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.