Two Melo Velos: From windy Wellington to the quaint town of Stratford (Dec 12th

When I first mentioned that Pete and I were planning on cycling NZ there were two things that everyone familiar with NZ said, first that it's very hilly and second that it's also very windy. Well now that we've spent the last few days cycling around I can attest to the fact that it is indeed VERY hilly and windy but also very beautiful.

After a wonderful stay in Wellington with Gary, we made our way by train to Ohakune.

Is it a greenpeace boat or a pirate ship?

Cable car which takes you to your front door

At Gary's home, before we set off for the train

The journey took about 4.5hrs and it was a great way to see the countryside and get an introduction into this beautiful place we are calling home for the next two months. We rolled through lots of tiny towns and green pastures with lots of sheep and cows. If I ever start to eat meat again, it will have to be here! The animals must taste good based on their very yummy diet of natural grass and fresh air. Pete has tried to befriend some of the calves but has been unsuccessful so far as they are very timid animals.

Dinner or maybe a wool sweater instead...

The route we were completing on the first day took us from Ohakune to Ranana. It started as a very lovely cycle on paved roads with lots of cows, sheep and no traffic. I must mention that cows and sheep seem to be very curious animals and when we cycle by them they tend to look up and stare at us. They don't do this for cars that come down the road, just bicycles. During good moments of cycling I think that they are saying 'Welcome to NZ, you're going to have a great day of cycling!' and during the bad moments of cycling I think that they are laughing at us and saying 'Are you crazy, this place has hills and climbs that will kill you!!'. We hit our first climb of the day and it didn't quite kill me but it sure did take my breath away, not only due to the elevation gain but also because of the view from the top.

Mount Ruapehu in the background

We cycled on and encountered a horrible dirt/gravel road. The rocks were large, very loose and just kept coming. Although the scenery was lovely, the cycle was anything but lovely. There were lots of ups and downs which both required lots of concentration to ensure that we didn't slip out and fall. Pete was able to capture some pictures of me cycling up some of these horrible sections and I was able one of Pete ahead of me.

Monica climbing up

Pete climbing up

There are quite a few pictures of me climbing up hills and of Pete's back. Pete's quicker than I am and when he gets to the top he captures my very humbling struggle up the hill. I in turn am able to take some of his back as he cycles on ahead.

Although I can't say that I would ever do this route again, the scenery and the views did make it all worth while and I would recommend, with heavy caution, that anyone cycling NZ do this route.

Whanganui River

We spent the night camping in Ranana and the next day made our way to Kai Iwi. We continued to cycle next to the Whanganui River with the road returning to beautiful tarmac. There was one very large climb today that on paper didn't seem like it should be very difficult but in reality was pretty tough. It was a 200m elevation gain over 2.5km, but the best part was the 2km downhill ride after the climb! The views from the top also made up for the difficult climb. Needless to say my granny gears and I have become the closest of friends and we see each other multiple times every day!

Seriously, another hill!

View from the top, note that we started the climb by the river!

We spent the night in a great campsite in Kai lwi beach that even had a large flat screen TV, which we vegged in front of in a comatose state.

Kai lwi beach

Our third day of cycling included lots of ups and downs (have you picked up on the pattern yet!) and was on one of the highways, with a fairly comfortable shoulder to ride on. There was a small section (7km) of road that was made up of sticky mud which gripped onto the tires and wouldn't let go, but the rest was on lovely tarmac. I've never really felt any emotion towards what type of material a road is made up of, but now I can honestly say that I'm in love with tarred roads and yes, I would marry it if I could :)

Lovely green pastures

We had a rest day scheduled in Stratford (Dec 16th) and we were going to cycle the 'Lost Highway' today. However, torrential rain and wind have kept us in Stratford for one more day. We did try to cycle out but after 1.5km, into a very strong westerly, we were soaking wet and I couldn't see how I could continue for another 40km! Due to time constraints and the weather we are now taking a bus to Turangi, keep your fingers crossed for us as the bus driver has the right to refuse bicycles. If this happens we lose the money for our ticket completely and have to rebook! If all goes well we will be in Turangi tomorrow and back on our bikes Sunday.

Also note that WiFi is not as readily available as we thought it would be so keep updated on our location by checking the 'Where Are We' section.

Some more pictures...