West Coast ride to Bruce Bay

19-20 April

Waking up in good time and getting ready for today‘s bike ride, Bruce Bay or nearby is today‘s goal, about 70 Km.  The sun is already up as I head north along the coast, the road flat but the headwind strong, with the sea just to my left.

After just under 18 km, I spot the sign for Ship Creek Walk, one of the many UNESCO World Heritage sites. I cycle towards a parkingspace beside some small buildings.

Information signs tell me that the place is a nature reserve with two very short walking trails where you can experience typical nature from New Zealand’s wild west coast, swamps and marshland, sand dunes and coastal forests.

Two boardwalks guide you around, but unfortunately there was plenty of small black insects that are just too nasty to deal with, so I head back to the bike and continue north.

As soon as I got onto Highway 6, the first climb of the day began, and it turned out to be quite a long one.Almost 10 km up to the top of this hillop,, Knights Point lookout.

Knights Point Lookout offers a stunning panoramic view of the Tasman Sea and a well needed rest for my tired and numb legs. The view is scenic, gorgeous, and amazing, just like the weather. I parked my bike near a large table, set up my camping kitchen, and made some food and coffee.

Why it’s called “Knights Point”? The name has surprisingly a funny origin.When this coastal road was being built in the 1950s–1960s, two construction crews, one from north, the other crew from south were working toward each other along the coast. They eventually met at this spot while finishing the highway.

Government officials later came to choose a name for the place. They wanted to name it after an important official from Wellington.

But the workers said the place already had a name: “Knights Point.”

The officials asked who “Knight” was. The workers explained that Knight was the name of the surveyor’s dog, owned by surveyor Norman McGeorge.

The dog often joined the surveying team while they worked.hile they worked, so the workers started using the dog’s name for that place.

 – I love this 24/7 – 

 

I leave Knights Point satisfied and heading north.  My plan today is Bruce Bay. After a few km, I leave the coastline and steer northwest through the countryside on a winding and hilly road. Either way, the surroundings are worth the hard work. Green vegetation and awesomely beautiful and mighty mountains.

The creeks  that all have a name there are thirteen out of a dozen, most of them are small and many of them live a bit of a “dry life“ right now, others a little bigger but even these have had their high season.

Most are completely crushed, while others look fairly intact. I’ve probably seen hundreds of them, without really counting. The furry animal is a possum, an invasive predator.

Farmers dislike them, fearing they could spread plague to sheep and cows, and they also harm the ecosystem.  After crossing the third river today, I spotted a sign for a bar and café—South Westland Salmon Farm, just 300 meters on the left. It couldn’t be more perfect.

Two hundred meter from mainroad it’s show up. The bar and cafe are perched on poles above three large salmon ponds, set near the Paringa River, surrounded by tall trees and dense vegetation, in the background high mountains towering up. Very beautiful place.

I order coffe and a wheat-bun creation , 10 NZ$.

The café lies very beautiful, 200 meters from mainroad and surrounded by tall trees and dense vegetation, in the background high mountains towering up.

After a nice and needed break I was ready for my last leg today. Approximaetly 17-18 km to Bruce Bay. The sky has turned to darker, heavier clouds, and wind and rain could be on the way so I speed up a little. No fun to pitch up a tent in rain and storm.

About five kilometres from Bruce Bay I noticed my rear tyre was flat. It’s not a big hole, but the air is slowly leaking out.

I don’t have the energy to take off all my bags and change the tube when I’m this close, so I’m hoping some pumps will get me to my final destination for the day.

I’ll fix the puncture tomorrow morning!

Five!! I had to stop five times to fill the tire before I reached my destination for the day. A large parking lot on the left side of the road called Bruce Bay.

A few cars are already parked here, and from what I could see they were fishing. I looked for a free spot for my tent at the far end of the parking lot. It was just gravel, but no problem setting up the tent and getting the tent pegs down.

While I was setting up the tent, the weather was getting worse by the minute, and the waves were getting higher and higher. The last thing that needed to be done was to cover my bike with the waterproof bike cover and anchor it to the ground.

It was almost a storm now, strong winds from the Tasman Sea.

I fell asleep around 9pm but woke up several times during the night and noticed the tent swaying a lot from the wind and the rain slapping against the canvas. Luckily I had set up all the tent guylines.