Arthur's Pass to the West Coast and the town of Greymouth. It was a beautifully scenic train trip. I am hoping to experience it once more (this time by bike) on my way back to Christchurch when I do the Southern half of the island in a couple weeks.

Upon arrival in Greymouth we bought some groceries for a day or two and set out for our 30 mile ride up the coast to Punakaiki National Park. We were like a couple of kiddies who just entered the gates of Disneyland. We were so thrilled to finally be on our bikes - our dream of biking New Zealand was now our reality!

The weather was perfect... in fact, yup you guessed it, Dad is once again our good luck charm and we had a nice tail wind helping us up the climbed as we made our way up the coast. The scenery was spectacular. Think Big Sur meets Maui. Lush rainforest, but without the heat. Dad loved that!

We got into the park in the late afternoon and checked out the visitor center. We learned that there is much to see and do around here. We found a lovely place to stay and with the dollar strong, we splurged and bedded ourselves down in a nice little cabin. $12 bucks each - can't complain about that.

After settling in, we checked out the area, cleaned up and then I made us our first camp meal. Smoked salmon with a portabello, red pepper, and zuchinni risotto with herbs. Tough livin'. Tea and biscuits for dessert and we were ready to turn in. First day on the road couldn't have been sweeter.

Dancing with the Stars

Tea and bisquits are served at our hotel in the lounge nightly at 9pm. Upon returning from dinner I figured I would do a quick email check before heading to bed. Outside of the door to the lounge an older gentleman chuckled as I prepared to enter the room and said "Enter at your own risk. You don't seem to be the type to do that sort of thing." I laughed, broadened my shoulders and exclaimed, "K. I'm going in." Upon entering I find the tele is on at full blast showing the nation's favorite program, Dancing with the Stars. (Kinda like American Idol, but about ball room dancing) There had to be over a dozen ladies, sitting elbow to elbow, watching this show. And they were loving it! They knew all of the dancers by name and commented on what they were wearing tonight and how it compares with the last outfit. They exclaimed in horror when one of their favorites gets a less that favorable score. It is quite entertaining really. "Some have too much dress, don't you think" "Oh, this one can really dance". "Ah, now, look at her, did you see her last week? She is doing much better. Good on her." It was a pleasure to experience.

Here are some of the ladies.

Icebreaker

With a little extra time on my hands and strong dollar I couldn't resist the temptation to do a little shopping. Christchurch has several cool outdoor stores and I had learned from one of the super friendly Kiwis that their end of season clearance sales are in full swing. I jumped on that. I found some great deals, including a down vest for $15 US.

And I bought a ton of Icebreaker. Icebreaker.com NZ is known for their wool (80 million sheep here in this country and something like 4.5 million people. Go figure.). Icebreaker is a New Zealand company that is making an amazing merino wool product meant for insulating and layering in cold weather conditions. The big sell, wear and wear the clothes time and time again and they won't get stinky like capaline. Icebreaker markets their products as organic, sustainable, makes you feel good buying it sort-of-stuff. Well. I learned yesterday while talking with the locals, that Icebreaker wool is grown here and the material is made here, but the clothes are cut and produced in.... yup, you guessed it, China. Bummer. Locals' suggestion? Check out Survival Merino clothing ( http://www.survival.co.nz/ ) 100% kiwi made and produced. I, of course, donated to the cause. ;)

Lemonade out of Lemons

Our day yesterday didn't turn out as planned. Unfortunately, Dad awoke with a tummy bug and we decided it best to spend an extra day in Christchurch and give Dad a chance to rest and show that tummy bug it is not a welcome passenger on our ride. I spent the morning researching route options and looking into plan Bs and what not. We decided to take the TransAlpine train, http://www.tranzscenic.co.nz, across the alps and start riding on the West Coast and work our way North. We will be leaving on this train Wednesday at 8am. They allow our bikes onboard for $5 US. Deal.

This hotel has been a champ. They are all so friendly and helpful. Breakfast is served at 7am and it is delicious. I enjoyed the cosmopolitan feel as I ate and listened to conversations in French, German, Japanese, and English. Ah, the people watching opportunities are amazing while traveling.

I headed into the town center, Cathedral Square, to run a few errands and enjoy the sights. There is an international flower festival going on in Christchurch right now and everyone is excited about it. www.festivaloffloowers.co.nz

Inside the Cathedral there were dozens of women making lovely flower arrangements for the flower show. I was inspired and impressed with their creativity. The cathedral's ceiling is all open wooden beam construction. Looks like the inside hull of an old tall ship. Beautiful.

The Flight

First 747s are HUGE. How do those birds get up in the air? It obviously happens (every day) but I just don't see how. Our plane seats 400 passengers. Thats a lot of people. Speaking of people, I love people watching and found myself well entertained. Turns out a lot of the people heading to NZ on our flight were all headed to someone's wedding. Now that must have been a big wedding.


We celebrated our departure with some nachos at SFO's Mexican Restaurant - figured we wouln't be getting Mexican for a bit in NZ.



We lucked out and got an exit row. Yay legroom. Poor Dad though was 'monkey in the middle' between me and Chuck, a pro basketball player coming to NZ to play for the Bayhawks. Talk about broad shoulders.

Something like 16 hours later we arrive in Aukland. While going through the customs line, Dad runs into an old aquaintance from Truckee, Shirley T. Her husband worked with Dad at N.Tahoe High. Small world.

There were amazing views from my window seat as we flew from Aukland (North Island) down to Christchurch (South Island). All I could see were huge mountains and alps. All I could think was 'uh-oh... what have I gotten us into'. Luckily, green pasture lands and rolling hills came into view as we approached our landing, so I started to feel a bit better.



We arrived in Christchurch around 8am and spent the day getting ourselves ready to ride. We checked in to a very quaint hotel and ran errands. Putting our bikes together was straight forward. We visited a few bike shops to check in on ideas for our bike route. It was a busy first day in NZ.

Riding on the left side of the road is harder than I thought. After years of looking over my left shoulder for traffic, I now must change my ways and look over my right. And be on the far left side of the road. In the states, making a right turn off of a busy road was a breeze. Here, making a right turn off a busy road is a nightmare. We are getting it though. Good thing we are wearing out bright orange vests. Lookout Kiwis! A crazy father and daughter are coming your way! ;)

Now it is Tuesday morning and today we start riding... We are heading North up the Eastern coast up. This is an area known for its coastal upwelling and we are hoping to see a lot of marine life. Whales, seals and dolphins await us!

Final Pack Job with Dad

We used Amber's back deck to shake out any duplicate gear and make the final call on some questionable items. Every ounce counts! ;)

Beautiful day here in San Mateo. Flight leaves in 6 hours. We are excited. Dream becoming reality! YES!

All Packed and Ready to Go...

5 weeks by bike
South Island, New Zealand

The trip I have been dreaming of is finally happening. New Zealand by bike.
My pack lists have been checked and re-checked. My bike got a nice tune-up (thanks Spokesman! http://spokesmanbicycles.com ) and is packed for the flight.

Greta is determined that I don't forget her when I pack my panniers. Sorry Girl, not on this trip...