Ups and downs into a whole different world

so - maybe I should have taken a rest day after yesterday's slog - but felt good in the morning, so lets away.  Google profile told me there'd be some ups and down, until the last 15km was aallll downhill...
no worries!!  well, actually there was... I got totally pooped by 12:30...  my legs turned to jelly and I was wobbling along at 5kph on the flats...  checked if brakes were rubbing - no....  just me - bonked!!
I pulled up near a little babbling brook and munched on a good handful of crackers and cheese, emptied my flask of coffee, tried chocolate...  just wasn't getting the vibes... stayed for 45 mins but eventually dragged myself back on the road and wobbled onwards.  there were some serious ups todays as well as some whooping downs - max 60kph!!  yeah, maybe a tad too fast....
the West Coast has gone - its just memories now...  back to treeless yellow hills, sun baking down - it got to 33 at 3pm and my 3 bottles of water were fast disappearing.  I asked some French tourists if they had some spare and they so nicely topped up my bottle.  eventually I crashed at a deserted rest area and laid down for 30 mins...  after that, I felt 90% again and somehow, my legs had got some oomph to them...  might have helped to have got over that last rise and then a chilly 3km descent, some quite steep and then the road continued gently down into Springfield...  where the local petrol station does not have everything one needs even to make nachos!!!
But the YHA here is delightful... a Netherlands theme, but feels like a Swedish home to me :)  and a meal supplied...  I was happy with the mushrooms and toast - but also managed to get thru a huge bowl of creamy pasta (yeah, might have had ham pieces too, but I was too tired to see them!)
am off to bed as soon as the photos are uploaded...  83km was almost just a bit too far today!!  maybe I am getting old after all!!!  Never!!!

Nice downhill run early on the piece - a lot of road working was happening on this section

Looking back and saying goodbye to the snow-capped mountains

This is where I came from - not a downhill - gasping a tad so a good time to take a photo

only good thing about riding up a hill, is the view from the top

no more forests - and getting hot

Up and down, please - when does the down stop?

tops of mountains now covered by what looks like gravel!
or is it just the colour of the ground?  

A lake....  but the gorse is so thick and the road down to it too steep....
keep pedaling

Seriously?  that hill is too steep, I have to stop and rest....
I can go no further!!

sitting by a little stream for nearly an hour, trying not to look at that hill!

why are there no birds around?  not a peep!

these look grand, but they are quite narrow and scary for a cyclist
when a truck needs to pass....

NZ's version of Castle Hill - think I prefer Townsville's :)

passed a couple of small cottages which made me wonder if I was just wishing
I was in Sweden, rather than pushing slowly along this hot never-ending road

When I got to Smiley's, I was still wondering whether I had entered
a parallel universe and landed in Scandinavia in 1880's 

Sweet dreams!