Just about done the North Island - we arrived in Wellington yesterday and after today's rest day we have a short ride to the ferry and then we tackle the South Island! We had two choices yesterday - I opted for the Rimutaka Incline - old rail bed, a few tunnels, and a lovely ride along a cycle path beside the Hutt River all the way into town. At least, that was how it was described. What wasn't mentioned was the gale force winds, the diversion to the other side of the Hutt for a more adventurous path, which eventually disappeared resulting in a bonus River crossing back to the better side! It was all a fun adventure and my shoes should be dry by tomorrow.. Not being a mountain biker, hurtling along the twisty single track through thick vegetation was thrilling - I felt like I was in a video game! Wayne took the coastal path option, with way more technical mountain biking skills required - very windy, sandy and rocky for them too, so I'm glad I had a choice.
There's so many highlights from the North Island - seeing beehives being moved by helicopter (honey is big business here); the parade kicking off the hot air balloon festival a couple of nights ago which was police cars and pickups with the burners for the balloons in the back - blasting flames at regular intervals; our daily stop for a meat pie and they put anything and everything in the pies - the last one I had was some kind of breakfast combo which included baked beans! And along the way, beautiful, beautiful riding, great companions and lots of laughs.
Other than laundry, bike maintenance and helping with tonight's bbq prep, I will try to add some photos, I promise!
No comments:
Post a Comment