April 27

Yesterday’s nice, cycling-friendly weather is gone. I’ve woken up several times to the rain whipping against the tent and the wind gripping it.

I stay in the tent until eight in the hope that it will subside, but it doesn’t, it almost gets worse. I decide to fight the weather and pack my things and head north along the coast.

Headwind, then after the next bend crosswind, and soon the rain is pouring down – topped with a series of tough hills to fight against.

After four km at I stopped at a memorial. The place is called “Strongman Mine Memorial”. A huge stone statue with a sign that names and pays tribute to the nineteen who died in a mining accident on January 19, 1967 just close to this place.

Strongman Mine Memorial – pays tribute to the coal miners who lost their lives in a mine explosion 1967

Despite the bad weather, slopes and the diabolic winds I can take in the stunning beauty of New Zealand’s coastline
and feel the incredible power of the ocean.

By noon I arrive in Barrytown, soaked from the outside in to the inside.A hotel and a bar with an “open” sign caught my eye.
First I needed to dry some clothes and I also was thirsty for a beer.

The bar lounge was nearly empty, with only the bar owner and a Rottweiler resting comfortably by the open fireplace.

Naturally, I couldn’t resist greeting him, and he seemed to enjoy it.

Barlounge rottweiler

I draped my soggy clothes the radiator by the lounge entrance, praying they’d dry out instead of slow-cooking into a warm, damp disaster.

I ordered coffee and a pint and the bar owner said that this weather would continue all day and get worse! Just to accept this. Fore some seconds I had in my thoughts to ask a room for the night – but I jumped that.

After a much-needed break, I hopped back on my bike. At times, the wind—especially the crosswind—was so strong I had to steer carefully just to keep from tipping over.

Everything is wet. Today the risk of grass fires is low. However I enyoyed what I saw.

The wind is so very gusty that at one point I was a hair’s breadth away from the wind sending me down a slope towards the sea. On another occasion I blew across the wall when the wind grabbed the bike, luckily no traffic came!

My speed is anything but fast, average 11 km/h. Some part barely steering speed, 7-8 km/h

Even though the weather is not at its best, I can‘t help but be fascinated by the views around me. I‘m in the middle of Paparoa National Park and where I am right now. 

Punakaiki is famous for the Pancakes Rocks and Blowhole Costline which is a heavily eroded limestone area that resembles pancakes laid on top of.

Hole day with rain, cross and headwind I was ready for hotel

Blowholes and pancake rocks

The first hotel sign I see is on a hill above Punakaiki beach and the village. The hotel is unmanned, but in the reception, which is a small building next *
to the hotel, is open and on the counter there is a computer where you can see if there are available rooms and the cost.

To book, I will select a room from a map showing the rooms and select the check-in and check-out dates. Then complete the booking by providing my personal information, credit card type and number.

After checking the prices I decide to try to find something cheaper further ahead and jump on the bike again and continue down the hill down towards the village.

Punakaiki which is just a beach resort and not much more. But there are two hotels here, both are down by the beach. The one I like is called Punakaiki resort hotel and has the sign Vaccancy at the entrance.

Punakaiki resort hotel from beach

The hotel has both a main building with a large panoramic window facing the sea and a number of annexes with rooms all with views of the beach.

A large beach is right in front. Surely a very popular place in five or six months when it is summer here in the southern hemisphere but right now completely empty of people!! I get a double room in one of the low annex

buildings to the right of the hotel with a view of a stormy sea whose waves are now five or six meters high.

I unpack most of my things and bring clothes and tents into the room. I put on the radiator that is after one of the long walls and hang up wet clothes and shoes

In the closet that is by the toilet. I resort to a “non-environmentally friendly measure”. In a drawer I find a hair dryer and hang it in one of the two-part cabinets and hang up more clothes and the sleeping bag and then I start the hair dryer with full effect and close the door.

Also rearrange the furniture in the room so that I can bring the tent in and pitch it up. The tent also needs to be dried up.

Then into the shower and thereafter TV and rugby. After a while of much–needed rest with my legs stretched out on the bed, I walk up to the hotel building for a late dinner.

The restaurant has a beautiful view of the sea through the large windows that run along. Apparently, it a popular hotel, with nearly every table taken, but I manage to snag one off to the side close to the panorama windows.

After dinner, I returned to my room to make sure everything had dried up, like a detective solving the great mystery of the
missing moisture.

Outside the sea was storming up…

Tasmanien sea is storming up

Then more TV and news from Sky News, a few cups of coffee and then some googling about tomorrow‘s route. Checking also the weather forcasts and it seems that the weather will apparently be quite decent at least until well into the afternoon but I don‘t have to worry about the slopes.

My plan is to get to Westport which is about 60 km north after the coastroad, but first I need some sleep. As usual I fall asleep to a downloaded
SR program.

22-24 April

I woke up early to the sound of rain pouring down on the canvas, and when I looked out I realized that most of it was coming from the leafy crown of the oak.

Maybe my choice of location wasn’t that smart of me.

I grab the bare essentials and head to the kitchen. I sit down in the same spot I was in last night and prepare my breakfast, I’ll make coffee later.

Google’s weather forecast isn’t a pleasant read for today, drizzle and cold. The sun is far away. But tomorrow and the days after will be better.

Fox Glacier in morning outside camping

I don’t leave Franz Josef and the campsite until around 11 am. The clouds hang low and it’s a five-kilometer climb up the hill, 250 meters.

My first 5 km uphill was done and I was warmed up

If I felt cold when I started, it was something else now. At a parking lot at the top, I stopped to take off my jacket and cycle in just my CK-Örnen orange cycling jersey.

Now I have a steep ride down. Many hairpin bends and the road is still wet so I try to take it easy. The surroundings are green, bushes, trees and vegetation. The ferns are huge, some of them meters high. Looks like a rainforest.

From the top of the last hairpin bend down towards the single-lane bridge I release the brakes and feel how the wind cools down considerably and it feels refreshing.

Fast switchback down the hill

About a hundred meters from the bridge that goes over the Waikukupa River and in a left turn I hear a bang, at first I think it is from a gunshot but I realize when I feel the bike wobble that the rear tire tube has exploded.

It was just lucky that I didn’t end up off the road and the deep slope down towards the river, at least 40-50 meters.

No spare tubes and more than 15 km to the nearest village, Frans Josef.

I don’t have to steer the bike very far before a couple with a small bus stops and asks if I need help…

Nice and helpulful couple who helped me to Frans Josef when my rear tyre explode

– Do you need help? asks the guy driving?
– Yes, that would be incredibly kind of you, flat tire and I’m out of my last spare tubes.
– No problem.

He and the girl in the front seat are from Poland and they plan to vacation all over New Zealand. They bought the bus cheaply in Christchurch and plan to sell it in Auckland if they succeed, the guy says and laughs.

Franz Josef is much bigger than Fox Glacier but no bike shop or bikeworks shop either

Frans Josef Glacier mainstreet

– There is a bike repair shop in Hokitika, they told me but…
– You have to wait until after Easter.

Why didn’t I bought more tubes in Christchurch… Being wise in hindsight doesn’t help anything right now.

The Backpackers hostel had to be the solution for three days and two nights. Although now the weather has become sunnier so I can enjoy this instead.

Backpackers hostel, two nights with spa pool bath and waffles for breakfast

I had to spend an extra day in Franz Josef Glacier Township because the Tuesday bus to Hokitika was fully booked for Easter.

On my second day in Franz Josef Glacier Township, I joined a group and took a bus up to one of the glaciers for a few hours of hiking.

There are more spectacular ways to get there, but they come with a hefty price tag, a helicopter flight!

The cheapest option costs 270 NZD and includes a ten-minute helicopter ride up to the glaciers, about five minutes of hiking, and then a helicopter ride back. You don’t get to see much in that short time.

There was another option that allowed a longer stay at the glaciers, two hours, but it cost at least twice as much.

It had to be the third option, and it cost 12.50 NZD. A bus and you could agree with the bus driver which return bus you wanted to take.

But before the glacier hike begins, a proper breakfast is a must.
Breakfast is provided by the hostel: muesli, cereal, bread, butter, jam, milk, and you can make your own pancakes or waffles.

The queue for the waffle iron is fifteen minutes long. How the waffles are cooked varies a lot – some like them light and thin, others more well-done and thick.

A good start to the morning, although a “full English” is far from it – but you can’t have everything.

The bus ride took just over an hour, and I promise it was very steep at times – but we made it.

The guide told us that unfortunately global warming has almost halved the size of the glacier since 2009, which could mean that it will almost be gone by 2050 – a terrible thought.

Franz Josef Glacier is melting at an alarming rate

WE SHOULD SERIOUSLY THINK ABOUT HOW WE LIVE

more melting glaciers… and the humans are responsibe

What has taken nature and our planet tens of thousands of years to create, we are destroying in less than a century. In any case, the glacier is an incredible experience to see. The next generation may only see pictures of them – another scary thought.

When we left F.J.G. the sun was shining, but up here it is unpredictable. One minute it is sunny, the next the fog and clouds roll in. The cold is also more noticeable up here, and there are none of the annoying black mosquitoes that I encountered along the coast.

Some of the photo spots, including a glacier crevasse, we were not allowed to get closer than 25 meters due to the risk of falling in. Global warming was the reason here too.

One of several glacier cracks the guides warned us to go near. This one was about 50 meter deep

To get the most out of the hike, it would have been ideal to rent special boots with proper ice studs, but I didn’t know they were available to rent.

After two hours of hiking through the incredible icy landscape of the glacier in slippery shoes, I took the next bus back down to F.G. and enjoyed a much-needed coffee, beer and sandwich.

There is not a single regular shop in F.J.G. – everything revolves around glaciers, helicopters and related activities. The closest thing to a regular shop is the gas station, but even there they sell camping equipment.

When I got back to the hostel I asked:

– I saw a sign outside the reception about a spa pool – is it available?

–  Yes, near your dorm,

The spa is a round building with a metal roof and the pool is a rather large hot tub for three or four people.

I lift off a large folding lid and see that the water is hot, steaming and a digital display shows 41.5 degrees. I went  back and get my colorful shorts, shower and walk with yoga-like steps the few meters over the gravel path to the pool building.

I slide into the warm water and immediately feel a pleasant warmth spread through my body. I stay in the hot pool for 45 minutes and just enjoy life,
I also notice two girls waiting outside to take over the pool.

Hot spa pool bath. perfect for an tired body and stiff legs, I enjoyed every minute of it.

In the evening I meet the others at the hostel to cook dinner. It’s a chaotic mix of disorder and harmony, so everything works out well in the end.

What annoys me – although it’s really pointless – is that some people always use pots and pans and then leave them unwashed on the counter while they eat.

Since there’s not an endless supply of everything, you often have to wash up after others. I must be getting old!

Later in the evening, I took a walk to the center, the gas station and grocery store are closed, but the pubs are open and buzzing with people. Apparently, hiking among the glaciers works up quite a thirst

See Yeah Later
P-G
// The Global Cyclist

17 april

I wake up at seven and feel that it is chilly outside, definitely below freezing. I pack quickly, I wait until later to eat breakfast, when the sun has started to warm up. My tent is covered in white ice and the ropes are stiff for the same reason.

Around eight I roll south towards Haast. Today’s route is quite simple – starting with a downhill, then I cycle flat all the way to Haast.

The first 10 kilometers are a bit chilly, my gloves are too thin but I continue because I see the sun shining up between the mountain sides.

The fog rolls down from the mountain and lies low over the road. The surface can be quite slippery, especially on left-hand bends where the asphalt is darker. On the right-hand bends, the small rays of sunlight that have broken through have dried up most of the wet spots.

Fog from mountain and chilly morning makes road uncertain

The road that winds between the mountains and the Haast River has followed me all the way and will continue to do so until Haast. After an hour and a half of cycling I reach the valley, and now the sun has warmed the air so that it feels very pleasant.

Around half past ten I arrive at a parking lot and a lookout point for the Roaring Billy Falls waterfall.

There are already a few cars, campers and a bunch of BMW cyclists in the parking lot.

A triangular green area with a large table attracts me especially, perfect for fixing breakfast. Sandwiches, muesli with fruit yoghurt, avocado and coffee are on the menu.

Breakfast at a parkingspace for Roaring Billy Falls

While I enjoy my breakfast in the sunshine, the parking lot fills up with more and more cars. Everyone seems to be heading towards the waterfall. Just before I leave the parking lot a touring cyclist cycling into the area.

Daniel from Germany

He stops by me and introduces himself as Daniel from Germany. He has left Haast and now on his way up through the pass.

We share some information end experience with each others. He’s plan is going south to Invercargil and the follow the east coast up to Christchurch.
It’s always fun to meet like-minded people and nerds on touring bikes.

He left me some very interesting tips about places after the road when I told him my route up after West Coast , The Gold Coast to Picton.

From here to my hotel in Hasst I had to cycle 27 km. Mostly flat to slightly winding. Right after I left the parking area I cycle through dense and temperate rainforest which is quite typical for West Coast.

The vegetation often grows close to the road edge,  silverbeech forest, tree ferns grows on both side of the road forming a tunnel-like feeling.

an absolutely wonderful road to cycle along

Moss and vines together with tall trees create a very green jungle-like atmosphere. In some parts the vegetation forms a tunnel-like feel

Not many roads can offer more beautiful scenery than this. When I get closer to Haast the forest open slightly, passing farmland, small houses and lodges and Haast river is visible.

Soon Haast and Wilderness Backpackers hotel. Haast river is still beside me

Haast is a small town with around 100 residents, and most people make their living from tourism. Agriculture and fishing are also important sources of income.

Just before two in full sunshine I cycle into the entrance car park of Wilderness Accommodation where I previously booked two nights.

I get a four-bed room that I later share with a New Zealand cyclist.

My bicycle can I park under a roof storage room at the entrance.

Next to the hotel, there’s a grocery store, a café, a bar, and an adventure center for those who want to fly up to the glaciers.

Wilderness Accommodation features a spacious rectangular covered courtyard, complete with tables, sofas, and chairs, surrounded by flowers and trees… mini rainforest

Wilderness Backpackers had an unusual but green and nice interior

The kitchen has two gas stoves, a fridge and a freezer. Clean and tidy and the kitchen utensils are in order. Feels comfortable.

WiFi costs 5 NZD and is enough for a day.

There are hot showers in two places along the corridors, and you can also use the washing and drying facilities there.

I ask the male owner if I can put my sleeping bag in during the ongoing drying process, and he replies….

– Yes, of course he says and continues…

– I’ll let you know when it’s ready.

Then into my room which feels cozy with white sheets and a yellow duvet. I have some instant coffee in my bag and make myself coffee and some sandwiches before the shower.

It feels good, and I—who have been longing for New Zealand—have gotten more fuel for the fire.

Morning rest and some washing of clothes