Friday October 19, 2012, 38 miles (61 km) – Total so far: 251 miles (404 km)

We slept like a baby in the bunkhouse as it was just the two of us with occasional unknown animal noises. A few times we added wood to the fireplace. After a leisurely breakfast Jocelyn added a long entry into the hosts’ logbook. Last night we went through several of the books that date back to 1995. We were soon on the road at 9 am and had our early morning hill workouts as we climbed to the small town of Ward. But this time the wind was at our backs!

We continued many more hill climbs and soon rode into the town of Seddon for lunch. One of the locals asked where we were going. When we said Blenheim he said “no worries…just one small hill to go.” We climbed into one last large hill and the mountain pass that descends into Blenheim. The descent was exhilarating and I worked the brakes to keep the speed below 35 on a lane without a shoulder. It was a white knuckle experience! As we road into town the wind picked up and thunderstorms started. We found the Koanui Backpackers and checked in to a very nice hostel room.

Our plans have changed and we will not be visiting Picton at this time. We decided to spend more time in the Nelson and Abel Tasman National Park areas. Tomorrow we will give our legs and bikes a break and board a bus to Nelson. It is Labor Day holiday weekend and the roads are crowded and the weather not very good.

We have now completed a week of our adventure. The most prominent New Zealand features are the hills, wind, sheep, and vineyards. But what we are most impressed with is the friendly and very helpful people.