Day 33 of TA - The drought has broken!!
Tuesday 11th November
Distance: 122 km
Elevation gain: 843 metres
From the town of Fox Glacier to Haast
About 9 hrs elapsed from 7am to 4pm.
Recap - Monday rest day
We were always going to have a rest day along the West Coast and when the forecast was rain and lots of it on Monday, it made perfect sense to have a break in Fox Glacier. Rob and I enjoyed a huge cooked breakfast at the cafe downtown with bacon, eggs, sausage, mushrooms, hashbrowns… the works.
The rain eventually arrived at 10 am and continued off and on all day and all night. I spent most of the day just relaxing but I did find a pair of shorts in the 'free clothing' suitcase at the backpackers that I could squeeze into and decided to go for another spa. This saved me having to pack my own wet shorts for the ride on Tuesday. I also found a book in their library that took my interest, Master of the Five Magics that I read all afternoon. Very relaxing day indeed.
Rob spent his morning rearranging his gear, trying to move more heavy objects onto the front of his bike to reduce the wobble that seems to get quite nasty above 15km/hr.
We did manage to go out to the grocery store during a break in the rain and purchased ingredients for a Spaghetti Bolognese dinner and replenish our supplies for the ride ahead.
Back to Today
Alarm at 5:30 but I was awake thinking about the big ride to Haast. We had some leftover mince from last night on toast for breakfast which was a nice change and then we were rolling out by 7am. The rain was supposed to be finished but had one last shower that it dumped on us as we left Fox Glacier. It was over soon enough and we dried quickly. Rob commented that he finally got rained-on during his cycle trip of the South Island.
We pushed southward, with Rob leading most of the time with a cracking pace. I was happy to ride in his slipstream but the wet roads meant that I had to keep my distance or I'd be spattered with water from his back tyre.
We passed motels and other tourist attractions (e.g. salmon farm) but they were all run-down and closed up. Not enough tourists?
At Bruce Bay (45km) the highway meets the ocean and we stopped at the one open shop we could find - a coffee van. The muffins were so delicious. When I went to the toilet, I was accosted by one of the other patrons who patted me on the back for wearing a bright jacket but suggested my riding companion should change from a dark jumper to something more visible. His language is a bit more colourful than what I've described above.
Back on the bike again and we reached Lake Paringa (70km) for lunch. Rob took this opportunity for a swim (sans swimming costume!). The other visitors got a thrill. I'm a bit of a prude and wouldn't consider such a thing.
With 55km still to go, we pushed on. The winds picked up and we had a nasty headwind arriving into Haast. But we made it. I was pretty stuffed. Rob was keen to pitch a tent (me less so) however it's a lovely clear blue sky and pleasant outside. Except for the bloody sandflies!!! I hate them with a passion.
We ate dinner at the pub and then went into the tent to get away from the sandflies. This is one of the longer days on my TA journey and I'd better sleep well tonight.
Today's theme song is by Regurgitator - Black Bugs
I got killed by black bugs on my video game
Seriously, these NZ sandflies/black bugs are such a pain. I keep applying the bug spray and they keep coming back. Rob bought a new spray can today in Haast based on the locals' recommendation. I think it was just tropical strength Aerogard. It better work!
Leaving Fox Glacier township. The fog turned to mist and then rain as we rode away.
One of the few places where there was a decent shoulder for us cyclists on the highway today. Most of the time there was no shoulder at all.
At Bruce Bay where the highway meets the ocean. Only one of us was brightly dressed.
Distance: 122 km
Elevation gain: 843 metres
From the town of Fox Glacier to Haast
About 9 hrs elapsed from 7am to 4pm.
Recap - Monday rest day
We were always going to have a rest day along the West Coast and when the forecast was rain and lots of it on Monday, it made perfect sense to have a break in Fox Glacier. Rob and I enjoyed a huge cooked breakfast at the cafe downtown with bacon, eggs, sausage, mushrooms, hashbrowns… the works.
The rain eventually arrived at 10 am and continued off and on all day and all night. I spent most of the day just relaxing but I did find a pair of shorts in the 'free clothing' suitcase at the backpackers that I could squeeze into and decided to go for another spa. This saved me having to pack my own wet shorts for the ride on Tuesday. I also found a book in their library that took my interest, Master of the Five Magics that I read all afternoon. Very relaxing day indeed.
Rob spent his morning rearranging his gear, trying to move more heavy objects onto the front of his bike to reduce the wobble that seems to get quite nasty above 15km/hr.
We did manage to go out to the grocery store during a break in the rain and purchased ingredients for a Spaghetti Bolognese dinner and replenish our supplies for the ride ahead.
Back to Today
Alarm at 5:30 but I was awake thinking about the big ride to Haast. We had some leftover mince from last night on toast for breakfast which was a nice change and then we were rolling out by 7am. The rain was supposed to be finished but had one last shower that it dumped on us as we left Fox Glacier. It was over soon enough and we dried quickly. Rob commented that he finally got rained-on during his cycle trip of the South Island.
We pushed southward, with Rob leading most of the time with a cracking pace. I was happy to ride in his slipstream but the wet roads meant that I had to keep my distance or I'd be spattered with water from his back tyre.
We passed motels and other tourist attractions (e.g. salmon farm) but they were all run-down and closed up. Not enough tourists?
At Bruce Bay (45km) the highway meets the ocean and we stopped at the one open shop we could find - a coffee van. The muffins were so delicious. When I went to the toilet, I was accosted by one of the other patrons who patted me on the back for wearing a bright jacket but suggested my riding companion should change from a dark jumper to something more visible. His language is a bit more colourful than what I've described above.
Back on the bike again and we reached Lake Paringa (70km) for lunch. Rob took this opportunity for a swim (sans swimming costume!). The other visitors got a thrill. I'm a bit of a prude and wouldn't consider such a thing.
With 55km still to go, we pushed on. The winds picked up and we had a nasty headwind arriving into Haast. But we made it. I was pretty stuffed. Rob was keen to pitch a tent (me less so) however it's a lovely clear blue sky and pleasant outside. Except for the bloody sandflies!!! I hate them with a passion.
We ate dinner at the pub and then went into the tent to get away from the sandflies. This is one of the longer days on my TA journey and I'd better sleep well tonight.
Today's theme song is by Regurgitator - Black Bugs
I got killed by black bugs on my video game
Seriously, these NZ sandflies/black bugs are such a pain. I keep applying the bug spray and they keep coming back. Rob bought a new spray can today in Haast based on the locals' recommendation. I think it was just tropical strength Aerogard. It better work!
Leaving Fox Glacier township. The fog turned to mist and then rain as we rode away.
One of the few places where there was a decent shoulder for us cyclists on the highway today. Most of the time there was no shoulder at all.
At Bruce Bay where the highway meets the ocean. Only one of us was brightly dressed.
Every so often a ragged snow-covered peak was visible when there was a break in the clouds.
Photo control point 24 - Knights Point lookout (where the highway was completed in 1965).
Camping at Haast. A great end to a big day in the saddle.
A big day indeed! We travelled this route earlier this year and stopped at Bruce Bay for coffee (made our own in the motorhome) and watched the coffee cart man set up for the day. He does a roaring trade as there are so few options for coffee stops in this area. Great scenery along the way but quite a few hill climbs as you would know! The sandflies are ruthless and a right pain! Good on Rob having a skinny dip at the lake, no doubt it was chilly! Look forward to reading about the next stages!
ReplyDeleteOh, one more thing, the Blue Pools , if open, are worth visiting if you have time, about 1 hour walk in. There is a DOC campsite opposite the carpark. Your issue would be securing your bikes and gear safely though. There are also many lovely waterfalls just off the road too and the walks into them is quite short, 5 to 10mins. Lots to see!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the phone call to us, great to have a chat to do a bit of fine tuning for our visit at the end of your N. Z. T.A. Time is slipping by so fast. Looking forward to reading the next episodes.
ReplyDeleteSleep would have come easy after that huge day!
ReplyDelete