Thursday October 18, 2012, 52 miles (84 km) – Total so far: 213 miles (343 km)
This morning we were greeted by the sun and a very hard northwest wind. The morning news reported the gusts were 120 kph (about 72 mph) so we thought about staying put but decided to give it a go. We were being buffeted all over the road and ended up walking the bikes. Frasier had told us the winds can be ferocious. That was an understatement. A wide load truck with six huge rain barrels passed us and we saw it turn over about a quarter of a mile up the road. A huge gust got under it and just put it on its side. The road was closed for quite a while as work crews and a crane came out. We were finally able to pass and continued walking. A policeman stopped to talk with us and felt bad that we were having such a struggle. At this point two Finnish girls were riding into Kaikoura so we and the policeman went over and talked with them about the road conditions further north. They said it was better on the coast, not as hilly and windy as the mountains were blocking the wind. It’s funny that they mentioned Pedallers Rest as a great place to stop so I told them we were headed there. A few miles up the road the coast turned more north and the wind stopped as it was blocked by the west mountain range.
Sandra from Natural High had mentioned that the coast north of Kaikoura was “stunning”. I couldn’t have said it better! We really enjoyed the beautiful mountains to the sea vistas. There was very little traffic so we were able to really enjoy the ride. We stopped at a trailer on the beach for lobster lunch. After that we rode into fur seal country where we hiked about a 1000 feet to a waterfall with a swimming area full of fur seal pups socializing. What a cool spot.
Hill country soon started again along with the head winds although not as bad as Kaikoura. We were both becoming weak and spotted the Pedallers Rest bicycle sign. We turned off the road and went about a mile down the gravel road to a beautiful farm/vineyard house with a cyclist bunkhouse nearby. The host warmly greeted us and showed us our bunkroom for the night. After we showered and did laundry we walked back to the house where the hosts maintain a store, including beer, for the travelers. Jocelyn cooked up a delicious canned spaghetti dinner. We then walked around the property where we were greeted by several friendly dogs.
Most of the New Zealand biking blogs I have read talk about a daily mileage of around 60 km (about 36 miles). At first I thought that was low but I now realize we don’t want to go much over that either because of the terrain and weather. Plus there is a lot to see. We will continue north tomorrow.
