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westcoast wanderings

April 25, 2012

I noticed two guys making coffee on my way out of the Mavora lakes. An excellent reason to have a break. I’d done 2km already after all. Mark & Richie, two Canadians, were on their way to Queenstown as well. So we teamed up.

I was surprised to see a small traffic jam on the track out. A film crew was busy doing things film crews do.

They were shooting scenes for the movie ‘Walking with dinosaurs‘ We even spotted a pick up full of plastic dinosaur models. When they let us through a guy was waiting at the other side with three coffee’s. Naturally we stopped for another while.

Heading north I realized I just crossed the 45°south latitude for the 6th time. In less than 2 months. Only one time did I ride the same road twice. I did not touch any of the four main roads crossing the line either. That shows how very logical my route through the South Island has been…

It turned out to be one of those glorious sunny days with hardly any wind and low gradients.

Perfect bicycle touring conditions. We were aiming to catch the ferry at two. The road we were on took us to the south side of lake Wakatipu. From where we could see Queenstown across the other side. But with numerous photo opportunities along the way we never made it in time. So while Richie and I relaxed, had a beer, and talked the young girls at the cafe into giving us free cakes (he’s good at that) Mark decided to jump in the lake and wash himself & his bike. We got the boat at four instead.

The TSS Earnslaw is a vintage steamship. launched in 1912 it is believed to be the only coal-fired passenger ferry still operating in the Southern Hemisphere. We pushed the bikes onboard and while the Richard headed to the bar and Mark checked out the steam engine, I found a spot next to the lady with the piano who enthusiastically started playing tunes like ‘my bonnie‘, ‘Clementine’ and ‘waltzing Mathilda‘, encouraging everybody to sing along. I sang my lungs out to great amusement of our Japanese boat-companions. Or annoyance. I couldn’t really tell.

‘Now I know why you travel alone‘ Richard commented… But he did join in, and so did Mark when he located us (not too difficult) :-)

My lovely friend Doris had urged me to have a ‘Fernburger’ in Queenstown. If someone in Austria, you met in Ireland, tells you to have a burger in New Zealand, then surely you must. And she wasn’t wrong. Yum!

As I headed back to the ridiculously overpriced campground (60 dollars for three little tents & bicycles!) the boys tried their luck in the casino.

The road through the Crown ranges between Queenstown and Wanaka is the highest paved road in the country.

With 1100 meter it’s a good climb up. My map showed a pub just near the top. Flying down the road I figured I missed it when I suddenly saw the Cardrona Hotel. A great little old pub where the coffee & company was good.

In Wanaka I noticed a Royal Enfield just outside the supermarket. I’d seen the bike earlier that day when it overtook me with a friendly wave. So I had a chat to Harry.

Harry rode this Enfield from the UK to New Zealand. On vegetable oil! The bike has a diesel engine and he’s trying to get around the world as environmentally friendly as possible. Check out his blog

I mentioned a bicycle is environmentally friendly too, he told me that idea has never once crossed his mind… :-)

To my surprise the sun was shining again as I set off towards the West Coast. I had decided to keep moving for a while to actually try and make it to Nelson, where I had a friend I liked to visit. Nelson was a mere 848km away.

The West Coast, that every cyclist I met absolutely loved, wasn’t that great. In my opinion.

There was nothing wrong with the road. The weather was glorious. And the sandflies were not too bad.

I saw some Pukekos along the way. A dopey looking bird.

The West Coast gets more rain then anywhere else in the country. Not so when I cycled there though.

Every single person had warned me about the sandflies. Evil little buggers who suck your blood whenever they get the chance. Maori legend has it that when one of their gods saw the beauty of the west coast she was afraid that humans would wish to live there forever. So to remind them of their frailty and mortality she liberated sandflies, mosquito’s and fleas. They’ve been doing a pretty good job ever since.

I have myself to blame for cycling it on the Easter weekend. There is only one road up the coast. There was a lot of busses and campervans heading from viewpoint to viewpoint. And sure enough. You can take a pretty picture from the viewpoints.

Like at Franz Joseph Glacier.

And Lake Matheson.

But I am spoiled with remote dirt tracks. So this busy strip of bitumen was. Well… ehm. Different.

I did like the little old sheds in farming area’s.

Then again, also because it is one road, you will run into every other cyclist coming your way. Some, surprisingly, don’t stop and hardly acknowledge you. While others do stop, and you sit and talk for an hour or more on the side of the road and share coffee and scones. I like that. 

Like with Manju here, he lives in the States, but is originally from Amritsar. I remember riding my own Enfield  through Amritsar.

A familiar sound made me look up as I was about to ride out of Fox.

Harry just rode in from Wanaka and asked me if I have had much rain. I had none whatsoever while he ran into quiet a bit on the way up.

We ended up staying at Fox and met up with Jo and Rob. They are from the North Island and on their first trip down South. On a Triumph.

Before setting off in the morning they bought both Harry and me a spectacular breakfast that kept me going the whole day. (well, ’till Franz Joseph anyway)

And then they shot off on the bike while Harry tuffed tuffed away on his and I started peddling mine.

It was that evening the clouds started showing and a few drops fell just when I ran into a young girl from Germany who invited me to stay at her place. It was the next morning the heavens seriously broke and it poured down the whole next day. The girls let me stay and showed me how to milk cows, as this is their job for the time being.

I thought it was (stereo)typical to stay with two German milkmaids.

That was the only day of rain I experienced in the last weeks.

It was great camping at various DOC-camping areas. One evening I stayed at the grounds opposite the Mahinapua-pub.

This pub is world-famous in New Zealand. Something to do with a cheese commercial. But of this I was unaware. I walked in to see if there was something else but my pasta & tuna for a change.

I didn’t expect to run into a crowd dressed up as “anything starting with a P”…  But I did.

A Kiwi-experience backpacker bus had pulled in and stays in the hotel overnight. It was lucky for me because the owner didn’t mind a person more for dinner. So steak it was. Yay!

A message from Harry told me he was broken down 130km up the road in Reefton. So I figured that would be a good goal for the next day.

We discovered it’s a lovely looking town, but they got a thing or two to learn about making pizza’s.

We said goodbye for the final time. Or so I thought. But I found him 25km down the road with the bike in bits. This is how I know Royal Enfields to look like ;-)

I met Nina 4 years ago in Thailand. We met again 3 years ago in Indonesia. Since that time she has told me to come and stay with her in Nelson. And sure enough, I made it!

She also told me I must meet her friend Neil.

Neil is building a house. And a boat. After having sailed around the world for four years he came back to Nelson. But, as many long term travellers, he is getting itchy feet and planning his next trips. In the mean time he entertains himself by kayaking and riding bicycles. He also likes taking people out while doing this. And that was lucky for me.

We took a day to have a look at an island in the Tasman National park.

I was rather happy we were together in one kayak. Neil is fast. And only by being in the same kayak did I manage to keep up with him.

I loved seeing all the seals on the rocks. A little sad we didn’t see any dolphins, but happy we didn’t see any killer whales. It gave me a bit of a fright when he mentioned they’re out here. They are very big compared to a little kayak.

Next day we went up the hills to go mountain biking. Together with Nelson, Neil’s friend. I had no problems cycling up the hills. It was the way down that slightly worried me. I might need some practise at this downhill-thing. But apparently I wasn’t the worst they’ve seen. That’s a compliment I guess.

So that was all excitement in Nelson. Well, that and cutting of my hair.

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A Wonderful World of Water and Wind

March 30, 2012

It now seems ages ago I shot down the rail trail. The original railway was completed in 1921. As it turned out the line was uneconomic. Lucky for cyclist young and old, the Department of Conservation (DOC) took over and transformed it into a perfectly enjoyable (and easy) bicycle ride between Clyde and Middlemarch.

I arrived in Middelmarch rather late because I just couldn’t find a camp spot along the last 25km or so. I stopped for a coffee and started chatting with the owner of Quench Cafe/Bar. He’s involved with the local rugby club and gave me the keys for the clubhouse so I could use the showers. After making sure the rugby team wasn’t gonna walk in on me I did. And managed to return the keys just before he closed. He told me I might as well camp at his place :-)

He’s also the one who told me there is actually another road to Dunedin, my next destination.

Tourist information and guidebooks will have you believe you must cycle on the main road, or take the train. It is not true!

There is a back road that crosses private property so it’s necessary to ask for permission before you set off. But if the sheep are not lambing and there is no other objection it should be fine.

So I rode to Pukerangi, where I was just in time to see the others off on the train, and kept cycling.

The country here is lovely. But the rolling hills have a few surprises. Without warning the road dips down into gorges to cross rivers and shoots back out on the other side. And rather steep too!

But the road down into Mosgiel was the funnest downhill, I was flying down it while singing my lungs out. It was great! I was told by a lady I asked for directions it was very far to my destination. (it was 6km)

Still, it was a little bit of a climb into Abbotsford, where I arrived at Brian & Gail’s house just in time for dinner. They were on the Cavalcade too. He is in search & rescue here in NZ and does a whole lot of other things. Like locking me up in the Dunedin police station

and showing me around town. I’ve learned as a kid that the police is your best friend, this is the first country I’ve been where it might be true.

(hi Brian!, hi Johnny!, hi Murray!)

It was once more confirmed when a few days later I got an police escort to a party in a wool shed during the Catlin Canter. When local policeman Murray let me stay in his house and even gave me a couple of beers to take to the party with me.

I caught up with some old friends from the Cavalcade. Like Sandy here.

An old time cowboy who’s even been in the Mount Isa rodeo back in 1962. He broke his ankle that year but that’s just about the only injury he ever got, a miracle, I’d say the least. It was there I first met Linda & Doug, who ended up being my adoptive parents in this glorious part of the world. But more about that in a little while.

I followed the coast.

Cris-crossing hills and farmland,

with great sea-views.

I made it through the town of Balclutha. As I stopped for a coffee (I do this too often, I got a perfectly good stove and a plunger in my panniers, still I stop at just about every opportunity to drink coffee. I’m getting lazy) I got chatting to Fiona, on her way to Japan, and her grandma Jenny, seeing her off. Jenny gave me her number in Invercargill where I was heading. To have another coffee when I arrived there. She also mentioned I must go and see Harry when I got there.

I cycled through the Catlins, where “the natural landscapes are enthralling and the wildlife is extraordinary“…. It’s true! It says so on the website… I did not see an awful lot of wildlife, bar some dead possums on the road. I did hear a lot of birds. And I saw a lot of water falling…

It rained quiet a bit as I cycled through, so things were wet, but wonderful.

I realised one evening I wasn’t going to make the next camp area in time. It’s all rainforest and uneven ground, but I happened to find one spot where my tent just squeezed in perfectly.

Well, almost perfectly. There’s so many different plants, one of which the fern. With the silver fern being New Zealand’s unofficial national symbol I’m keen to find one of them. I haven’t yet. Found a whole lot of others though…

Harry is the 150 year old Tuatara that lives in the museum. I didn’t know that and just before getting to the museum I ran into a person Harry in the street. He happened to work for DOC and gave me some very useful information about the road I was planning to cycle… Or planning to carry my bicycle, actually. Harry is based in Te Anau. So I told him I’ll come and let him know how the ride was when/if I make it there.

I found Harry the Tuatara.

He looks like a lizard but is actually a ‘Sphenodon’, they became extinct about 65million years ago together with the dinosaurs. Except here in New Zealand, where they survived. So there you have it. A real sort-of dinosaur kinda lizard-thingy.

In the same museum I found ‘The world’s fastest Indian’.

Who’d have known, the legendary Burt Munro came from Invercargill!

I cycled around the south coast. I’ve been warned for it’s notorious westerly winds that I would have straight against me.

Typically, on this one occasion the wind turned and blew me right in the direction of Aris.

A greek an a pushbike.

We talked for about 20min when he decided to come back to the last town with me where we had a beer to celebrate my 5-year-on-this-trip anniversary.

We both set off in different directions the next day, I was heading for the Boreland road. I had seen it on my map and after many people telling me I couldn’t go there, and one person, Harry, telling me I could I figured I’ll give it a go.

I came across a little shed on the way,

Where this friendly gentleman was busy skinning possums he had just trapped. Possums are a pest in New Zealand. After being introduced by us Europeans trying to establish a fur-industrie (sorry). With no native predators there were soon too many and there have been attempts to eradicate them, because of the damage they do to native trees and wildlife.

He does his bit.

It took me three hours to climb up to the Boreland saddle, up through a valley with cliffs and power lines. The road is originally built to service the power lines. So I will not complain about them obstructing the views. The road wouldn’t have been there if the powerline wasn’t.

On the top I had a great view over ‘green lake’ a popular tramping spot. I noticed. There were a few vehicles on the road. None of them were expecting me there which resulted in a few near misses. I had been looking forward to the zig-zagging downhill. Sadly a grader was servicing the road! And instead of a nice hard track he graded it all to soft mush. So I still couldn’t go much faster than 10 km/h if I didn’t want to slide down the side or fall over.

The good people from DOC have made huts, shelters and little bivouac’s in the national park areas. I happen to come across one and stayed the night.

It was nice and warm, the mice had a great time running through my panniers too.

Next day the road took me (slowly!) to Lake Manapouri’s South arm. I couldn’t stay for too long because the sandflies made a meal out of me.

The very detailed map I had told me there was no track for about 3km. The very detailed map was right. It had started to rain and if I wanted to make it to the West Arm I would have to carry my bicycle and all my gear up a steep cliff. I could do that, it would take about 5 goes… but not in the rain :-(

I figured I would most likely slip, fall and break some bones.

So I turned back.

I mentioned Linda & Doug before.

They welcomed me with open arms when I finally did make it to TeAnau. They live just outside town and have the most spectacular view over the lake and the mountains. Having a daughter my age over in the UK, they looked after me, made me feel at home and are now my parents in New Zealand :-)

The morning I was planning to head off I farewelled Doug & Linda and called into the DOC office to let Harry know I didn’t make it across Percy’s saddle. After a coffee and a nice chat he convinced me to go and visit Milford Sound. I’ve had some pressure from Stuart and his dad to go and see this number one tourist attraction and after Harry telling me the same thing I figured I might as well check it out.

The 120km road there was spectacular to say the least. And the busy traffic I’ve been warned for wasn’t half as bad as people tried to make me believe. I found a great little campsite on the way up (I left Te Anau late afternoon) And started cycling at 6 in the morning for a change. It was pitch black and when I touched my headlight the batteries fell out. Darn. It took some scrambling around to locate them in the dark and when I did I could not get them back in. So I cycled by following the white line for about an hour ’till it got a little lighter. My headlight has cracked.

It was very foggy and I could only see the outlines of big hills shimmering through the mist. That and the moss-covered trees gave it all a rather magical look.

I climbed till I reached the Homer tunnel and from there the road dips into Milford Sound. The tunnel itself has a gradient of 1:10. Great fun on the way down.

Just after the tunnel I noticed a Kea, a parrot nicknamed ‘the clown of the mountains’ because of it’s overly curious nature.

They’re known to pick at and damage cars/tents/backpacks, one even flew off with someones passport once! I have had no trouble with them yet…

I rode down fast and stopped for a coffee at the information centre. It had started to rain. Still the view was spectacular,

Sheer rock faces rise up 1200 meter and more on either side of the fjord.

Apart from the beauty and the grandeur of the place it is a total tourist trap, where you can not do a thing without spending a lot of money. Even the walks are hard to get to since you need to cross water.

After being inside for too long waiting for the rain to stop I had to get outside where I ran into James. He came down from Auckland with his mate Charlie and were exploring this beautiful part of their country by boat.

 

Somehow we all ended up in the pub that evening and they took me out fishing the next day.

Miraculously the weather had made a 180 degree turn around and the skies were sunny and clear here in the place that’s known as New Zealand wettest inhabited place.

The idea was to catch a blue fin tuna. But the tuna was smarter than us.

Still, cruising around the ford was a great experience. We saw massive waterfalls,

and many birds. We didn’t get the boat stuck on the rocks at all… true! Charlie just thought it was a good idea to jump into the 9 °C water for fun…

I spent another night at the pub with those guys, and it’s thanks to them I had the greatest Milford Sound experience you can imagine! Them and the glowworms.

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About Climbing, Crossing Creeks and Camera’s

March 15, 2012

It was a bit of a climb out of Cromwell.

It was only the next morning, when I reached the top of Dufflers Saddle, that I realized I’d just cycled up the highest public road in New Zealand.

Well, that explains that then.

I had a pretty good campsite that first evening.

Just as I had left Cromwell, and I sat on the side of the road to enjoy an apple I bought at one of the roadside stalls, Bill pulled up on a little 4-wheel motorbike. He is a bit of a local legend, I met him on the cavalcade. He told me about places to go and people to see along the way.

A minute up the track I came across another little stall selling eggs. I bought half a dozen which, in hindsight, was not my smartest move as on the bumpy road the eggs busted in my panniers and made a big mess.

Lesson learned.

I rode down the spectacular scenic Nevis road till I reached a sign telling me I had 25 fords to cross in the next 24 km.

For the first two I took off my shoes & socks, waded through and put them back on. After this I couldn’t be bothered and left it all on to get very wet feet.

If I’d known it took 4 days for my shoes to dry out I might’ve changed tactics.

Suddenly I saw two bicycles coming around the hills! It was Tony & Margaret, the two who told me about this road in the first place :-) They also happened to be the only cyclist I would come across in the next two weeks or so.

After saying goodbye and see ya later we set off in opposite direction. I still had a bit of distance and a lot of rivers to cross for the day.

It all went well, apart from my map going for a swim and falling apart.

But that’s fine, I’m only on one bit at the time anyway.

But then, at the last crossing for the day (although I didn’t know it yet) I slipped and the bike fell over in the cold mountain stream. That would not have been a massive problem had I have my handlebar zipped up. This wasn’t the case and so my dear old camera and trusted phone went swimming and died on the spot.

I was severely annoyed with myself, this is the last picture I took with the canon eos 500d.

Just after that last and disastrous ford-crossing the road started climbing. I knew I had to make it over the hill if I wasn’t going to camp at the last river. But I wasn’t sure how far and high it would be.

I could hear this noise and figured there must be some 4wd’s coming up the hill, when suddenly this huge plane shot up from behind the hill and flew so close over me I could see the pilot blink. It looked like he was about to crash and I wasn’t the only one thinking so. The next day I read in the newspaper someone had actually rang the emergency services. But this Hercules C130 didn’t crash. It was a military excercise. And a spectacular sight. Sadly my camera had just drowned, so here’s a drawing of it instead.

As I came over the last hill the old ski hut I intended to stay at came into view. Together with a beautiful view over the valley. Lucky I saw it now, because that night I could hear the rain starting to fall on the roof and it didn’t stop for the next 5 days…

So I splattered down the mountain to get back onto the road on my way to Gore.

As soon as I got to Gore I got a cheap replacement.

Graham lives in Gore, together with Elza he’s got a lovely spot just out-of-town where they look after a whole lot of cows. And chooks.

As it happens Gore is the country capital of New Zealand and home of a big guitar. Just like Tamworth in Australia. I felt right at home ;-)

It also boasts to be the trout fishing capital of the world and has an enormous trout at the entrance of town.

And it happens to have the biggest inland boating-club in NZ, or so I’ve been told. Graham is a member of this club and they happened to organize a beer tasting night just when I was there. How lucky is that! Beer tasting is one of my favourite past times.

It was during this evening I discovered I am a Hop-Goddess. Obviously I knew this. Uhum.

While at Graham’s and Elza’s I took my camera and phone apart to see what could be saved. One morning the camera was making little noises and I did a little dance around the room saying things like: “yippie” and “hurray”. I celebrated too early though as a minute later it gave up steam altogether. Darn.

When the rain finally decided to give it a rest I farewelled the comforts of Gore and set off down the road towards lake Onslow.

Just cruising along, enjoying the meagre sun and lovely scenery, a car pulled up in front of me. “Hi cycling dutchgirl! … We met last August in the Simpson desert”…

Well there you have it. I am officially in this part of the world for too long now :-)

Every one I came across on my way to the lake Onslow turn off warned me about how remote it is. Pfff, I guess they haven’t cycled across outback-Australia ;-)  Also I got many warnings about the road conditions and weather.

There is a little bit of water damage.

Lucky I picked a fine day for the climb up. Roads, or actually the distances, keep surprising me. As my  map doesn’t show them.

So I climbed and climbed a little more ’till I came across a not-so-useful farmer who told me the road was just gonna be flat after the next turn-off. Yeah right.

I kept climbing, passing many cows and a few bulls on the way up. I like those a lot better when there is a fence between us. This is however, not always the case. Just hope my flapping red poncho doesn’t set them off.

Coming over the last bump I could see the lake and the barren hills around it.

Some nice considerate people have built little huts on the side of the lake.They’re all locked but have great little verandah’s . It’s a good spot to pitch your tent for the night.  Out of the wind at least.

There’s two roads after the lake. The high road and the low road. I took the highroad, I guess it took me about an hour longer, but the views are just wonderful.

I love the outstretched hills with nothing but tussocks…

The road dipped into a valley and I kept cycling when I noticed a sign on a shed saying “Stonehenge”.

I remember that name, Bill had told me to call in here and say hello to Jim, the owner and Sandy, Bill’s son.

So I walked into the shed and was surprised to see a shearing gang shearing sheep twice the size of the shearers themselves.

They were massive! They were Merino-rams. Jim told me, when I located him. He sent me down to the house to see Sue. Who immediately took care of me and showed me a room where I could stay. I was only slightly overwhelmed. The room was massive! And the house was gorgeous. It even had one of those windows you can sit in and stare into the distance like some princess in a fairy-tale.

Sue and Jim have two sons, they both play rugby. That explained the birthday cake Sue got just a few days earlier on her 60th Birthday surprise party. It had a rather rugby-related theme. Her son, Andrew, is an ”All Black” (that’s him in the middle)

But her real birthday isn’t untill today. Happy 60th birthday Sue!

When Sue mentioned she was heading to Dunedin for the day it seemed like a good idea to tag along and organize some bits and pieces I needed to do into town  (pick up stuff from bank & post office) It would however have been much more productive if I didn’t leave my wallet at home. Little chance of picking up anything without ID. Dumb.

But at least I got the chance to catch up with Johnny (cavalcade again) and drink lots of coffee…

So I got to stay another night at ‘the palace’ as I now call it, and before I’d set off  Sue had already rung her sister-in-law, Mary, who happened to live exactly down the road I was taking.

At a very convenient distance for one day cycling.

So one glorious day across the Danseys Pass later,

I arrived at yet another sheep station in the hills where Mary & Nevil set up home and welcomed me with lovely meal and a warm bed.

There was one more port of call not far past their house.

John & Josh, father & son, who left mum/wife, Doreen, at home to join the cavalcade where I met them. Own a farm 22km down the road.

I thought I’d call in for a coffee, say G’day, and move on.

Instead I called in for a coffee, then lunch, shifted some lambs,

went up to the lake to go fishing

And admired their deer,

cows, chooks, sheep, horses and ostriches (yes, ostriches!).

In the morning John was even so kind to drop me off where I wanted to be, so I didn’t need to ride the same (busy) highway twice.

Yes, I found myself back at Omarama. The exact same spot I set off from on the cavalcade a few weeks ago. But this time I was headed up the hills on my bike. And so I did.

The day wasn’t as glorious as I hoped but at least it didn’t rain (to start off with)

I was pleased to still get the chance to cycle (push) up the 1280 meter high Omarama saddle. From where I had a view as far as Mount Cook and surroundings.

It was only slightly disappointing to see the road shoot down straight into the valley of the Oteake Conservation Park on the other side instead of going along the mountain tops for a little bit. But it was nice getting out of the wind.

I came across ‘Top Hut’, one of the huts maintained by DOC (department of conservation)

A little sign told me there was another hut just 8km down the river.

Easy, I thought.

I’ll be there in no time, I thought.

Not realizing the track will cross the river many, many times in this little distance.

I realized quickly that the Nevis had been very easy.

Here the river was a little deeper, a little faster and a little rockier.

So after taking all my gear off the bike and carrying it all across carefully the first three times I went for the option of pushing the lot across. Thinking a heavier bike would keep me steady.

It did work! Although my panniers are not as waterproof as they used to be, and when it gets deep they float. Taking the bike (and me) along. Still I didn’t fall and my shoes did not get wet. ( I decided to go barefoot this time)

I did get very tired and a little worried looking at the sky as it started to drizzle a  bit…

I was very happy when the hut finally came into view and I made it there just before dark.

Enjoying being inside and dry I tried to light the fire which resulted in me smoking myself out of the hut. I was surprised to see a car pull up. Three men from a nearby station had gone pig-hunting and beer drinking and invited me to come along. But the most I’m likely to shoot is a picture of the pig they had on the back of the truck . And thanked them kindly for the invitation.

They asked If I had seen ‘snowman’. I had not, I did see some rain however. But no, Snowman was a mate they’re supposed to catch up with. He had taken a different route but had planned to stay at this very hut. This very night.

So it wasn’t surprising when he showed up about an hour later.

It was nice to have some company, and a first for me to have a man blow a horn outside a hut in the middle of the night in the hope to attract stags.

Snowman himself, who’s real name is Karl, said he thought the other guys were joking when they told him ‘there was a lady in the hut’ In all his years of hunting in the hills of NZ he has never, ever, come across a lady in a hut… I guess there is a first for everything.

It was lucky he was there. Because in the morning the rain was at it again. This made the river rise quickly and if he wouldn’t be there I would probably be still stuck in that hut. Instead he gave me a ride out. And after a shower & a good sleep I’m fully organized for the next part of the trip.

Starting to like this country. Yay.

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Just a few hours ago, my sister in the Netherlands gave birth to a perfectly healthy little baby boy. Welcome to the world Siem!

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Summertime, And the livin’ is easy

January 9, 2012

If you have to take a shower, you might as well share it.

With 100 frogs.

You never know I figured.

No luck so far. But there’s many more to go.

And I have to admit, I rather be kept company by these little creatures where the most dangerous side-effect might be a salmonella-infection, than this monster.

A Mulga snake, I stumbled across just outside my bedroom door at Byro-Station. Not the friendliest. This King Brown is actually a black snake (just to keep things confusing), and fairly deadly. Lucky Andrew got to him first so no need to worry. It only cost him a pool-cue.

I came up for a visit to the station for new-years and summer. With 40+ degrees and copious amounts of alcohol both a success.

Can’t believe it’s over two years since I came through on my pushbike.

Can’t believe I’m still here now.

In the mean-time Lynne & Andrew got married and had a baby girl.

I got a new bicycle and rode around the country. A lot easier, I’m sure :-)

But my new bicycle has been parked up for a few weeks because I had people to see and places to go. It happens when you stick around one place too long. It (almost) starts feeling like home.

So I better get outta here in a hurry. And I will!

Well, not a major hurry.

But I will!

Posted in Australia | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

h1

A new year, a new Calendar.

December 31, 2011

I’ve been busy,

This time a little less riding, but I put together a few calenders.

Since the new year is just about here I figured they might come in useful, if you happen to own a wall you can hang them on.

Unlike me. I could swing one off my handlebars I guess.

I probably should’ve done it about a month ago, but I never think too far ahead.

There is one about my biketrip in Australia.

But if you don’t feel like having me or my bicycle on your wall, there is one about the Australian Outback as well. It just means you have to look up my friend Steve’s shorts the whole month of January.

There is one with images of people I’ve met along the way and one with impressions from the roads in Tibet, Central Asia and India.

Tonight I’ll be celebrating New Years Eve with a bunch of people who don’t find my choice of music embarrassing.

Yay,

or Yeehaa!, more like ;-)

Have a good one!

Posted in Australia | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments »

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