Justin's First Week

We have been going gangbusters! Justin arrived on schedule Tuesday night and we stayed in Dunedin at Bluestone on George which was a great apartment style hotel with kitchenette and laundry. Wednesday morning we took a hike up the world's steepest street, Baldwin Street , in Dunedin.

 Then we drove about an hour north so Justin could see the Moeraki Boulders and eat at Fluer's Place. It didn't dissapoint. 

In the afternoon we made our way back to Dunedin for a quick food shop and then headed over to the Otago Peninsula. We stayed at the Portobello Holiday Park . It was a quiet and low key village about midway along the peninsula. Thursday we did a four hour hike out at Sandfly Bay which was beautiful. We saw giant seals and penguin nests.

 After a lunch of homemade falafels we drove to the point of the peninsula to the Royal Albatros Center . These are one of the largest flying birds in the world with a wingspan of almost 10 feet. We decided that the $40/person entry fee was a little high so instead of taking the tour to their nests we walked out on the bluffs over the cliffs and saw two of them flying! They put on quite a show swooping right overhead. They were very impressive, especially in contrast to the seagulls that flock to the cliffside. 

Friday morning we were up early to catch the Taieri Gorge Train from Dunedin to Middlemarch. The ride took several hours up out of seaside Dunedin to Central Otago. The views were stunning and the environment dramatically different from Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula. We had a slight delay when a woman driving failed to see our train and stop at the road-rail crossing and collided with the train. We didn't feel anything but her car was totaled. Luckily, she was fine but it was a bit harrowing.

In Middlemarch we picked up our rented bikes and saddlebags from Cycle Surgery who had everything ready and waiting for us and then we got started on our 17 mile flat ride to Hyde. Well, as soon as we made the turn out of town we were faced with STRONG headwind. Justin and I looked at each other with a "what have we gotten ourselves into" sort of look but buckled down and started peddling. The long and short of it is that the 17 miles of flat dirt road that really should have taken us a little more than an hour took us nearly four hours to complete. When we got to the Otago Central Hotel and checked into our room we were told by staff that the wind was blowing gusts of 160 km/hour. That's ONE HUNDRED MILE AN HOUR WIND FOLKS! What is it like biking in that, you may wonder? Well, we had our bikes in the absolute easiest gear possible, peddling has hard as we could and we were barely moving and would literally be blow to a stop or to the side. There wasn't a single moment of coasting or rest. We were NACKERED and seriously considered hiring a van to the next town the following day. But we woke to clear and calm skies and saddled up for our second day - a 31 mile ride from Hyde to Wedderburn, the highest point on the ride. This was a great day with beautiful views and no wind. The Otago Rail Trail , is just that an old railroad track that was no longer in use so the New Zealand Department of Conservation pulled up the rails and made it into a bike, hike and horseback track. Our second night was spent at the cottage at the Lodge at Wedderburn . Great views and comfortable and private accommodations. Our third and final day was our most ambitious - a 50 mile ride from Wedderburn to Clyde. When planning the trip I figured that the ride wouldn't be an issue as it's mostly gradual down hill or flat with a few short climbs. Justin and I often ride 50 + miles on our road bikes in Houston and are fairly fit. Well, what I was NOT counting on was the gail-fource headwind that returned our last day. The ride took us 8 hours and 15 minutes. The Otago Rail Trail is something that I would absolutely recommend to anyone traveling in NZ however I would advise you to call about the weather conditions. We were told over and over that while the wind is often that strong in the winter it is very rare in the summer and that strength of the wind was "extreme" (ah, yeah!). That being said we were SO happy to make to to Clyde (and alive). We had booked into the FABULOUS Bed & Breakfast at Clyde  which made us forget the ride the moment we stepped into our garden patio room. Just down the street was a great restaurant in the historic Post Office. The town is super cute with lots of great historic restoration. There was also the first true yarn store, Touch Yarns ,  that I've come across in NZ. We went back this morning for "a look" and I ended up with two bags full of marino, possum blend and some INCREDIBLE yarn from China - one is a mixture of yak and bamboo and the other is a mixture of cashmere and silk. The most luxurious yarns I've ever bought. I'm so excited! We caught a 2 hour 45 min bus back to Dunedin, grabbed some yummy chicken, beetroot chutney sandwiches and hit the road south en route to the Caitlins where we'll be camping for the next two nights before catching the ferry to Stewart Island for Christmas.