Heading to East Coast on 85
South Island, New Zealand
Love the Kiwis! This morning a farmer in his truck pulled up to my tent before I was up. My heart started to speed up. Memories of last summer and disgruntled gentlemen telling me to move on came back. It was morning and I was moving on soon, but the feeling of "upsetment" was there. So I stick my head of unbrushed, unwashed hair out of the tent and smile "Good Morning! I'll be packing up soon."
"No worries, just wondered if you were all right."
Really? Worried. Not mad that I'm camping next to your gate? And of course he has that wonderful NZ accent.
Later while I was packing he came back by the other way and tooted. I waved. Simple kindness. Set the tone for the day.
Now on the map there are several towns on this road to the coast. I watered up at the last one. Maybe 3 liters. Good for the night. And last night I tried to scrub the waxy film of sunscreen off and used a bit more than I usually do. So coffee was 1/2 cup this morning. And 1/2 liter for the road, until the next town.
Pedal on...pedal on. No town. Hmmm? May need to yogi some water off a motorist.
(Another truck of lambs just passed:(...hope your short life was happy. Namaste.)
Do I find a pullover and pull over. Need a place for cars to stop. And I stand there with my empty water bottle mimicking "drink" and shaking the bottle. The first car to stop had just a couple ounces, but I took it. The next car had Diet Coke. Thanks but that will make me thirstier. Several other cars just kept going. Oh well. I'll keep on. Try again later. I still have a wee bit (as they would say here:)).
Nice downhill. Whee. Slow up for a marker. Thinking of stopping to read it. Hear a beep from behind and pull up. They tell "We've got water!" They had passed me, discussed their water situation, decided they had extra, and turned around to find me. How kind is that? What a day!
I'm biking through undulating low mountains. Farms here. Lots if sheep. A road. Some cars. Nothing else. Until I get to Palmerton tonight. With enough water, I'm happy:))
This afternoon brought more good stuff. I stopped to check out an historic stone bridge and this couple there, after giving me the 3rd degree:), told me about a stop right up the road at a CREEK! Yippee. I get to wash my hair! Not going to do a full wash up because I need to keep on this wax they call sunscreen. Paraffin. That's what it is!
Then when I got to Palmerston, the last town before turning north, I wasn't sure I'd arrived. No sign. So I stopped this bloke and asked, Where's Palmerston? You're here! How do I get to the coast? Depends on where you want to go. Then he proceeded to give me directions to a beach campsite. Sweet! How about water? Got to the outdoor drinking fountain at the primary school around the corner. You were the right guy to talk to!
So here I lay, looking out my tent to the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. I'll have to get a feet in the water picture in the morning. Blaze has the best view! She deserves it!!! What a trooper she's been. Trudging up those hills in this heat...and only an occasional squeak out of her. Go Blaze!!
That's water and sand just past my bike.
Tonight I had my first "creepy guy" incident. And tonight I'm sleeping with my knife handy. He was definitely checking me out. He parked on the gravel road that leads back to these sites snd walked through my area to the beach, chatted with me a minute as he walked back to hus car then hung in his car pretending to be listening to tunes while I changed and went for a swim. Left here and parked a bit further up and then walked the beach until he could see me. Just hanging around. This is kinda like a wooded campground. Just not official. I can't see the other spots because of bushes between us. I did find some other people here. He seems to have gone. I'm not leaving. Too tired and too nice a spot. I wish I'd gotten his license plate #. He better not mess with me tonight! Thank goodness that's a rare event.
I'll be fine. It's just creepy.
Creeped Out BagLady
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
No comments:
Post a Comment