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Thursday, January 24, 2013
Otago Rail Trail
Jan 19th and 20th
Cromwell.
Gary and me eating fish and chips:
Gary and I took a lazy morning getting started because it was raining quite heavily. Since I had decided against doing the cycle trail to Queenstown, Gary agreed to give me a lift to Cromwell. From there I would cycle further east to Clyde to pick up the Otago Rail Trail.
Getting started around noon, we passed a cyclist I knew from Switzerland on a recumbent. I knew he had cycled the trail I was skipping so I stopped him to find out how it was. Tough! Ok. Glad I didn't do it:)
Made a side trip, at my request, to Arrowtown, a quaint village near Queenstown. Very small. Historic western type buildings. Bicycle shindig for the kids with all kinds of bikes: big wheel old fashion bike, trike, lawn mower bike, and more.
And they had a western band and can can dancers.
Also, I tried whitebait patties, a local delicacy. Tiny slivers of fish in an egg like patty on white bread. Didn't do much for me, but I tried it.
On to Cromwell. The drive was another glorious route through picturesque valleys. Mostly downhill. Oh, I wished I'd ridden from Arrowstown. Would have been fun.
Three days riding in the car was exhausting. I'm feeling jet lag or something. My head is buzzing. I feel motion sickness and just overall worn out. Too fast. Too hard to see everything. But I was thankful for Gary taking me out there and back. And I've been laughing at his British humor for 3 days. That's probably part of the exhaustion. He's a rip of a guy. The British Archie Bunker!
So today I packed up Blaze, said goodbye to Gary and pedaled off to find this rail trail. I've had some concern about biking on this gravel surface. It's hard with a trike. But we'll give it a try.
Would someone please tell me what these dead dangling things are in the fences and why they're here? I see them all over. Look line rabbit carcasses. But why?
25 kms into the 150 km trail and I'm beat from the bouncing around and the crunching sound of gravel. I do like the lack of cars and the views! Don't know if its enough. I can only travel at 4-5 mph, half of my pedal speed. And the sun is brutal. Even with sunscreen from first thing this morning, I'm crisp. May need a different brand. The skin on the tops of my thighs and my forearms is like leather. Crazy. How much can it take? And I use an umbrella almost all day.
This is a shed for the gangers that worked on the railroad. They could store gear in here or take a smoke break.
The other day this article about this rail trail caught my eye
Yup, 80 yr old guy did this 150 km trail in a day. About 10 hours. I'm impressed!!
Oh and I have to post a picture of Gary's tent. He was so proud of this tent that he bought his daughter for Christmas. $750 and he got it for $180. Suppose to be a 2 person and you could sleep at least 8 people easily.
Goodnight,
BagLady
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Cromwell.
Gary and me eating fish and chips:
Gary and I took a lazy morning getting started because it was raining quite heavily. Since I had decided against doing the cycle trail to Queenstown, Gary agreed to give me a lift to Cromwell. From there I would cycle further east to Clyde to pick up the Otago Rail Trail.
Getting started around noon, we passed a cyclist I knew from Switzerland on a recumbent. I knew he had cycled the trail I was skipping so I stopped him to find out how it was. Tough! Ok. Glad I didn't do it:)
Made a side trip, at my request, to Arrowtown, a quaint village near Queenstown. Very small. Historic western type buildings. Bicycle shindig for the kids with all kinds of bikes: big wheel old fashion bike, trike, lawn mower bike, and more.
And they had a western band and can can dancers.
Also, I tried whitebait patties, a local delicacy. Tiny slivers of fish in an egg like patty on white bread. Didn't do much for me, but I tried it.
On to Cromwell. The drive was another glorious route through picturesque valleys. Mostly downhill. Oh, I wished I'd ridden from Arrowstown. Would have been fun.
Three days riding in the car was exhausting. I'm feeling jet lag or something. My head is buzzing. I feel motion sickness and just overall worn out. Too fast. Too hard to see everything. But I was thankful for Gary taking me out there and back. And I've been laughing at his British humor for 3 days. That's probably part of the exhaustion. He's a rip of a guy. The British Archie Bunker!
So today I packed up Blaze, said goodbye to Gary and pedaled off to find this rail trail. I've had some concern about biking on this gravel surface. It's hard with a trike. But we'll give it a try.
Would someone please tell me what these dead dangling things are in the fences and why they're here? I see them all over. Look line rabbit carcasses. But why?
25 kms into the 150 km trail and I'm beat from the bouncing around and the crunching sound of gravel. I do like the lack of cars and the views! Don't know if its enough. I can only travel at 4-5 mph, half of my pedal speed. And the sun is brutal. Even with sunscreen from first thing this morning, I'm crisp. May need a different brand. The skin on the tops of my thighs and my forearms is like leather. Crazy. How much can it take? And I use an umbrella almost all day.
This is a shed for the gangers that worked on the railroad. They could store gear in here or take a smoke break.
The other day this article about this rail trail caught my eye
Yup, 80 yr old guy did this 150 km trail in a day. About 10 hours. I'm impressed!!
Oh and I have to post a picture of Gary's tent. He was so proud of this tent that he bought his daughter for Christmas. $750 and he got it for $180. Suppose to be a 2 person and you could sleep at least 8 people easily.
Goodnight,
BagLady
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Southern Hospitality
Jan 23rd
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
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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
Lambs to Slaughter
Jan 22nd
The Otago Rail Trail went through the cutest little towns with restored buildings like in our West. Tourism from the trail has brought them business. There was more to see but I'm trying my darnedest to get back to Wellington by the 30th for Kiwi & Alison going away party. And I'm a long ways away. Over 400 miles. Gotta get the bus!
It's a sad time to be cycling through sheep country. It's lamb slaughtering time. The other day I got to watch a farmer sort his herd through a 3 way gate as the sheep came down a narrow chute. It was fun watching the dogs working. I couldn't get over how high they can jump over fences. But then later, chatting with someone, I found out they were sorting out the lambs from their mothers. :(((. And there's been a lot of baaing going on at night. Probably moms and babies. Then I've seen the trucks filled with lambs go by and I say a special prayer for them. I connect with the livestock while I'm cycling. I talk to them. Sometimes I frighten them...not on purpose. But I look in their eyes and I connect. And I'm having a hard time with the coldness one must have to raise and slaughter these helpless beings. I couldn't do it.
While I was writing this journal just now, I looked out and this was my view of the sunset. How lucky am I? And it's quiet except for the sheep....baa!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
The Otago Rail Trail went through the cutest little towns with restored buildings like in our West. Tourism from the trail has brought them business. There was more to see but I'm trying my darnedest to get back to Wellington by the 30th for Kiwi & Alison going away party. And I'm a long ways away. Over 400 miles. Gotta get the bus!
It's a sad time to be cycling through sheep country. It's lamb slaughtering time. The other day I got to watch a farmer sort his herd through a 3 way gate as the sheep came down a narrow chute. It was fun watching the dogs working. I couldn't get over how high they can jump over fences. But then later, chatting with someone, I found out they were sorting out the lambs from their mothers. :(((. And there's been a lot of baaing going on at night. Probably moms and babies. Then I've seen the trucks filled with lambs go by and I say a special prayer for them. I connect with the livestock while I'm cycling. I talk to them. Sometimes I frighten them...not on purpose. But I look in their eyes and I connect. And I'm having a hard time with the coldness one must have to raise and slaughter these helpless beings. I couldn't do it.
While I was writing this journal just now, I looked out and this was my view of the sunset. How lucky am I? And it's quiet except for the sheep....baa!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Milford Sound
Jan 17th and 18th
Te Anau, South Island, NZ
Cycled into Queenstown. Brisk morning with temps in the 40s. Crazy tourist town in a spectacular setting.
How'd ya like to live on that strip of land?
So the plan was for "Gary of England" to phone me after he dropped his daughter off at the airport...2ish. I found a coffee shop to charge stuff and eat, of course. And while I'm sitting there 3 guys from Europe that I met on the Crown Range the day before showed up...and then moments later Ben (of Ben and Laura, who I flew over the river with...Laura's headed onward to Asia) appears. Just got to a new town and I've had more contacts than having coffee in Fairport. What's wrong with this picture? Actually everything is right with it. I've known for a long time I didn't fit in Fairport.
So I chatted with Ben about the cycle trail to Te Anau and my concerns about the 2 track and the trike. He's gonna text me what he thinks after he does it, since I'm planning to do it in reverse. Out to Milford Sound by car with Gary from London, then bike the trail back to Queenstown. At least that was the plan that day.
Since I had some time, I ran some errands then decided to find a place to dry Rainbow, my tent. Oh there's a little park. Pull her out. Spread her out. Spread out her ground cloth. What's that pitter patter I hear. Is that rain? No! It's getting harder quickly. I can restuff her in a hurry. I have a hard enough time getting her in her bag anyways. She just hates it in there and fights me every step of the way. Oh, stuff her under Blaze...quickly. Now she's wetter than she was. It lightens up, I repack her and give up the idea if drying for now. Thank goodness that doesn't happen often. Back to the coffee shop to wait out the rain. Eventually it's really sunny, I get Rainbow dried out, meet an interesting girl from Sweden who's been living all over the world for 10 years, settling and working wherever she goes. Gary calls. We meet up. The car us a hatchback and when he opens it, it's filled to the gills. Not organized. He thinks if we unpack everything, put Blaze in, and then stuff all the rest in neatly, it will all fit. You got to be crazy!
It did!! Barely!
So off we go towards Milford Sound, a couple hundred kms away with plans to camp somewhere that night.
Driving along I felt like I was missing everything. There were many photo ops that just flew by. This is too fast! We passed Te Anau and decided to camp at a DoC site north of there. Pulled in and found all the spots quite rustic and Gary's is huge. 2 cabins. Tough to find a spot for it. We decide to set up just his and we each can use a separate area. What a monster to set up. 3 poles. 20 stakes. Palatial! What will I do with all this room?
Next morning we still had nearly 100 kms to drive. And it was a mind blowing trip through forested areas and then majorly steep high mountains. Right there. There's also this long creepy tunnel that's one lane and down hill. Sorta lit...sorta. I'm so glad I didn't have to bike that! Claustrophobic! Then one hell of a downhill to the sound. No fun to bike up. Nope. So only minor regrets I didn't bike out.
The view there is unlike anything I've ever seen. The tide was out.
Even though it was cold, I had to get my feet in the water!
BagLady
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Te Anau, South Island, NZ
Cycled into Queenstown. Brisk morning with temps in the 40s. Crazy tourist town in a spectacular setting.
How'd ya like to live on that strip of land?
So the plan was for "Gary of England" to phone me after he dropped his daughter off at the airport...2ish. I found a coffee shop to charge stuff and eat, of course. And while I'm sitting there 3 guys from Europe that I met on the Crown Range the day before showed up...and then moments later Ben (of Ben and Laura, who I flew over the river with...Laura's headed onward to Asia) appears. Just got to a new town and I've had more contacts than having coffee in Fairport. What's wrong with this picture? Actually everything is right with it. I've known for a long time I didn't fit in Fairport.
So I chatted with Ben about the cycle trail to Te Anau and my concerns about the 2 track and the trike. He's gonna text me what he thinks after he does it, since I'm planning to do it in reverse. Out to Milford Sound by car with Gary from London, then bike the trail back to Queenstown. At least that was the plan that day.
Since I had some time, I ran some errands then decided to find a place to dry Rainbow, my tent. Oh there's a little park. Pull her out. Spread her out. Spread out her ground cloth. What's that pitter patter I hear. Is that rain? No! It's getting harder quickly. I can restuff her in a hurry. I have a hard enough time getting her in her bag anyways. She just hates it in there and fights me every step of the way. Oh, stuff her under Blaze...quickly. Now she's wetter than she was. It lightens up, I repack her and give up the idea if drying for now. Thank goodness that doesn't happen often. Back to the coffee shop to wait out the rain. Eventually it's really sunny, I get Rainbow dried out, meet an interesting girl from Sweden who's been living all over the world for 10 years, settling and working wherever she goes. Gary calls. We meet up. The car us a hatchback and when he opens it, it's filled to the gills. Not organized. He thinks if we unpack everything, put Blaze in, and then stuff all the rest in neatly, it will all fit. You got to be crazy!
It did!! Barely!
So off we go towards Milford Sound, a couple hundred kms away with plans to camp somewhere that night.
Driving along I felt like I was missing everything. There were many photo ops that just flew by. This is too fast! We passed Te Anau and decided to camp at a DoC site north of there. Pulled in and found all the spots quite rustic and Gary's is huge. 2 cabins. Tough to find a spot for it. We decide to set up just his and we each can use a separate area. What a monster to set up. 3 poles. 20 stakes. Palatial! What will I do with all this room?
Next morning we still had nearly 100 kms to drive. And it was a mind blowing trip through forested areas and then majorly steep high mountains. Right there. There's also this long creepy tunnel that's one lane and down hill. Sorta lit...sorta. I'm so glad I didn't have to bike that! Claustrophobic! Then one hell of a downhill to the sound. No fun to bike up. Nope. So only minor regrets I didn't bike out.
The view there is unlike anything I've ever seen. The tide was out.
Even though it was cold, I had to get my feet in the water!
BagLady
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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