Another easy day of 35km...  taking the weekend spirit a tad too far perhaps :)

Fiddled with Maggie's cracked wheel and managed to line up the crack so it wasn't grabbing the brake pad - and it looked good and lasted all the way to Fox.
Nice gentle ride, up over a couple of gaps, but nothing drastic...  much less than I thought.  no hassles with the wheel either, but really better do something about it.
there were patches of farm lands again, in amongst the wonderful ferny forests.  saw the usual birds but didn't hear the Tui so much...  maybe it was a tad tooee cool... 15 when I started out...  low clouds hiding among the ridges - almost feeling like rain, but not quite - in fact wonderful weather to be riding in...  biggest hassle is when I stop to take a photo, my glasses fog up..  but I can handle that!
am a tad annoyed with the wheel crack...  it meant on arrival into Fox Glacier township, I didn't get a chance to zink back up the road to view the glacier...  staff here at the Big Foot backpackers aren't that cluey - all younguns earning enough $$s to go onto the next place...  I called the Hokitika Cycle shop and Nelson was all set for the fix...  just put the wheel on the bus and he'll pick it up from the depot, swap stuff over and it will be back in Franz Josef in afternoon..  Sweet!  but bus company says No...  will not!  so down to Info centre, no use, sent over to the Black Shed - PO-souvenirs-cafe...  but PO can't do it... would take 3 to 4 days to get down there and back....  had to go to general store, so asked the bloke there, did he plan to go to Hokitika tomorrow (he was unloading his ute) but he said no...  but suggested I try Grey Valley couriers as they go thru each day..  gave me their number and eventually we made contact...  yeah sure, he'll be coming back in about an hour, I'll tell him to swing by...  in less than that, he was there - just as I was dismantling Maggie, and away went her wheel..  Promises!  it'll be back in Frans Josef by noon tomoz...  Fingers crossed!  it works well as I have 2 nights booked there, so I should be able get a hike in and maybe a kayak...  depending on weather...  so the rest of Maggie is repacked in her bag and I've a ticket for the bus to Frans Josef tomorrow....  Sure, am going to miss one of the prettiest (and hilliest) sections of the road, but no choices here!  Its true!!!
can't get over this unlimited wifi after 2 days without any or mobile phone reception and 2 days before when I had to buy wifi... $5 for 50mb and $5 for 500mb...  ????

Misty morning down on the farm

home made gate!

is it going to rain?  not really!
there's a mail box cut into that stump

Past caring

truly, it was great cycling in this weather...
maybe its been too hot in Brisbane this year!

another Black River

bright orange lichen on these rocks by a river

The river

another one way bridge - with bright aqua green water roaring past

Hanging out with the Big Foot tonight

Township of Fox Glacier - places to stay and places to book helicopter rides...  

Lake Paringa to Pine Grove Lodge 35km

So a rest day today - a easy pedal to Pine Grove.  I was surprised to come across little farm lands - with a few black and white cows - even a mob of sheep.  there was an abandoned school at Jacobs Creek and a tiny settlement at Bruce Bay.  It was just before Bruce Bay that I pulled off the road to let a bus go over a one lane bridge and when I started to ride off I could feel something clunky on Maggie's rear end... Once across the bridge, I stopped to see what was stuck in Maggie's wheel...  nothing!  on closer inspection I found a crack in the rim!!!  only a 1cm crack on the outer rim, but it was sticking up slightly and catching on the brake pad...  a passing cyclist came over for a look and reckoned I should get to the Fox Glacier on it, so I continued onwards...  and soon Pine Grove Lodge appears on the horizon!  an easy ride thankfully - not as pretty as farmlands means degraded country and the weeds were pretty rampart, especially the briar rose!

but weather was kind and ....  were there any hills?  nothing to make me complain....  but maybe the worry about the crack in the wheel out-did the hills....  maybe I need to pack lighter - or more likely loose some weight before I head off.... woe!!!
but Pine Grove was a nice little place re: rooms...  my motel room was nice and clean, twin beds, little kitchen with cupboard full of stuff, very clean en suite.  Mossie entered via loo window which was just ajar a little, so they had to be shut in there for the night...  even tv with an unresponsive remote!  I was stuck on a "hallelujah" station for what seemed like hours, but was probably only a minute :)  saw no news, so all must be well in the world....

saying goodbye to Lake Paringa

1st cheese scone - not as I remembered... maybe they were a Central Otago speciality.
 but still tasty and hit the spot!

Farmlands

always mountains

black sand on the beach

tree debris - from river, to sea and back to shore

swamp lands

home for the night

Maggie resting her sore foot, but out of the light rain

Ouch!!  we're going to hafta do something about that!

after dinner of lentil and tomato soup, I went for a walk back along the road to the forest, hoping to see/hear some birds before dark

this is typical of the forests along the road, that I am riding past each day....
beeeeoooootiful!!

the cutest little fantail - his tail is still a blur as he rarely sits still!

Maori crocodile

time to get back inside away from the mossies

Haast to Lake Paringa

Knew there would be a few hills today, but the first exciting part was the crossing of the Haast River - a wide area, mostly of rocks with only a small channel of water at the moment, but obviously it seriously floods at times...  so a narrow one lane wooden bridge crosses it and those travelling north have to give way to those coming down the coast... in theory that is!  there are two passing bays, so if you're going north and someone appears on the other side, you're supposed to get into the next passing bay to allow them to pass...  for a cyclist this is great because you can stop and take photos on your way across the bridge.  but it seems for the motorist, the cheekiest wins!  if one motorist doesn't pull over, those following them also continue onwards...
but onwards for me, past beautiful forest on one side and the sound of the sea on the other. Eventually there was a road down the sea at Ship Creek, where bits of an old wooden ship hull was found in late 19C and eventually tracked down as being wrecked off the Victorian (Australia) Coast and then the sea brought it 2000 km across to NZ...  The beach was littered with old tree trunks and according to an info panel, the rushing flooding rivers uproot the forest trees and wash them out to sea, but the sea returns them to shore...  Wild country for sure.  So then the climbing begins, to climb over the Point - so up and up.  Well, it gave me plenty of opportunity to stop and look over the cliff at the sea and marvel at its beauty... there were memories revoked of Japan but thankfully there was only one point to climb over.  and from then it was basically downhill and continuing through heavily forested country and even tho it looked like rain, it didn't - so another great day riding through a little slice of heaven!
Eventually I arrived at Lake Paringa Motel...  one might say a bit rundown, but friendly and comfortable enough and right on the edge of the rather still and beautiful Lake Paringa.  quite a mix of patrons as well... the older couple next door were yearly visitors - staying for a week of fishing on the lakes around.  There were a couple from Sth Aust travelling around in a little motor home, plus 3 young people - 2 Austrians and 1 Pom in a car and a couple of young Polish guys as well as some locals staying here for fishing on the weekend...  so Good night!

Resting on the one-way bridge over the Haast River

Wind beaten forest

Beach at mouth of Tauperikaka Creek (Ship Creek)

Looking down near Knight's Point, whilst catching one's breath back!

Lake Paringa

Lake Paringa

quick update - Day 3 and Day 4

only had 50km to ride to Makarora, so started a bit late....  Fail!!  this was not the section I was expecting high winds, especially head winds!  but I got 'em...  by the time I got to the Lake Hawea Lookout it had really kicked in and only got worse as the day went on...  dust in ya face as well....
needless to say it was a total struggle and well before I was trip fit!!  there were times when I had to get off and walk as I couldn't make head way into the wind.  even going down a steep hill I could only manage 12kpm...  groan...  there were times when standing with my back to the wind, I was blown at least 2 steps before I could correct.  so steady head wind and mega gusts...  needless to say I was exhausted by the time I rolled into Makarora - 8 hours later...  thought I had booked a female only dorm bed - but that's only in peak season - so ended up with young Polish guy who's been hiking around NZ and must chatter about everything!!!  grrrr.....  so this was the low point of my trip and hoping there is no competition for that...  spoke to another young cyclist who said he too was wasted yesterday and didn't think he would make it to Makarora...

but that is all now behind me... it rained last night and this morning, there were low clouds around the hills and 9C...  today I was expecting a climb up over the Haast pass then a long cruise down, then into another head wind...  tick the climb over the pass was high, the cruise down was glorious, but it just kept going!  and going!!  laughing...  a tad of wind, but just around some corners...  and cruised into Haast just before 5 - 80km tick!

so here - there's a pub, a supermarket, 2 cafes, several backpackers and motels and that's it!  no mobile phone connection and buy wifi for $5 for 500mb...  so not sure there'll be photos loaded...

room to myself tonight!  sweet - Monteiths Golden Ale + salad and roaste vegies and chips + carrot cake = am just about ready for bed...  am going to post this now, just in case anyone is wondering where I might be...  holed up in Haast - right on the West Coast, bar a coupla kms. 

tomorrow to the sea then north to Lake Paringa - about 50km...  hoping no wind!!  fingers crossed!!

hope all well!!!