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The last days in New Zealand

Torsdag d. 15. december 2016
(Hampden - Glenavy 61 km)

Vi var hurtigt på cyklerne efter de sædvanlige morgen ritualer. Vi ville se om vi kunne cykle et sted mellem 80 og 90 kilometer, men kilometerne og de 1100 højdemeter fra dagen før, kunne virkelig mærkes i benene.
Vores energi var OK indtil vi nåede Oamaru. Her holdt vi frokost pause på to sten helt ned til vandet. Ikke det kønneste sted, da det var i et industri kvarteret og lige ved togbanen.
Imens vi sad og spiste begyndte det at blæse kraftigt og da vi cyklede afsted igen, havde vi fået sidevind.
Nu måtte vi cykle meget koncentreret, for ikke at blive skubbet ud imod vejbanen. Heldigvis var der plantet trærer langs med vejen som kunne give os lidt læ for vinden.
Da vi var nået 6 kilometer udenfor Oamaru, så jeg pludselig et skilt hvorpå der stod at vi befandt os på den 45ende sydlige breddegrad. Det bestød at vi var lige langt fra Equator og Sydpolen (4990 km - 5005 km).
Det var da specielt, så vi tog billeder og optog lidt video.
Området vi cyklede igennem havde store landbrug og kæmpe marker og var fladt som en pandekage.
Da vi nåede Glanavy købte vi to milkshakes og satte os i den lille park som lå i midten af landsbyen. Vi ville holde en længere pause for at se om vinden ville lægge sig.
Vi ville se om vi kunne nå til Waimate, 24 kilometer længere fremme. Men det skete aldrig. Da vi var kommet på cyklerne igen og kun 200 m ud af byen, blev jeg fanget af en så kraftig sidevind, at jeg fløj helt ud på midt en af vejen. Det var umuligt og for farligt at cykle videre, så vi vendte om og cyklede hen til Waitaki Campsite og checkede ind for natten ved Anne. Hun hed ejeren af stedet og hun var så sød og rar.
Der var også to andre cyklister på stedet. De var fra Syd Korea. De var også på en længere tur. Først New Zealand og så ville de tage tilbage til Korea inden turen gik videre til Europa.
Vinden faldt først til ro ved 21 tiden, hvor vi også gik i seng for at være friske til næste dag.

Fredag d. 16. december 2016
(Glenavy - Winchester 90 km)

Vi cyklede af Highway 1 hele dagen. Der var næsten ingen trafik og vi havde et bredt stykke at cykle på ved siden af vejen det meste af tiden. Den del vi cyklede langs havde fået navnet Strawberry Trail, da der lå masse af gårde langs vejen som avlede jordbær og solgte af dem. Vi købte en bakke ved en af stederne, den skulle nydes sammen med frokosten.
Vi fik os en bradt opvågning på et tidspunkt alt imens vi cyklede. Der var en campervan bag ved os og bag den en bil og de havde taget farten af for at slå en bue udenom os. Pludselig kan vi høre en der dytter helt vildt og ud af det blå kom en gul sportsvogn, som forsøgte at overhale indenom campervanen og bilen, sportsvognen er kun milimeter fra at ramme os og vi får et vildt chock. Samtidig bliver vi så gale i hovederne at vi råber og skriger....sådan en IDIOT!!!! Han køre bare videre uden så meget som at stoppe og sige undskyld.
Faktisk tror vi også det var godt nok, for var han holdt, havde han fået den helt store tur af to meget forskrækket og sure piger.
Resten af dagen holdt vi udkig efter en gul sportsvogn, men så den ikke igen.
Da vi nåede til byen Temuka handlede vi ind i New World og cyklede de sidste kilometer til vi nåede Winchester.
Lige inden Winchester lå campingpladsen. En stor grasmark og en lade som blev brugt til køkken og fjernsynsrum, der var vaske faciliteter og toiletter. Prisen passede fint til vores budget 14 NZD for to personer.
Dem der havde stedet havde en fold hvor der gik får og lam og da vi betalte for overnatningen, spurgte damen om vi var intereseret i at give lammene flaske. Vi skulle bare komme forbi ved 20 tiden, så kunne vi komme med over i folden.
Det kunne da være hyggeligt, så efter vi havde spist og vasket tøj gik vi med over for at fodre lammene. De var meget tørstige og drak en flaske i løbet af ingen tid.

Lørdag d. 17. december 2016
(Winchester - Rakaia George Camp 97 km)

Tror ikke vi havde den store lyst til at stå op for at cykle, men på en eller anden måde kom vi ud af soveposen og igang. Klokken var 8:00 da vi cyklede ud af Winchester og satte kursen ind i landet af The inland scenic road.
Første stop på dagen var Geraldine, om lørdagen var der marked i byen og det startede klokken 9:00. Der var 13 kilometer dertil, som passede med en lille times cykling.
Markedet var i alle gaderne i byen, så vi gik lidt rundt og kiggede på de forskellige ting der blev solgt. Det eneste vi købte var dejlige jordbær til vores frokost.
Fra Geraldine gik turen imod Mayfield, dette var noget helt specielt for os. Vores gode kolega Lone, havde boet i Mayfield nogle år tilbage og derfor ville vi gerne se hvordan her så ud.
Vi havde endda spurgt Lone, om der var nogen vi skulle hilse på vores vej fra hende og hendes mand Erik.
Hun havde fortalt os at 5 kilometer før Mayfield boede nogle af deres gode venner (Poul og Robin) og dem måtte vi gerne hilse, altså hvis vi så dem.
Godt 7 kilometer før Mayfield begyndte vi at checke postkasserne, som stod ude ved vejen og det gav resultat.
På et tidspunkt stod der 4 postkasser ved siden af hinanden og på en af dem stod P. and R. Sewell.
Nu skulle vi bare finde ud af hvilken en af gårdene der var deres. Vi måtte bare starte fra en ende og jeg cyklede op til den første gård. Heidi var lidt skeptisk. Vi kunne da ikke bare sådan cykle op til nogen vi ikke kendte.
Da jeg kom op til huset, var der en lille hund der gøede kraftigt og en mand kom ud. Jeg spurgte om han var Poul Sewell. Han sagde ja! Så valgte jeg at sige: I have a greeting for you from Lone in Denmark.
Med det samme sagde Poul at vi skulle komme ind, så det gjorde vi. Vi hilste på Robin og vi sad og snakkede om løst og fast i en halv time. Inden vi cyklede derfra lavede vi en julehilsen til Lone. Jeg havde håbet på at få den postet på FB inden jul, men tiden har ikke været dertil ...... endnu.
Så sagde vi farvel til Poul og Robin, hvorefter vi cyklede ind til Mayfield. Her satte vi os ved skolen, hvor der var borde og bænke. Imens vi sad og spiste frokost snakkede vi om, hvor skægt det var at tænke på at Lone og Erik havde haft deres daglige gang i denne lille hyggelige by og måske at Cornelia, Alexander, Vincent og hvad de nu ellers hedder deres børn, havde gået i skole her hvor vi sad.
Efter frokost cyklede vi videre af den meget flade vej. Når vi kiggede mod vest kunne vi se høje bjerge med sne på. Energien forsvandt fuldstændigt den først time efter frokost og vi cyklede i slowmotion. Sådan føltes det. Vi ville gerne nå til byen Stavely til kaffetid, da Poul havde fortalt os at der lå en lille hyggelig cafe´.
Selvom vi bevægede os i slowmotion, formåede vi at komme til Stavely lidt efter klokken 15 og det passede jo fint med en apuse og kaffe.
Fra Stavely var der 16 kilometer til Rakaia Gorge. Hele dagen havde vi cyklet af en helt flad vej og vi havde ikke haft fantasi til at der pludselig lå en KÆMPE kløft foran os. Her havde vi nu den smukkeste udsigt igennem kløften med Rakaia Floden strømmende igennem. En utrolig afslutning på vores smukke tur rundt på New Zealand og alle de fasinerende oplevelser vi havde haft. En perfekt afslutning på New Zealand. Det var så smukt at jeg blev helt rørt og stod med tårer i øjene.
Vi tog masse af billeder og filmede. Det passede så fint at campingpladsen lå i bunden af kløften og vi fik en dejlig plads med udsigt ud over kløften og Rakaia flod.
Vi kunne ikke ønske os en mere perfekt afslutning. Næste dag var sidste cykeldag ind til Christchurch og så skulle vi til Australien og her ventede en hyggelig jul sammen med venner og familie. Plus et helt nyt eventyr.
New Zealand havde sat sig fast i vores cykel hjerter og vi kunne se tilbage på 2 måneder med oplevelser udover hvad vi overhovedet havde forstillet os.


English

Thursday 15th december  2016
(Hampden - Glenavy 61 km)

We were quickly on the bikes after the usual morning rituals. We wanted to see if we could ride anywhere between 80 and 90 km, but the miles and 1,100 vertical meters from the day before, could really be felt in the legs.
Our energy was OK until we reached Oamaru. Here we held a lunch break on two stones down to the water. Not the prettiest place, as it was in the industrial district and just beside the urban trains.
While we were eating the wind started to blow quite strongly and when we rode off again, we had gotten crosswind.
Now we had to ride very concentrated, not to be pushed out toward the roadway. Fortunately, there were planted trees along the road that could give us shelter from the wind.
When we had reached 6 km outside Oamaru, I suddenly saw a sign that said that we were on the 45th southern latitude. It ment that we were equidistant from Equator and the South Pole (4990 km - 5005 km).
It was something special, so we took pictures and recorded a little video.
The area we cycled through had large farms and huge fields and was flat as a pancake.
When we reached Glanavy we bought two milkshakes and sat in the little park which was in the middle of the village. We would keep a longer break to see if the wind would subside.
We wanted to see if we could reach Waimate, 24 kilometers further ahead. But it never happened. When we sat off on the bikes again and was just 200 meters out of town, I was caught by a heavy crosswinds and I got pushed completely out on the middle of the road. It was impossible and dangerous to ride on, so we turned around and cycled to Waitaki Camp Site and checked in for the night. Anne was the owner of the site and was so sweet and kind.
There were also two other cyclists on site. They were from South Korea. They were also on a longer trip. First New Zealand and then they would go back to Korea before continuing on to Europe.
The wind got calm at 9PM, the time when we went to bed to be fresh for the next day.

Friday 16th december 2016
(Glenavy - Winchester 90 km)

We biked on Highway 1 all day. Traffic was not that bad and we had a wide shoulder for cycling beside the road most of the time. The part we cycled along had been named Strawberry Trail as there was lot of farms along the way that begat strawberries and sold them. So we had also bought us a tray that should be enjoyed with lunch.
We got us a scary awakening at some point while we biked. There was a campervan behind us and behind the campervan was a car and they had kept back so they could pass us with care. Suddenly, we heard someone honking wildly and out of the blue came a yellow sports car that tried to overtake the campervan on the inside, the sports car was only millimeters from hitting us and we got a wild shock. At the same time, we got so mad that we yelled and screamed .... such a IDIOT !!!! He just drove on without stopping and say sorry.
In fact, we also believe it was good he did not stop, as he had been given the grand tour of two very frightened and furious girls.
The rest of the day we kept looking for a yellow sports car, but we never saw it again.
When we reached the town of Temuka we shopped at New World and rode the last kilometers till we reached Winchester.
Just before Winchester layed the campsite. A large grass field and a barn that was used for kitchen and TV room, there was washing facilities and toilets. The price was tailored to our budget 14 NZD for two people.
Those who had the place had a fold where there were sheep and lambs. When we paid for the stay, the lady asked if we were interested in giving the lambs milk from a bottle. We just had to come to her around eight o´clock so we could go to the lambs.
After we had eaten and washed clothes we went to feed the lambs. They were very thirsty and drank a bottle in no time.

Saturday. 17 December 2016
(Winchester - Rakaia George Camp 97 km)

I do not think we had the great desire to get up for cycling this morning, but somehow we came out of the sleeping bags and started. It was 8AM when we cycled out of Winchester and headed inland  on The inland scenic road.
First stop of the day was Geraldine, it turned out that on Saturday there was market in the town and it started at 9:00 am. There were 13 kilometers there, that was an hour's cycling.
The market was in all the streets in town, so we walked around and looked at the different things that were sold. The only thing we had bought was lovely strawberry for our lunch.
From Geraldine we went towards Mayfield, this was something very special for us. Our good friend Lone, had lived in Mayfield few years back and therefore we would like to see how this looked.
We had even asked Lone whether there was anyone we should see on our way and then greet from her and her husband, Erik.
She had told us that 5 kilometers before Mayfield some of their good friends lived(Paul and Robin) and those we had to greet, that is if we saw them.
About 7 kilometers before the Mayfield we began to check the mailboxes, which stood by the road and it was successful.
At one point, four mail boxes stood next to each other and one of them was P. and R. Sewell.
Now we just have to find out which one of the farms that were theirs. We just had to start from an end and I cycled up to the first farm. Heidi was a little skeptical. We could not just drag our bikes up to someones house, she said.
When I came up to the house, there was a small dog barking and a man came out. I asked if he was Poul Sewell. He said yes! So I chose to say: I have a greeting for you from Lone in Denmark.
Immediately Poul said we had to come inside, so we did. We greeted Robin and we sat and talked about this and that in half an hour. Before we biked from there we made a Christmas greeting for Lone. I had hoped to have it posted on FB before Christmas, but time has not been there ...... yet.
Then we said goodbye to Paul and Robin and we biked into Mayfield. Here we sat at the school, where there were tables and benches. While we were eating lunch, we talked about how funny it was to think of Lone and Erik had had their days in this quaint little town and maybe Cornelia, Alexander, Vincent, and what they called their children had gone to school here where we sat.
After lunch we cycled futher, on the very flat road. When we looked to the west we could see high mountains with snow. The energy disappeared completely the first hour after lunch and we rode in slow motion. That was How it felt. We would like to reach the town of Stavely for Coffee time, since Paul had told us that there was a small cozy Cafe '.
Although we were moving in slow motion, we managed to get to Stavely a little after 3 o'clock and just in time for coffee.
From Stavely there was 16 kilometers to Rakaia Gorge. All day we had cycled a completely flat road and who had imagined that there would suddenly open up a HUGE gorge where we would hurtle down to the bottom and then get a fascinating fine finish on the tour of New Zealand. It was so beautiful that I was quite touched.
We took lots of pictures and filmed.  The campsite was in the bottom of the gorge and we got a nice space overlooking the gorge and Rakaia river.
We could not have wished for a more perfect ending. The next day was the last Cycling Day into Christchurch and then we would fly to Australia and here waited a cozy Christmas with friends and family. Plus a whole new adventure.
New Zealand had stuck in our bikeing hearts and we could look back at two months with experiences beyond what we had ever imagined.


Broken Bike, Amazing people and Dunedin

Lørdag d. 10. dec. 2016
(Mosgeil  - Dunedin  Heidi 5 km - Marianne 21 km)

Vi havde sovet så godt i den dejlige seng ved Peter og Shannon. Da vi kom ind i stuen var Shannon allerede oppe og havde anrettet en lækker morgenmad til os med: Youghurt, frugt salat, juice og god strærk kaffe.
Shannon skulle på arbejde på turistinformationen i Dunedin, så hende måtte vi sige farvel til ved 8 tiden.
Vi blev siddende lidt endnu, hvor vi snakkede med Peter. Hvis ikke vi havde haft en aftale ved Spin Cycle, havde vi nok snakket hele dagen lang. Men vi havde en aftale, så vi måtte sige farvel inden 9 og så cykle hen til cykelforretningen.
Cykelhandleren tog cyklen med det samme og sagde at han skulle bruge 45 minuter på den, så vi gik på cafe` og fik os en kop kaffe imens.
Vi ventede en time inden vi gik tilbage. Beskeden fra cykelhandleren var: I got good news and bad news. The good news is that I know what the problem is and the bad one is, I do not have the sparepart that can fix the freewheel hub.
Han samlede cyklen igen og tog en tur på den. Han mente godt vi kunne cykle ind til Dunedin - 15 km. Her var der 4 forskellige cykelhandlere og de skulle nok havde reservedelen.
Så nu var målet at nå dem inden klokken 13, da det var lørdag og mekanikerne ville gå hjem på det tidspunkt.
Så afsted mod Dunedin.....men ak, vi nåede kun at cykle 5 km, så ville Heidi´s cykel slet ikke mere. Baghjulet sad fuldstændingt fast nu.
Vi tog en hurtig beslutning. Af med alle taskerne fra min cykel og så cyklede jeg tilbage til Peter, for at høre om han kunne hjælpe os ind til Dunedin.
Peter blev lidt overrasket over at se mig igen, men ingen problem sagde han. Hvor sidder Heidi, jeg kommer om 5-10 minutter.
Enden af det hele blev at Peter tog Heidi og hendes cykel plus al vores bagage og kørte ind til Dunedin og jeg cyklede så derind. Vi aftalede at mødes ved turistinformationen.
Skal lige fremhæve at jeg fik min motion den morgen. Der var nogle gode bakker, jeg skulle over, inden jeg fandt informationen.
Heidi og Peter have afleveret cyklen ved Avanti bikes og uheldigvis havde de ikke reservedelen, så vi måtte se frem til nogle dage i Dunedin. Dette var lørdag og de kunne havde den færdig tirsdag eftermiddag.
Ikke så godt, da vi havde regnet med maks en til to dage i Dunedin og så ville vi havde rigtig god tid til de sidste kilometer op til Christchruch.
Venligheden var ikke slut endnu fra Peter´s side. Efter vi havde givet frokost, valgte han at køre os ud til den campingplads vi havde udset os til de næste dage.
Atter engang takkede vi mange gange og tog afsked med Peter.
Vi fik sat teltet op og betalte for 3 nætter. Resten af dagen var vi helt færdige efter alt det uventet der var sket den dag.

Fra Søndag d. 11. dec. - Tirsdag d. 13. dec. 2016

De dage vi tilbragte i Dunedin gik med museums besøg til The Settlers museum. Her kunne vi se hvordan udviklingen havde været fra den spæde start i New Zealand og frem til nu. En anden ting vi ville se imens vi var her, var Baldwin Street.
Gaden er verdens stejleste med sine 35 % stigning. Til sammenligning er Kiddesvej i Vejle 21 % i stigning.
Vi boede tæt til stranden i den sydlige del af Dunedin og en af aftenerne gik vi ned for at se om vi ville være heldige og se nogen surfe.
Vandet var godt oprørt og der var gode bølger, så der var 6 surfere ude på vandet. Spændende at kigge på.
Imens vi stod der og kiggede, var der pludselig en stor sæl der surfede lige ind på stranden. Der gik et stykke tid inden det gik op for hvad det var. Men vi løb ned på stranden og kom helt tæt på sælen. Det lykkedes os at tage nogle super gode billeder af den. Vi skulle ikke komme for tæt på den, før den væsede af os og viste tænder.
Vi brugte også tiden på at regne ud hvor mange kilometer vi skulle cykle per dag for at nå til Christchurch til d. 18. december og hvilken vej vi skulle cykle.
Vi kunne tage den direkte via Highway 1, men så ville vi ikke se ret meget på vores vej eller vi kunne tage the scenic inland route, hvor vi så ville komme forbi Mayfield. Byen hvor Lone Tømmerby og familie havde boet år tilbage og selvfølgelig se noget mere smuk natur end langs med hovedvejen.
Selvom at the scenic route ville blive noget længere, blev det vores valg.
Heidi´s cykel var færdig midt på eftermiddagen om tirsdagen. Så vi fik hentet cyklen og resten af dagen gik med at gøre klar til afgang næste dag.

Onsdag d. 14. dec. 2016
(Dunedin - Hampden 91 km)

Vi startede cykelturen klokken 8. Det var super let at komme ud af byen, da det var samme vej vi var gået, da vi skulle ud og se Baldwin Street. Vi drejede af på North Road, så vi kom ud af byen via den gemle hovedvej.
Vi skulle helt ned i det laveste gear og finde en god rytme, for så at klatre op af en del kilometer.
Vi fik et flot syn ind over Dunedin og senere ned over Blue Skin Bay. Vejret var perfekt til cykling. Let skyet og omkring 18 - 20 grader.
Vi når op til toppen og herfra får vi en lang nedkørsel, mindst 6 kilometer inden vi rammer highway 1. Men den følger vi kun få kilometer inden vi vælger at cykle langs med Scenic rute north.
Den vej bliver noget hårdere end vi havde regnet med og giver os ekstra højdemeter. Men den er også smuk og vi får en flot udsigt udover havet.
Vi fandt en hyggelig lille cafe´ butik i fiskerbyen Karitane og sidder udenfor og drikker kaffe. Lidt efter byen kørte vi på highway 1 igen. Da vi kommer til Shag Point, kommer vi helt ud til vandet igen og køre langs det godt
5 kilometer.
Inden vi når til Hampden, cyklede vi helt ned til vandet for at se Moeraki Boulders. Fra P-Pladsen skulle vi gå 500 m langs stranden for at komme helt tæt på dem. Heidi var helt færdig og gad ikke forsøge sig hen langs stranden. Tidevandet var også på vej ind. Jeg forsøgte mig, men kunne ikke komme helt hen til stenene pga. højvande. Det specielle ved disse sten, er at af en eller anden grund er de formet fuldstændig runde, som store og små kugler der ligger sprædt ud over stranden. Altsammen indenfor 1 kilometer.
Da vi nåede frem til campingpladsen i Hampden, fik vi en god regnbyge. Men vi fandt et godt sted under nogle træer og fik sat lejr. Fik Lavet lækker aftensmad og senere gik vi en tur langs med stranden. Nu var det blevet lav vandet og stenene var synlige, så vi fik taget billeder og var de eneste der var på stranden på det tidspunkt.


English 

Saturday 10th December 2016
(Mosgeil - Dunedin Heidi 5 km - Marianne 21km)

We had slept so well in the lovely bed at Peter and Shannon. When we came into the kitchen Shannon was already up and had served a delicious breakfast for us: Youghurt, fruit salad, juice and good strong coffee.
Shannon had to work at the tourist information in Dunedin, so we had to say goodbye to around 8 o´clock.
We stayed a little longer as we chatted with Peter. If we had not had an appointment at Spin Cycle, we had talked all day long. But we had an appointment, so we had to say goodbye before 9 o´clock and then bike to the bike shop.
The bike dealer took the bike in for service immediately and said that he had to spend 45 minutes on it. So we went to Cafe` and got us a cup of coffee while waiting.
We waited an hour before we went back. The message from the bike shop was: I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that I know what the problem is and the bad one is, I do not to have the spare part, to fix the freewheel hub.
He collected the bike again and took a ride on it. He said we should be OK to ride into Dunedin - 15 km. Here there were 4 different bike shops and they should probably have the spare part.
So now the goal was to reach them before 1PM as it was Saturday and the mechanics would go home at that time.
Then off to Dunedin we went..... but we only got to ride 5 km, then Heidi's bike totally broke. The rear wheel was totally stuck now.
We took a quick decision. We took of all the bags from my bike and I cycled back to Peter, to see if he could help us in Dunedin.
Peter was a little surprised to see me again, but no problem he said. Where is Heidi, I come in 5-10 minutes, he said.
The end of it all was that Peter took Heidi and her bike plus all our luggage and drove to Dunedin and I cycled there. We meet at the tourist information.
Must just emphasize that I got my exercise the morning. There were some good hills, I had to climb before I found the information.
Heidi and Peter having handed the cycle by Avanti bikes and unfortunately they did not have the spare part, so we had to look forward to a few days in Dunedin. This was Saturday and they could have it finished Tuesday afternoon.
Not as good as we had anticipated. We had hoped for one to two days in Dunedin and then we had really good time for the last kilometer up to Christchruch. But not now!!!
Friendliness was not over yet from Peter's side. After we had given lunch, he chose to drive us out to the campground we had chosen for the next few days.
Once again we thanked many times and said goodbye to Peter.
We put up the tent and paid for 3 nights. The rest of the day we were completely finished form all the unexpected had happened that day.

From Sunday 11th december - Tuesday 13th december 2016

The days we spent in Dunedin went with museum visits to The Settlers Museum. Here we could see the history of the settlers from the very beginning in New Zealand until now. Another thing we wanted to see while we were here, was Baldwin Street.
The street is the world's steepest with its 35% increase. For comparison, Kiddesvej Vejle 21% increase.
We lived close to the beach in the south of Dunedin and one of the evenings we went down to see if we would be lucky to see some surfers.
The water had good waves, so there were 6 surfers out on the water. Exciting to watch.
While we stood there and looked, there was suddenly a great seal that was surfing straight onto the beach. It took a while before I realized what it was. But we ran down to the beach and came face to face with the seal. We managed to take some super good pictures of it. We should not get too close to it before it hissed at us and showed teeth.
We also used the time to figure out how many kilometers we had to cycle per day to reach Christchurch on 18th. December, and which way we were cycling.
We could take the directl way via Highway 1, but then we would not see much on our way or we could take the scenic inland route where we would get past Mayfield. The town where Lone Tømmerby and family had lived years ago and obviously see something more beautiful scenery than along the main road.
Though the scenic route would be somewhat longer, it was our choice.
Heidi's bike was finished by mid-afternoon on Tuesday. So we picked up the bike and the rest of the day we used for getting ready for departure the next day.

 Wednesday 14th December 2016
(Dunedin - Hampden 91 km)

We started the bike ride at 8 o´clock. It was super easy to get out of town as it was the same way we had gone when we went to see Baldwin Street. We turned off at North Road, so we left the city via the old highway.
We had to use the lowest gear and find a good rhythm, to climb some 5 kilometers.
We got a beautiful sight over Dunedin and later down the Blue Skin Bay. The weather was perfect for cycling. Partly cloudy and around 18 to 20 degrees.
We reach the top and from here we had a long descent, at least 6 kilometers before we hit the highway 1. This we follow just a few kilometers before we choose to cycle along the scenic route north.
The road became somewhat harder than we had expected and provided us with additional climbing. But it was also beautiful and we got a nice view of the sea.
We found a nice little Cafe´ shop in the fishing village of Karitane and sat outside and drank coffee. Shortly after the town we got back on highway 1. When we came to Shag Point, we where able to cycle just beside the oceanfor aprox 4-5 km.
Before we get to Hampden, we cycled down to the water to see the Moeraki Boulders. From the parking area we had to walk 500 meters along the beach to get close to them. Heidi was completely finished and did not bother to try along the beach. The tide was coming in. I tried but could not get right up to the stones due. High tide. The special feature of these stones is that for some reason they are shaped completely round, large and small balls lying all over the beach. These are all within 1 kilometer.
When we arrived at the campsite in Hampden, we got a good rain shower. But we found a good spot under some trees and sat camp. Made delicious dinner and later we went for a walk along the beach. Now it was low tide and the stones were visible, so we got pictures taken and were the only ones who were on the beach at the time.
 


The Central Otago Rail Trail and Rain.....again

Onsdag d. 07. dec 2016
(Alexandra - Oturehua 62 km)

Efter en dag med det fineste vejr var regnen vendt tilbage. Men hvad havde vi forventet. De gange vi havde cyklet på et trail havde det regnet, så hvorfor ikke også denne dag.
Selvom at stierne havde være tørre og støvende dagen før, var de allerede ret plørret at cykle på og cyklerne blev ret så beskidte.
Vi ser masse af kaniner hoppe ud af deres huller langs med cykelstien og af begejstring råber vi - "Ninus Ninus"
Landskabet kunne være taget ud af en cowboy og western film. Store vidder med kæmpe sten og marker med masse af får. Vi krydser små broer og større broer. Desværre må vi opleve det i regn og med skyerne hængende lavt.
Først når vi til en lille søvning by - Omakau. Her bliver vi nødt til at handle ind, da der ikke var mulighed for indkøb længere fremme på ruten den dag. Efter sigende skulle posthuset i byen være det mindste i New Zealand. 
Vi cykler videre og nu var regnen taget til. Da vi når til landsbyen Lauder ligger her en hyggelig cafe´ og det tager ikke lang tid at beslutte os for at holde en kaffepause der.
Da vi starter igen kan  vi kun cykle med en hastighed omkring 12 kmh fordi stien blever mere og mere smattet.
Nu regnede det mere og vi blev fuldstændig gennemblødte.
Vi skulle igennem to tunneler og bevægede os en del opad.
Dagen sluttede i 501 meter s højde i byen Oturehua. Her ligger New Zealands ældste købmand. Det er en
butik /museum ligende Bindeballe Købmandsgård, så det tog vi et nærmere kig på, alt imens vandet dryppede fra vores våde tøj.
Nu skulle vi finde et sted at sove for natten og vi spurgte damen i butikken, om der var et sted vi kunne sætte vores telt op.
Ja da, lige tre fire huse længere nede af vejen var der et sted der hed Crows Nest, men damen vidste ikke om det var åbent. men der var nok en seddel på døren. Så vi skulle bare gå derhen.
Stedet så ikke beboet ud og vi havde lidt problemer med at finde indgangen. Vi trak cyklerne om bag ved huset og ganske rigtigt - på døren hang en seddel hvorpå der stod: Døren er åben, bare gå ind og lav jer en kop kaffe eller te. Kontakt mig på dette telefonnummer. Der var også en kringklokke man kunne trykke på.
Vi gik ind og lavede en kop kaffe. Så prøvede vi at ringe på ringklokken......men ingen kom. Så ringede vi på telefon nummeret, men det var en telefon svarer??? Så vi indtalte en besked, om af vi var i huset og håbede at nogen ville komme forbi, så vi kunne betale.
Så gik vi op opdagelse og ovenpå var der en stor sovesal med 12 senge, der var WC og bad, der lå håndklæder og sengene var redt op.
Hvad skulle vi gøre???? Vi syntes vi havde gjort hvad vi kunne, så vi blev enige om at vi ville sove på sovesalen og tage bad. Så kom der nok nogen senere.
Vi fik lavet aftensmad og sad og hyggede til 22 tiden og der kom aldrig nogen. Så vi gik i seng og fik en god nats søvn.

Torsdag d. 08. dec 2016
(Oturehua - Rock and Pillar Station 75 km)

Vi havde sovet som to små engle og var egentlig ikke klar til at stå op da uret ringede. Men op kom vi og fik morgenmad og pakket sammen. Vi havde bestemt os for at skrive i gæstebogen, at vi havde sovet der en nat og så ligge 30-40 NZD plus en nøglering. Vi havde kigget alle steder og kunne ikke se nogen steder hvad det kostede at sove der. Ligeosm vi var ved at pakke de sidste ting kom Leanne. Hende jeg havde prøvet at ringe til dagen før. Hun blev lidt forskrækket, da hun ikke havde forventet at der var nogen.
Vi forklarede at vi havde forsøgt at ringe til hende. Hun sagde at hende mobiltelefon lå i moderens bil og derfor havde hun ikke hørt vores besked. Men fint at vi selv havde fundet ud af at komme ind.
Men nu kunne vi så betale den rigtige pris......som så blev noget af et chock for os........40 NZD pr. person.
Vi betalte med et smil, men samtidig tænkte vi, det var det pure opspind. Til sammenligning havde vi betalt
38 NZD pr. person i Franz Josef og det var incl. spabad, popcorn, suppe og morgenmad.
I dag skulle vi krydse turens højeste punkt - 618 m og herfra skulle vi mest cykle ned af. Nogen gange var det stadig lidt svært at cykle pga. mudder.
Efter de første 28 km nåede vi til byen Ranfurly. Her handlede vi ind, da der var 75 km til Middelmarch, som ville være næste sted med indkøbs muligeder.
Frokost blev i Waipita, hvor vi sad i en lille park med en bænk og bord. Godt i læ af nogle træer, så vi ikke sad i vinden.
Så cyklede vi til Kokonga, Daisy bank og Tiroiti. Fra Tiroti var der 3 km til den sidste tunnel vi skulle igennem på turen - Princes Tunnel. Nu cyklede vi op igennem en smuk kløft med kæmpe kilpper på begge sidder og en brusende flod. Smukke blomster og en dyft af hyldeblomst fulgte os. Det var så flot et syn og nok et af højdepunkterne på turen.
Nu satte vi næsen op efter kaffe i landbyen Hyde. Men vi blev slemt skuffet, da hotellet og cafe´en var lukket permanent. Udenfor hotellet stod en stor gruppe som havde været på en mountainbike tur. De skulle samles op og køres til deres overnatningssted, for så at blive kørt tilbage til Hyde næste dag og cykle sidste del af deres tur til Middelmarch. Dem fik vi en hyggelig snak med. 
Herefter var vores mål Rock and Pillar. Vi havde set at der skulle være et skur og toilet der, så det passede fint til os. Inden vi nåede dertil tog vi vand i en flod, så vi havde til diverse ting.
Rock and Pillar var et skur og et toilet, så vi satte teltet op ved siden af skuret og derefter lavede vi kaffe og planlagde ruten til næste dag. Vi blev enige om at skuret var den bedste cafe´ på ruten.
Aftensmad blev 6 æg, to dåser bakedbeans og toastbrød. Billigt og velsmagende.

Fredag d. 09. dec 2016
(Rock and Pillar Station - Mosgeil 80 km)

 Vi vågnede til en meget tåget morgen, men det så ud til at solen ville bryde igennem inden alt for længe.
Den første del af turen, var også den sidste del af trailet ind til Middelmarch. Turen var flad men med smukke bjerge på begge sider af stien.
Efter den første time på cyklen nåede vi slutningen af de 150 km på The central Otargo Railtrail, hvor vi rullede ind i den lille hyggelige landsby Middelmarch.
Faktisk kunne man tage et tog fra Middelmarch ind til Dunedin og cykler kunne komme med gratis, men nu er det jo sådan at vi altid vælger den mindre nyende løsning. Vi cykler.....hvilket jeg tror vi fortrød senere på dagen.
I Middelmarch cyklede vi forbi en lille butik med navnet Maggies. Her købte vi to pies, som skulle være vores frokost senere på dagen. Faktisk viser det sig at et ungt par fra UK, som også er på en  længere cykeltur, har overnattet ved Maggie, så dem faldt vi i snak med og inden vi så os om var der gået 1 time.
Men vi måtte videre hvis vi skulle gøre os nogen forventninger om at nå til Dunedin.
Det område vi skulle cykle igennem har været kulisser til Ringenes Herre. Et meget specielt område hvor store klippestykker stikker op af jorden. Sammen med de grønne marker og gule gyvler var det virkelig et smukt og specielt syn.
Inden længe må vi sande at de bakker vi skulle op af den dag, er bakker af en sådan karat, som vi aldrig har set før. Der var 5 i alt, som lå med cirka 5 kilometers mellemrum. Først skulle vi suse ned i bunden af en lang nedkørsel, hvor vi så kunne se op på den anden side og se hvad der ventede os. Fy for den lede...de trak tænder ud. Vi var nødt til at stå af cyklerne et par gange for at skubbe. Men vi klarede det med en stenhår viljestyrke.
Nogle kilometer før byen Outram, begynder Heidi´s cykel at lave bøvl. Vi er på vej ned af en lang nedkørsel og suser afsted med 50 km i timen. Jeg ligger et godt stykke foran Heidi. Da jeg når bunden vil jeg kigge tilbage for at se hvor Heidi er, så jeg måske kan nå at tage et billede.
Heidi er langt tilbage, godt oppe på skråningen. Først troede jeg det var fordi hun ville tage billeder, men så går det op for ming at hendes cykel har et problem. Hendes pedaler bliver ved med at rulle rundt. Det vil sige at rullede hun ned af med 50 km i timen, ville pedalerne rulle rundt i samme hastighed. 
Meget mystisk og vi ved virkelig ikke hvad vi kan gøre for at ordne det???? Vi finder ud af at hvis vi bare cykler stille og roligt. Ikke mere end 10-11 kmh så kan hun cykle.
Så vi nåede til Outram og styre lige hen til en Cafe´ som også lejer cykler ud. De var lige ved at lukke, men manden i cafe´en er så hjælpsom og ringer til en cykelbiks i Mosgeil, 13 km længere ind imod Dunedin.
Hvis vi kunne nå at komme til Mosgeil inden 17:30, så kunne de kigge på cyklen. Klokken var 16:00 og vi kunne kun cykle med 10 km i timen, så vi var lidt presset på tid.
Vi nåede til Mosgeil da klokken var 17:20. Nu skulle vi bare finde cykelbutikken, det nåede vi også. Her fik vi lavet en aftale om at komme forbi dagen efter klokken 9:00, så ville han kigge så cyklen med det samme.
Han havde en ide´ om hvad der var galt med cyklen.
Nu sklle vi bare have handlet ind og så ville vi cykle hen til campingpladsen i Mosgeil, som vi havde set på vej ind i byen. Campingpladsen blev aldrig til noget.
Da vi gik rundt inde i supermarkedet, var der pludselig en mand, som kom op til os og spurgte om det var os på cyklerne der holdt udenfor. Det måtte vi tilstå.
Det næste der skete var helt utroligt. Manden sagde til os: Would you care about to come and stay at me and my wifes house tonight.....We love cycling ourselfes.
Vi kiggede på henanden og sagde i kor: Ja Tak
Det blev starten på en vildt hyggelig aften sammen med Peter og Shannon og ders to børn. De lavede lækker risotto og vi fik lækker vin. Frugt til dessert. Peter og Shannon var oprindelige fra Syd Afrika. Shannon arbejdede på turistkontoret i Dunedin og Peter solgte forsikringer.
De havde selv cyklet en del og snakken gik på kryds og tværs over bordet, hele aftenen. Utroligt at vi kan møde tilfældige mennesker og det viser sig vi har samme humor og at de åbner deres hus op for fremmede mennesker. Vi var og er så taknemmelige. En ubeskrivelig oplevelse.


English

 Wednesday 07th December 2016
(Alexandra - Oturehua 62 km)

After a day with fine weather, the rain returned. But what did we expect. The times we had been cycling on a trail it had rained, so why not this day.
Although the paths had been dry and dusty the day before, they were already quite muddy cycling on and the bikes got quite dirty.
We saw lots of rabbits jumping out of their holes along the bike path and in pure enthusiasm we shouted - "Ninus Ninus" wich is our way of calling a rabbit.
The landscape could be taken out of a cowboy and western movie. Large expanses of huge stones and fields with lot of sheep. We crossed small bridges and major bridges. Unfortunately, we experience it in the rain and the clouds hanging low.
First we reach a small sleepy town - Omakau. Here we have to shop food for dinner, as there was no possibility for shopping on route ahead that day.  We looked at the post office in Omakau as it should be the smallest in New Zealand.
We cycle on and now the rain intensified. When we reach the village of Lauder it had a cozy Cafe´ and it did not not take long to decide to take a coffee break there.
When we started cycling again it rained more and we were completely soaked.
We had to go through two tunnels and had to move part upwards.
The day ended in the 501 meter's height in the city Oturehua. Here is New Zealand's oldest merchant. It is a
store / museum similar to Bindeballe Merchant (A place in Denmark), so we took a closer look at it, while water dripped from our wet clothes.
Now we had to find a place to sleep for the night and we asked the lady at the store if there was somewhere we could put our tent up.
Sure, just three four houses further down the road there was a place called Crows Nest, but the lady did not know if it was open. but there was probably a note on the door. So we just had to go there.
The place so looked closed and we had a little trouble finding the entrance. We pulled the bikes to the back of the house and sure enough - on the door hung a note that said: The door is open, just go in and make you a cup of coffee or tea. Contact me at this number. There was also a bell you could tap.
We went in and made a cup of coffee. So we tried to ring the bell ...... but no one came. Then we called the phone number, but it was on voice mail??? So we recorded a message and said that we were in the house and hoped that someone would get here so we could pay.
So we went to have a look around the house and upstairs there was a large dormitory with 12 beds and there were WC and a nice bathroom, there were towels and beds were made up.
What should we do ???? We thought we had done what we could, so we agreed that we would sleep in the dormitory and take a bath. Then someone might come later.
We made dinner and sat and enjoyed ourselfes until 10PM and still nobody came. So we went to bed and got a good night's sleep.

Thursday 08th December 2016
(Oturehua - Rock and Pillar Station 75km)

We slept like two little angels and was not really ready to get up when the clock rang. But we got up and had breakfast and packed our stuff. We had decided to write in the guestbook that we had slept there one night and then lie 30-40 NZD plus a keychain. We had looked everywhere and could not see anywhere what the cost was to sleep there. Just as we were packing the last things came Leanne. The lady I had tried to call the day before. She was a little schocked when she saw us as she had not expected that there were any at the house.
We explained that we had tried to call her. She said that her cell phone was in her mother's car and that was why she had not heard our message. But fine that we had found out how to enter the house.
So now we could pay the right price ...... which then became something of a shock to us ........ 40 NZD per. person.
We paid with a smile, but at the same time we thought it was a rip of. In comparison, we paid
38 NZD per. person in Franz Josef and it was incl. Whirlpool, popcorn, soup and breakfast.
This day we had to cross the highest point on the trail - 618 m and from here we should mostly cycling downhill. Sometimes it was still a little difficult to ride due to Mud.
After the first 28 km we reached the town of Ranfurly. Here we shopped food for diner, as there was 75 km to the town MiddelMarch, which would be the next place with shopping available to you.
Lunch was in Waipita where we sat in a small park with a bench and table. Well sheltered by some trees, so we sat out of the wind.
So we cycled to Kokonga, Daisy bank and Tiroiti. From Tiroti was 3 km to the last tunnel we had to go through on the ride - Princes Tunnel. Now we cycled up through a beautiful canyon with giant rocks on both sides and a rushing river. Beautiful flowers and a nice smell of elderflower followed us. It was some great views and was probably one of the highlights of the trip.
Now we looked forward for coffee in the village of Hyde. But we were badly disappointed, as the hotel and the cafe was closed permanently. Outside the hotel was a large group who had been on a biking trip. They were picked up and taken to their accommodation, only to be driven back to Hyde next day and cycle the last part of their trip to MiddelMarch. We got a nice chat with them.
Then our goal was Rock and Pillar. We had seen that there should be a shed and toilet there, so it was tailor made for us. Before we got there we took water in a river, so we had it for various things.
Rock and Pillar was a shed and a toilet, so we set up the tent next to the shed and then we made coffee and planned the route for the next day. We agreed that the shed was the best Cafe´ on route.
Dinner was 6 eggs, two cans of bakedbeans and toast bread. Cheap and tasty.

Friday. 09 December 2016
(Rock and Pillar Station - Mosgeil 80 km)

We woke up to a very foggy morning, but it seems that the sun would break through before too long.
The first part of the trip was also the last part of The trail into the MiddelMarch. The trip was flat but with beautiful mountains on both sides of the path.
After the first hour on the bike, we reached the end of the 150 km on The central Otargo Rail Trail, where we rolled into the small cozy village MiddelMarch.
We could take a train from MiddelMarch into Dunedin and bikes was free of charge, but now it is so that we always choose the lesser pleasant solution. We bike ..... which I think we regretted later in the day.
In MiddleMarch we cycled past a small shop named Maggie. Here we bought two pies that would be our lunch later in the day. In fact, it turned out that a young couple from the UK, which also was on a long bike ride, have spent the night at Maggie´s, so those we fell into conversation with and before we knew 1 hour had passed.
But we had to moved on if we were to do us any expectations of reaching Dunedin this day.
The area we were cycling through had been used for filming scenes for Lord of the Rings. A very special area where large rocks sticking out of the ground. Along with the green fields and yellow flowers it was really a beautiful and strange sight.
Before long we realized that the hills we were going up this the day, the hills of such caliber, as we have never seen before. There were 5 in total, which was approximately 5 kilometers apart. First we hurtle down the bottom of a long descent where we could look up on the other side and see what awaited us. Holy Moly ... they pulled the teeth out. We had to get off the bikes a few times to push. But we did it with a willpower and mannaged the hills.
A few kilometers before the town Outram, Heidi's bike began to make trouble. We where heading down a long descent and hit 50 km per hour. I was well ahead of Heidi. When I reach the bottom, I look back to see where Heidi was and maybe I could manage to take a picture.
Heidi was far back, well up on the slope. At first I thought it was because she wanted to take pictures, but then I relized her bicycle had a problem. Her pedals continued to roll. That mean if she rolled down at 50 km per hour, the pedals would scroll around at the same speed.
Very mysterious and we really did not know what we could do to fix it ???? We found out that if we just biked qslow. Not more than 10-11 kmh so she could ride the bicycle.
So we reached Outram and went straight to a Cafe´ which also rented bikes. They were just about to close, but the man in the cafe´ was so helpful and call a bike shop in Mosgeil, 13 km farther towards Dunedin.
If we could manage to get to Mosgeil before 17:30, they could look at the bike. It was 16:00 and we could only cycling with 10 km an hour, so we were a little pressed on time.
We reached Mosgeil at 17:20. Now we just have to find the bike shop, which we did. Here we made an appointment to get back the next morning at 9:00, he would then check the bike immediately.
He did have a notion of what was wrong with the bike.
Now we just had to have to do some shopping for dinner and then ride to the camp site in Mosgeil, which we had seen on the way into town. We never made it to the campsite.
As we walked around inside the supermarket, a man came up to us and asked if it was us on the bikes that was outside. That we had to confess.
The next thing that happened was incredible. The man said to us: Would you care about to come and stay at me and my wifes house tonight ..... We love cycling ourselfes.
We looked at eachother and said in unison: Yes Thanks
It was the start of a nice evening with Peter and Shannon's and their two children. They made delicious risotto and we got delicious wine. Fruit for dessert. Peter and Shannon was originally from South Africa. Shannon worked at the tourist office in Dunedin and Peter sold inssurances.
They had cycled them selfs and we talked for long at the table throughout the evening. Unbelievable that we can meet random people and it turns out we have the same humor and that they open their house up for strangers. We were and are so grateful. An indescribable experience.

 


2000 km and The lakes

Lørdag d. 03. dec 2016
(Makarora - Wanaka 62 km)

En smuk dag, hvor vi cyklede langs med Lake Wanaka. Søen er New Zealands fjerde største med en overflade på 192 km2. Den ligger i 300 m højde og er målt til at være 300 meter dyb. På hver side er der høje bjerge i smukke brune og grønne farver. Vi kunne også se Mt. Aspiring tårne imod himmlen med en højde på 3.033 meter og med sne på toppen. Vejen snoede sig langs med søen og vi skulle cykle en del op og ned.
For at komme til byen Wanaka, skulle vi cykle via en anden sø - Lake Hawea. Passagen til Lake Hawea ligger i 406 meters højde og hedder The Neck
Når man står ved The Neck kan man kigge til den ene side og se Lake Wanaka og ser du til den anden side kan du se Lake Hawea. Hawea ligger i 348 meters højde og er på det dybeste - 392 m dyb!!
Vi holdt øje med speedometeret, da vi vidste vi snart ville krydse vores 2000 cyklede kilometer. Det blev lidt før middag, på en stejl stigning. Vi fik foreviget det med et par fotos og lykønskede hinanden.
Vores frokost indtog vi på et udsigtspunkt med udsigt over Hawea og med en kraftig vind, så vi var nødt til at holde godt ved al ting for at det ikke fløj bort.
Inden vi nåede ind til Wanaka, nåede jeg at blive godt sur. Jeg var træt og de sidste kilometer, skulle vi cykle i styk modvind og jeg syntes ikke vi kom nogen steder.

Søndag d. 4. dec 2016
(Wanaka - Champagne Gully 76 km)

Dagen startede med en lille detour ud af Wanaka. Heldigvis blev vi hurtig klar over, at det var den forkerte vej vi havde taget.
Vi havde sat os et mål om at nå byen Alexandra. Men både kilometer mæssigt og energi mæssigt havde vi forregnet os. Energien var ikke eksisterende i kroppen og udover det havde vi modvind.
Det var ikke fordi der var så flot natur på vores vej den. Men vi cyklede i et kæmpe vinområde. Ialt 7 vingårde cyklede vi forbi.
Et højdepunkt var da vi kom til byen Cromwell. Lige før byen lå en kæmpe frugt handel og de solgte hjemmelavet is. Så sådan en mente vi vi havde fortjent.
Vi tjekkede Campermate og kunne se at der lå en gratis campsite 15 kilometer længere fremme, så vi handlede ind i Cromwell (New World) og begav os mod stedet der hed Champagne Gully. Alexandra var for langt for os at cykle med ingen energi.
Efter en god kamp opad bakke og modvind, kom vi trætte frem. Fandt os et godt sted og satte lejr. Stedet er lige ved siden af floden Clutha River. Floden minder mest om en sø så bred er den.
Vi havde en hyggelig aften med udsigt udover floden og det flotte vand.

Mandag d. 5. dec 2016
(Champange Gully - Alexandra 19 km)

En dejlig kort dag på cyklen. Vi havde bestemt os for at cykle til Alexandra og så holde pause en pause dag der.
Vi trængte til at blive klippet og bare at slappe af.
Vejret var utrolig godt, med solskin fra en blå himmel og næsten ingen vind. Vi cyklede far Champagne Gully op igennem dalen langs med Clutha River som første os op til udsigtspunktet hvorfra vi kunne se Clyde Dæmningen. Dæmningen er den tredje største i New Zealand og bygget af 1 million kubikmeter beton.
Der var en del politisk tumult da den skulle etableres, da man var nødt til at ovesvømme de nærliggende plantageområder ved Cromwell. Den dag idag har freden sænket sig over dæmningen og den kunstige sø Dunstan, bliver brugt af de lokale til vandskiløb, roning og fiskeri.
Udsigten fra toppen var utrolig smuk og den blå himmel gav søen et turkisblå skær.
Oppe fra udsigtspunktet gik det stejle nedaf og nede i bunden, så vi skiltet til starten af The Central Otago Rail Trail - 150 km.
Fra Clyde cyklede vi de første 8 kilometer af trailet, til vi nåede til Alexandra. Her tjekkede vi ind på en hyggelig campingplads.
Stedet var pænt og rent. Det eneste der var lidt skægt, var at WC og bade faciliteterne mindede om en stald med store afløbsrender, hvor kræatur havde stået engang. Rengøring blev fortaget med en stor slange og alt blev spulet med vand, somom at rester fra en slagtning skulle spules væk.

Tirsdag d. 6. dec 2016
(Pausedag i Alexandra)

Store vaskedag og en tur til frisør.
Vi havde dejligt vejr og slappede fuldstænding af. Om aftenen grillede vi noget dejligt kød og fik Pinot Noir rødvin. Vi havde taget fejl af Pinot Noir og Pinot Gris. Kunne sidde ude og nyde aftenen.


English

Saturday 03rd December 2016
(Makarora - Wanaka 62 km)

A beautiful day where we cycled along Lake Wanaka. The lake is New Zealand's fourth largest with an area of ​​192 km2. It lies in 300 m height and is measured to be 300 meters deep. On each side there are high mountains in beautiful brown and green colors. We could also see Mt. Aspiring with a height of 3,033 meters and with snow on top. The road was winding along the lake and we were cycling part up and down.
To get to the town of Wanaka, we should commute via another lake - Lake Hawea. The passage to Lake Hawea is located in 406 meters altitude and is called The Neck.
When you stand at The Neck you can look to one side and see Lake Wanaka and if you look to the other side you can see Lake Hawea. Hawea is located in 348 meters altitude and is 392 meters deep !!
We kept an eye on the speedometer because we knew we would soon cross our 2,000 kilometers cycled. It was a little before noon, on a steep incline. We celebrated with a few photos and congratulated each other.
Our lunch break was on a lookout point overlooking the Hawea Lake and we had a very strong wind, so we had to hold on to all things so it did not fly away.
Before we reached Wanaka, I managed to get angry. I was tired and the last few kilometers, we had to ride in the strong headwind and I did not think we got anywhere.

Sunday. December 4, 2016
(Wanaka - Champagne Gully 76 km)

The day started with a small detour out of Wanaka. Fortunately, we quickly realized that it was the wrong road we had taken and got back on track.
We had set ourselves a goal to reach the town of Alexandra. But both kilometers wise and energy wise we had miscalculated. The energy was non-existent in the body and in addition to that, we had a headwind.
It was not because there were a lot of beautiful scenery on our way. But we rode in a huge wine region and cycled past a total of 7 wineries.
A highlight was when we came to the town of Cromwell. Just before the city was a giant fruit store and they were selling homemade ice cream. So this one we thought we deserved.
We checked Camper Mate and could see that there was a free camp site 15 km further on, so we shooped food for dinner in Cromwell (New World) and ventured towards the place called Champagne Gully. Alexandra was too far for us to cycle with no energy.
After a good fight uphill and against the wind, we arrived at champangne gully very tiered. We found a good spot to put up the tent and set camp. The place is right next to the river Clutha River. The river looks is like a lake so broad it is.
We had a pleasant evening with views over the river and the beautiful water.

Monday 5th december 2016
(Champagne Gully - Alexandra 19km)

A lovely short day on the bike. We had decided to cycle to Alexandra and then have a rest day there.
We needed a haircut and just relax.
The weather was incredibly nice, with sunshine from a blue sky and almost no wind. We cycled father from Champagne Gully up through the valley along the Clutha River wich lead us up to the lookout point from which we could see Clyde dam. The dam is the third largest in New Zealand and built by 1 million cubic meters of concrete.
There was some political uproar when it was established, as the nearby plantation areas by Cromwell had to be flooded. Now a days peace have settled over the dam and the lake Dunstan, is used by the locals to water skiing, rowing and fishing.
The view from the top was incredibly beautiful and the blue sky gave the lake a turquoise tinge.
From the lookout point we went downhill and at the bottom we saw the sign for the start of The Central Otago Rail Trail - 150 km all dirtroad trail.
From Clyde we cycled the first eight kilometers of The trail until we reached Alexandra. Here we checked in at a cozy campsite.
The place was neat and clean. The only thing that was a bit funny was that the toilet and bathing facilities resembled a barn with large drainage channels where cows had stood once. Cleaning was done with a big hose and everything was flushed with water, as to get rid of remains from a slaughter.

Tuesday 6th December 2016
(Restday in Alexandra)

Big laundry day and a trip to the hairdresser.
We had lovely weather and relaxed all day. In the evening we grilled some nice meat and got Pinot Noir red wine. We had made a mistake of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. We sat outside and enjoyed the evening.

 


 


Lake Paringa and Haast Pass

Onsdag d. 30. nov. 2016
(Franz Josef - Lake Paringa 97 km)

Da vi cyklede ud af Franz Josef, var det en klar og frisk morgen. De første 7 kilometer blev brugt til at varme op til dagens stigning. Den var delt op i 3 opkørsler, hvorefter vi hver gang fik en nedkørsel. Vi var godt kørende. Endda Heidi´s knæ så ud til at havde fået det bedre.
Efter 24 kilometer nåede vi Fox Glachier. Her handlede vi ind til aftensmad, da vi regnede med at cykle omkring 60 km. Her lå der et motel vi kunne campere ved og Fox Glacier var det sidste sted vi kunne handle ind.
Da vi cyklede ud af byen, var skyerne begyndt at trække op over bjerg toppene, så vi kunne ikke se gletcheren.
Så vi cyklede videre mod Pine Grove Motel.
Nu var vejen mere eller mindre flad og næsten ingen vind, så kilometerne tikkede ind på kontoen.
Da vi nåede til Karanarua Bridge, fik vi en længere pause, da der var ved at blive lavet udbedringer på broen, så vi måtte vente på at kunne cykle over.
Da vi nåede til Pine Grove Motel, var klokken kun 14, så vi blev hurtigt enige om at cykle videre og nu var planen at cykle til Bruce Bay, helt ude ved vandet og så se om vi kunne finde et sted at vildcampe.
En time senere nåede vi Bruce Bay. Inden vi nåede helt ud til bugten, cyklede vi langs med regnskoven på begge sider af vejen. Vi kunne høre havet, det virkede mærkeligt at regnskoven var helt ud til vandet.
Bugten var en lang sandstrand men en masse drivtømmer og bølgerne brusede ind over stranden. 
Der var kun et enkelt hus helt nede ved bugten og så en lille kaffevogn. Her købte vi to long black og delte en snickers og en mars.
Pigen som havde kaffevognen, forsøgte at lære sporg fra de forskellige turister der kom forbi. Så hun skulle lige have et par sætninger af os også.
Vi kiggede lidt omkring ved bugten, for at se om vi kunne vildcampe, men her var ikke nogen steder der kunne bruges.
Så vi satte os på cyklerne igen, for at cykle til næste mål: The Salomon Cafe´. Vi vidste godt den lukkede kl. 16.
Men måske kunne vi få lov til at slå teltet op, hvis der var nogen vi kunne spørge.
På vej ud af Bruce Bay, cyklede vi igennem en smuk alle´ af høje træer. Jeg cyklede lidt længere fremme end Heidi, så jeg stanstede for at tage et billede af hende. Jeg tog et par billeder og ville til at cykle videre, men kiggede ned i vejkanten, her bemærkede jeg en at der lå en Carlsberg flaske og da jeg kigger nærmere på den, var den ikke engang tom. Den så ud til at have ligget der i længere tid, men jeg checkede datoen og den kunne holde sig til 2017. Super tænkte jeg, så har vi øl til aftensmaden. Mærkeligt hvordan den var havnet der.
Men godt for os, da vi godt kan lide øl. Den smagte herligt efter en lang dag på cyklen.
Vi nåede til Salomon Cafe´en og som sagt så var den lukket, da klokken var mere end fire. Cafe´en lå ved en stor flod og på den anden side af floden, så det ud til at vi kunne finde et sted at campere, så vi cyklede derover.
Det var et super egnet sted, med der holdt nogle biler, hvor vi ville gemme os. Så nu blev dagens sidste mål at cykle til Lake Paringa, da der vidste vi at der var et DOC campsite og når vi tjekkede vores GPS, så var det kun 7 kilometer. længere fremme. Vi kom frem til Lake Paringa da klokken var 17:30 og speedometeret stod på 97 km. En super god dag på cyklerne, hvor vi igen havde set en masse smukke ting på vores vej.
Vi fik slået teltet op og lavet aftensmad. Efter aftenmaden, faldt vi i snak med to ældre kvinder der var fra Blendheim. De var undervejs med deres mænd i deres campervans og medlem af sammenslutningen af motorhomecampers i New Zealand. Vi tror at mændene var glade for at få lidt ro fra dem, da de snakkede og snakkede i et væk. Men rigtig søde og en god måde at få noget viden omkring New Zealand.
En dejlig dag sluttede med en smuk udsigt udover Lake Paringa.

Torsdag d. 01. dec. 2016
(Lake Paringa - Haast 53 km)

Næste morgen var vi klar til ar cykle fra Lake Paringa ved 9:30 tiden. Den ene af damerne fra aftenen før, stak hovedet ud af campervanen og tilbød Heidi vand, så kunne Heidi også lige få hilst på hendes mand.
Vi cyklede forbi Lake Moeraki og efter nogle gode stigninger ender vi helt ude ved kysten igen. Denne gang holdt vi pause ved udsigtspunktet Knight´s Point. En helt utrolg flot udsigt til turkisblåt vand og skarpe klipper der stikker op af vandet.
Her er også sæler, men de er langt væk. Vi kan skimte dem på en sandbanke nede ved vandet og med det ene kamera kan vi tage et par billeder, hvor vi kan se dem lidt tættere på.
Efter Knight´s Point, skal vi stadig cykle en del opad inden vi kan suse ned mod det smukke hav. Vi regnede med vi skulle cykle lige ved siden af havet, som for nogle dage siden, men det sker ikke rigtigt.

Til frokost kom vi til det der hed Ship Creek Beach, her var der bænke og borde, så vi kunne sidder og spise vores frokost inden vi gik helt ned til vandet og kiggede og tog billeder.
Der er virkelig flot med vandet og klipperne helt ud ved vandet. På stranden ligger en masse drivtømmer, som ligger der og ligner forskellige træfigurer, formet af vind og vejr igennem årene.
Faktisk mødte vi de to amerikaner vi havde boet på værelse med i Franz Josef (Maghan og Jason). Så vi får taget billed af dem og bliver enige om at nu ses vi nok ikke mere på denne tur. De var i bus og os på cykler.
De var noget imponeret over hvor langt vi var nået.
Fra Ship Creek Beach havde vi kun 13 kilometer inden vi nåede til Haast by. Indtil 5 kilometer før byen cykler vi stadig langs med det Tasmanske hav, men må tage afsked med vestkysten, som har budt på så meget smuk natur.
Haast er en lille bitte by. Her er en tankstation, et supermarkede med en lille cafe´, et backpackersted, to campingpladser og et hotel. I supermarkedet findes kun de mest nødvendige ting og de er ikke billige.
Men i betragtning af hvor langt vej varene skal transporteres, er det nok helt fair.
Vi slog lejr ved Moter Lodge for 30 NZD for to. De havde super gode faciliteter og personalet var meget hjælpsomme.

Fredag d. 02. Dec 2016
(Haast - Makaroa South 85 km)

Vi havde lagt en plan for denne dag. Vel vidende, at vi skulle cykle op over Haast Pass og der lå en del cyklen opad foran os. Så vi drog afsted fra Haast lidt før 9,
Vejen vi cyklede på snoede sig op igennem en dal hvor Haast River fulgte os på vores venstre side. Jo, længere vi kom op i dalen jo mere smal blev det.
Undervejs kom vi forbi en masse vandfald og landskabet var frodigt og grønt. Vejret var perfekt med sol fra en skyfri himmel og vejen rimelig flad.
Efter 22 kilometer holdt vi første pause. Der var et vandfald lige ved siden af vejen, som vi ville kigge nærmere på og tage lidt billeder og filme.
Ligesom vi stod der var der en lille mus, som løb ud på vejen og kom helt tæt på os, samtidig med at, ud af det blå, kom en cyklist susende forbi os. Cyklisten råbte bare hej og fortsatte alt imens at musen faktisk blev siddende og Heidi fik taget et super godt billede af den.
Så fortsatte vi og vi nåede kun at cykle 2 kilometer mere, så nåede vi til et vandfald der hedder: Roaring Billy Falls. Vandfaldet lå 5 minutters gang fra vejen, men var let at komme til, da der var anlagt en fin sti igennem regnskoven. Så vi brugte en halv times tid på at opleve stedet. Vandfaldet brusede ned af klipperne og lige ned i Haast rivers krystal blå vand. Meget imponerende og et smukt syn.
Ved vandfallet mødte vi cyklisten fra tidligere. Det var en fyr der oprindelig var fra Thailand, men havde boet i New Zealan de sidste 10 år. Han var på en tur rundt på den sydlie del af øen.
Han cyklede noget hurtigere end os, så vi lavede lidt grin med ham, om at han skulle passe på ikke at få en fartbøde. Hans mål var også Makaroa, så vi sagde på gensyn, for der var en god chance for at vi ville se han der senere.
Efter vandfaldet cyklede vi indtil klokken var 12:15 og tid til frokost. Vi fandt en lille rasteplads ved siden af floden og imens vi sad der, kom et tysk par forbi. De var fra Berlin og havde rejst et godt stykke tid rundt i New Zealand i deres lejede campervan. Faktisk havde de snakket om at cykle i New Zealand inden de tog afsted fra Tyskland, men da de havde fundet ud af hvor mange bakker der var hernede var beslutningen faldet på en campervan.
Vi snakkede en god halv time og de var meget interesseret i vores værd. Så var det tid for os at komme videre. Vi viste at indenfor de næste 5-6 kilometer, skulle vi til at kæmpe os op igennem The Gate of Haast. Hvor den første del skulle være meget stejl. 
De første 500 m af stigningen kunne vi cykle. Her kom vi til broen som hedder The Gate of Haast. Broen går over en dyb kløft, hvor vandet fosser ned igennem langt nede. Ovre på den anden side kunne vi godt se at vi skulle virklig ned i det lave gear for komme op eller gøre os håb om at kunne cykle op.
Vi forsøgte os, men stigningen var for stejl, så vi måtte stå af og skubbe. Nu var det omkring 28 grader og vi havde ingen skygge det første stykke. Vi kunne skubbe 50 - 100 m af gangen og så ellers holde en pause, for så at gentage proceduren igen.
Vi havde læst på en anden blog, at de første 3 kilometer ville være på den måde. Hvilket var rart nok at vide.
Så efter en god gang skubben, fladede vejen ud og vi kunne cykle igen.
Ikke lang tid efter vi var kommet igang igen, kom vi forbi et flot vandfald mere. Fantail Waterfall lå kun 2 minutters gang fra vejen og denne gang kunne vi komme helt ned til folden som løb foran vandfallet. Det passede os fint, da vi kunne stikke hovederne ned i det kolde smelte vand i floden og på den måde køle af.
Det var så skønt og gav ny energi. Nu kunne vi godt holde ud til toppen af passet.
Da vi nåede passet, holdt thai fyren der sammen med en new zealansk cyklist. De syntes også at den første del af passet havde været ret hård. Vi fik taget billeder og glædede os til at kunne nyde nogle kilometer nedaf bakke. Men det var desværre ikke så lang en nedkørsel som vi havde håbet på. Måske 2 - 3 kilometer og så blev resten af vejen mere eller mindre på små rullende bakker.
Thai fyren var cyklet ned før os, men da vi var kommet godt igang igen, så vi han holde i vejkanten længere fremme. Det viste sig han havde problemer med, at en af hans eger var sprunget og derved var hjulet exet og kunne ikke dreje ordentlig rundt.
Vi hjalp ham med en speciel nøgle, der skal bruges til eger og så kunne vi også se at hans kæde var knastør og tilbød ham at smøre hans kæde. Skægt at nogen tager på længere ture uden at have nogen form for reservedele med og værktøj. Nok meget New Zealansk..... de tænker nok: det skal nok gå altsammen.
Da der var 8 kilometer tilbage til Makaroa, kom vi forbi det der hedder: The blue pools. Det måtte vi også opleve. Heidi havde set nogle billeder derfra og læst om stedet. Denne gang var det en lidt længere tur igennem regneskoven på 10-15 minutter inden vi kom ned til The blue pool. Stedet kunne virkelig ikke hedde andet, for vandet var fuldstændig klar blå og utrolig smuk. Der var lavet en hængebro ud over vandet og et par modige fyre sprang i vandet oppe fra broen. Vi valgte at gå ned til vandet for at dyppe fødderne i det meget friske og kolde vand.
Efter The Blue Pool cyklede vi de sidste kilometer til vi nåede Makaroa. Vi holdt ved motellet, hvor der også var mulighed for at campere, her mødte vi Thai fyren igen. Men vi havde set på campermate (En APP) at der skulle være et campingsted godt 4 kilometer længere fremme. Noget der hed Country Cafe´ and campsite, så vi cyklede de sidste kilometer hen til det sted og tjekkede ind der.
Godt brugte efter en oplevelserig dag, fik vi sat lejr og taget bad og sluttede af med en ordenlig omgang baked beans, spejlæg og toastbrød plus to kolde øl.

 


English

Wednesday 30th Nov. 2016
(Franz Josef - Lake Paringa 97 km)

It was a clear and fresh morning as we cycled out of Franz Josef. The first 7 km was used to warm up for this days climb. It was divided into 3 climbes and 3 descents. We had a good start. Even Heidi's knees seemed to have gotten better.

We reached Fox Glachier after the first 24 km. Here we stacked up for dinner as we had decided to cycle aprox 60 km and then there was a motel we could camp at and Fox Glacier township was the last place we could buy something on that stretch.
As we rode out of town, the clouds had begun to pull up over the mountains, so we could not see the glacier.
So we rode on towards Pine Grove Motel.
Now the road was more or less flat and almost no wind so the kilometer ticked away.
When we reached Karanarua Bridge, we got a longer break. There was being made repairs on the bridge, so we had to wait to be able to ride over the bridge.
It was only 2PM when we arrived at Pine Grove Motel, so we decided to cycle futher and now the plan was to cycle to Bruce Bay and then see if we could find a place to wildcamp.
An hour later we reached Bruce Bay. Before we even reached the bay, we cycled along the rainforest on both sides of the road. We could hear the ocean, but it seemed odd that the rainforest was so near to the sea.
The bay was a long sandy beach with a lot of driftwood and the waves roared in over the beach.
There was only a single house right on the bay and then a little coffee cart. Here we bought two long black and shared a snickers and mars.
The girl who had  the coffee cart, tried to learn Languages from various tourists who came by. So she got a few phrases of us.
We looked around a bit by the bay, to see if we could wildcamp, but there were no places that could be used.
So we set of on our bikes again to cycle to the next goal: The Salomon Cafe '. We knew it closed at 4PM.
But perhaps we could get permission to put up a tent if there was someone we could ask.
On the way out of Bruce Bay, we cycled on a beautiful stretch of road with tall trees on each side of the road. I rode a little further than Heidi, so I decided to take a picture of her cycling towards me. I took a few pictures and wanted to ride on, but looked down on the roadside, here I noticed that there was a bottle of Carlsberg and when I look closely at it, it was not even empty. It appeared to have been there for a long time, but I checked the date and it was good  untill 2017 Super I thought, we have beer for dinner. Strange how it had ended up there.
But good for us as we like beer and it tasted wonderful after a long day on the bike.
We came to the Salomon cafe and saw it was closed as it was after 4 PM. There was nobody around to sak for permission to put up our tent. So we looked for another option. The cafe was by a large river and on the other side of the river, it seems that we could find a place to camp, so we cycled to the other side.
It was a super suitable place but there was some cars parked near to where we would like to camp and we could not see the people that owned the cars. So again we made another goal - cycling to Lake Paringa, because we knew that there was a DOC campsite and when we checked our GPS, it was only seven kilometers futher. We arrived at Lake Paringa at 5:30PM and the speedometer showed 97 km. A super good day on our bikes, where we had seen a lot of beautiful things on our way.
We put up the tent and made dinner. After dinner, we talked with two elderly women who were from Blendheim. They were on a tour with their men in their campervans and members of the Association of motorhomecampers in New Zealand. We believe that the men were happy to get some rest from them as they talked and talked for a long time. But really nice ladies and a good way to get some knowledge about New Zealand.
A lovely day ended with a beautiful view over Lake Paringa.

Thursday. 01. December 2016
(Lake Paringa - Haast 53 km)

The next morning we were ready to commute from Lake Paringa at 9:30 AM. One of the ladies from the night before, stuck his head out of the camper van and offered Heidi water and Heidi also got to meet her husband.
We cycled past Lake Moeraki and after some time we end up completely at the coast again. This time we stopped for a break at the lookout: Knight Point. With some incredibly views over the turquoise water and sharp rocks sticking out of the sea.
There where also seals, but they where far away. We got a glimpse them on a sand bank down by the water and with one camera, we could take a few pictures where we could see them a little closer.
After Knight Point, we still cycling part up before we hurtle down towards the beautiful sea. We figured we were going to ride right beside the sea like a few days ago, but it did not turn out that way quite.
But for lunch we came to the beach called Ship Creek Beach, here where benches and tables, so we sat and eat our lunch before we went down to the water to have a look and taking pictures.
At the beach was a lot of driftwood, which laid there and looked like various wooden figures, shaped by wind and weather over the years.
In fact, we met the two Americans we had shared the room with in Franz Josef (Maghan and Jason). So we got to take a picture of them and agree to now see you enough not on this trip. 
They were somewhat impressed at how far we had come.
From Ship Creek Beach we  just had 13 kilometers before we reached the town Haast. Until five kilometers before the township we cycled along the Tasman Sea, but had to say goodbye to the West Coast, where we had seen so much beautiful nature and scenery.
Haast is a tiny town. Here's a gas station, a supermarket with a small Cafe ', a backpacker place, two campgrounds and a hotel. The supermarket has only the most necessary things and they are not cheap.
But considering how long way they have to be transported, it is probably quite fair.
We camped at Moter Lodge for 30 NZD for two. They had super good facilities and the staff were very helpful.

Friday 02nd Dec 2016
(Haast - Makaroa South 85 km)

We had a plan for this day. Knowing that we were going to ride up over the Haast Pass and there was some climbs ahead of us. So we set of from Haast little before 9AM.
The way we cycled was winding up through a valley where the Haast River followed us on our left side. The further we came up the valley the more narrow it got.
Along the way we passed a lot of waterfalls and landscape was lush and green. The weather was perfect with sunshine from a cloudless sky and the road quite flat.
After 22 kilometers we held the first break. There was a waterfall right next to the road, which we took a look at and also took some pictures and filming.
As we stood there, there was a little mouse who ran onto the road and came quite close to us, while, out of the blue, came a cyclist whizzing past us. The cyclist shouted: hello!! and continued all the while the mouse keept sitting on the road and Heidi had taken a nice picture of it.
So we continued and we only managed to cycle another 2 kilometers, as we came to a waterfall called: Roaring Billy Falls. The waterfall was 5 minutes walk from the road, but was easy to get to, as there was a fine trail through the rainforest. So we spent half an hour to experience the place. The waterfall roared down the rocks and straight down in Haast rivers crystal blue water. Very impressive and beautiful to look at.
We met the cyclist again at the waterfall. He was originally from Thailand, but had lived in New Zealand the last 10 years. He was on a tour of the southern part of the island.
He rode a bit faster than us, so we made a little fun of him, that he should be careful not to get a speeding ticket. His goal was also Makaroa, so we said; see you later, there was a good chance that we would see him later as Makaroa is a very small town.
After the waterfall we cycled until 12:15 and it was time for lunch. We found a small picnic area beside the river and while we were sitting there, a German couple came over. They were from Berlin and had traveled quite a while around New Zealand in their rented campervan. In fact, they had talked about cycling in New Zealand before they took off from Germany, but when they found out how many hills that were down here, they decided to rent a campervan.
We talked for a good half hour and they were very interested in our trip. Then it was time for us to move on. We knew that within the next 5-6 kilometers, we had to fight our way up through The Gate of Haast. Wherein the first part would be very steep.
The first 500 m of the increase we could cycle. Then we came to the bridge called The Gate of Haast. The bridge crosses a deep ravine where the water gushes down through far down into the gorge. Over on the other side, we could see that we had to use the low gears to get up if we should have any chance to cycle up.
We tried, but the climb was too steep, so we had to get off and push. Now it was about 28 degrees and we had no shade on the first part. We could push 50 to 100 meters at a time and then just take a break, only to repeat the procedure again.
We had read on another blog that the first three kilometers would be this way. Which was nice to know.
So we pushed for a while before the road leveled out and we could ride again.
A little futher ahead we passed one more nice waterfall. Fantail Waterfall was only 2 minutes walk from the road and this time we could get down to the river that ran in front of the waterfall. It suited us fine since we could put our heads down in the cold clear water in the river and cool down in that way.
It was so beautiful and gave new energy. Now we could well endure to the top of the pass.
When we reached the pass, the thai guy was there along with a cyclist from New Zealand. They also felt that the first part of the pass had been quite tough. We got pictures taken and were delighted to be able to enjoy some kilometers downhill. But it was not such a long descent as we had hoped for. Maybe 2-3 km and the rest of the way more or less on small rolling hills.
Thai guy had cycled down before us, but we saw him on the side of the road ahead. It turned out he had problems with one of his spokes and his wheel could not rotate properly.
We helped him with a special key for  the spokes and then we could also see that his chain was bone dry and offered him to oil the chain for him. Funny how someone goes on a long trip without having any kind of spare parts or tools with them on the tour. Probably very New Zealandic..... they think: it will be alright - no worries.
Since there were eight kilometers left to Makaroa, we passed what is called: The blue pools. That we had to also experience. Heidi had seen some pictures from there and read about the place. This time it was a slightly longer walk through the rain forest. It took 10 -15 minutes before we got down to The blue pool. The place really could not be called anything else because the water was perfectly clear blue and incredibly beautiful. There was a suspension bridge over the water and a few brave guys jumped into the water from the bridge. We chose to go down to the water to dip your feet in the very fresh and cold water. From The Blue Pool we cycled the last few kilometers until we reached Makaroa. We stopped at the motel, where there also was a campground, here we met the Thai guy again. But we had seen on the camper mate (A APP) that there should be a camping place some 4 kilometers further down the road. Something called Country Cafe ' and camp site, so we rode the last kilometers to reach the place and checked in. We where quite tired after a long day in the saddle, so we set camp and showered and finished off with a big portion of baked beans, fried eggs and toast bread plus two cold beers.
 


Hari Hari and Franz Josef ???

Lørdag d. 26. nov. 2016
(Ross - Hari Hari 48 km)
Natten havde været noget urolig, da der havde været meget regn og storm. Der var også pubben, hvor der havde været musik og glade dage til sent på natten. Tror de sidste gæster havde lidt svært ved at gå hjem.
Da vi stak hovederne ud af teltet, var der allerede de første landmænd for at hente deres traktorer. Øllet fra aftenene før var nok ikke helt ude af blodet endnu.
Selvom det havde regnet det meste af natten, var teltet tørt. Så vi kunne pakke det sammen med det samme.
Så spiste vi morgenmad og kl. 10 var vi klar til at cykle afsted. I første omgang blev det kun til 1 kilometer. Da vi kiggede i den retning vi skulle cykle, var der en kæmpe stor sort sky. Den så meget truende ud, så vi vendte om og cyklede hen til et halvtag. Det skulle vise sig at være en god beslutning, for iløbet af få minutter begyndte det at regne, som gik over i hagl sammen med nogle gode vindstød.
Vi ventede 10 minutter og så var det ovre. Lige inden vi satte afsted igen, kom en af landmændene fra pubben kørende forbi, han standsede lige ud for os og sagde: det var da godt nok en ordentlig gang hagl vi fik der og kan i have en god dag. Så kørte han igen.
Nu kunne vi cykle afsted mod Hari Hari. Da vi var halvvejs lå der en cafe´- The Bushman Cafe´. Her blev det til en lille pause med stempel kaffe og cocos scoones. Lige noget for to sultne cyklister.
Udenfor cafe´en hang en KÆMPE monster sandflye. De er heller ikke kønne i stor udgave.
Inden vi nåede Hari Hari regnenede det igen. Temperaturen var nede omkring 9 - 10 grader, så vi små frøs da vi var fremme.
Hari Hari er en lang gade med B and B og hoteller på hver side og en enkelt cafe´ butik plus en tankstation.
Vi ville se om vi kunne campere ved hotellet, da de også fungerede som campingplads. Men græsset stod under vand, så det var no go. Så vi gik ind i receptionen og spurgte om de havde værelser på Backpacker style.
Backpacker Style er hvor man får et værelse med en seng og så er der fælles bad og køkken faciliteter.
Det havde de og til en dejlig pris - 50 NZD som er det samme som 250,- dkr. incl free WIFI.
Det bedste af det hele var, at vi faktisk var de eneste som boede i afdelingen. Værelset var dejlig varmt og resten af dagen hyggede vi med varm kaffe og til aften lavede vi dejlig toast med ost og skinke.
Senere sad vi i receptionen og surfede på nettet og uploaded lidt video.

Søndag d. 27. nov. 2016
(Hari Hari - Franz Josef 65 km)
Vi havde sovet vildt godt. Faktisk så godt at klokken var over 8 da vi vågnede. Så det var bare med at komme ud af fjerne og få pakket sammen, da vi skulle tjekke ud senest kl 10.
Vi startede ud i en regnbyge, men var faktisk heldige at cykle fra regnen. Vi kunne se ud over markerne og bjergene bag os at det regnede der.
Da vi nåede byen Whataroa var det tid til frokost. Igen en lille landsby, men med en lille park, hvor der var overdækket bænke og borde. Så her satte vi os og spiste vores toastbrød med smøreost og peanutbutter.
Inden vi cyklede videre, fik vi en kop kaffe i cafe´ butikken.
I butikken hang der et skilt hvorpå der stod: You get a free ride if you shoplift in this shop. Vi overvejde det et øjeblik, bare for at komme ud af regnen. Men de ville nok ikke køre os til Franz Josef.
Da vi var godt undervejs igen, kom der mere regn. Denne gang valgte vi at stille os i læ under en lille grøn pressenning vi havde med. De biler der kørte forbi os, har nok tænkt: hvad det var der var der i vejkanten!!!
Heidi havde stadig problemer med hendes knæ. Men hun klarede den med Felden og et par piller.
Vi når til Franz Josef og handler lidt brød ind i supermarkedet. Da vi kommer udenfor, møder vi en amerikansk kvinde, som også er på cykeltur sammen med hendes mand. Hende snakker vi med et stykke tid inden vi trækker cyklerne hen til Sir Cedrics Glow Worm Back Packers. Her har vi købt 3 overnatninger via Hostelworld på nettet.
Vi trængte til pause og specilet for at få Heidi´s knæ til at blive smerte frit.
Vi skulle bo på et værelse med 4 senge og senere checkede et par ind fra Amerika (SeeRunDo på FB).
De var afsted på en lang rejse, hvor de havde været mange forskellige steder b.la Nepal og nu NZ. De skulle Skydive her i Franz Josef og senere skulle de Bungee Jumpe i Queenstown og vi har sidenhen set de har Riverraftet og fløjet på et Speedboard over en sø........jow de kunne lide aderanalin.
Vi fik vores kick ved at se deres videoer. Pyha.....vildt.
De næste dage hvor vi var i Franz Josef, lavede vi ikke det vilde. For det første så regnede det i spandevis og vi havde en aftalte med Lars fra Check in bladet om interview via Skype. Så det blev ren og skær afslapning.
Den sidste dag kom solen igennem og vi gik op til udsigtspunktet, hvorfra vi kunne se Franz Josef Gletcheren og om aftenen gik vi lidt ind i regnskoven for at opleve Glowworms. En speciel orm der lyser op i mørket. Jo, mere fugt jo mere lyser den. Det lignede små julelys eller en stjernehimmel.


English

Saturday. 26 November. 2016
(Ross - Hari Hari 48 km)
The night had been somewhat uneasy, since there had been much rain and storm. There was also the pub, where there had been music and happy days till late at night. The last guests had a little trouble to go home.
When we looked out of the tent, there was already the first farmers to collect their tractors. The beer from night before was probably not completely out of the blood yet.
Although it had rained most of the night, the tent was dry. So we could pack it immediately.
So we ate breakfast and at 10 o´clock we were ready to start to ride. Initially, it was only to 1 kilometer. When we looked in the direction we were going to ride, there was a huge black cloud. It looked very threatening, so we turned around and cycled to a shelter under a roof. It would prove to be a good decision as some minutes later it began to rain, which went into hail along with some good gusts.
We waited 10 minutes and then it was over. Just before we set off again, came one of the farmers from the pub, he stopped right next to us and said: it was some proper hail we got there and have a good day. Then he was on his way again.
Now we could ride away from Hari Hari. When we were halfway, there was a cafe'- The Bushman Cafe '. Here  we had a small break with plunger coffee and cocos Scoones. Just the thing for two hungry cyclists.
Outside the cafe hung a HUGE monster sandflye. Nor are they pretty large version.
Before we reached Hari Hari it started raining again. The temperature was around 9-10 degrees, so we froze when we arrived in Hari Hari.
Hari Hari is a long street with B and B and hotels on either side and a single Cafe' store plus a gas station.
We wanted to see if we could camp at the hotel as they also served as a campground. But the grass was under water, so it was no go. So we walked into the reception and asked if they had rooms - Backpacker style.
Backpacker Style is where you get a room with a bed and then there is a shared bathroom and kitchen facilities.
They had it and for a nice price - 50 NZD which is the same as 250, - DKR. including free WIFI.
Best of all was that we were actually the only ones who stayed in the department. The room was nice and warm and the rest of the day we had a good time with hot coffee and at  night we made good toast with cheese and ham.
Later we sat in the reception and used the WIFI and uploaded some videos.

Sunday. 27 November. 2016
(Hari Hari - Franz Josef 65 km)
We had slept well. So well that it was past 8 when we woke up. So it was out of bed and get packed, as we had to check out of the room no later that 10 o´clock.
We started out in a rain shower, but was actually lucky to commute from the rain. We could look out over the fields and mountains behind us and it rained there.
When we reached the town of Whataroa it was time for lunch. Again a small village, but with a small park, which had covered benches and tables. So here we sat and ate our toast bread with cream cheese and peanut butter.
Before we cycled on, we got a cup of coffee at thhe Cafe´ shop.
In the shop hung a sign that said: You get a free ride if you shoplift in this shop. We contemplating it for a moment, just to get out of the rain. But they probably would not drive us to Franz Josef.
When we were well on our way again and more rain came. This time we chose to put us in the shelter under a small green tarp we had. The cars that drove past us was probably thinking: what it was that was there on the roadside !!!
Heidi still had problems with her knee. But she managed with Felden and a few pills.
We reach Franz Josef and shopped some bread at the supermarket. When we get outside, we meet an American woman, who also was on a bike ride with her husband. We talked with her for a while before we pull the bikes to Sir Cedric's Glow Worm Packpackers. Here we had bought 3 nights through Hostelworld online.
We needed a break and espesialy Heidi's knees so they could get painless.
We had to stay in a room with four beds and later a couple from America  checked in(SeeRunDo on FB).
They were off on a long journey, where they had been many different places also Nepal and now NZ. They should Skydive here in Franz Josef and then had to bungee jump in Queenstown and we have since seen they have Riverraftet and flown on a Speed ​​Board over a lake ........  they liked aderanalin.
We got our kick by watching their videos. Phew ..... game.
The next day when we were in Franz Josef, we did not do much. First it rained soooooo much and we had agreed with Lars from the check-in magazine to do and interview via Skype. So it was pure relaxation.
The last day the sun came through and we went up to the lookout point from which we could see Franz Josef Glacier and in the evening we walked into the rain forest to experience Glowworms. A special worms that glow in the dark. Yes, more moisture the more it lit. It looked like small Christmas lights or a starry sky.


The West Coast Wilderness Trail

Torsdag d. 24. nov. 2016
(Greymouth - Hans Bay DOC Campsite 77 km)
Efter en dags pause i Greymouth, satte vi afsted på en tur lidt ind i landet. En cykelrute på 120 km i meget forskellig terræn. Igen var vi så heldige at cykle afsted i regnvejr. De første kilometer var på asfalt og af hovedvejen, men efter 12 km skulle vi dreje af og cykel på velanlagte grusstier igennem regnskov, over små hængebroer og meget smuk landskab.
Ved middagstid nåede vi en lille by, hvor der var en lille cafe´ hvor vi fik os en dejlig varm kop kaffe og nåede at tørre lidt inden vi cyklede videre. Nu var det holdt med at regne. Stien var en grad 2 - 3, så den skulle ikke være vildt stejl og ufremkommelig.
Undervejs kom vi igennem områder, hvor der havde været guldminer år tilbage. Skilte gjorde opmærksom på at der var skakter ved siden af stien, så man skulle blive på sporet.
Vi cyklede forbi store opdæmmede søer og nogen gange var stierne anlagt på broer udover vådområder. Vi havde sat os et mål der hed Cowboys Paradise, som var godt og vel halvvejs på sporet.
Vi havde læst at det skulle være en lille by som var bygget op som en cowboy by, med cafe´er og overnatning. Så det så vi frem til. Inden vi overhovedet nåede dertil skulle vi krydse to floder, hvor ved den ene skulle vi have sko og strømper af for at komme over. Herefter cyklede vi igennem regnskoven igen af meget snørklede stier, helt vildt fedt hvordan de var anlagt.
Så kom vi til Cowboys Paradis. Men her var ikke noget Paradis.......blot byggerod.....hele byen var ved at blive renoveret. Når vi siger hele byen, så var det blot en gade på 100 m, hvor der lå nogle få huse...ingen cafe´....så i kan nok regne ud vi blev noget skuffet.
Vi spurge en af arbejderne, om der var et sted i nærheden hvor vi kunne slå vores telt op. Han foreslog vi cyklede helt ned til floden, ca 2 km mere.....han ejede hele landet og vi kunne bare finde et sted at slå lejr.
Så nu susede vi nedad små hårnåle sving, hen over en mark, mens køerne så underende efter os.
Vi nåede helt ned til floden, hvor vi tog vand fra, så vi havde til at kunne lave mad af. Men syntes egenlig ikke der var nogen gode steder at slå teltet op. Alt var godt vådt efter regnen tidligere på dagen. Så enden af  det hele blev at vi fortsatte til noget der hed Hans Bay. Her var der et billigt DOC campsite, hvor vi slog lejr for natten med smuk udsigt ned over søen.
Aftenen nød vi i selskab med 100 vis af sandfluer......meget irreterende.

Fredag d. 25. nov. 2016
(Hans Bay DOC Campsite - Ross km 53)
Det regnede igen da vi stod op. Tågen lå som en tæt dyne ned over søen og bjergene, så der var ikke meget at se. 
Vi cyklede inden i regnskoven de første 9 kilometer. Dejligt nok, så var vi lidt i læ af regnen, men kilometerne vi skulle cykle til vi kom til byen Hokitika, blev i silende regn.
Vi var helt gemmenblødte da vi parkerede vores cykler udenfor informationen i byen. Vi fik lidt tid til at gå inden i informationen, bare for at komme lidt i tørvejr.
Herefter fandt vi et trappetrin udenfor en tom butik, hvor vi sad og spiste vores frokost. Nu var det holdt med at regne og vi ville cykle ned til vandet, da vi vidste der skulle være et skilt lavet af drivtømmer, hvor der stod Hokitika.
Vi fandt det med det samme og mødte en dansk fyr som tog billedet af os, sammen med skiltet. Så blev det tid til et lille cafe´ besøg og imens vi sad derinde, blev vejret meget bedre. Nu solskin og varme.
Vi handlede ind i New World og satte afsted med kurs mod byen Ross. Vi havde den dejligste medvind og solskin. Men ak vi var ikke andet en lige kommet til Ross og havde sat teltet op på den mest tørre sted vi kunne finde. Lige overfor Empire Hotel og Pub. Vi havde læst om stedet og ville ikke gå glib af det. 
Det var fredag og der skulle være live musik. Alt lige fra gamle slagere til god Irsk Pub musik. Så da vi havde lavet vores aftensmad og spist, gik vi på Pub.
Det var en meget autentisk oplevelse, med virkelig pub stemning og hvis nogen havde lyst til at synge eller spille på et instrument skulle de bare komme igang.
Aftens overraskelse, var to kvinder der lignede to der arbejdede på et bibliotek. De fyrede den fuldstændig af med boogie woogie og sjofle historier.
Et nygift par fra Spanien, sang et par sange på spansk. Så et godt internationalt udbud.
Det fedeste var faktisk de 4 traktorer der stod udenfor, som havde bragt nogle af landmændende derhen den aften.
Vi faldt i søvn med smil på læben og regnen trommende på teltdugen.


English

Thursday Nov. 24th 2016
(Greymouth - Hans Bay DOC Campsite 77 km)
After a day's break in Greymouth, we set off on a trip a little inland. A cycle route of 120 km in very different terrain. Again we got to ride in the rain. The first kilometer was on asphalt and the main road, but after 12 km we had to turn and bike on well-constructed gravel paths through the forest, over small suspension bridges and very beautiful landscape.
At noon we reached a small town where there was a small Cafe 'where we got us a nice hot cup of coffee and managed to dry a little before we cycled on. Now the rain had stopped. The path was a grade 2-3, so it should not be wildly steep and impassable.
Along the way we passed through areas where there had been gold mines years ago. Signs pointed out that there were shafts next to the path, so you had to stay on track.
We cycled past large reservoirs and sometimes the paths brought us onto small bridges besides wetlands. We had set ourselves a goal for the day called Cowboys Paradise, which was more than midway on the trail.
We had read that it was a small town which was built up as a cowboy town, with café's and overnight stays. So we looked forward for that. Before we even got there we had to cross two rivers, which at one we had to take off shoes and socks to get over. Then we cycled through the rainforest again very tortuous paths, amazing how they were built.
So we reached Cowboys Paradise. But here was no paradise ....... just construction mess ..... the whole town was being renovated. When we say the whole town, so it was just a street at 100 m, where there were a few houses ... no Cafe '.... then you can probably guess, we were somewhat disappointed.
We asked one of the workers, if there was a place nearby where we could put up our tent. He suggested we cycled down to the river, about 2 km more ..... he owned the whole land and we could just find a place to camp.
So now we whizzed down small turns, over a field, while the cows looked after us.
We reached the river where we took some water so we had some to make dinner of. But there were no good places to put up a tent. Everything was wet after the rain earlier in the day. So the end of it all was that we went on to something called Hans Bay. Here was a cheap DOC campsite, where we camped for the night with beautiful views over the lake.
The evening we enjoyed in the company of some 100 sand flies ...... very annoying

Friday Nov. 25th 2016
(Hans Bay DOC Campsite - Ross 53 km)
It was raining again when we got up. The fog was a dense over the lake and the mountains, so there was not much to see.
We cycled in the rain forest the first 9 kilometer. Nice enough, so we were a little sheltered from the rain, but the last kilometer we have to ride until we came to the town of Hokitika, was in the pouring rain.
We were completely soaked when we parked our bikes outside the I-Site. We spent some time inside the information, just to get a bit out of the rain.
Then we found a dry place outside an empty shop, where we sat and ate our lunch. It stopped raining so we rode down to the waterfront, when we knew there had to be a sign made of driftwood, which showed the name of Hokitika.
We found it immediately and met a Danish guy who took a picture of us with the sign. Then it was time for a visit to a Cafe´ and while we were sitting there, the weather got much better. Now sunshine and warmth.
We shopped in the New World and set off bound for the town of Ross. We had the most wonderful tailwind and sunshine. But just as we arrived in Ross and had set up the tent in the driest place we could find. It started raining again. We camped just opposite the Empire Hotel and Pub. A place we had read about and would not like to miss.
It was Friday and there would be live music later at the pub. Everything from old hit songs to good Irish Pub music. So when we had made our dinner and eaten, we went to Pub.
It was a very authentic experience, with real pub atmosphere and if someone felt like singning or play an instrument or else they just had to hop in.
Tonight's surprise, were two women who looked like two who worked at a library. They played the boogie woogie and told "dirty" stories.
A newlywed couple from Spain, sang a few songs in Spanish. 
The coolest thing was actually the 4 tractors parked outside, who had brought some of the farmers to the pub that night.
We fell asleep with a smile on your face and the rain drumming on the tent.
 

 


Berlins.....What???? and Pancake Rocks

Søndag d. 20. nov. 2016
(Murchison - Berlins 66 km)
Den rute vi cyklede på, var den som blev brugt til omkørsel til Christchurch siden jordskælvet. det vi kunne vi tydeligt mærke, da der var mange lastbiler og meget trafik. Heldigvis blev det bedre da vi når til krydset i nærheden af Newton Flat. Her køre lastbiler fra, for at nå til Christchurch og østkysten. 
Vi forsætter af vej 6, nu blot uden lastbiler.
Vi skulle cykle igennem det områder der hedder Buller Gorge, Vi fulgte Buller River og vejen bugtede sig som floden løb. Det var både op og ned, men ikke på hårde stigninger. Alt var frudigt og grønt. Vi kunne høre floden bruse ved vores side og fik det ene smukke syn after det andet. En helt perfekt dag.
I Murchison havde vi forhørt om der var en cafe´ eller butik undervejs og der skulle være en general store i Inangahua og det var der også, den var blot lukket om søndagen. Istedetfor havde landsbyen et museum om jordsklæv der havde fundet sted i området de sidste 100 år.
Vi bruget vores pause til at se udstillingen og blive klogere.
De sidste 14 kilometer tog en times tid, hvor vi skulle over to gode stigninger. 
Inden klokken 16 var vi fremme i Berlins, som blev målet for den dag. Berlins er ikke andet end et par huse og en hyggelig Cafe´ med overnatning og campering. Vi slog lejr med smuk udsigt over Buller River, desværre kunne vi ikke nyde udsigten om aftenen, da der er vildt menge sandflies og de bider ubehageligt.
Cafe´ ejeren var en hyggelig Kiwi (New Zealænder) med en god NZ humor. 

Mandag d. 21. nov. 2016
(Berlins til Charleston 62 km)
Vi forsatte igenne Buller Gorge og cyklede igennem samme betagende natur, som dagen før. Faktisk var disse dage nogle af dem vi vil huske som noget specielt.
Da vi kom ud af slugten, ændrede landskabet sig. Nu var det fladt og igen kunne vi se køer og får græsse på markerne. 
Vi var nødt til at cykle en afstikker til Westport på 8 km den ene vej, i dejlig medvind og 8 km den anden vej i strid modvind. Da det var den eneste by med super marked inden vi nåede Greymouth 110 km længere fremme.
Vi nåede Charleston i dejligt solskin og checkede ind på campingpladsen midt i landsbyen. Vi havde nået vestkysten og var spændte på hvordan det så ud.
Inden vi lavede aftenmad gik vi ned til havet og så de store bølger slå ind over klipperne. Ikke et sted man skulle bade med den kraft havet havde. Men flot var det.

Tirsdag. d. 22. nov. 2016
(Charleston - Greymouth 80 km)
Endnu en dag med dejligt vejr. Vi vidste at dagen ville blive en af de hårde, da der ventede os mere end 1000 højdemeter. Den første lange bakke kom med det samme vi cyklede ud af Charleston. Vi skulle først cykle lidt ind i landet, inden vi susede ned af bakke for at ramme den smukke vestkyst. Sikken et syn. Vandet var oprørt, men stadig utrolig smukt med tyrkisblå farve. Skarpe klipper stak op af havet og bølgerne slog indover med en enorm kraft. Et syn vi aldrig havde set før.
Ved middagstid nåede vi til Punakaiki, hvor Pancake Rocks og Blowholes ligger. Dette er klippeformationer som ligener kæmpe stakke af pandekager. Her var levet en sti, så man kunne komme helt tæt på.
Et fasinerende syn, med havets kraft der sprøjtede vand op igennem Blowholes. 
Hvad afslutter men såden en tur med??? Pandekager til frokost.
Resten af dagen cykler vi langs denne smukke kyst. Stadig krydert med nogle grumme stigninger med vi ser tilbage på denne dag som en af favoritterne.
15 km før Greymouth, mødte vi tre hyggelige cyklister. To fra Belgien, som lige var startet på en 1 års lang cykel/trekkingtur igennem New Zealand. Manden havde hele cyklen pakket med cykeltasker og bagefter sig havde en fyldt BOB-trailer og kvinden han cyklede med havde oppakning ligesom os.
De havde lige mødt Stewart fra England (www.Cyclingstew.com), som også var på vej på en verdenstur.
Vi snakkede med dem i 10 minutter og det var virkelig underholdende. Stewart lavede jokes omkring al den bagage den belgiske mand cyklede med.
Vi nåede til Greymouth sidst på dagen og fandt Top 10 hollidaycamp, hvor vi blev 2 nætter.


English

Sunday 20th Nov 2016
(Murchison - Berlin 66 km)
The route we cycled on, was used to detour to Christchurch since the earthquake. what we clearly felt, as there were many trucks and much traffic. Fortunately, it got better when we get to the intersection near Newton Flat. Here trucks turned to reach Christchurch and the East Coast.
We continue on road 6, now without trucks.
We were cycling through the area called Buller Gorge, we followed the Buller River and the road winding as the river ran. It was up and down, but not on hard climbs. Everything was lush and green. We could hear the river rushing by our side and got one beautiful sight after another. A perfect day.
We asked in Murchison before leaving if there was a Cafe' or shop along the way and was told thet there should be a general store in Inangahua and it was there too, but it wasclosed on Sundays. Instead the village had a museum about Earthquakes that had taken place in the area the last 100 years.
We had our break here to see the exhibition and learn.
The last 14 kilometers took about an hour, where we had two good climbs.
Before 4pm we arrived in Berlins, which was the goal of the day. Berlins is no more than a few houses and a cozy Cafe' with accommodations and camping. We camped with beautiful views of the Buller River, unfortunately we could not enjoy the view at night, when there are wildly menge sandflies and they bite.
The Cafe' owner was a nice Kiwi (New Zealander) with a good NZ humor.

Monday Nov. 21st 2016
(Berlin - Charleston 62 km)
We continued though Buller Gorge and cycled through the same breathtaking scenery as the day before. In fact, these days are something we will remember as beeing special.
When we came out of the gorge, the landscape changed. Now it was flat and once again we could see cows and sheep graze in the fields.
We had to make a detour to Westport, 8 km one way, in nice tailwind and 8 km the other way against the wind. Since it was the only city with super market before we reached Greymouth 110 km further on.
We reached Charleston in lovely sunshine and checked into the campground in the middle of the village. We had reached the West Coast and was excited about how it looked.
Before dinner we went down to the sea and saw the big waves hitting the rocks. Not a place you had to bathe with the force the sea had. But it was beautifull.

Tuesday Nov 22nd 2016
(Charleston - Greymouth 80 km)
Another day with nice weather. We knew that the day would be one of the tough ones, because we had to force more than 1000 vertical meters. The first long hill came immediately as we cycled out of Charleston.  At first  we cycled a into the country before we whizzed down the hill to hit the beautiful west coast. What a sight!!!. The water was rough, but still incredibly beautiful with turquoise color. Sharp rocks sticking out of the sea and the waves beat into the rocks with a tremendous force. A sight we had never seen before.
At noon we reached Punakaiki, where the Pancake Rocks and Blow Holes is located. These are rock formations that looks giant stacks of pancakes. There was a nice walkway, so you could get close to the action.
A fascinating sight, with sea force that sprayed water up through the Blow Holes.
What to get after this walk ??? Pancakes offcourse for lunch.
The rest of the day, we rode along this beautiful coast. Still with some grim climbs, but we look back on this day as one of the favorites.
15 km before Greymouth, we meet three giggling cyclists. Two from Belgium, who had just started a 1-year long bike / trek through New Zealand. The man had the whole bike packed with panniers and behind him were a filled BOB-trailer and the woman he rode with had the same luggae like us.
They had just met Stewart from England (www.Cyclingstew.com), who was also on the road on a World Tour.
We talked with them for 10 minutes and it was really enjoyable. Stewart made jokes about all the luggage the Belgian man cycled with.
We reached Greymouth late in the day and found the Top 10 hollidaycamp where we stayed for two nights.


Nelson and cycling into the mountains

Torsdag d. 17. nov 2016
(Pelorus Bridge - Nelson 64 km)
På vej til Nelson, skulle vi over to stigninger på hver 4 kilometer, men fik en god belønning.  Hver gang vi nåede toppen kunne vi suse ned på den anden side og kunne se vi egenligt havde fået de mindre hårde stigninger.
Naturen nød vi i fulde drag, samtidig med svingene vi fløj ned igennem på ved ned mod Nelson.
Godt 10 kilometer før vi nåede Nelson, fik vi er smuk udsigt over den Tasmanske bugt.
Vi sov på Nelson holliday park. Vi fik en god plads, tæt på toiletter, bad og køkken, lige ved dump station for campervans og lige ved siden af Nelson lufthavn. Flyene fløj lavt hen over pladsen og vi fik ticks hver gang vi hørte et fly, da det mindede os om at vi har et arbejde hjemme i Danmark, der venter ude i horisonten.

Fredag d. 18. nov 2016
(Nelson - Tui Hope Saddle 78 km)
Vi syntes at det var lidt hektisk at komme ud af Nelson, men fandt så en cykelsti vi kunne følge til Richmond. dejlig flad og igennem et paracelhuskvater.
Da vi var kommet godt på vej, kunne vi se at vejen blev kaldt The great taste road. Det var fordi der var masse af ladbrug og vingårde hvor der blev solgt diverse safter, grøntsgaer og vine.
Vi cyklede ind et sted for at købe en liter frisk druesaft. Det smagte himmelsk, men fik også gasserne igang i maven....ligesom reklamen fra OK benzin....der kommer kål ;-).
Senere på eftermiddagen holdt vi kaffepause på en hyggelig cafe´ ved Kohatu junction, inden de sidste krafte skulle bruges på at cykle op til Tui Hopes Saddle. Heidi cyklede hele vejen op, men jeg måtte af cyklen de sidste 2 kilometer for at skubbe, men det var også fordi jeg bar på 5 liter vand, vi havde tappet i en bæk længere fremme, så vi havde vand til at lave aftensmad af.
Ialt cyklede vi 78 kilometer og det tog mere end 6 timer og 1050 højdemeter opad. En hård dag, men belønningne fik vi med en smuk smuk udsigt oppe fra the saddle. Her slog vi lejr for natten og faldt i snak med andre der sov i deres campervans. Igen en hyggelig aften. Faktisk fik vi en invitation til at komme til Leipzig og besøg Ronni og Christine, hvis vi kom forbi i foråret 2018.

Lørdag d. 19. nov 2016
(Tui Hope Saddle - Murchison 52 km)
Dagen startede med en dejlig lang nedkørsel oppe fra The Saddle. Undervej var der nogle små hidsige stigninger, men ikke noget i forhold til dagen før. Vi cyklede igennem en dal langs en flod, hvor klipperne var helt tæt på. På et tidspunkt vil jeg tage billeder ved St Arnaud junction og går ud på broen. Ligesom jeg står der og tager billeder kommer der en bil og standser lige ud for mig og det viser sig at være den østrigske og tyske pige vi mødte ved Pelorus Bridge. Vi snakker med dem et stykke tid og de fortalte at hver gang de havde set nogen på cykle, havde de snakket om det var os.
Dagen endte i Murchison i dejligt solskin og op imod 25 grader. Vi nåede at vaske tøj. Så der var rent tøj til en uge igen.


English

Thursday 17th Nov 2016
(Pelorus Bridge - Nelson 63 km)
On the way to Nelson, we had two climbs of 4 kilometers, but got a good reward. Every time we reached the top we could race down the other side.
We enjoyed the nature fully, while we flew downhill through the turns on the way to Nelson.
10 kilometers before we reached Nelson, we got beautiful views of the Tasman Bay.
We slept on Nelson holliday park. We got a "good space", near the toilets, bath and kitchen, just off the dump station for campervans and right next to Nelson airport. The planes flew low over the site and we got ticks every time we heard a plane as it reminded us that we have a work at home in Denmark, which is awaiting in the horizon.

Friday 18th Nov 2016
(Pelorus Bridge - Tui Hope Saddle 78 km)
We thought it was a little hectic to get out of Nelson, but we found a cycle path we could follow to Richmond. 
When we got well on our way, we could see that the road was called The great taste road. It was because there was a lot of farmhouses and vineyards which sold assorted juices, vegetables and wines.
We cycled up to a place to buy a liter of fresh grape juice. It tasted heavenly, but also got the gases well worked up .... like the advertisement from OK gasoline ....  cabbage comming watch out..... ;-).
Later in the afternoon we held a coffee break at a cozy Cafe´ at Kohatu junction before the last push up to Tui Hope Saddle. Heidi cycled all the way up, but I had to push the bike the last two kilometers as it got so steep, it was also because I was carrying 5 liters of water, we had tapped from a creek earlier, so we had water to cook dinner of.
Total we cycled 77 kilometers and it took more than 6 hours and 1,050 vertical meters upwards. A hard day, but we got the reward with beautiful scenic views from the saddle. Here we camped for the night and had some nice conversation with others who slept in their campervans. Again a nice evening. We actually got an invitation to come to Leipzig and visit Ronni and Christine, if we come that way in the spring of 2018.

Saturday. 19 November 2016
(Tui Hope Saddle - Murchison 52 km)
The day started with a nice long descent from the top of The Saddle. Along the way were some small fiery climbs, but nothing compared to the day before. We cycled through a valley along a river where the rocks were quite close. At some point I wanted to take a pictures at St Arnaud junction and go out on the bridge. As I stood there and took pictures a car came and stops right next to me and it turned out to be the Austrian and German girl we met at Pelorus Bridge. We talk with them a while and they told me that every time they'd see some cyclist, they had talked about if it was us.
The day ended in Murchison in lovely sunshine and 25 degrees. We got to wash clothes. So there were clean clothes for a week again.
 

 


Earthquake ...no where to go

Mandag. d. 14. nov. 2016
Det var lidt efter midnat og vi lå og sov i vores sødeste søvn, da jorden pludselig begyndte at gynge voldsomt under os. Jeg var den første der fattede, hvad der skete og råbte jordskælv, så Heidi kom til sig selv.
Nu lå vi på alle fire og blev rusket frem og tilbage, vi forsøgte at komme ud af teltet, men i al forvirringen fik vi kun lynet op indtil vores myggenet og stødte imod det da vi ville ud. Et forsøg mere og vi fik åbnet helt ud. 
Det første vi så da vi kiggede ud var vores cykler som væltede som dominoklodser og himmlen blev lyst fuldstænding op i lyn og torden. Dette stod på i laaaang tid. Det føltes somom det bare blev ved. Efter lange 2 minutter holdt det og nu kunne vi høre folk rundt om på campingpladsen, råbe er alle OK.
Vi lå meget tæt på floden som løber igennem Blenheim og vi kunne høre hvordan den skvulpede pga. rystelserne. Vi stod udenfor i 10 til 15 minutter inden en mand fra campingpladsen, kom for at tjekke op på os.
Han kunne oplyse at det havde været et kæmpe skælv på 7.4 og han bad os om at rykke op på skråningen med teltet. Så vi tog alt ned og flyttede op på skråningen. Heldigvis er det jo en rutine for os, så det tog ikke mange minutter for os at flytte.
Efter det store skælv, kom der mange flere efterskælv. Store som små, så hele natten var vi på vagt og sov ikke meget. 
Vi fik også besked på at tage kontakt til vores familie og venner, så de kunne få at vide at vi var OK. Det blev anbefalet via mail eller FB, da telefonnette ellers ville blive overbelastet.
Vi fik måske 3 timers søvn og da vi stod op var vi helt færdige. Vi fik morgenmad og betalte for en ekstra nat. 
Da vi gik op til receptionen blev vi overrasket over skaderne på pladsen. Der var revner og store huller, hvor jorden havde åbnet sig pga. skælvet. Når vi kiggede ned i hullerne kunne vi ikke se bunden.
Jorden havde slået revner ret så tæt på vores telt. Her bliver man virkelig klar over hvor små vi mennesker egentlig er.
Vi brugte også tid i TV stuen hvor vi kunne se nyhederne, her blev vi klar over hvor heldige vi egentlig havde været. Da vi var i Wellington ville vi først være blevet 2 nætter, men blev 3 nætter. Hvis vi var blevet i 2 nætter og var kommet til Blenheim en dag tidligere, var vi cyklet ned langs østkysten og derved været tæt på epicentret.
Det andet var skræmmende nok, men vi er taknemlige for at vi var i Blenheim og ikke på vej på highway 1.
Senere på dagen gik vi ind til Blenheim. Gaderne var intakte men næsten alle butikker var lukket. Det virkede lidt spøgelsesagtigt. Når vi kiggede ind i butikkerne var tingne fladet ned fra hylderne og alt lå smadte på gulvene. Imens vi gik rundt kom der stadig efterskælv og det blev ved hele dagen.
Om aftenen hvor vi var ved at lægge os til at sove, var det somom at skælvene blev kraftigere. Det virkede mere intens når mørket var faldet på. Vi havde pakket vores ting sammen, i tilfælde af vi skulle evakueres.
Det er med at være forberedt i sådan en situation.
Men det var ikke alt. Efter skælvet kom regnen. Om natten lød det somom vores telt blev spulet med en vandslange. Teltet holdt tæt, men da vi stod ud af teltet, stod græsset under vand. Heldigvis var det holdt hen på morgenen og solen kom frem. Så i løbet af dagen kunne vi mærke stor forskel på vandstanden på græsset.
Vi spurgte til vej situationen i receptionen og nu var vi virkelig fanget. Alle veje ud af Blenheim var lukket. Highway 1 pga. skaderne efter jordskælvet og de andre pga. oversvømmelser og jordskred.
Så vi skulle ingen steder. Rystelserne var aftagenede i vores område og vi ville se om vi kunne cykle Nordpå dagen efter. Vi handlede ind til det og ville så se hvordan det så ud dagen efter.

Onsdag d. 16. nov. 2016
Alting så bedre ud da vi stod op  og vi var opsatte på at cykle videre. Så vi fik morgenmad og inden vi tog afsted spurgte vi til råds i receptionen. De sagde at vejene var åbne igen, men man skulle være forsigtig undervejs.
Vores mål for dagen var et DOC campsite ved Pelorus Bridge. En tur på 62 kilometer.
Vi cyklede stille og roligt afsted. På vej ud af Blenheim cyklede vi forbi kæmpe områder med vinmarker og vingårde hvor man kunne prøvesmage vine og selvfølgelig også købe vin.
Vi valgte det mest sikre, at cykle. Spiritus og cykling går ikke godt i spænd.
Der var ingen tvivl om hvorfor vejene havde være lukket dagen før. Det kunne vi se ved selv syn undervejs. Mange steder var der mudder og vand på vejene og oppe fra bjergskråningerne var store træer skyllet med som pindebrænde. Det hjælper heller ikke meget på skråningerne, hvor der er fældet så meget træ, så der ikke er noget til at holde jorden på plads.
Fem kilometer for byen Havelock, kunne vi virkelig se skaderne, Pelorus Sound, var gået over sine bredder og marker stod under vand. Vandet i havnen havde aldrig stået højere nogensinde, ifølge en mand vi snakkede med.
Undervejs cyklede vi forbi Canvas town, som er en gammel guldgraverby. Det var ved et held at en kvinde havde fundet guld i floden engang i 1800-tallet. Vores øjne søgte i vandet af floden, men vi fandt ingen guld.
Vi overnattede på campingpladsen lige ved broen og om aftenen hyggede vi os sammen med 3 fra Tyskland og en fra Østrig. Vi nyder de gange hvor vi kommer et sted, hvor vi falder i snak med andre og der bliver fortalt røver historier.


English

Monday 14th nov 2016
It was a little after midnight and we were sleeping in our sweetest sleep, when the earth suddenly began to move violently beneath us. I was the first who grasped what happened and shouted earthquake, so Heidi came to herself.
We where on all fours and was shaken back and forth, we were trying to get out of the tent, but in all the confusion, we only got zipped up until our mosquito nets and bumped against it as we tried to get out. One more try and we got it opened completely.
The first thing we saw when we looked out, was our bikes toppled like dominoes blocks andthe sky was lid up in thunder and lightning. This went on for a loooong time. It felt as if it kept going. After two long minutes we could hear people around the campsite, shouting are all OK.
We were very close to the river which runs through Blenheim and we could hear how it sloshed.  We stood outside for 10 to15 minutes before a man from the campsite, came to check up on us.
He told us that it had been a huge quake - 7.4 and he asked us to move up to higher ground with the tent. So we took everything down and moved up on the slope. Fortunately, it is indeed a routine for us, so it did not take long for us to move.
After the big earthquake, there came many more aftershocks. Large and small ones, so all night we were on guard and did not sleep much.
We were also told to contact our family and friends so they would know that we were OK. It was recommended by mail or FB as the telephone lines would otherwise be congested.
We got maybe 3 hours of sleep and when we got up we were completely finished. We had breakfast and paid for an extra night.
As we walked up to the reception we were surprised to see the damage that had happend to the campsite. There were cracks and large holes where the earth had opened up. When we looked into the holes we could not see the bottom.
The Earthquake had beaten cracks quite close to our tent. Here you are really realize how small we humans really are.
We also spent time in the TV room where we could watch the news, here we realized how lucky we had been. When we were in Wellington we first wanted to stay 2 nights but stayed for 3 nights. If we had been in for 2 nights and had come to Blenheim a day earlier, we would had cycled down the east coast and thereby been closer to the epicenter.
The quake was scary enough, but we are grateful that we were in Blenheim and not on the way down highway 1.
Later that day we walked into Blenheim. The streets were intact but almost all shops were closed. It seemed a little spooky. When we looked into the shops all stuff was falen off the shelves and everything was broken on the floors. As we walked around was still felt aftershocks and it went on all day.
In the evening when we were going to sleep, it was as if the earthquakes were stronger. It seemed more intense when darkness came. We had packed our things together in case we had to be evacuated.
You have to be prepared in such a situation.
But that was not all. After the earthquake came the rain. At night it sounded as if our tent was washed down with a water hose. The tent held dry, but when we got out of the tent, the grass was under water. Luckily it was over in the morning and the sun came out. So during the day we could feel a big difference in the water level on the grass.
We asked about the road situation in the reception and now we were really trapped. All roads out of Blenheim was closed. Highway 1 due damage caused by the earthquake and the other due floods and landslides.
So we were going nowhere. The tremors were got less during the day in our area and we wanted to see if we could ride north, the day after. We shoped some food for the next day.

Wednesday 16th Nov 2016
Everything looked better when we got up and we were keen to ride on. So we got breakfast and before we left we asked for advice at the reception. They said that the roads were open again, but you should be careful along the way.
Our goal for the day was a DOC campsite at Pelorus Bridge. A tour of 62 km.
We rode quietly away. Emerging from Blenheim we cycled past the huge area of ​​vineyards and wineries where you could taste the wines and of course buy wine.
We chose the most secure, cycling. Spirits and cycling do not go well together.
There was no doubt why the roads had to be closed the day before. In many places there was mud and water on the road and up the hillsides were large trees washed down the slopes. It does not help much where trees has been locked down in big numbers, so there is nothing to hold the soil in place.
Five kilometers outside the city of Havelock, we could really see the damage, Pelorus Sound, had gone over its banks and fields were flooded. The water in the harbor had never been higher ever, according to a man we talked to.
Along the way we cycled past Canvas town, which is an old gold mining town. It was fortunate that a lady had found gold in the river sometime in the 1800s. Our eyes were searching in the water of the river, but we found no gold.
We spent the night at the campground right at the bridge and in the evening we enjoyed ourselves with three from Germany and one from Austria. We enjoy the times when we get to a place where we get to chat with others and tales being told by everyone.

 

 

 


Featherston and Rimataka Rail Trail

Onsdag d. 9. nov. 2016
Vores mål var at cykle til Featherston og alt tegnede godt da vi vågnede til lækker solskin og medvind.
Natuern vi cyklede igennem, mindede meget om de østriske alper og vi cylede langs grønne bakker/bjerge med træer og gyvler, hvor vejen snoede sig igennem det hele.
Vi cyklede en super god fart, som vi endnu ikke havde prøvet på turen. Vi havde næsten nået 40 kilometer da vi nåede til Masterton, hvor vi holdt vores frokostpause i parken midt i byen. Vi sidder og nyder vores toastbrød med smøreost og peanutbutter, samtidig med at fuglene slås om de krummer der falder på jorden.
Altid ved middagstid stiger temperaturen og da vi cykler afsted fra Masterston har vinden vendt sig til en rigtig dum sidevind. Så til sider skal vi holde godt fast for ikke at ryge i grøften.
Det er stadig dejlig vejr, da vi når til den fine by Greytown. Her vil vi finde et sted hvor vi kan drikke kaffe eller noget køligt. Vi ender på et lille økologisk sted, hvor derhar lavet mintsnitter, som smager af Aftereight og en dejlig kold shoko/banan protein drik. Nu føler vi os sunde og de sidste 11 kilometer til Featherston, skulle vi nok klare.
Featherston er en lille hyggelig by og vi ville gerne vildcampe for at spare penge. Men hvor ville det være muligt?
Vi ender med at gå ind på biblioteket og spørger om de ved et sted vi kan slå teltet op gratis. Her springer Laraine op nede bag fra skranken og siger med et kæmpe smil: You ladys can put up your tent in my garden.
Det tilbud kunne vi ikke modstå. Så Laraine sagde at vi lige skulle vente 10 minutter udenfor, for så havde hun fri og vi kunne cykle efter hende.
15 minutter senere står vi udenfor hendes hus og enden af det hele bliver at hun har et ekstra værelse, hvor vi kan sove og føle os som hjemme. Laraine er bare så gæstfri og afslappede og vi følte os virkelig velkommne.
Vi skal bare bruge huset og slappe af, alt imens hun sidder og følger valgkampen i USA.
Vi får bad og laver dejlige burger med lammekød til aften. Ellers går aftenen med at følge valgkampen og snakke med Laraine. 
En helt fantastisk dag og tak for det Laraine.

Torsdag d. 10. nov. 2016
Vi var meget taknemmelige for at vi havde sovet ved Laraine, da det havde stået ned i stænger om natten. Vi kunne se at det ikke så meget bedre ud da vi satte afsted derfra.
Vi ville cykle noget af Rimataka Rail Trail, da vi havde hørt det var en smuk cykelrute og samtidig en mere behagelig måde at komme til Wellington. 
Vi skulle først cykle 11 kilometer på asfaltvej inden vi drejede af ind på ruten, som herfra bestod af grusvej og stier. For mange år siden kørte der tog på den strækning. Det specielle ved ruten var at vi skulle cykle igennem 3 tunnler undervejs. Der var ingen lys i dem, så vi måtte tage vores pandelamper i brug. Den længste var mere end 600 meter lang. Turen var virkelig smuk, men det var ikke fordi vi kunne nyde det, da det begyndte at regne i spandevis. Vi blev fuldstænding gennemblødte. Men heldigvis var det stadig lunt, så vi blev ikke kølet alt for meget ned.
Da vi havde nået toppen af passet vi skulle over og var på vej ned, mødte vi omkring 20 på mountainbikes, vi var pakket ind i regntøj fra top til tå, imens de kun kom cyklende i korte bukser og et lille regnslag og nogen af dem var helt sikkert omkring de 70 år. Vi var målløse og blev enige om at de der Newzelænder ar lavet af noget specielt.
Efter en smuk nedkørsel, kom vi ned til hovedvejen, som skulle føre os ind til Wellington. Det regnede stadig og vi kørte igennem store vandpytter, samtidig med at lastbilerne sprøjtede os godt til.
Da der var 10 kilometer ind til Wellington, havde vi fået nok og helt tilfældigt var der en tagstation, hvor toget lige netop kørte ind og vi kunne tage vores cykler med ind i toget uden besvær, da der var vogne til at have cykler i. Så en to tre, var vi ombord og blev kørt direkte ind til centrum af Wellington.
Efter lidt søgen endte vi på et skodsted - The Lodge in The city. Et kæmpe hostel, som var piv beskidt. Men alt andet var udsolgt og vi havde bare brug for en varm seng at sove i.
Det eneste gode var at det lå lige i centrum og var billigt.
Vi blev i Wellington 3 nætter. Vi var på det gigantiske museeum Te Papa...... som var gratis. Hvilket var vildt spændende og vi brugte næten en hel dag der.
Vi fik også købt billetter til færgen som skulle sejle os til syd øen. Hvilket vi var spændte på, da alle hele tiden har sagt at sydøen er noget helt andet end nord øen.

Søndag d. 13. nov. 2016
Vi skulle sejle fra Wellington kl. 9:00, så vi var oppe i god tid og cyklede de 4 kilometer ud til færgelejet. 
Færgen var mega stor, den kunne have 1600 passager ombord og vi skulle helt frem i lastrummet med cyklerne, hvor vi kunne spænde dem fast.
Vejret var perfekt til sejladsen. Stille vejr og en sol der kiggede frem af og til. Vandet havde en utrolig smuk farve og specielt indsejlingen indtil Picton var noget helt specielt, med bjergene på begge sider af fjorden.
Da vi var kommet i land, satte vi kursen mod Blenheim. Den lå kun 32 kilometer syd for Picton, så en lille let tur.
Undervejs snakkede vi om vi skulle cykle af hovedvej 1 langs Øst kysten eller tage hovedvej 6 mod Nelson og bjergene.
Da vejret var godt, blev vi grebet af stemningen og valget faldt på hovedvej  1. Vi kunne godt lide tanken om at cykle langs med vandet i dette lækre vejr.
Da vi nåede Blenheim fik vi handlet ind og ville egentlig cykle vidre for at finde et sted at vildcampe, men af en eller grund endte vi med at tage Top 10 campsite i Blenheim, hvilket skulle vise sig at være en god beslutning senere.


English

Wednesday November 9. 2016
Our goal was to cycle to Featherston and it all looked well when we awoke to the wonderfull sunshine and tailwind.
The nature we biked through, was very similar to the Austrian Alps and we cylede along the green hills / mountains with trees and yellow bushes and the road wound through it all.
We had a super good pace which we had not yet tried on the trip. We had almost reached 40 km when we got to Masterton, where we had our lunch break in the park in the middle of the city. We where enjoying our toast bread with cream cheese and peanut butter, while the birds fighting over the crumbs that fell on the ground.
Always at noon, the temperature rises and when we cycled out of Masterston, the wind has turned into a really stupid crosswind. So we had to hold on tight for not ending in the ditch.
It was still nice weather when we reached to the poshy town of Greytown. Here we wanted to find a place where we could drink coffee or something cool. We ended at a small organic place where they made mint slices that tasted like After Eight and a nice cold shoko / banana protein shake. Now we feel healthy and for the last 11 kilometers to Featherston, we should be fine.
Featherston was a nice little town and we would like to wildcamp to save money. But how would that be possible?
We end up going to the library and ask if they knew a place we could put up a tent for free. Here Laraine jumps up from behind the counter and says with a huge smile: You ladys can put up your tent in my garden.
The offer we could not resist. So Laraine said we just had to wait 10 minutes outside, as she would be of from work and we could follow her to her house.
15 minutes later we stod outside her house and the end of it all was that she has an extra room where we could sleep and feel like home. Laraine is just so hospitable and relaxed and we felt really welcome.
We should just use the house and relax, while she sat and followed the election campaign in the United States.
We got a nice warm bath and made lovely lamb burgers at night. We followed the election campaign and talked with Laraine.
A fantastic day and thanks for that Laraine.

Thursday. 10 November. 2016
We were very thankful that we had slept at Laraines as it had rained though the night. We could see that it was not much better when we took off from there.
We would ride some of Rimataka Rail Trail, as we had heard it was a beautiful bicycle route and a more comfortable way to get to Wellington.
We first had to commute 11 kilometers of asphalt road before we turned of onto the route, which here consisted of dirt road and trails. Many years ago the train drove on the line. The special thing about the route was that we had to cycle through 3 tunnels. There was no light in them, so we had to take our headlamps in use. The longest was more than 600 meters. The trip was really beautiful, but it was not because we could enjoy it when it started to rain dogs and cats. We were fully soaked. But luckily it was still warm, so we were not cooled too much.
When we had reached the summit and was on the way down, we met about 20 mountain bikes, we were wrapped in rain gear from head to toe, while they only came cycling in shorts and a small poncho and some of them was certainly around 70 years. We were speechless and agreed that they where made of something special.
After a beautiful descent, we came down to the main road that would lead us into Wellington. It was still raining and we were driving through large puddles, while trucks sprayed us  as well.
With 10 kilometers left to Wellington, we had enough of wet and rain and quite by chance there was a train station, where the train just drove in and we could take our bikes into the train without difficulty. So, one two three, we were on board and where driven directly into the center of Wellington.
After a little searching we ended up at a shitty place - The Lodge in The city. A huge hostel, which was very dirty. But everything else was sold out and we just needed a warm bed to sleep in.
The only good thing was that it was right in the center of Wellington and cheap as well.
We were in Wellington for 3 nights. We went to the giant Museeum Te Papa ...... which was free. Really exciting and interesting and a MUST GO. We spent nearly a whole day there.
We had also bought tickets for the ferry that would take us to the South Island. Which we were excited about as everyone had always said that the South Island is quite different than the North Island.

Sunday. 13 November. 2016
We should sail from Wellington pm. 9:00, so we were up early and rode the 4 kilometers off to the ferry.
The ferry was mega big, it could have 1,600 passengers on board, and we were right up in the hold with the bikes where we could tighten them firmly.
The weather was perfect for sailing. Calm weather and a sun that peeped out occasionally. The water had incredibly beautiful colors and especially the entrance until Picton was something special, with mountains on both sides of the fjord.
When we came ashore, we set off towards Blenheim. It was only 32 kilometers south of Picton, so a little easy ride.
Along the way we talked about if we should cycle the Highway 1 along the East coast or take Highway 6 towards Nelson and the mountains.
As the weather was nice and warm, we were gripped by the atmosphere and the choice fell on Highway 1. We liked the idea of ​​cycling along the waterfront in this great weather.
When we reached Blenheim we got ourselfs some stuff for a good meal and would actually cycling on to find a place to wildcamp, but for some reason we ended up going Top 10 camp site in Blenheim, which would prove to be a good decision later.


Dannevirke

Lørdag d. 5. nov. 2016
Den dag blev hvad vi kalder en transportdag. Ikke det store at berette om andet end vi havde godt vejr til at cykel i og et dejligt besøg på Sweet Plum Cafe´ som lå på vej mod Palmerston North.
Vi camperede på Palmerston Hollidaypark og da det var d. 5 nov. fejrede New Zealand og England Guy Fawkes, for mere end 400 år siden, sprang han det Britiske Parlament i luften i samarbejde med 11 andre mænd.
Det blev fejret med et kæmpe fyrværkeri Show, som stod på i 20 minutter ved floden Manawatu. 

Søndag d. 6. nov. 2016
Her holdt vi store vaskedag og slappede af i vores ømme lår og plejede vores gamle knæ. Det øsede ned hele dagen og forvandlede vores plads til en kæmpe mudderpøl.

Mandag d. 7. nov. 2016
Dette var en af de dage jeg havde set frem til. Her ville vi cykle op til Dannevirke og kigge lidt nærmere på historien omkring byen.
Turen gik nordpå igen, stadig i regnvejr og vi cyklede igennem den 9 kilometer lange Manawatu Gorge, en smuk tur, men meget smalt og lidt spændende til tider, da vi cyklede helt ude ved kanten og kunne se lige ned i afgrunden. Men vi kom levende igennem og ankom til Dannevirke i øsende regnvejr.
Vi ville campere på campingpladsen, men den stod under vand, så vi flottede os med en campinghytte (A-hus) for natten. Hele campinghytten blev forvandlet til tørrestation for et pladskvådt telt og sko, sokker, det hele spredte en dejlig aroma i hytten ;-).
Her mødte vi en anden cyklist, Laura fra Lithaun. En rigtig sød pige med super godt humør. hun cyklede gerne mere end 100 kilometer om dagen, da hun var på vej til Auckland og skulle være der om 8 dage.
Hun arbejdede i new Zealand og ventede på at hendes arbejdsvisum skulle forlænges. Hvis det ikke blev forlænget, skulle hun hurtigst muligt flyve ud af New Zealand.

Tirsdag d. 8. nov. 2016
Det havde regnet hele natten og morgenen var også våd. Vi afpassede vores afrejse fra Dannavirke med at vi kunne besøge Rådhuset/turistinfo og museet inden vi atter cyklede sydpå.
Inde på turistinformationen hang et billede af Dronning Margrethe og Prins Henrik og info damene lavede fis med at dronningen ikke stod med en smøg i hånden.
Faktisk bliver man lidt stolt over at være dansker, når man står på den anden side af jorden og ser kongeparret hænge der på væggen.
Overalt i byen, var der vikinge skjold og en af gaderne hed Denmark Street. Et motel hed The viking lodge. Men ingen taler dansk.
Byen blev grundlagt af skandinaviske emigranter i midten af 1800-tallet. byen er opkaldt efter det 14 kilometer lange fæstningsanlæg Dannevirke i Sydslesvig. På museet havde de en sten fra fæstningen.
Det er to ældre damer som bestyrer museet og er virklig ihærdige og gør alt for at holde historien i live. Men vi kunne ikke lade være med at tænke på om museet stadig vil eksisterer den dag de ikke længere er til.
Læs mere på https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dannevirke 
Tænk sig at cykelturen vil bringe os fra Dannevirke i NZ til Dannevirke i Sydslesvig.
Selvom en sen start fra Dannevirke og modvind, tilbagelagde vi 72 kilometer og endte dagen i Eketahuna i dejlig solskinsvejr.


English

Saturday Nov. 5th 2016
The day was what we call another day at the cycling office. We did not expirence much so not much to report other than we had good weather for biking and a nice visit to Sweet Plum Cafe which was on the road towards Palmerston North.
We camped at Palmerston Hollidaypark and since it was d. Nov. 5th New Zealand and England celebrated Guy Fawkes, more than 400 years ago, he blew up the British parliament together with 11 other men.
It was celebrated with a huge fireworks show, which went on for 20 minutes at River Manawatu.

Sunday  Nov. 6th 2016
Here we held big laundry day and relaxed in our sore thighs and used our old knees. It was pouring down all day and turned our space into a giant mud puddle.

Monday  November 7th 2016
This was one of those days I had looked forward to. Here we would cycle to Dannevirke and take a closer look at the history of the town.
We went north again, still in the rain and we cycled through the 9 km long Manawatu Gorge, a beautiful trip but very narrow and quite exciting at times when we cycled on the edge and could see straight into the abyss. We survived and arrived at Dannevirke in pouring rain.
We would like to camp at the campsite, but it was under water, so we checked in to one of the cabins at the campeground (A house) for the night. The entire cabin was turned into a dry station for the very very wet tent and shoes, socks, the whole lot spread a delightful aroma in the cabin ;-).
Here we met another cyclist, Laura from Lithaunia. A really nice girl with super good mood. She cycled more than 100 kilometers a day as she was on the way to Auckland and had to be there within 8 days.
She worked in New Zealand and waited for her work visa should be extended. If it was not extended, she had to urgently fly out of New Zealand.

Tuesday Nov 8th 2016
It had rained all night and the morning was wet too. We delayed our departure from Dannavirke so we could visit City Hall / tourist info and museum before we again rode south. They opend at 10am.
Inside the tourist office was a picture of Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik and the office lady, made a joke about the queen not having a cigarette in her hand.
In fact, one becomes a little proud to be Danish when standing on the other side of the world and see the royal couple hang on the wall.
Everywhere in the city there were Viking shield and one of the streets named Denmark Street. A motel called The Viking lodge. But nobody speaks Danish.
The city was founded by Scandinavian immigrants in the mid-1800s. the town is named after the 14 km long fortification Dannevirke in South Schleswig. At the museum they had a stone from the fortress.
There are two elderly ladies who manage the museum and they do everything to keep the story alive. But we could not help thinking if the museum still will exist on the day they are no longer.
Read more on https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dannevirke_(New_Zealand)
Imagine that bike trip will take us from Dannevirke in NZ to Dannevirke in South Schleswig.
Although a late start from Dannevirke and head wind, we still did 72 kilometers and ended the day in Eketahuna in lovely sunny weather.


Desert Road 02. nov. and onwards

Vi havde sovet 10 km syd for Taupo på en campervan plads, så det betød at vi ikke havde betalt noget for at overnatte. Vi cyklede afsted i let regnvejr, først langs Lake Taupo, men senere opad igennem skovområder hvor skov Joe var igang med at fælde de store træer, med hans store maskiner. Det var fasinerende at se og høre de store kæmper falde til jorden, hvor jorden rystede under os. Men mest af alt syntes vi, at det er skræmmende at se hvor hurtigt man kan fælde en kæmpe skov.
Efter at have cyklet 45 kilometer, hvor der ikke havde været noget. Kom vi til byen Turangi. Her gjorde vi stop på en super hyggelig cafe´ (Cafe´Cadilac). De serverde den bedste kaffe til dato og selvfølgelig fik vi også et dejligt stykke kage til. Efter cafe besøget fik vi handlet ind og vil så forsætte. Vi har en APP som hedder campermate og den kan fortælle at vi ikke møder nogen by inden 64 kilometer længere fremme.
Vi bestemmer os stadig for at cykle videre ud af Turangi. som ender med både at blive en god og dårlig beslutning. Vejret slår om og det begynder at øse ned og vejen går kun opad. Udover det er der ikke andet end store områder med bart, hvor der har groet træer engang. Ikke engang en bondegård er at se.
Der var nok en grund til hvorfor vejen hed Desertroad.
Da vi har cyklet 5 timer og nået 64 kilometer, er det sidst på dagen og vi må finde et sted at wildcampe. Det er heldigvis blevet tørvejr og vi er heldige at støde på en grusvej, som vi cykler 1 kilometer indaf for at være godt gemt af vejen. Her slår vi lejr.
VI fik lavet et godt måltid mad inden vi hoppede trætte i soveposerne. 
D. 03. november vågnede vi til en smuk morgen. dagen før havde vi ikke kunnet se meget på grund af regnen og disen som lå ned over bjergene. Da vi kom ud af teltet havde vi den fineste blå himmel og udsigt direkte op til Mt. Ngauruhoe med sinde 2.287 meter, som er en vulkan og Mt. Ruapelhu 2.797 m højt.
Det der ikke virkede til at være den perfekte camp dagen før, blev det nu. Kaffe fik vi desværre ikke, da vi ikke havde ret meget vand fik vi ikke kaffe den morgen, hvilket vi ellers ynder meget.
Heidi havde smerter i hendes venstre knæ og at cykle volder store problemer. Det gør det ikke bedere at vi skal cykle opad en hel del den dag. Men frem til næste by skal vi jo, så hun må bide smerten i sig.
Landskabet er frodigt og smukt den første del af dagen, det ændrede sig da vi kommer op på sletten i ca. 1.100 meters højde, Her bliver alt goldt og blæsende og der er ingen træer at se i miles omkreds. Det eneste området bliver brugt til er militær øvelse, som vi kan læse på de skilte vi cykler forbi.
Cirka 15 kilometr før vi kommer til byen Waiouru, begyneder vi at cykle nedad og inden længe begynder landskabet at blive grønt og frodigt igen.
Vi fandt hurtigt en cafe´ da vi kom ind i byen,  godt vindblæste for vi bestilt kaffe og muffins af den gode store slags og sad og hygger i en god time. Cafeén hed The Pen Cafe´, hele cafeén var fyldt med kuglepenne fra hele verden. Det ville være nytteløst at begynde at tælle dem, så mange var der.
VI ville bruge campervan pladsen bag ved Army Museet og gik derover for at slå lejr. Så lang så godt, vi havde kun lige slået lejr, så kom der en security mand og sagde at dette var "Private Property" og vi kunne ikke campere der. Han sagde vi sulle tage hen i parken, for der var det OK at campere. VI forsøgte os om han iike kunne lade os blive, men der var ingen kære mor. VI måtte pakke sammen og flytte.
Rigtig ØV, nu når vi lige havde sat camp. Hurtigt fik vi pakket sammen og cyklede hen til parken. Inden vi satte teltet op, ville jeg lige spørge politiet om det var OK at campere i parken. Politistationen lå lige ved siden af.
De to betjente jeg fik fat i sad i en politibil og de ringede til politi chefen for Waiouru. Parken var nok ikke så godt, sagde han, men vi kunne slå vores telt op i hans have. No problem.
Så inden vi havde set os om fik vi politi eskorte til politichefens have. Mere sikkert kommer vi nok ikke til at sove på denne tur. Dette blev 3. gratis nat.
Fredag d. 04. nov. 2016 blev en dag, hvor vi satte os små delmål igennem dagen pga. Heidi´s knæ.
Først fik vi en lang nedkørsel oppe fra Waiuru, hvor vi faktisk mødte en Canadisk fyr (Kevin), som var på cykeltur rundt på New Zealand og ham fik vi en hyggelig snak sammen med.
Da vi kom til byen Taihape, byen er kendt for sine gummistøvler ;-)......og iøvrigt en hyggelig by. Ville vi benytte os af de offentlige toiletter. Her endte vi med at blive fotograferet af en busfuld amerikaner og tysker, som var vildt imporneret af vores færden.
Vi var egentlig godt cyklende og ville cykle til noget der hed Vinegar Hill, da det så ud til at være en by med et billigt campsite.
Men vi blev noget skuffet da vi kom derned, det var godt nok et campesite, men uden opsyn og da det var fredag aften, blev pladsen brugt til race af unge fra området.
Der gad vi ikke sove, så vi strammede kæden og cyklede videre til byen Hunterville, den lå 8 kilometer længere fremme. Her flottede vi os og checkede ind på The Station Hotel. Her fik vi et lille værelse med fælles bad og en dejlig blød seng. Total luksus efter 10 cykeldage.
Aftensmaden blev en MEGA STOR hunterburger, bestående af en steak, en bøf, et stykke kylling, bacon, spejlæg, bolle og salat....... vi levnede ingenting.
Selvom hotellet lå lige ved siden af togbanen, sov vi igennem uden problemer.
 


English

We had slept 10 km south of Taupo at a place for campervans, so it meant that we did not paid anything for the night. We cycled off in light rain, first along Lake Taupo, but later upwards through forest areas where "Forest Joe" had started to lock large trees, with big machines. It was fascinating to see and hear the big trees fall to the ground and feel the earth shook beneath us. But most of all, we felt that it is frightening to see how quickly you can trap a giant forest.
 We came to the town of Turangi after 45 kilometers. Here we stopped at a super cozy Cafe '(Cafe'Cadilac). They serverde the best coffee to date and of course we also got a nice piece of cake. After the cafe stop, we shopped some food and continued. We have an APP called Campermate and it told that we did not encounter any city within the next 64 kilometers.
We decide still to ride further out of Turangi. Which ended with both being a good and bad decision.  The Weather changed and it started to pour down and the road only went up up up. Besides that nothing but large areas of bare, which has overgrown trees once. Not even a farmhouse was to be seen.
There was probably a reason why the road was called Desert Road.
When we had cycled 5 hours and reached 64 kilometers, it was late in the day and we had to find a place to wildcampe. The rain had stopped and we where lucky to encounter a dirt track which we cycle along for  aprox 1 kilometer just to be well hidden. Here we sat camp.
We managed to make a good meal before we fell a sleep very tired.
November 3rd we woke up to a beautiful morning. The day before, we had not been able to see much because of the rain and mist that lay over the mountains. When we came out of the tent we had the finest blue skies and views directly up to Mt. Ngauruhoe with it´s 2,287 meters, which is a volcano and Mt. Ruapelhu 2,797 m high.
What not seemed to be the perfect camp the day before, was it now. No Coffee this morning unfortunately, as we did not have much water. Which we otherwise likes soooooo much in the morning
Heidi had pain in her left knee and cycling causes big problems. It did not help eather that we had to cycle upwards a lot that day. But we had to get to the next town, so she was through and went on.
The landscape was lush and beautiful the first part of the day, that changed when we came up on the plain at approximately 1,100 meters altitude, Everything was barren and windy and there where no trees to see for miles around. The area is only being used for military exercise which we could read on the signs we rode by.
About 15 kilometr before we got to the town of Waiouru, we started to cycling down and before the countryside began to be green and lush again.
We quickly found a Cafe when we came into the town, well windy we ordered coffee and big muffins. We sat for a good hour. enjoying ourselfs The café was called The Pen Cafe ', The café was filled with pens from around the world. It would be useless to start counting them, so many were there.
We would like to use the campervan space behind the Army Museum and went thre to camp. Everyting went well, we had just set camp, when a security man came around and said that this was "Private Property" and we could not camp there. He said we should go in the park, where it was OK to camp. We tried our best if he could let us stay....just one night, but it was a NO GO. We had to pack up and move.
We quickly got packed up and cycled to the park. Before we set up the tent, I would like ask the police if it was OK to camp in the park. The police station was right next door.
I got hold of two police officers sitting in a police car and they called the police chief for Waiouru. The park was probably not a good idea, he said, but we could put our tent up in his garden. No problem.
So now we got a police escort to the police chiefs garden.  We will probably not get to sleep more safe at any point on this trip. This was the third night free.
Friday November  4th 2016 was a day where we set ourselves small goals through the day due to Heidi's knee.
First we got a long descent from Waiouru. We actually met a Canadian guy (Kevin), who was cycling around New Zealand and him we got a nice chat with.
When we came to the town of Taihape, the town is known for its rubber boots; -) ...... and besides a pleasant town. Here we went to the public toilets. Here we ended up being photographed by a busload of American and German tourists, which were wildly impressed of our journey.
We did really good cycling this day and decided to cycle to something called Vinegar Hill, as it seemed to be a town with a cheap camp site.
But we were somewhat disappointed when we got there, it was a camp site, but unattended and as it was Friday night, the space was used as a speeding arena by young people from the area.
We did want to sleep there, so we rode on to the town of Huntersville, it was eight kilometers further on. Here  we checked into The Station Hotel.  We got a small room with shared bath and a nice soft bed. Total luxury after 10 cycling days.
Dinner was a MEGA BIG hunter burger, consisting of a steak, a piece of beef, a piece of chicken, bacon, fried eggs, bun and salad ....... we ate it all. As we where very hungry after cycling 85 km this day.
Although the hotel was right next to the railway tracks, we slept through the night without problems.

 

 


Leaving Cambridge 29th oct. 2016 and more......

Da vi vågnede lørdag d. 29. okt. 2016, var det ikke fordi Heidi havde det meget bedre. Men vi var opsat på at cykle afsted den dag, så hun tog en stærk pille og et varmt bad og fik en god gang morgenmad og kærlighed fra Jill og Brian. Derefter kom friskheden lidt efter lidt. Planen for dagen blev at tage nogen små delmål, da der var en del byer undervejs. Men allerhelst ville vi nå hele vejen til Rotorua, som lå 88 km fra Cambridge.
Først præsterede vi at cykle afsted i forkert side fra Jill og Brian. Vores hjerner har lidt svært ved at tilpasse sig.
Men Jill og Brian råbet efter os og vi fandt hurtigt ud af at den var gal.
Vi nåede til Tirau som lå 30 kilometer fra Cambridge, vi cyklede af Highway 1, hvor vi stadig oplevede smuk natur, med store grønne bakker der bølger sig langs vejen på begge sider og massevis af får og køer på alle marker.
I Tirau holdt vi en god middagspause med vores sandwichbrød med smøreost og peanutbutter. En obligatorisk frokost menu. Inden vi cyklede ud af byen drak vi en dejlig kop kaffe på en af de mange hyggelige  cafe´er der findes her i NZ.
Vi kunne begge mærke at energien var i kroppen til at kunne cykle helt til Rotorua, så det blev næste mål vi satte os.
De første 10 kilometer ud af Tirau var flade, men herefter skulle vi cykle opad de næste 15 kilometer, heldigvis ikke vildt stejlt. Efter stigningen kom der et fladt stykke inden vi fik belønningen for dagens arbejde, godt 15 kilometer hvor vi rullede nedad. Inden vi nåede ind til Rotorua cyklede vi på et fladt stykke igen.
Så skulle der handles ind, som altid når vi kommer frem til det sted vi vil sove for natten. Det var let da vi cyklede lige forbi Countdown, som er ligesom Føtex i Danmark, bare med mange flere fristende ting. yes
Vi ville blive i Rotorua en extra dag, da byen og området har en masse at byde på, så som varme kilder, Red Woods og Rotorua søen. Vi fandt en af de mange Top 10 campingpladser og betalte for 2 nætter.
Da vi stod udenfor receptionen kom en Van med 4 personer i op på siden af os og det viste sig at være nogen fra Danmark. Dem fik vi en hyggelig snak med.
Søndag d. 30. oktober 2016 brugte vi på udflugt i Rotorua. Vi havde bestemt os fro at se nærmere på RedWoods, som er et impornerende skovområde med KÆMPE store træer. Lille Heidi og Lille Marianne går en godt tur under de kæmpe giganter. Vi får også set på det sydende og kogende område som kaldes Sulphur point. Det ligger mere eller mindre i midten af byen og er et stort sti system igennem et område hvor damp kommer op af undergrunden og andre steder er der mudder huller som bobler og MEGET varmt vand.
Lugten er ikke til at tage fejl af, det lugter af råden æg.
Herfra cyklede vi ned til Rotorua søen, hvor vi oplevede et Gipsy marked, hvor hippier sang om af befri skoven og andre sjove ting. Her sad vi og nød en is og kaffe samt udsigten ud over den smukke sø.
Ved søen vælter det med tilbud om al slags adrenalin sport, lige fra speedbådstur i høj hastighed, helikoptertur, paragliding efter speedbåd you name it. Alt sammen til mega mange NZ dollars.

Inden vi forlod campingpladsen næste dag (31. okt. 2016), faldt vi i snak med en fransk familie på far, mor og to børn som også var på cykeltur. De havde allerede cyklet rundt i Australien i 3 måneder og nu havde de godt 3 måneder i New Zealand. De cyklede på hver en tandem, hvor børnene kunne ligge foran og træde i pedalerne når de havde lyst. Vildt fasinerende.
Vi havde fået fortalt af William i Auckland, at når vi kom udenfor Rotorua, skulle vi tage forbi Kerosene Creek, da vi kunne svømme i hotpools og det helt gratis. Det passede med at vi havde cyklet 28 kilometer og frokost var spist, da vi så det lille skilt med Kerosene Creek. det var en lille cykeltur på 2 kilometer ned af en elendig grusvej og så kom vi til en lille P Plads, hvor der holdt 3 - 4 biler. Vi tjekkede lige om det var det rigtige sted og fik ellers hurtigt skiftet til badetøj og så ned i den store pool under et dejligt vandfald, hvor temperaturen på vandet nok var omkring 35 grader. Det nødt de trætte benmuskler godt af. Her tilbragte vi en god times tid inden vi klædte om til cykeltøjet igen.
På P pladsen kunne et ældre ægtepar fortælle os at ca. 5 kilometer længere fremme skulle vi prøve at cykle ind af den vej der kom der, da der var et kæmpe mudderhul, som boblede og sydede. 
Det ville vi ikke gå glip af, så vi drejede af og fik endnu en gratis oplevelse. Forestil jer at der er en gryde der koger og bobler fyldt med mudder, så er den ved at være der. 
Dagen endte efter 55 kilometer i Golden Springs, som bestod af en campingplads og en cafe´.

Nu havde vi d. 01. november og vi vågnede op til fint cykelvejr. Ikke for varmt ikke for koldt. Ruten vi cyklede var ikke hård. det var ikke fordi der var det vilde at se på vejen indtil 10 kilometer før Taupo. Her ændrede landskabet sig til store grønne bakker med blomstrende gyvler på skråningerne og et skilt gjorde os opmærksom på at vi bevægede os ind på Thermal Explorer Highway Langs denne hovedvej var der masser af skilte til forskellige aktiviteter, nogen gratis og andre igen til for mange NZ dollar.
Vi drejede af ved noget der hed Wairakei Terraces and thermal health spa, da vi kunne se en kæmpe damp sky nede af vejen. Det viste sig at være en kæmpe geyser, som kunne ses ude fra vejen. Vandet var turkisblåt og boblede og spruttede. Utroligt flot og utrolige kræfter fra jordens indre.
Herfra cyklede vi hen til en P plads hvor der stod et skilt til Huka Falls. Vi spurgte nogen hvor lang en gåtur det var og det ville tage 20 minutter. Det ville vi gerne se, så vi parkederede cyklerne og begav os afsted på stien.
Dum som Marianne kan være af og til, troede hun vi kunne skyde genvej et sted, hvilket betød vi gik forkert. Men fik en anden oplevelse, da vi nåede til floden, hvor der var noget der hed the warm beach, flot og dejligt varm vand. Lige til at bade i, men vi havde ikke badetøjet med.....ØV.
Nå, men vi fandt den rette vej til Huka vandfaldet, som er et vandfald der presses ned igennem en smal kløft, men kæmpe kraft og vi kunne hurtigt blive eninge om at her skulle man ikke falde i, da man ville ikke komme op levende. Men flot og imponerende var det. Huka Falls | Great Lake Taupo
Efter Huka Falls nåede vi til udsigtspunktet, med udsigt ud over Lake Taupo og Mt. Ngauruhoe, som er New Zealands mest aktive vulkan og Mt. Ruapelhu. Her fik vi taget nogle billeder inden vi cyklede hen til Count Down for at handle ind til aftensmaden.
Vi bestemte os for, at se om vi kunne wildcampe et sted langs med søen, så vi cyklede langs bredden på en anlagt cykelsti. Et utroligt smukt område.
Dagen endte på en plads for autocampere, som ikke kostede noget. Reelt må man ikke slå telt op, men der var ingen der jagtede os væk. Så sådan blev det.

 


English

When we woke up on Saturday. October 29. 2016 Heidi did not feel much better. But we were keen to cycle off that day, so she took a strong pill and a hot bath and had a good breakfast and love from Jill and Brian. Then came the freshness little by little. The plan for the day was to take small stages, as there was some cities along the way. But most of all we would like to cycle all the way to Rotorua, which was 88 km from Cambridge.
First we managed to cycle off in the wrong side of the road saying goodbye to Jill and Brian. Our brains have little difficulty adapting.
But Jill and Brian shouted at us and we quickly found out what was wrong.
We reached Tirau 30 kilometers from Cambridge we biked on Highway 1, where we still saw beautiful countryside, with large green hills along the road on both sides and lots of sheep and cows in every field.
In Tirau we kept a good dinner break with our sandwich bread with cream cheese and peanut butter. A mandatory lunch menu. Before we rode out of town we drank a nice cup of coffee at one of the many cozy café's available here in NZ.
We could both feel the energy in the body and felt that we could cycle all the way to Rotorua, so it was the next goal we set ourselves.
The first 10 km out of Tirau was flat, but then we had to cycle up the next 15 kilometers fortunately not wildly steep. After the increase came a flat piece before we got the reward for the day's work, well 15 kilometers where we rolled downhill. Before we reached Rotorua we cycled on a flat piece again.
In Rotorua we went shopping for a good evening meal. It was easy when we rode right past Countdown, which is like supermarket in Denmark, just with many more tempting things.
We stayed in Rotorua one extra day, as the city and the area has a lot to offer, such as hot springs, Red Woods and Rotorua lake. We found one of the many Top 10 campsites and paid for 2 nights.
As we stood outside the front desk a Van came  in with 4 people and it turned out to be someone from Denmark. You got a nice chat with them.
Sunday. October 30, 2016, we spent a daytrip in Rotorua. We had decided to look at The Redwoods, a impressive forest area with HUGE big trees. Small Heidi and small Marianne went for a good walk amung the giant trees. We also looked at the area called Sulphur points. It is more or less in the center of town and is a great trail system through an area where the steam comes out of the underground and at other places there are mud holes and VERY hot water.
The smell is not to be mistaken, it smells of rotten eggs.
From here we cycled down to Rotorua lake where we saw a Gipsy market where hippies sang about saving the trees and other fun stuff. Here we sat and enjoyed an ice cream and coffee and the view over the beautiful lake. All kinds of adrenaline sports was offered at the lake, from  speed boats, helicopter, paragliding by speedboat you name it. All for a lot of  NZ dollars.

Before we left the campsite next day (Oct 31. 2016), we talked with a French family of father, mother and two children who were also on a bike ride. They had already cycled around Australia for 3 months and now had just over 3 months in New Zealand. They rode on either a tandem, where the children could lie in front and pedaling when they wanted. Very fascinating.
We had been told by William in Auckland that when we got outside Rotorua, we should go past Kerosene Creek, where we could swim in hotpools and it was absolutely free. We had cycled 28 kilometers and lunch were eaten when we saw the small sign with Kerosene Creek. It was a little bike ride 2 km down a lousy dirt road and then we came to a small parking area, where there was 3-4 cars. We checked if it was the right place and got quickly into  our swimwear and then into the large pool in a nice waterfall where the temperature of the water was about 35 degrees. Our bodys loved it. Here we spent a good hour before we got on the bike clothes again.
At the parking area an elderly couple told us that about 5 kilometers further on we should try to turn left on the road there as there was a huge mud hole which bubbled and seethed.
That we would not miss, so we turned and got another free experience. Imagine that there is a pot that boils and bubbles filled with mud, that was what it looked like.
The day ended after 55 kilometers in Golden Springs, which only was a campground and a Cafe '.

Now we had November first and we woke up to fine cycling weather. Not too hot not too cold. The route we cycled was not hard. Nothing much to see on the way until 10 kilometers before Taupo. The landscape changed into large green hills with flowering yellow trees on the slopes and a sign made us aware that we were moving into the Thermal Explorer Highway Along this road there were plenty of signs for different activities, some free and others for many NZ dollar.
We turned off at a place called Wairakei Terraces and thermal health spa because we could see a huge steam cloud down the road. It turned out to be a huge geyser, which was visible from the road. The water was turquoise and bubbled and sputtered. Incredibly beautiful and incredible powers of the earth.
From here we cycled to a parking space where there was a sign for the Huka Falls. We asked someone how long a walk it was and it would take 20 minutes.  That we would like to see, so we park the bikes went off and started off on the path.
Silly as Marianne can be sometimes, she thought we could take a shortcut, which meant we went wrong. But then we got another experience when we reached the river,  there was something called the warm beach, a very nice place with warm water. Just to bathe in, but we had no bathing suit ..... SIGH.
Well, we found the right path to Huka Falls, a waterfall that is pushed through a narrow gorge, with fighting force. Do not fall in as you would not come up alive. It was very impressive. 
After Huka Falls we reached the lookout point, with views of Lake Taupo and Mt. Ngauruhoe, which is New Zealand's most active volcano and Mt. Ruapelhu. Here we took some pictures before we cycle to the Countdown to shop for the evening meal.
We decided to see if we could wildcampe somewhere along the lake, so we biked along the banks on a bike path. An incredibly beautiful area.
The day ended on a space for RVs that did not cost anything. In reality, do not pitch a tent, but there was no one who chased us away. So that was that.



english


Første uge I NZ/First week inNZ

Hej med jer.

Ja så her vi været afsted i 1 uge allerede.

Turen herover gik godt, men var laaang. Ialt 38 timer. Men vi var super heldige med Tyfonen i Hongkong.

Vi var et af de sidste fly der fik lov til at lande og så havde vi ellers 11 timers transit tid i lufthavnen, hvor vi mere eller mindre var de eneste der var.

Alle andre fly var aflyst de næste 8 timer og da vi gik igennem sec check var vi de eneste. Vild oplevelse i en lufthavn der normalt er fyldt med mennesker.

Turen fra Hong Kong til Auckland gik stille og roligt. Efter vi var ankommet skulle vi så igennem indrejse kontrol, med alt vores udstyr. Da New Zealand er meget strikse med udfra kommenede bakterier, planter, mad, frø osv.....skal alt tjekkes ved indrejse. De ville gerne kigge lidt nærmere på vores telt, da det jo havde været mange forskellige steder rundt om i verden. Men ingen problem vi fik alt med ind i landet.

Så tog vi en taxa ud til William og Tamie, vores første overnatningssted, som vi havde fundet via Warmshower.

Der var ingen hjemme da vi kom derud, man på døren stod at Tamie ville være hjemme kl. 16:30 og indtil da skulle vi bare sætte os i haven. Da var klokken 16:20 så vi ventede kun 10 minutter.

Tamie bød os velkommen og viste os tilrette i huset. Vi valgte at sætte teltet op i deres have, da deres lejlighed/hus var meget lille.

William var på arbejde men kom hjem efter et par timer. Tamie underviste i Japansk og William er cykelmekaniker. De var endt i Auckland efter de havde cyklet fra Japan til New Zealand nogle år tilbage.

Faktisk viser det sig at vi havde mødt dem før, hvilket vi ikke blev klar over før jeg fik en mærkelig tanke i flyver på vej til Auckland.

Jeg kunne huske at Heidi og jeg havde været i Thailand i 2011 efter vi havde cyklet Freindship highway og en dag var vi i byen Tran, her ser vi to cyklister, som vi faktisk følger efter ind på en cafe. Vi snakker kort med dem, om hvor de er på vej hen og hvor de er kommet fra. Det var en engelsk fyr og en japansk pige og de var på vej fra Japan til New Zealand.

Da vi spørger Tamie og William om de kan huske de har været i Tran i 2011 og havde kort snakket med to piger på en cafe, kan de bekræfte det. Så vildt og hvor er verden lille.

Vi nyder de to dage vi er ved Tamie og William. En dejlig rolig start. De er meget afslappet og byder os på aftensmad begge dage. Aftenen før vi skal cykle ud af Auckland, tilbyder William at de kan cykle med os ud af byen, hvilket vi virkelig er meget taknemmelige for, da Auckland er meget hektisk.

Udover det laver William et GPS spor til vores Garmin GPS, som vi kan cykle efter den først dag, ud imod øst kysten til et sted der hedder KawaKawa Bay.

Hvis ikke de havde fulgt os ud af byen, havde vi nok cyklet rundt der endnu ;-).

Første dag cyklede vi 76 km, hvorefter vi fandt en campingplads for natten. Vi cyklede igennem smuk smuk natur og fik allerede afprøvet nogle gode bakker.

Det var dejligt endelig at komme igen med turen, også selvom at på første dagen virker det noget uoverskueligt, med vores KÆMPE projekt. Men vi skal jo lige igen og have kørt sind og ben i stilling.

De næste dage cyklede vi på noget mere fladt terræn og etaperne blev mellem 50 og 60 km.

Naturen er ubeskrivelig flot, det vi har set indtil nu. Dyreliv, fugleliv og flora og fauna er noget vi aldring har set før. Markerne har en helt speciel grøn farve og bakkerne/bjergene er fantastisk flotte.

Igår cyklede vi til byen Cambridge, da vi havde fået en invitation via vores hjemmeside, fra en der hedder Jill Brinsley. Hun havde set vores videoer på YOUTUBE og via Facebook havde hun set at vi kom til New Zealand, så hun havde skrevet at hvis vi kom til Cambridge på vores tur, var vi velkommen.

Sådan et tilbud siger vi ikke nej tak til. Så nu er vi ved dem og vi fik en varm varm velkomst igår eftermiddag efter en meget hård etape over nogle høje bjerge.

De bød os indenfor og havde et fint gæsteværelse med eget bad og toilet, som vi bare skulle bruge. Vasketøj klarede de også lige for os. Efter en dejlig bad tog de os med rundt i Cambridge, for vi skulle lige se byen også og så lavede Brian (Jill´s mand) lækker aftensmad til os, men lækker hvidvin. Brian går meget op i vine, så han vidste lige hvad vi skulle have.

Ellers gik aftenen med rejse fortællinger fra deres rejser og ikke mindst vores rejser. Jill sagde til os at det var som at møde filmstjerne, i at møde os.

Både Jill (63 år) og Brian (69 år) er uddannet lærer. Brian er ved at gå på pension, hvor Jill stadig underviser på et kæmpe sport College her i Cambridge. Mange af de bedste sports udøver i New Zealand kommer fra dette college.

Og det er alle sportarter lige fra Hestesport, cricket, Rugby, cykling, golf, tennis osv osv osv.

Så selvom det kun er en uge siden vi er rejst hjemmefra, føles det som om vi har været afsted meget længere med alle disse oplevelser.

Hvad skal det ikke ende med hvis det bliver ved sådan her.

Imorgen fortsætter vi imod Rotorua og måske vi bliver der en extra dag, da der er en masse Hotsprings og andre ting at se på.


English

Hello there.
So our journey have been ongoing for 1 week already.
The trip here went well, but was looong. Total 38 hours. But we were super lucky with the typhoon hitting Hong Kong.
We were one of the last planes that was allowed to land and then had11 hours of transit at the airport, where we more or less were the only ones there.
All other flights were canceled the next 8 hours and when we went through sec check we were the only ones. Wild experience at an airport usually crowded with people.
The trip from Hong Kong to Auckland went quietly. After we arrived we had to go through immigration control, with all of our equipment. As New Zealand is very strict with based on getting in bacteria, plants, food, seeds etc ..... everything must be checked on entry. They would like to have a look at our tent, since it had been many different places around the world. But no problem, we got everything into the country.
Then we took a taxi to William and Tamie place, our first accommodation, which we had found through Warm Shower.
There was no one at home when we got there, but on the door was a note from Tamie, saying she would be home at 4:30 PM and until then we should just enjoy ourselfs in their garden. It was 16:20 so we waited only 10 minutes.
Tamie welcomed us and showed us the facilyties of the house. We chose to put up the tent in their garden as their apartment / house was very small.
William was at work but came home after a few hours. Tamie is teaching Japanese and William is a bike mechanic. They ended up in Auckland after they had cycled from Japan to New Zealand some years back.
In fact, it turns out that we had met them before, which we were not aware before I got a strange thourght while ​ on our way to Auckland.
I remembered that Heidi and I had been in Thailand in 2011 after we had cycled Freindship highway and one day we were in the town of Tran, here we saw two cyclists who we actually follow into a cafe. We talk breefly with them, about where they where going and where they came from. It was an English guy and a Japanese girl and they were on the way from Japan to New Zealand.
Then when we asked Tamie and William if they remember they have been in Tran in 2011 and had a short talk with two girls in a cafe, they could confirm. So carzy and what a small world we live in.
We enjoyed the two days we had at Tamie and William. A lovely quiet start. They are very relaxed and made us  dinner both nights. The evening before we cycled out of Auckland, William offered us, that they could ride with us out of town, which we really are very grateful for, as Auckland is very hectic.
Besides that William made a GPS track and put it into our Garmin GPS, so we could follow that the fisrt day, to the coast at Kawakawa Bay.
If they had not followed us out of town, we would probaly have been cycling there still ;-).
First day we cycled 76 km, and then we found a campsite for the night. We biked through beautiful scenic nature and were already tested with some good hills.
It was great to finally get the trip started, even that on the first day, it seems somewhat confusing, with our HUGE project. But we just need to get our mindset right and adjust to all the new things.
The next day we cycled on some more flat terrain and the stages were between 50 and 60 km.
Nature is indescribably beautiful, what we've seen so far. Wildlife, bird life and flora and fauna is something we never seen before. The fields have a special green color and the hills / mountains are amazing beautifull.
Yesterday we cycled to the city of Cambridge, we got an invitation through our website, from a Jill Brinsley. She had seen our videos on YOUTUBE and on Facebook she had seen that we came to New Zealand, so she had written that if we came to Cambridge on our trip, we were welcome.
Such an offer we will not say no to. So now we are at their house in Cambrige and we got a warm warm welcome yesterday afternoon after a very tough stage over some high mountains.
They invited us in and gave us a nice guest room with private bath and toilet,what we just needed after a good days ride. Jill even helped us with our Laundry. They took us on a tour around Cambridge and to a beautifull view point outside town. After the tour, Brian (Jill's man) made us an delicious dinner with some delicious white wine as well. Brian is very interested in wine, so he knew exactly what we should have.
Otherwise went evening with travel stories from their travels and not least our travels. Jill told us that it was like meeting a movie star, in to meet us.
Both Jill (63 years) and Brian (69 years) is a qualified teacher. Brian is about to retire, where Jill still teaches at a huge sport College here in Cambridge. Many of the best sports people from New Zealand comes from this college.
And it's all sport  from cricket, rugby, cycling, golf, tennis etc etc etc. Even though it is only a week ago we left home, it feels like we've been away much longer with all these experiences.
Tomorrow we continue towards Rotorua and maybe we take an extra day of rest there, as there are a lot of Hotsprings and other things to look at there.

 


Pakke rod/Packing mess

Tirsdag d. 18. okt. 2016/Oct. 18th 2016

Den sidste uge

Så er det lige før og næsten. Den sidste uge er gået vildt stærkt. Der har været ting som skulle ordnes hver eneste dag.
Sidste tirsdag var vi i Grindsted, til en hyggelig aften sammen med Marianne´s familie, hvor det var mindre hyggeligt at skulle sige på gensyn om 18 måneder. Selvom det er noget vi selv har valgt, kommer vi til at savne venner og familie i så lang en periode.

Torsdag var så sidste arbejdesdag og her skulle vi sige på gensyn til en masse gode kollegaer. Pyha igen med blandede følelser. Ikke noget vi havde set frem til.
Så blev det fredag og vi skulle til frisør, familie weekend med Heidi´s familie. Søndag var det på gensyn med vores gode veninde Cille. Og så er det ellers gået slag i salg siden søndag aften, med oprydning, pakke i kasser til depotrum, pakke de ting vi skal have med på turen og få det hele til at gå op i en højere enhed.
Hvad skal vi rejse i af tøj og hvordan får vi det til at passe når vi nu pakker vores midlertidig bolig ned også.
Men her i skreven stund, kan vi sige at vi er nået dertil hvor vi er klar.
2 store rollerbacks, 2 små roller bags og en 33 l duffelbag har vi hver især og ialt kommer vi til at have
23 kg, som in-cheks bagage og så cyklen ved sidenaf. De vejer hver 23 kg.
Imorgen onsdag har vi en tid til massage og ellers kun lige de sidste småting inden vi lukker huset ned i Tørskind (Hvor vi har nydt livet fuldt ud de sidste 2 1/2 måned) og tager på hotel den sidste nat inden turen går mod New Zealand.


English

The last week

We are nearly there. The last week has gone by so fast. There has been things to sort out every day.
We went for at nice dinner at Marianne´s parents house Thuesday last week and the only thing that wasn´t nice was to say "see you again in 18 month time". We will miss our family.
Thursday was our last day at work and we had to say "see you" to a lot of coworkers. another thing we
didn´t look forward for. We will miss all of you.
Friday we went to the hairdresser and then on to a family weekend with Heidi´s family. Sunday we went to see our good friend Cille and that was another "see you".
Then from Sunday evening and until today at 5 PM we have packed the cabin and cleaned  the house and packed our panniers for the trip and finally we have made it. 2 big rollerbacks 2 small rollerbacks and a 33 l dufflebag for each of us ending on 23 kg each in total. And of course the bikes beside the bags.
We are ready and we even have time for a good massage tomorrow. Which will be a good start for the whole journey.
After massage we will sort out the last small things and leave the house in the aftenoon to check in at the hotel before we are New Zealand bound on thursdag at 11:30 AM.


 

 

 


Tirsdag d. 11. oct. 2016/Oct. 11th 2016

I dag har vi pakket nogle af tingene sammen fra huset som skal i depotrum. Udover det er cyklerne blevet pakke forsvarligt sammen, så de er klar til flytransporten fra Billund til Auckland.
Til aften skal vi forbi mine forældre til dejlig aftensmad, dette for at sige på gensyn til dem og mine søskne. Det bliver ikke rart, da vi kommer til at savne dem.
Ellers har vi kun to arbejdsdage tilbage, som også er vildt at tænke på. Vi er meget spændte på turen. Hvad kommer vi til at opleve og se, hvilke mennesker vil vi møde????
18 måneder er lang tid, men vi føler os klar.


English

We packed some of the stuff from the house which has to be stored while we are traveling. Then we also packed our bikes safely, so they are ready for the flight from Billund to Auckland.
We will visit my parents tonight for a nice see you again dinner. All togehter with my brothers and sister.
It´s going to be hard as we will miss them, while cycling.
Regarding work, we only have 2 workingdays left. Crazy to think about.
We are very exited about the trip, what will we get to see, which people will we meet ect....17 month is a long time but we are ready for it.

 


Rejse briller og Forsikring/Travel glasses and insurance

Mandag 10. oktober 2016 / Monday oct. 10. 2016

Så modtog jeg mine smarte læsebriller fra NOOZ. De er lette at have med og hurtige at tage frem når de skal bruges. De er godt beskyttet i hylstret og fylder næsten ingenting. De kan sidde i en nøglering eller være i din lomme. Helt perfekt til når vi er undervejs.
Vi fik også ordnet med rejseforsikringen. Så vi er dækket fra dag et til vi er hjemme igen. En dyr post men noget vi ikke vil gå på kompromi med.


English

I recieved my fancy reading glasses from NOOZ today. They are easy to bring with you when you are on your way. They are well protected in a small case and fast to take out when ever needed. You can have them in a keychain or your pocket. No probem.

We also bourght our insurace today. So we are covered for the whole journey. It was quite expencive but no compromise made in that matter.


Bamse og venner/ Teddy and friends

Vi har besluttet ikke at tage Bamse og venner med på turen. Bamse har kun været med på bil rejse til Østrig og det var en hård oplevelse. Så han og vennerne kommer i pleje ved noget familie / We have deceided not to bring Teddy and friends on our trip. Teddy have only been on a trip by car to Austria and that was already to hard for him then. But Teddy and friends will be taken care of by some nice family

Heldige Sam/Lucky Sam

Heldige Sam er vores hærdet ven. Han var med på turen til Nepal i 2009/10. Så derfor er han selv skrevet til denne tur. / Lucky Sam is out tough friend. He was with us on our trip to Nepal in 2009/10 and there for he will be with us on this new adventure

Heldige Sam/Lucky Sam

Heldige Sam skuer ud i verden der venter forude og han er klar/ Lucky Sam takes a view of the world that waits ahead of him and he is ready.


Magisk brev/Magic letter - Torsdag d. 06. oktober 2016


I dag er der 14 dage til afrejse. Så flere og flere ting er ved at være ordnet til turen.
Selvom vi synes at der er styr på de fleste ting, så er der altid mange små ting til sidste der skal ordnes.
Vi har 4 arbejdsdage tilbage, hvor sidste arbejdsdag er næste torsdag. Vi befinder os i en form for midt imellem zone, da der stadig en en hverdag der skal fungere, samtidig med at vi skal have pakket vores midlertidig bolig ned og pakket cyklerne og tingene til turen. Nogen gange virker det lidt rodet og uoverskuelig, men inderest inde ved vi at vi nok skal nå det alt sammen inden afrejse.
På billedet kan du se det vi kalder vores magiske brev. Dette brev er på russisk og vi er ved at få et lavet på kinesisk. I brevet står er lidt om os selv og hvad vores rejse går ud på og da vi hverken taler russisk eller kinesisk, kan vi altid vise brevet frem og på den måde forklare hvem vi er.



English

Today, there are 14 days to departure. So more and more things are falling into place for the trip. Although we seem to have control over most things, there are always many little things to be taken care of before we are leaving. We have 4 working days left where the last working day is next Thursday. We are in a kind of in-between zone, as we still have some days left at our temporary accommodation and that has to be packed as well as the bikes and things for the trip. Sometimes it seems a little cluttered and confusing, but we know that we will manage all of this before departure. In the picture you can see what we call our magic letter. This letter is in Russian and we are about to get one made in Chinese. The letter tells a little about ourselves and our journey and as we either talk Russian or Chinese, we can always show the letter and that way explain who we are.


Hjemme lavet skræme til cyklerne/Homemade fenders for our bikes (28. sep. 2016)

Travl dag/Busy day - Tirsdag d. 27. sep. 2016

I dag har vi ordnet en masse ting.
Først på dagen fik vi designet vores magiske brev. Det er et brev vi vil tage med på rejsen. Brevet bliver oversat til eks. kinesisk, russisk. Så kan vi vise det til de mennesker vi må møde på vores vej, som ikke kan engelsk. I brevet har vi skrevet lidt om hvad vores rejse går ud på og hvem vi er.
Vi modtog vores nye liggeunderlag. Therm-a-rest neoair 4 sæsoner - de er super compakte og vejer halvt så meget som dem vi havde før.
Vi var i Vejle og hente papkasser til cyklerne. Fik købt diverse elektroniske dimser vi skal bruge undervejs.
Var på kommunen og hente nøglekort og få svar på spørgsmål om kontakt adresse.
Alt i alt en god travl dag yeswink.


English

Today we have sorted a lot of things.
During the morning, we designed our magic letter. It's a letter we will bring on the trip. The letter will be translated into eg. Chinese, Russian. Then we can show it to the people we meet along the way that can not speak or understand English. In the letter we have written little about our trip and who we are.
We received our new sleeping mats today. Therm-a-rest neoair 4 seasons - they are super compact and weighs half as much as those we had before.
We were in Vejle and picked up boxes for the bikes. Bought various electronic gadgets we need along the way.
Was at the municipality and collect key cards and got answers to questions about our contact address.
All in all a good busy day yeswink


Beretninger/Blog

Her kan i følge os via vores fortællinger undervejs på turen. Starten går d. 20. oct. 2016


English

You can follow us here via our stories from the road. The trip starts 20. oct. 2016


Fuld tjek af cyklerne/Full body check of the bikes

13. september 2016

I dag fik cyklerne et fuld check, så de er klar til turen. yes


English

13th. sep. 2016

Our bikes got a full check today. So they are ready for the trip yes