The Birds and the Bees - Christchurch

The Birds and the Bees - Christchurch


Christchurch came a day early for us as we seemingly raced down the coast of the south island. We arrived on Saturday but our first Warm Showers host wasn't expecting us until Sunday. We checked out a few hostels close to the city center looking for camping, then settled on a nice place called Frienz for a little extra $$ but walking distance to everything. We reveled in the luxury of our private bathroom and complimentary shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, lotion, and an unidentifiable packet with directions only in an Asian dialect. In true backpacker hostel style we jockeyed for position at one of the range tops in the small but well stocked kitchen and made dinner. We fell asleep in a room lit like day from the hostel sign right outside our window; lulled by the sounds of Saturday night in a big city.

Backpacker kitchen organization at its best:

The next day promised us: our first warm showers host, a national criterium race, and a Santa Parade. What more could we ask for?! We packed up and headed out setting off to meet Jeff Chandler our host. When we arrived at Jeff's house we were greeted warmly and welcomed into a lush and densely shrub lined piece of heaven. Jeff is a bee keeper hobbyist (although you can easily tell he's passionate about it beyond mere hobby) and his bees were busily working around the hives outside the front door. We were offered either a camping spot on the lawn or the extra bedroom - we took the bedroom and the opportunity to wash up our tent so that we might stand a chance at passing through the Aussie biosecurity with all our gear. We chatted briefly with our
host and headed back into the city for an exciting afternoon. In the early heats of the criterium we ran into Katrina, one of the folks we assembled bikes with at the Auckland airport. We were all planning on seeing the Santa parade so we set a place to meet and she headed off to see about some repairs they were having done at a local bike shop. The criterium races were great! The two hairpin turns in the course made for some major wipe outs as the riders clipped their pedals trying to accelerate through the turns. We checked out the Santa parade from Cathedral square and found Mike and Katrina there chatting with a German cycle tourist they'd just met and hawking candy being tossed to the crowd from passing floats. We were shortly joined by a Swiss couple with a very unusual half recumbent tandem touring bike. The couple had been making quite a name for themselves around NZ with such an unusual bike and Mike and Katrina were excited to meet with them. Rides were given, stories swapped, housing arranged, and touring friendships forged amongst complete strangers as the interconnectedness of cycle touring worked it's magic on all of us that afternoon.

We witnessed a very strange array of floats and bands throughout the Santa parade, seemingly no one theme tied any of the floats together, certainly this was not a Christmas themed event! We saw exactly one Santa on the last float, he and his reindeer closed down a very odd but fun show and we parted ways with our friends exchanging email addresses and hoping to cross paths with all of them again.

Back at the bee ranch Jeff offered us a tour of one of his hives. Z. reluctantly accepted and E. excitedly donned the white canvas bee keepers suit. Jeff showed and explained away about the hive, the bees, the social structure in there, and answered our inevitable killer bee questions all with great humor and lots of knowledge and interest!

The next day and evening were spent sharing cycling stories and chatting about bees and honey. Jeff graciously offered us his garage (an early 1900's milking shed) for our bike cleaning and packing project. We scrubbed, wiped, degreased, and meticulously dug the NZ crud out of tires in hopes, again, that we would make it though biosecurity unscathed. Two nights with Jeff were supremely relaxing and we were delighted to wake up to honey harvesting happening in the kitchen!

Soon we were saying our goodbyes and saying to ourselves how fortunate we'd been to have been taken in by Jeff and all the other unlikely hosts we'd had throughout New Zealand.

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Finally other Tourists!

We've had a wonderful time traveling through the South Island so far and we've take it pretty easy putting in days anywhere from 35km to 89km. We've pushed up some pretty tremedous hills and have battled some heinous headwinds of up to 35k p/h, on the flip side though we've enjoyed fabulously dry and sunny (sometimes downright HOT) weather and yesterday we caught a tailwind that allowed us to coast almost 10k at an average of 32km p/h!!! That is by far the longest coast of our lives!

What exactly we've been up to:

We left Wellington after camping on a sweet little creek in a sleeply little port town. Having seen an advertisement in the camp kitchen about a cycling specific hostel we set our sights South the following morning and looked to cover about 70km. The climbs were gradual, the traffic was easily timed by the ferry arrivals and after the rush of a few big trucks and campervans packed to the brim, we were back to fairly lonely roads. The sun heated up the pavement in areas of new seal we started to pick up rocks and tar that would stick to our shirts, legs, bags, and bikes... (good thing we brought that citrus cleaner!) We climbed through collosal ranges sticking to the low lying valley roads and geting spectacular views all day. We passed through sprawling wine country with pictureesque vineyards set in a valley between two mountain ranges, we rode out and up into hot dry hills and climbed a twisty and fairly steep section out of the valley and toward the coast. We hit the coast after rolling over foothills for a few hours and were met by a strong headwind. As promised in the advertisement, in the middle of nowhere we happened upon a large white water tank with a bicycle situated atop it. An arrow pointed 1.5km down a gravel road. We were a bit skeptical but also dusty, salty, and a bit whipped from the heat so we headed in. The 1.5km road was the worst we'd ridden to date but ariving at the gate to Peddlers Rest Stop we were greeted by beautiful gardens, a small vineyard and a lovely host who showed us to a WONDERFUL and incredibly inexpensive guest house where we found bunks, showers, a fully stocked kitchen, guestbooks with cycling tourist entries back to 1993, and maps galore!!! We stretched on the covered porch and wished we had other cyclists to share the accomodations and swap stories with. About an hour later our host showed up with a German couple and their bikes in tow! Perfect! We made dinner and chatted into the night.

The next morning we padded around lazily making breakfast and waking up slowly as the sun heated up our little piece of paradise. We set ourselves back on our bikes and headed south down the coast unsure of our destination for the day but ready to put in the miles. The wind howled in our faces, good for our new friends heading North, but a hard way for us to start out the day. We each took 5km pulls at the front while the other rested and stuck as close to the wheel of the puller as possible to stay out of the wind. The coast was beautiful and we let ourselves stop at a tearoom on the coast for some tea and a bathroom break. Back on the road we followed the coast most of the day, although the wind let up later into the afternoon. As we neared Kaikoura we encountered an interesting smell along the rocky coast, this was shortly discovered to belong to the barking fur seal colony basking in the afternoon sun. The road twisted and turned along the craggy coast and we made stops where we could to let the larger traffic pass. The ocean glittered aquamarine and the waves crashed into the jutting rocks. It was incredible. We decided before we even arrived to stay an extra day in Kaikoura (to give our sore behinds a rest!).

Kaikoura boasted a nice market area and tons of whalewatching and seal swimming tours. We found a quiet, clean, and sauna boasting motorcamp and happily slapped down the fare for two nights stay, already looking forward to not having to pack up everything the next morning. We stretched, did a bit of yoga and waved to the cows in the paddock across the stream from our tent site. Dinner was spaghetti and pesto with a big fresh baguette and a bottle of loaclly grown Cab-Merlot. We learned in Kaikoura that even when the liquor store says everything is 20% off today only, they've got nothing on the deals at the loacal markets when it comes to wine selection and price.

The next morning we headed out to take in the fresh air on Kaikouras famous (in New Zealand) walk. We toured along the old whaling docks, the new whaling docks, out to the seal colony, up to the top of the bluffs, across the grassy plains, and through a forested ravine that dropped up just one street behind the main drag where we'd started. Unfortunately Z. used up what was left of the camera battery early on that day trying to use the 10x zoom to see if a dark shape off in the distance was a whale or not, so no pictures of the walk although we assure you it's worth doing if you're out this way. Back at camp we bobbed around in the hot tub for a bit and took a well deserved shower with some less than desirable "multipurpose" soap called Sard Wondersoap... We wonder if it's actually SOAP or just a laundry detergent bar although the packaging assures that it's good for everything, Well it is certianly not meant for delicate parts... like faces... and it's probably a safe bet that extended use is not recommeded by any dermatologist in the western hemisphere. We shared the kitchen that night with families from Germany, Holland, and Ireland and everyone watched "The Day After Tomorrow" on the tiny T.V. in the dining room. It's funny how T.V. mezmerizes people, even when it's an english speaking moving and the people watching speak very little english...

We slept through a night of blustery rain and awoke a bit damp and clammy. Back on our bikes and off for another day of who knows where we end up! We followed the coast for a short while and then the climbing began. We took Highway 1 South, which is the main route from the North end of the Island to Christchurch and palces beyond. The hills on this day were steep, windy, lots of rock debris, and LOTS of truck traffic. We had a short but extremely physically and emotionally exhausting day which ended with headaches all around and an impromptu stop at a place not even listed on any of our maps. Hawkswood is the starting point for a 5 day costal tramping track and is run by a sweet and incredibly industrious older couple. After some aspirin and a good dose of water we got the full tour which included a blacksmithing shop, a collection of immaculate horse drawn carriages (some built on site), a stage hidden back among the eucalyptus trees, a pool, wonderful handbuilt cabins, truly free-range chickens, and quirky little signs everywhere telling you about the drought they've been having since 2003 and reminding you to save water. The wind whipped everything dry from the previous nights rain and we relaxed playing farkle and eating dinner in the waning light.

Chickens roosting in trees? Who would have thought!

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Sunny South Island!

We made it to the South Island of New Zealand! After a sunny sweltering 3 hour ferry boat ride we motored through lush beautiful fjords leading into Picton - the main port connecting the two islands. Zach and I are still amazed at how easy it has been to meet people. Something about the combination of wandering travelers meet exhausted cyclists makes for a quick conversation starter. Boarding the Interislander Ferry we met a svelte mountain biker/mechanic named Andrew heading for an off road ride on the Queen Charolette ride on the South Island peninsula. Despite a few chipped teeth and a pair of scuffed up legs, he promised us the South Island has some of the most beautiful and smooth riding. Hard to believe since our daily rides cast off into lush picturesque layered landscapes. Along the way we've learned that what people tell you about roads, weather conditions, and hilly terrain is completely up to interpretation. Finding the South Island so far to be very hilly, dry, and hot - equating it to east of the mountains in WA State - we're still looking for the cool, wet climate many North Islanders told us the South Island would offer.

Views of Wellington and from the ferry ride:

We rode 86 kilometers our first day our on the South Island - from Picton to a little pedlar's rest stop outside a town called Ward on Highway 1. Riding along Route 1 we we're passed by hundreds of cards loaded to the brim with mountain bikes. Apparently just down the road from our boarding house there was a massive 40 km off road race. I find it hard riding 40 km on the road let alone in the mountains with no shade. Zach and I have been amazed by the huge mountain bike culture here. Its seems like its turning into their No. 1 sport here (excluding rugby of course).

Currently our transient life is allowing us to call Kaikoura home - half way between Picton and Christchurch. The Kaikoura mountain ranges loom shadowy above the small towns, reminding us of alpine villages, constrasting sharply with the coastal beaches and tropical temperature. We decided to take a day off from cycling, resting our sore bums and legs in trade for a scenic beach walk. The towns rocky limestone beaches are lined with colonies of sea lions. Looking like hundreds of giant slugs drying on warm rocks they called out to us on our bicycles as we rode past. On Tuesday we plan to continue our journey down Route 1 heading to Christchurch. We're both looking foward to seeing our moms in 8 days! Although we're having an amazing trip we still could use a taste of home. We hope all is well with everyone at home!

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